Author Topic: Tablets and Handheld Devices (Formerly the Cintiq Thread)  (Read 5776 times)

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Chiprocks1

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I'm STILL p*ssed that Microsoft would swap out the Industry leader in pen technology (WACOM) for N-Trig! F*ck!! Still gonna hit the MS store when they have floor demos.
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Chiprocks1

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Still waiting for people to give 'Real' reviews on the SP3. As of now, EVERYONE is just regurgitating the same specs given out at the Conference. They all come off as mindless robots that can't think for themselves. With the amount of free SP3's that were given out to those in attendance as well as a handful of artists bloggers, I would have thought that one, if not 2 or 3, would have given us a in depth review about what the N-Trig can and can't do.
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Chiprocks1

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Okay, I don't know who this guy is, but I managed to find one review from the POV of an artist who's intent is to create on SP3. He seems happy with the N-Trig tech. But I really wished he had been a bit more thorough by using a variety of programs from Photoshop to Painter to Artrage and more. Having read his review about the pen in particular, I am a bit more optimistic. But that optimism came crashing down when you pointed out another huge hurdle that has nothing to do with the pen, but everything to do with the new placement of the Microsoft logo/button. Because of the magnetic strip at the bottom that holds the keyboard in place, they moved the logo to the right hand side (which I already knew about while watching the conference). What I didn't think of is that for right handed artists like myself, resting your hand on the right edge (on the logo itself) is going to activate and send you back to the Desktop.

Can you imagine how f*cking annoying that's going to get when you are invested in an art project of use only to constantly being kicked out of whatever program you're in? Good God! Do they not do any kind of quality control on their products at MS anymore? Have they ever done quality control? That's a pretty big issue for anyone. They reviewer does say that it can be disabled, but doing so will in effect disable the functionality of the program itself. Ugh! I really hope these and the other issues he brings up can be fixed sooner, rather than later. His review is an eye opener. I will reserve judgement until I get to try it out myself.

Neumatic, do you have a Microsoft Store in your neck of the woods that you can go check out the the Surface Pro 3?
Chip's Rockin' Art
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Neumatic

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Nope, no Microsoft store... and I don't really have enough experience with screen drawing to give you an accurate account of how one would work (I don't rock that kind of hardware in my day-to-day).

I absolutely hear you about how the software issue.  With my old Mac i could boot Classic and use my old OS 8 and 9 programs (like Nisus and Photoshop 5.5) but not with my new one.  I notice that a couple artists and writers... people who use their computers to create, find a point they like and stick with it.  Remember when... was it Final Cut Pro?  Final Cut Pro was this really popular video editing program for Mac and then they changed it all around and it p*ssed off the core group of users because it was basically a massive downgrade, going for a wider audience instead of making it better for their primary audience.

I honestly think the answer to this is open source software, people making the software they want with the capabilities they want.  There ARE problems with this approach, obviously, but if you're creative, the tools you use should be in your hands and not subject to sudden and arbitrary changes.  And there could definitely stand to be some competition, you know... I HATE Microsoft Word.  Absolutely hate it, never use it, I don't even have it on my computer, imagine that!  And everyone uses it, it's almost a requirement.  There used to be a bunch of other word processing programs and they could interact with each other, but that all went away.  I sincerely wish I had a fantastic alternative to Word for word processing (I just use Textedit and Writeroom, which is a Textedit skin that makes it look like I'm typing ona n old Apple ][).

Chiprocks1

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I'm all for Open Source, but with MS pretty much dictating everything, I'm sure they would have some sort of firmware upgrade that would cripple anything that wasn't manufactured out of the box. I just wished the Pro 3 would have delivered what I had been waiting for the past 4-5 months. I knew they were on the verge of a new Surface so I could justify not running out and picking up SP2. But all that went out the window the moment I heard of the switch. Like I said, I'm still going to give it a shot personally and see how it feels. Word has it that the version of Photoshop that runs on the new Surface is custom made for this and the touch tech. It's vague and I haven't been able to find anything else to back up that info.

I wonder who is gonna win the race to please me. Will an Artist(s) be able to upload a video onto YouTube showing off the pen using a bunch of different programs or will the Microsoft Store get floor demos out before then? The only store I have here is about a 15 minute drive away. It's not bad, it's just that I don't like going out in that particular direction and find it to be a waste of time. I'll make the exception this time. Well, as far as you going to a store and trying it out Neumatic, there of course will be alternatives like Staples and Best Buy. I'm sure you have those around your neighborhood. I only asked about the MS Store as they would of course get the demos before anyone else. You should still play around with one. The only time I've been able to play with any of the high-end WACOM's like the Cintiq 24hd is at the San Diego Comic Con. They have a booth there every year and it's always fun to use it and depressing having to walk away from it know that it's just WAY out of my league.
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Neumatic

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I've not seen any of this kind of thing on display at Best Buy OR Staples.  The computer sections there aren't that impressive, and apparently there's no demand for drawing screens around here.  I remember there used to be a CompUSA or something somewhere but I don't think that's around anywhere, which sucks because now I'm kind of into computer gear.

I think it might just be a thing of.. this technology, at the level of sophistication you want... is just expensive.  It might be a thing where you gotta plop down the dough, you want quality you gotta pay for quality, but ideally the investment will be worth it.

Chiprocks1

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Surface Pro 3 : Pen writing and drawing demo ( Digitizer Stylus )




Okay, here's the first "Review" of the actual Pen that I've been able to find. Now I really wouldn't call this a review because it's just more of a demo than anything else. I think because of the programs he uses to "show off" the Pen actually does make it worse. One Note is aimed strictly for handwriting and even though it looks fluid and responsive, I'm not really impressed with the line weight distribution. I wonder if there is a set up in the programs menu or the Computer itself to change the pressure to each person actual handwriting style. From the looks of the video, he is practically trying to write 'through' the monitor by pressing very hard, and the line weight never gets any fatter than what it is.

As for the 'Drawing Program' that he shows off the drawing aspect of the pen, not impressed at all. For starters, using Fresh Paint program that comes bundled with all Surface Pro's is about as rudimentary as they get. This isn't a program that any self respecting artist would ever use. This is the kind of program or distraction app you give a 4 year old something to do so as not to have to watch them. To really test the mettle of the pen, it has to be run through Top Shelf programs like Photoshop and ArtRage, which allow for pressure adjustments. The Fresh Paint on the Surface Pro 2 that I've messed around with at Staples doesn't offer anything like that. Well, it's something I have never been able to find within the program that is.
« Last Edit: May 25, 2014, 08:38:07 am by Chiprocks1 »
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Chiprocks1

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Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Chiprocks1

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I heard that any Best Buy that has a MS Store inside will in fact be getting the SP3 this Friday. So, if you have one nearby and it fits that criteria, you're in luck. I have both stores within minutes of each other, but I'm going to the actual MS Store because my guess is that they will flood the store with a lot of demos for us to try out. I don't want to have to stand around waiting for anyone to give up their tablet. I got sh*t to do!
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Chiprocks1

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So, I just got back from trying out SP3 today at the MS Store. It's everything it has been touted to be by most reviewers. The only thing that I wanted to check out first and foremost was the Pen responsiveness, the kickstand and the weight of the tablet. All were good in my book. I put the kickstand down all the way to 150 degree angle and put more pressure on that while drawing just to see how stable it was. It held up very well. There was no wobbling of any kind. I thought it would have some give. It's firm. The tablet is frickin' light. As for the Pen, I started in OneNote and there was no pressure sensitivity, which I wasn't expecting anyway.

Writing/drawing in OneNote was very responsive. It was immediate. And yes, it actually felt like you were writing on paper. I don't know if it was the Gorilla Glass or the Pen nib, but there was a tiny bit of friction to help sell the idea of actually writing on the tablet. So, with no pressure in OneNote, I switched to Fresh Paint. I'm still not a fan of the program, but it's all they have on SP3 that comes pre-installed and for testing out the pressure, it did an amazing job. I was able to get varying degrees of shading from extremely light, small lines to dark, fat lines. I did draw in Landscape mode and specifically targeted the Start Button on the right bevel. I also purposely added extra weight and drag to see if it would kick me out of the program and back to the desktop. It never did. They didn't have Photoshop installed, which I knew they wouldn't. Would have been nice to test it out on that program specifically.

With that said, I will still wait beyond the initial release date of June 20. For me, it's imperative that Corel Painter works and works to the industry standard. It's the program that I want to use on the go. So, I will wait a few weeks and give people time to test it out and see what kind of pressure level they can get (when drivers are released that is). If it's a success and people give a glowing recommendation on it, I will easily pick up the i5 256gb 8 RAM version. Now it's just a waiting game for me............
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Mac

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Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiipppppp

Buy me. You know you want me.

C'mon, why wait?


Believe in Yourself
Because the rest of us think you're an idiot.

Chiprocks1

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Hey, they front-lined the store with some super hot chicks/sales people for that VERY reason!! They were very intent on getting people to pre-order an SP3 before you left the store.
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Mac

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Sex sells and they wanted to get you by the balls...

Didn't work, eh?
Believe in Yourself
Because the rest of us think you're an idiot.

Chiprocks1

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Oh, they got me by the balls....but for different intentions.  ;D
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Chiprocks1

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Ugh. MS is starting to p*ss me off. They are a shady bunch. As you all know, I'm patiently waiting to see legit reviews for the SP3 to determine if I end up getting it for myself and MS has gone out of its way to hype that its release date is this coming June 20, 2014 (Friday). Now it has come out that anyone that is looking to get the i5 256gb version has to wait until June 30. Sure, it's only 10 days, but that is a LONG ass wait for me to get the reviews that I need. MS could / should have just been honest about it's shipping date as they were about the i7's which don't street until August 31.
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

 

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