For true Ponytails a tablet is the only way to go. Although not as good as a real camel hair brush - they're digitally cool.
$15 mice are basically disposable units—when they slow down or get dirty you throw them out and get another. The other day a consultant brought by our office a whole box full of "cheesy" mice and dumped it on my desk saying "I heard you needed some mice so you guys can just have these." How good do you think those mice were? Actually they were about as good as most mice and died their little mousy deaths within a few weeks of use. They pointed, they clicked. What else do you need?
Until you've actually worked with one of the new tablets you may not realize what a joy they are to use and how much they can speed up your work. Graphic artists and CAD users are crazy if they aren't taking advantage of the power and accuracy of a tablet or digitizer.
Do you ever get irritated because double clicking on something just doesn't seem to work? How about a special button that's just a double click button? It's surprising how much something as simple as a dedicated double click button can do to make drawing easier and more efficient. I use CorelDRAW! almost every day and often hand trace over scanned in drawings. I can quickly and easily draw a line over an image I'm tracing by using the double click button everywhere I need a node on my curve. Performing the same task with a mouse can be problematic and could lead to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. A good cordless puck or pen is definitely easier to use than a mouse and less strain on your hand.
The tablet world seems to be dividing into two areas: small (10" x 12" or so) tablets, often pressure sensitive targeted at artists and graphics professionals, and digitizers from 10" x 10" all the way up to 4' x 6' with pucks sporting as many as 16 buttons and specially programmable areas aimed primarily at CAD users. Which is best for you depends on the type of work you'll be doing and, of course, your budget.
The big digitizers can run a few thousand dollars and are often used for tracing large drawings taped to the surface. CAD users program certain areas of their boards as symbol and menu selection areas reserving other spaces on the board for relative mode cursor manipulation.
Small 12" x 12" tablets and digitizers are often every bit as useful. If you don't need to perform large tracings a 12" x 12" tablet still allows plenty of space for programing areas for special functions. I work frequently with a 12" x 12" and find I get tired of stretching my arm out so much if I use the whole surface. I usually set the active area to a space about 10" x 10" and find that is plenty of space and provides enough accuracy for precision CAD work.
Small artistic tablets usually have a very small footprint and are light and handy enough to pick up and work with on your lap. Although CAD oriented digitizers can be pressure sensitive the light weight tablets are designed with the artist in mind.
I tried a pen on my digitizer a couple of years ago and couldn't really see what the big deal was. A four button puck was vastly superior. The first time I picked up a cordless pen everything changed. A cordless pen is so light I find myself using it to click on something and then keeping it between my fingers like a cigarette while I return to the keyboard and continue typing.
Using the small pressure sensitive tablets with a pen is almost like drawing on a traditional pad of paper. Several of the latest drawing programs like Xaos Tools, Fractal Design Painter and Fauve Matisse are completely different programs when used with a pressure sensitive tablet. Using a mouse with these programs is like kissing your sister—you're missing out on a lot that could. . .well, never mind. Get a tablet. Throw out the mouse. That's all there is to it. You won't be sorry.
