A few years ago for Christmas my wife gave me a WACOM Graphite CTE-430 writing tablet. This little tool is pretty handy. Basically it plugs into a USB port on any computer and replaces the mouse. The only difference is that it uses a pen and tablet style interface instead of the standard sliding mouse.

I used it today with my laptop while working with Google Sketchup. First of all, if you are doing a drawing on a laptop, save yourself some grief, forget the little touch pad mouse thing below the keyboard. At least plug in a regular USB mouse. Secondly, I like working with the writing tablet, to me it is more like sketching something on a note pad. I have used it with Microsoft Visio and AutoDesk (autoCAD), and now Sketchup with good result. If you have been using a mouse to draw with, it does take a little adjustment to go back to using a pen.

If you are doing any kind of free hand drawing, this really does make a difference. Instead of click hold drag or whatever, you are just writing with a pen. You can also pick up the tablet and hold it in a comfortable position if you want to.

I like it, and it ranks up there as one of the best Christmas presents ever received.

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