[Grug]

With the possibility of gaining myself a new computer quite soon I'm looking at doing things the right way this time around and am looking for the best way to do things and some new software to boot. Am wondering if I can grab some opinions \ suggestions \ recommendations on what I should be doing.

First of all partitions on the Hard Drive:
On a single 160GB HDD (for starters)
~ C: 8GB - For windows install only.
~ D: 15GB - For programs installs only.
~ E: 70GB - For Game installs only.
~ F: 60GB - For files \ media only.
~ G: 7GB - Remainder of HDD for scratch disk for PS / windows virtual space. (Maybe bigger ~ 10GB or so)

Eventually I'd like to get another HDD and throw the small space partition there, as well as split music, movies, work, and files into their own partitions. But for now, 160GB should suffice. Maybe another partition for a linux distro? Or I'll just stick with a cd boot.
Does that seem all good to go?


Second of all, I need a new chat program that supports AIM, IRC etc. MSN would be a bonus too, otherwise I'll just use two seperate programs. I've used Trillian before, but it seemed a bit buggy. If there's no other choice I'll just go back to it though. Any suggestions etc.


Thirdly, I've been sussing out graphic tablets lately, and am wondering which way to go. Do those simple ones with basic pressure sensitivity go alright, or should I put the effort and dollars towards one of those high end ones, with the LCD backscreen?
I've seen some seemingly impressive ones on ebay for around the AU$100 mark, whereas the ones with LCD screens built in are upwards of AU$600. Is it really worth it, or should I save my self some pennys and go with the plain flat screen background?
Is it still easy enough to draw / paint with in Photoshop?
Are there any features I should keep an eye out for / be sure to have?


I think that's it for now, suggestions / comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Roanoke]

Looking into tablets myself. A group review I got summerised a cheaper tablet (£70[/$100 ?]) would probably be fine for casual/hobbyist. Apparantly Wacom are the one to go for, if you've got the dosh (circa £180).

[Ghostavo]

Second of all, I need a new chat program that supports AIM, IRC etc. MSN would be a bonus too, otherwise I'll just use two seperate programs. I've used Trillian before, but it seemed a bit buggy. If there's no other choice I'll just go back to it though. Any suggestions etc.

If you don't like Trillian you always have Gaim.

http://gaim.sourceforge.net/

[Taristin]

Second of all, I need a new chat program that supports AIM, IRC etc. MSN would be a bonus too, otherwise I'll just use two seperate programs. I've used Trillian before, but it seemed a bit buggy. If there's no other choice I'll just go back to it though. Any suggestions etc.

If you don't like Trillian you always have Gaim.

http://gaim.sourceforge.net/

or Miranda.

[Grug]

Yeah I see of sites recommending WACOM's. Where's Turnsky when you need him, I can't remember what he said about them last time, and with the search feature down...

Gaim and Miranda eh. What are the pro's \ con's for them?
Do you use Miranda Raa?

[Turnsky]

Yeah I see of sites recommending WACOM's. Where's Turnsky when you need him, I can't remember what he said about them last time, and with the search feature down...

reading this topic, actually 

but yeah, with graphics tablets, you're looking at around $600+ for a top of the line intuos3 tablet, and prolly around 3-6k for the wacom cintiq's , just get one with a reasonable size, mine's a foot square in the drawing surface, and i think it's too big =p
also, pressure senitivity is a must in tablets, 512 is nice, 1024 is better, more, definitely. just go with what you feel is right for you. tablet PC's haven't got much in terms of pressure sensitivity at the moment, might get better in the future, but if you gonna go photoshop, remember, loads of HD space, and loads of ram, even in a machine with 4 gig of ram, photoshop will use every megabyte.

[Grug]

Okay you just scared the hell out of me.

But yeah I did some research:
Intuos3
Cintiq 17SX

It would be nice to have the Cintiq one, but I think unless I'm feeling super rich I'd probably go the Intuos3 while I just learn and mess around.

9" x 12" sounds really nice, practically a little bigger than an A4. Plus it has the 1024 pressure levels.

Can anyone who uses \ has used a non-LCD screen tablet tell me what the learning curve is like when drawing on them to screen?

Ultimately this is for down the track albeit later this year. But its nice to know what's out there and how well they work.

[Taristin]

I have a 4x5 intuos3. It's a neat thingy.  Works great in tandem with my wacom penabled tablet pc.


And no, Grug, I use trillian 3 pro... tried mirands, didn't like it so much, but it's more because of graphical things... IMO

[Grug]

Cool.

Yeah, 6"x8" sounds a little more appealing too now.

Looks like Trillian may be the best way to go after all...

[Taristin]

Trillian isn't the best but it's pretty good.

[CP5670]

I use Trillian too, but the last time I opened it (or any IM program) was over two years ago.

[Turnsky]

Cool.

Yeah, 6"x8" sounds a little more appealing too now.

Looks like Trillian may be the best way to go after all...

a wise choice, those intuos series are the better of the wacom tablets, moreso over the graphire series.

[Grug]

Yeah I noticed that the graphire series have the 512 pressure levels rather than intuos 1024.
Plus 6" x 8" seems plenty big for just messing around and some basic photo editing. If I ever get serious I'd probably go towards the 21" Cintiq screen, which looks absolutly sexy.

[Taristin]

Yeah I noticed that the graphire series have the 512 pressure levels rather than intuos 1024.
Plus 6" x 8" seems plenty big for just messing around and some basic photo editing. If I ever get serious I'd probably go towards the 21" Cintiq screen, which looks absolutly sexy.

*snickers*

If you're only doing light work with it... then I dunno if you need the medium sized tablet, as the smaller would probably be just fine. If you weren't a world away I'd let you play with mine for a bit and see how you like it. As for the cintiq... yeah it's nice, but it costs as much as a used car.

[Grug]

Yeah. Still, a man can dream can't he?

Maybe I'll get lucky and friends from around the globe will pitch in and buy me one for a present...

I measured it out though and had a little er, play test if you will. The small ones just seems ackward...
*shrugs*
We shall see, eventually.