Preserved Topic: optical pen???

i wasn't sure where to post this, but i was thinkin....(hush!)
if they can make an optical mouse then why can't they make an optical pen?? or have they and i just don't know about it?? i think it would make using ps easier than a mouse (for me anyways)...and other things too i'm sure!
and wouldn't be as spendy as a tablet (yes i know there's cheap ones out there) but for someone like *me* i'd buy an optical pen instead of a tablet.
so...i guess...is there one already?? and if not...does anyone know why exactly??
maybe i'll take my mouse apart tomorrow and try lol

Wouldn't you need a special surface to record the data accurately?

but why would you?? an optical mouse doesn't...you can run it on whatever! i've been searching on google with no luck....maybe i've stumbled onto something here
or not lol

Wll, you have the Anoto pen, but that needs a special paper with tiny tiny dots on it.

Haven't tried that myself, but I've heard that they are quite nifty.
(But than again, I don't have the slightest clue if they work with PS)

You'd have to hold the pen weird so it would know which way is x and which is y, then theres the pressure/tilt sensitivity . . .

Also a tablet doesnt work the same, if you pick up a wacom pen and put it somewhere else the cursor goes somewhere else, a mouse or your optical mouse always needs to be touching the table so then you'd need another button on your mouse to actually click.



[This message has been edited by Hugh (edited 12-21-2002).]

... so basically, even if they did create a tablet-free pen, the cost would probably be extreme and the device itself would be unweildly and non-user-friendly. Maybe in 5 years or so...?

There is also the logitech io personal digital pen. -->link

It also needs paper with tiny dot pattern on it.
I bet it would work just as well with recycled paper i'd guess.

Seems pretty cool though for around $200 usd.

If you think about it it would be so easy to make a digital pen work well and stuff. It would be 100% exactly the same as an optical mouse, except in the shape of a pen. I dont see why that wouldn't work.

Do unto others before they do unto you

The shape of a mouse forces you to hold it a certain direction. Because of that, the mouse knows which way is left, right, up or down. Pens, being round, you can hold in any degree of rotation. How is the pen to know which way is which?

Worse, many people, myself included, have a tendency to spin the pen between our fingers a bit as we write. The poor pen would get vertigo and vomit bits all over the place. Very messy.

I have similar problems with those stupid round mice on the older iMacs. Sure it's pretty, but I have to make a conscious effort to keep from rotating it in my hand. Dumbest thing Apple ever did.

exactly kevin...that's what i was thinking. and if you put 2 buttons (L and R) in just the right place then you wouldn't be confused as to which way to hold it. i'm sure it would be fairly easy to work out.
i'm going to get a used optical mouse and give it a try....can't hurt anyways. i'll be sure to let you know how it goes!!!

There was some guy who was going to try this as a senior project. I saw it on the techtv forums some time ago. Look around over there and you might find it. Seems possible, but complicated, and expensive. Plus the pen would probably be bulky and there's not enough demand for something like this so big companies probably won't research it for a while.