Hardware :: The Wacom Bamboo Track Pad As An Alterative To A Magic Mouse Or Trackball?
Nov 20, 2009
Does anyone own or have used the Wacom Bamboo track pad as an alterative to a Magic Mouse or trackball?I checked out the Magic Mouse and did not like it but could probably get used to it, the Apple keyboard I could never get used to and would keep my old clunky keyboard that I am used to using since forever.
Have been using a Kensington trackball for the last 10 years, not the same one , but it finially gave up the ghost and thought the new mouse could replace it but I don't think so. This Bamboo trackpad does look interesting though but is a little an the large side.[URL]
I never have thought about purchasing one of these as I figured they were just for photoshop which I do not use. Boy was I wrong.I saw one in best buy when picking up the new U2 cd last week, and thought I'd look at them online when I got home just out of interest. I am currently a sophomore studying engineering and find myself using tons of notebooks and paper for notes and homework. They usually get somewhat disorganized, I do keep subjects separate and homework separated by subject as well, but I have been looking for a better way of taking notes, a different way. I kept thinking that taking them on the computer would be so much better, if i needed to go further on the page couldnt I just scroll over and add something in? Zoom out to see the entire thing? Add notes to something where if I was using a notebook I'd just have to use another page or squeeze something in where I'd get totally confused.
So I looked at this online and realized that a tablet can be used for many other things. I purchased the Wacom Bamboo, i didnt need to extra software in the bamboo fun and I thought the Bamboo looked better, so I got it as Amazon.com and had it sent. I got it today and have had a ton of fun with it. First things first, I can use it as a mouse. It works really well although not quite as fast (yet) but with the 4 customizable buttons at the top for spaces and expose and turning on/off ink plus the scroll thing, its like a combo mouse/keyboard. I can write and it'll recognize my handwriting (apple's Ink software does, then inserts it into whereever the curser is in any program) although my handwriting is horrid. I do have to slow down for it to be read correctly. The two buttons on the pen can be used for right clicking and the other is for spaces. What a great alternative to the mouse.
Secondly, I am looking for an alternative for notetaking/homework assignments.Since Im in engineering I take classes that require doodles of pictures and math equations and such, which are impossible to do on the computer. I downloaded inkBook and have been trying it out. I can set the page to be fullscreen and i can add pages as I go. I can choose pencil/pen/highlighter/brush for my input, can change colors, and a cool feature of the tablet is that I can push harder and the lines get darker, or pull up and they get lighter. This is neat for having to draw reference lines that need to be there but distinguished from the rest. I really would like something that can organize all my notes in one location though, instead of having to open a new file each class. Something like evernote would be great, but the tablet function does not work (yet?) on the mac software.
So far it is great. I'm not sure if It will replace note taking for me this semester, but I may use it for homework assignments or re-writing notes just to get used to it and get a process down to possibly use starting in the fall semester as a complete replacement of a notbook (or mostly complete at least). inkBook is a nice piece of software, I'm not sure if it is the note taking software I'll end up purchasing. I have evernote but the mac client does not recognize tablet input from what I could tell using the program and reading the forums (if this is wrong please correct me and show me how to do this). I would really like to use something like evernote because of the syncing and separate notebooks to be used for different classes and such. I also tried microsoft word in notebook view, and it recognizes the tablet. The only thing is it is limited in how large a page will get. I still think i'll leave it as an option though as I already have purchased it.
If anyone has a better note-taking and organizing software let me know, It just has to have support for this tablet.All in all, a great $60 spent. My sister does work with pictures and some graphics so she may buy one of these after she sees it. If anything, I'm just doing my part to keep the economy going; afterall, it is a consumer economy and we have to buy things for it to work right? Well I had some spending money from work so I got this and a new lacrosse stick. Two completely justifiable purchases. Now I just need about $2500 so I can get a spiffy new macbook pro to speed up final cut. I'd love to put that $2500 into the economy if I had it.
I have been using a Wacom Bamboo for a while now and always have it in Mouse mode.
Since I upgraded my iMac to SnowLeopard, the Bamboo Pen/Mouse mode always resets back to Pen Mode after I have booted my iMac which is verrrry annoying - especially since I have a dual-monitor setup!
I have already tried to install the latest drivers for the Bamboo but this has not resolved my problem.
Has anyone else seen this problem and possibly know how to solve it?
Suddenly my Wacom Bamboo Fun isn't working properly. The pen works fine but the mouse is eratic and wants to open everything it touches. The clickers don't seem to work and it seems to be clicking on everything on its own.I downloaded the most recent software and it hasn't changed anything. I have Leopard on a Mac Powerbook Pro.
i just kind of new using the new track pad on macbook pro ( just upgrade after my old mac book was stolen ).in my old one, i can disable the track pad when the mighty mouse or magic mouse on.
Now that both have been out for a few months has one shown to be better than the other? I like the looks of the MTP and fact the surface is larger. I like the fact the Bamboo is USB and has 4 hard buttons. Prime importance though is work flow. So which one wins out there -- or is it a tie?
I occasionally use Photoshop and other graphics applications, but mostly use my computer for simply surfing on the Web. Is it worth it to get an Intuos or should a Bamboo be OK?P.S. What is the difference between Bamboo and Bamboo Craft?
buying one of these to replace my mouse.There's no store where i live so i can't go into the store and try both I'v never tried the apple trackpad on their laptops either.I used a lot of windows laptops before and what i can say.They were so bad that i always had a little mouse in my back I rly don't know what to expect for the apple track pad.Can it replace completely the mouse and is it comfortable to work with ? Or should i go with the mouse ?
I'm looking to get either a Magic Mouse or the Magic trackpad to use with my iMac. Do they both work with Windows? My wife uses Windows Vista on bootcamp for work. Also, I do play some games, nothing heavy duty.Any other thoughts or suggestions would be helpful, especially concerning the magic trackpad as my experience with it is approximately 10 minutes at my local Apple store.
For those who have purchased the new iMac or are thinking of purchasing, definitely go with a Magic Trackpad. The Magic Mouse is a little better for dragging and dropping, but the Trackpad is so much more enjoyable to use for everything elseApple should really figure out a way to make this a packaging option
I just purchased a Apple Wireless Keyboard for my MacBook Pro. And I was wondering if I should get a Magic Mouse or Magic trackpad. I love to use my computer from my tv while I sit on the couch and I like to use it from a distance from my tv. Please help by reply and tell me.
Why do I not have full functionality of my Magic Trackpad? I am trying to get my bluetooth Magic trackpad to work with my Mac Pro It is successfully connected via my CSR bluetooth dongle It will support point and click but temporarily crashes as soon as I try a 3 finger gesture2 finger scroll doesn't crash itbut it doesn't do anything either I've pasted my info below including the mac pro, osx and Bluetooth info Mac Pro?
Model Identifier: MacPro1,1 Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Xeon Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz Number of Processors: 2 Total Number of Cores: 4 L2 Cache (per Processor): 4 MB Memory: 7 GB Bus Speed: 1.33 GHz Boot ROM Version: MP11.005C.B08 SMC Version (system): 1.7f10 System Version:
If $$$$ is not an issue, here is an alternative for those people complaining about Apple's old Mighty Mouse & new Magic Mouse:ID titanium laser mouseThis mouse would double the value of your standard 21.5" iMac!
If I want to format my Mac Pro (6 core 3.33 GHz) and I have an Apple wired keyboard and a bluetooth Magic Mouse will the Setup Assistant be "smart" enough to pair the mouse with the computer or will I be stuck with no mouse during the setup process? Do I have to run the entire process with a wired mouse?
One of my absolute biggest pet peeves with the Mighty Mouse (aside from the input lag), was that you had to LIFT your middle finger off the right side of the mouse for the left click to register. You simply cannot rest your right-clicking finger on the mouse and left click with your pointer finger.
If I pair a bluetooth mouse to my Macbook Pro, will it wake itself up inside it's bag (potentially over heating it and killing my batter) if it receives input from the mouse?
I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for good mouse pads/anything similar to a mouse pads function. I would prefer something that fits well with the Magic Mouse and Alu Keyboard.
A large portion of last month for me was spent looking for a decent wireless mouse, and I was pretty hell bent on avoiding a dongle so I went for Bluetooth. In that time, I went through three mice:
While the Kensington worked mostly fine, the profile was really uncomfortable and the audible clicking noise from the trackball was insanely loud and drove me batty, so I returned it.
The latter two both had the same issue; lag. They lagged, badly. After less than five seconds of being idle they would go to sleep, and when you tried to move them they would jump across the screen. Sometimes they would ignore input entirely.
After some research, I learned that this is pretty inherent in the nature of Bluetooth, and only a select few vendors manage to make mice without obvious lag issues. The Kensington had only a bit, and most Apple mice have minimal BT lag as well.
At this point, however, I was done with trying Bluetooth mice. The increase in power consumption and lag was not worth the lack of a dongle. So I went looking for a mouse with a tiny USB dongle, and found this:
The receiver is really, really small. It's also part of Logitech's unifying series, which means you can pair up to six devices to it, if you have them.
source: [URL] I've been using it for about a week now, so here are my impressions of each of its features.
First, let's talk about the dongle. I seriously haven't thought of it since I put it in. 99% of the time I'm not using my USB ports for anything, so losing the port doesn't really hurt me in any way. The response time is amazing. I have to leave it for like a minute before I notice any lag upon moving it again, and even then it's pretty much unnoticeable. It's usable within half a second of turning it on and after that it's pretty much smooth sailing.
The mouse includes Logitech's Darkfield technology, which is pretty cool since it will track on just about anything except for a mirror. So, uh, those of you with mirrors for desks are still out of luck I guess? It works on glass that's 4mm or more thick, though!
The scroll wheel is quite cool. By pressing on the scroll wheel it can switch between click mode and free mode. The click mode works like every other scroll wheel you've ever used, it clicks when you scroll it. The free mode is quite impressive ... when you flick it, it's basically frictionless. You can use this to scroll through large pages very quickly. I can't help but liken it to the Magic Mouse's momentum scroll, except this is actually physical momentum.
As a useless sidenote, I managed to get it to spin for roughly twenty seconds!
You can also tilt the wheel left and right to scroll horizontally. Considering that you generally don't need to scroll horizontally incredibly often, I find this works very well for what it is. It certainly isn't as slick as the Magic Mouse's 360-degree scrolling, though.
The button behind the scroll wheel defaults to Expose, and there's front and back buttons under your thumb that are Forward and Back. Using Steermouse, you can program these buttons to do whatever you want them to do in whatever App you're using.
The build quality feels great. The sides have a rubber grip for comfort, and the body is made of a soft-touch plastic which, while not as deliciously suede-like as the Razer Orochi, is very comfortable all the same. The scroll wheel in particular feels like a real piece of machinery.
It takes two AA batteries. Um, yeah. Use rechargeable, they're cheaper in the long run and better for the environment!
Now, I know I've touched on the comparisons to the Magic Mouse earlier, but let's get more in-depth. First off, why would I bother to compare them? Well, I imagine most people looking for a mouse and own a Mac are going to jump to the Magic Mouse first, but I'd urge them to reconsider. Just because Apple makes it does not make it the best option.
The Anywhere Mouse MX is technically a notebook mouse (they make a desktop version, the Performance Mouse MX), so if you're considering it at all you probably have a Macbook. In which case, I'd be willing to come right out and say the Magic Mouse is completely useless to you. It has a few of the features your trackpad already has, but is missing a lot of the best ones. The lack of an Expose function in an Apple mouse should be criminal. Even the Logitech has this, and as maybe the most-used function of OS X -- for me, anyway -- not having a dedicated way to access it is unacceptable. If you already have the glass trackpad, the Magic Mouse really offers you nothing except the fun of pushing it around your desk.
Other standout features of the Magic Mouse:
360-scrolling: OK, yeah, the Magic Mouse wins this. The ability to scroll diagonally is awesome. I hope to see other mice incorporate this. However, the Logitech is able to scroll in every direction well enough for pretty much every task.
Um, right clicking: The Logitech does this shockingly well!
Back and forward: Surprisingly enough, pressing thumb buttons is significantly more comfortable than contorting your hand into a claw-like thing. Well, OK, you can simply lift your hand off the mouse to do these gestures, but that's bad too. Why have to do this at all? Apple's aversion to buttons strikes again.
Aesthetics: Make no mistake, the Magic Mouse is beautiful. I'd be lying if I said the Logitech is nearly as striking, but I think it is a good looking mouse in its own ways. I'm certainly not embarrassed to have it in my fashionista hands.
When comparing the ergonomics of the devices ... I mean, lots of people have tried to argue that the ergonomics -- or lack thereof -- of the Magic Mouse are a good thing, but it really reeks of justifying a problem after the fact. The Magic Mouse is not meant to be held by a human hand. Judging from its design, it is meant to be cradled by an oversized, inverted spoon.
And the dongle ... well, you saw it. It's tiny. It may bother you. It doesn't bother me.
I think that's really it. In the case of a mouse, physical, programmable buttons and an ergonomic design are really more important than gimmicks and superficial beauty. The Magic Mouse is a great concept executed poorly, and the MX series is a great concept executed greatly. Seriously, consider picking this up. It's the first mouse that's been able to pry me away from that beautiful, giant, silky trackpad.
Which mouse would you get? If you have either mouse. I am getting a new mouse and I am having a hard time choosing between both mice. I am on a budget and the Magic Mouse is cheaper, but if the Performance Mouse MX is better, I will get it.
My new Magic Mouse appears as a wireless Mighty Mouse on my iMac 10.6.2. When I open the mouse Preferences Panel, I get the options for the Mighty Mouse, not the Magic Mouse. It worked fine on my hackintosh with 10.5.8 but not with 10.6.2, so it seems the culprit might be in 10.6.2? It seems that USB Overdrive is the culprit for some, but I don't have it.
I am working the the text will turn yellow with a dictionary term pop up. If using the track the cursor keeps going or goes to another place on computer. It is worse on internet use. I keep restarting the computer. I have run a full virus scan. I tired using a mouse instead of track pad.
my track pad suddnly stops working and then after a few hours its starts working again. its like in a week it does not work for some random days for some couple of hours. and then when it starts n its just amazing as if there is no issue. and when it stops working it does things on his own it minimize application, open them and does a lot of things.
I Seem to have a problem recently on my 27" iMac with the razer Naga Gaming Mouse. I installed all drivers from RazerZone. Each time I start my iMac my razer naga doesn't track, all the mouse buttons work but it just doesn't track, its really weird because I have been using this mouse for a month now and never got this problem until I think I started to put my IMac to sleep.
I just turned on my new 27" iMac and can't seem to get the mouse to go any faster. I've got it turned up all the way on the tracking speed. This display is huge and I don't like having to pick up the mouse just so I can get to the other side of the screen.
I'd like to be able to hook a mouse up to Macbook Air and have it scroll properly, without breaking the scroll direction on its trackpad (or my magic pad). In other words, I want to disable "Move content in the direction of finger movement when scrolling" for mice, and enable "Scroll direction: natural" for trackpads. These seem to be the same setting, though, as checking/unchecking one has the same effect on the other.
How can I do this, as I'd love to be able to easily switch to a mouse, without having to mentally reverse the direction of the scroll wheel.
