Graphire Mouse/Pan/Graphics Pad
Company: Wacom
Estimated Price: $99
http://www.wacom.com

Requirements and Installation:
Graphire requires a USB-equipped Macintosh, Mac OS 8.0 or higher (8.5 or higher on iMac), CD-ROM drive, and a color monitor. The installer installs a control panel and the required drivers.

What you get.
The Graphire package includes: a 4 x 5-inch USB graphics pad with transparent overlay for tracing; a wireless, no-ball three-button mouse with a scroll wheel; a wireless pressure (512 levels) sensitive pen with two programmable side switches and a pressure-sensitive eraser; and a removable pen stand. Neither the pen nor themouse need batteries. The package includes: a CD that contains the Graphire driver installer; Wacom PenTools software (pressure-sensitive Photoshop plugins); and MetaCreations Painter Classic.

First Impressions and Long-Term Use
The wireless mouse feels different from my iMac's normal mouse. But having a wireless mouse with no ball to get dirty is a definite plus! It took me a couple of days to get used to the feel of the mouse, but even during the acclimation period tracking and selection were easily manageable. I used the Graphire mouse when hosting an Internet conference the second day I had it, with no problems.

The pen is intuitive; I had no major problems using it with Painter Classic or Photoshop right off. It did take a little practice to get used to holding the pen near, but not touching the pad when moving to the menus, to keep from drawing TO the menus. As a photographer and not a paint artist, a graphics pen is a new tool to me.

The Graphire control panel lets you select either mouse mode, where the devices work the same as a normal mouse, or tablet mode, where the devices are position sensitive (moving the device moves the pointer in relation to the position on the tablet rather than moving in relation to the amount of movement of the device). I use mouse mode for the mouse, and tablet mode for the pen.

Most settings are user selectable. For example, the mouse scrolling wheel speed is customizable, the mouse button functions are programmable, the pen side buttons are programmable, and the pen sensitivity is changeable. Each user should be able to find settings that suit his/her style of use.

Summary
The Graphire pad, pen, and mouse have a different feel than the normal mouse, but everything is easy to learn and a pleasure to use. In fact, I liked the system so well that I'm buying the one I reviewed rather than returning it to Wacom after the review. I give the Graphire:

MacMice Rating: 4.5

David E. Price
david@mymac.com