Wacom Bamboo Tablet

[Snowhog]

Does anyone have any direct experience with the Wacom Bamboo Tablet on Kubuntu? I'm interested in those who might and use Kubuntu 11.10 (my main OS). Is it 'plug-n-play' (no additional packages to install to get ti to work)? Do you use it with Gimp?

[woodsmoke]

Re: Wacom Bamboo Tablet

I had the small one for several years(about 5-6 years ago until a year and or so ago, don't remember the particular model..) I started with RevLinuxOS and it kinda worked, then Kubu and it worked. However, I am not coordinated enough to actually use the thing to produce meaningful images.

All of the functions that it had worked, as far as I could tell.

woodsmoke

[GreyGeek]

Re: Wacom Bamboo Tablet

Does anyone have any direct experience with the Wacom Bamboo Tablet on Kubuntu? I'm interested in those who might and use Kubuntu 11.10 (my main OS). Is it 'plug-n-play' (no additional packages to install to get ti to work)? Do you use it with Gimp?

Yes. I purchased a Wacom Bamboo Tablet in 2010 and found it worked very well on Lucid but one had to download a tar file and compile the wacom.ko module. It had to be recompiled after every kernel change but the steps can be put into a script and performed with a single click. There is an app called "MyPaint" (also in the repository) that is written specifically for tablets. It works well, too. The pen replaced the mouse. Holding the mouse slightly off the pad and moving it around one could see the mouse pointer move as well. When one stopped at a menu or button and touched the tablet at that point gui would react just like a mouse did.

I experimented using it the way Sal Khan (Khan Academy) did. He used Paint. IF I were an artist MyPaint would be an acceptable solution. So would Xara and similar vector graphics apps.

BUT, with Precise I do not have to recompile that tar file. The SystemSetting has a tab in the "Input Devices" page that allows me to calibrate my wacom and control its features. VERY NICE. And, it works well with Krita and enhances most graphics manipulation programs like GIMP... Here is it's home page. You might be able to add it to 11.10.

[owend]

I'm moving from Gnome to KDE (after years of Gnome). I have been through the learning curve for KDE, running Kubuntu 11.04 as my main distro now. One problem area is my Wacom Bamboo, Kubuntu says "no tablet device found", including in the System settings>Input Devices route that works for GreyGeek. The same tablet works in Mint 11, which I am migrating from. I've been trying for a couple of months (with an interlude in hospital!); any advice would be very welcome.

Also, having just set up Kubuntu 11.04 in most areas, is there a great advantage in 12.04, or should I get used to 11.04 first?! And if 12.04 is recommended, is a fresh install better, or an upgrade? I'm a bit wary of upgrading in case it makes matters worse!

[owend]

PS, I've solved most problems/niggles about Kubuntu by browsing the Forum, very helpful community, thanks all!

[GreyGeek]

.....
Also, having just set up Kubuntu 11.04 in most areas, is there a great advantage in 12.04, or should I get used to 11.04 first?!

Personally, Although Precise won't go Gold until April, it is my experience that it is in excellent shape, and includes features (like tablet setup in Systemsettings) not found in 11.04.

And if 12.04 is recommended, is a fresh install better, or an upgrade? I'm a bit wary of upgrading in case it makes matters worse!

[/quote]

While your mileage may vary, and some people have excellent results doing a version upgrade, IMO the best installation is that which is from a fresh install.

[owend]

Personally, Although Precise won't go Gold until April, it is my experience that it is in excellent shape, and includes features (like tablet setup in Systemsettings) not found in 11.04.

My install of 11.04 has an item for graphics tablet under System Settings>Input Devices, it just gives a "no tablet found" message. Is this a dummy item in 11.04, in advance of going active in 12.04? Or am I missing something? I like Kubuntu overall, but I find it strange that Mint 11, my previous distro, which is of course Ubuntu-based, found and let me use the Wacom but Kubuntu won't.

[GreyGeek]

My install of 11.04 has an item for graphics tablet under System Settings>Input Devices, it just gives a "no tablet found" message. Is this a dummy item in 11.04, in advance of going active in 12.04? Or am I missing something? I like Kubuntu overall, but I find it strange that Mint 11, my previous distro, which is of course Ubuntu-based, found and let me use the Wacom but Kubuntu won't.

While Linux Mint pulls their distro base from Ubuntu, they pull KDE from upstream sources and store it in a repository named "lisa", so the parentage isn't the same. Precise has pulled from the same source and its "Input Devices" dialog recognizes when a tablet is plugged in and gives a configuration dialog. That is one reason why I suggested that installing Precise would be better than installing Oneiric. To appear in Oneiric tablet recognition would have to be back ported, and I don't know when, or if, that will take place.