#Summa tablet Problems
25 messages in this thread
I still have problems with my Summagraphics tablet when using 3DS3. I use
several 486's, different types, and they all suffer from occasional hanging up
at random times. The tablets are fine — the only problem is when I am using
3DS. Does anyone have a fix? Or know what the problem is?
Thanks.
-Gregory MacNicol
The problem is in the way 3DS uses the tablet. The best thing to do is use
mouse emulation.
John Tissavary (La Luna cie)
JohnT, JohnE, JohnF, Greg, Martin, Ana and everyone else here…
It's become time again to mention forum customs. (we've received
several complaints from dealers/customers over the phones..)
The complaints arise from individuals downloading let's say
HARDWARE and finding usage threads or "chatter" or
downloading 3D STUDIO and finding hardware or "chatter"…
downloading IPAS/POCO and finding 3D STUDIO..
I know that we ARE a community and at times it feels like the
description of the recent SoCal party and our threads go where
they may.. But, if possible let try to post messages where
they should go..
<end of quarterly housekeeping lecture> <g>
jonas[adesk]
Jonas,
I think that if you try to let the gripes of a few incidental 3DS owners
dictate the forum protocol, then you're quickly going to end up with a forum
that is vacant except for the casual question from a novice wanting to know
what a Sentinel Pro is. The "Synergy" that Autodesk likes to use as it's pet
term involves alot of give and take. If Autodesk wants this forum to act as a
solution for it's lack of true software support then I think that it will have
to accept the fact that the forum regulars who spend thousands of dollars a
year at their own expense to help out Autodesk customers deserve a certain
amount of latitude in performing that function.
Those who want to simply take from the forum without ever offering anything
back are definately a minority, and their complaints about improper title
headers is trivial at best.
Unless Autodesk plans on attaching free flags to the contributors of the forum,
or otherwise compensating them for the vast amount of information that they go
out of their way to provide, I would suggest that whoever is in charge do a
serious reality check, and determine what group keeps this forum alive on a day
to day basis.
It is nice to finally see Autodesk with a couple of support people on the
forum, but considering how old this forum is and how much information comes
from the regulars who pay to provide it, versus how much traffic comes from
Adesk, I'd say that the restrictions are out of line.
If Autodesk disagrees with that then I think that they will quickly see the
forum as a whole go South.
Just my thoughts, Paul
Paul:
If there is more power in numbers I agree with you. I like the way threads go
from topic to topic. Hell, I never look at the headers. I, like many, script my
daily downloads to grab all of the threads in most of the sections. Keeping a
discussion under an appropriate header is absolutely meaningless to the way I
interact with the forum.
Robert,
Thanks! I really feel that the vast majority of the people feel this way.
By trying to dictate what a forum member can say under a specific heading, you
immediately stop the thread itself. If someone decides to spend their hard
earned money to give a review of a piece of equipment and in doing so happens
to mention something not directly related to the piece of equipment, how do we
deal with it? Censure the message? What about if someone posts an original
message but another forum member doesn't agree with the wording of the header,
what do we do? Have the Sysop delete the message? What if someone communicates
more than one thought in the same message, one hardware related, one more
esoteric. If I want to answer the latter, how do I do it? Surely I can't start
a new thread everytime the stiuation arises, no-one will eer be able to find
the messages.
For those who want strictly reviews and outlines they should either buy a
magazine or Autodesk needs to restructure the forum so that only questions are
posted from forum members and Autodesk answers all of the tech questions
themselves.
Paul
Ditto!
Paul,
I fully agree with you. This message is directed at the
ever increasing number of new forum lurkers who may
eventually post a message. I was asked to make a
statement, so I did. This issue comes up every one in
a while, I remember when everything was being jammed
into the 3d studio section and eventually the hardware
section was created and then used and the occational
"let's take this to "Take-5"….
jonas[adesk]
Jonas,
I fully understand why such a statement arises. I just feel that in impementing
such a restrictive policy, Adesk would kill the forum.
Paul
P.S. – BTW, you do realize that you're going on about this under the heading of
Summa tablet Problems within the 3D Studio forum. 🙂 Gotcha!
Paul,
<< gotcha.. >>
I've read and responded before I ever worked here
and I enjoyed the free association found within the
threads.
I don't think that there's any restrictive intent here
but a *mere* suggestion that _if_ possible, a personal
decision be made to place a start of a thread in the
right place.
jonas[adesk]
Thanks Jonas,
I value this forum, and just had to express how strongly I felt about the hopes
that Adesk would not change it's structure through policy implementation.
Paul
Geez, Paul… all Jonas did was mention that it would be a nice
gesture for everyone if we tried to keep our messages within the
context of a given section. He didn't make any ultimatums. No
alterior motives! (Give the guy a break…) PS: There's been such
an increase in traffic over the past couple of months that it's
natural for issues like this to come up.
In his message he made two allusions to Autodesk recieving complaints
about "chatter" in the forums and messages, the reference was not
originally singularly focussed on keeping messages within sections.
For the most part that is already done. The "chatter" references was
what I took issue with. It's probably important to keep in mind that
there are no flags on my account so I pay for every second I'm on
here. It amounts to a couple of hundred dollars a month. Therefore,
if I feel the "chatter" is useful then I feel obligated to express
that point. My response wasn't directed personally at Jonas, it was
directed towards the governing body that instructed him to silence
the "chatter". I sincerely apologize if it seemed as though my
response was directed at him, I believe I mentioned Autodesk
repeatedly and I tried to make it extremely clear that it was not
directed towards Jonas.
Considering the fact that John, Alan, and Martin penned responses in
agreement with mine, I felt confident that my message was conveyed in
the vein that it was intended.
Once again I apologize if it was misinterpreted by anyone.
<< .. misinterpreted.. >>
no.. I took it with a smile.. here's another one &-)
jonas[adesk]
I agree 100% with the philosophy that a thread can take any direction
it chooses, no matter what the topic. We all agree that it's just a
courteous gesture to post a first-message in a relevant section. I
think we've beat this issue to death now.
Ok. that's what I thought. I don't mind being reminded about the
existence of forum headers and sections, but after the Gregory Ball
thing it's got my blood boiling <g>.
Very nice response, Paul. I agree 100%. If Autodesk values the
anonymous phone calls of folks who don't contribute to this forum
over the folks like you and so many others that spend large amounts
of money and, more important, time and wisdom here, then things will
change for the worse.
If Autodesk wishes to turn this into a forum that is restricted to
tech support, then so be it. But that is not a forum that interests
me in the least, and my contributions on this forum are a result of
my interest in it, and the folks who frequent it (including Adesk
folks, BTW <g>).
Jonas,
>> (we've received several complaints from dealers/customers over the phones..)
<<
tell 'em they can kiss my asterisk and if they don't like it tough sh*t.
<g,d&r>. Just kidding (sortof).
Actually, I've made a conscious effort to keep purely non-3ds issues in the
take 5 section where, I feel, anything goes. However, keeping a thread within
the boundaries of the header is just impractical. A thread is a living,
breathing, spontaneous organism and where it goes nobody knows. If it gets onto
the subject of pet-grooming tips then I'll be happy to suggest we go to the
take5 section.
Martin
Martin,
<< kissing asterisks.. >>
I agree and agree some more. Keeping a conversation
within the thread name boundary is difficult (impossible)
but I'll be happy if they can originate in the right section.:-)
jonas[adesk]
I really have to agree with PaulL, et al, that gernerally speaking,
the way things typically go here on ASOFT is conducive to a wonderful
communication base. MartinF's suggestion about trying to start a new
thread on a new subject is very good. I think I'd add that, if your
gonna talk about a non-3DS or non-thread-title issue, just keep it
relatively small, and no one should be bothered that much. If you
really need to do a LONG non-related message, just do in Take 5, like
MartinF said. My 0.02$….
<< $0.02 ..>>
All of these insights from you, Paul, Martin, John T, Gary are
helping the *new* forum members to understand what it really means
for you (the veterans here) to *participate* and share your insights,
your experiance, .. your life while on this net. Occasionally,
someone like me from ADESK is going to announce forum housekeeping,
but it's intent is educating the new members on protocal and
contribution customs. O.K. ?
Yup, I totally agree, Jonas. (I think this thread has been pronounced
dead…<g>)
I know you can't seriously mean that we should reorganize the forum,
which is running to the likes of almost everyone, just because one
fellow named Gregory Ball complains?! This guy comes on one day,
insults a longtime forum member with valuable contributions to 3D
Studio, Autodesk, and the Asoft forum, and Adesk is going to
restructure?
Anyway, I'm sure this is just a case of lipservicing these
complaints, so no problem. I do make every effort to initiate
threads that do not directly concern 3DS, Anipro, or IPAS in the take
5 section. But the dynamic, organic nature of responses on this
forum is what makes it so great, and stifling that would be wrong,
IMHO.
I know you agree with this, so … HAPPY HAPPY, JOY JOY 😎
The summa people have a new driver that fixes everything except what happens if
you exit 3DS and the cursor is out of the live area. They sometimes frequent
this forum… perhaps Jonas or Nik have their CIS ID#.
– G
>>Summa problems…
You happen to be the unlucky recepient of the following. <g> I've had
trouble with the Summagraphics II+ tablet since I bought it and have
been in communication with Steve McGuinness of Summagraphics. The
following message exchange may explain a little. This came about
after I saw a message from Steve recommending that someone buy a new
Summa tablet.
The bottom line seems to be "don't expect too much". I hope I'm
missing something major here and there is a better solution. Steve
refered to a trouble-free "ADI 4.1-P driver" but does not explain how
to get it. Personally, Summa/3DS has finally worn me down and I have
given up.
I apologize in advance for such a long message, repeated in it's
entirity at the request of Mr McGuinness….
————————————————————-
#: 76434 S6/HWare/ADI/OpSys
15-Jan-94 00:46:24
Sb: #76391-Wacom Tablet
Fm: JKJ (John K. Jordan) 71174,711
To: Steven M. McGuinness 73144,2412
Steven,
>>SummaSketch…
>>We will be shipping…
>>Think twice before buying a Wacom…
Many apologies if I sound a tad antagonistic here (not meaning to,
really, just relating my experience). It sounds like you may work
for Summa. Personally I would think twice before buying a Summa.
Upon the advice of my local dealer, I bought the Summasketch II+ to
use with AutoCAD, 3DStudio, and AniPro. It works fine with
AutoCAD. In the middle of MANY problems with 3DS and AniPro, calls
to Summa's superior customer service brought only the response "it's
not our problem, call Autodesk, goodbye", who responded, "Summa
needs to write a driver".
Others on this forum have documented significant and similar
problems with their Summa tablets. The latest drivers in 3DS
release 3 are much better, but not perfect. AniPro continues to be
unstable and unusable.
The Summa now sits in a pile while I use the mouse and save my money
for a new tablet. I would not dare sell it to someone because I
would feel dishonest doing so.
After feeling like I've wasted hundreds of dollars and many hours of
frustration on the first Summa, you may understand why I,
personally, have not been shopping for another Summa.
Of course, I realize that in life very little stays constant, and
the new Summa may be an excellent tablet for the money.
Unfortunately, I cannot afford to buy another tablet just to see if
it works. Perhaps you could expound a little on why I, and others,
should "consider" another Summa.
JKJ (keeping a wide open mind)
————————————————————-
Date: 15-Feb-94 22:16 EST
From: Summagraphics [73144,2412]
Subj: SummaSketch will work …
JKJ:
Thank you for you patience, or whatever is left of it. I appologize
or sounding a bit antagonistic myself; however, I find that you have
little or no basis for you cliams against us.
>>Upon the advice of my local dealer, I bought the Summasketch II+ to
use with AutoCAD, 3DStudio, and AniPro. It works fine with
AutoCAD. In the middle of MANY problems with 3DS and AniPro, calls
to Summa's superior customer service brought only the response "it's
not our problem, call Autodesk, goodbye", who responded, "Summa
needs to write a driver".
First of all, we do not claim to have a clean interface with 3DS and
APro. Only a misinformed dealer would have promised such a thing.
You cant put that blame on our product, nor the tech. reps that
support it. Sure the SS is an excellent solution for AutoCAD and
that may have been the basis for the recommendation.
What may have mislead the dealer is that these products do have a
proprietary interface to the SS; however, we do not validate any of
Autodesk's claims that the interface is functional, let alone
stable. On occassion, they have sent us pre-release versions of
AutoCAD. We report the problems in a timely manner; however, we have
no control over what gets fixed on their end.
>>Others on this forum have documented significant and similar
problems with their Summa tablets. The latest drivers in 3DS
release 3 are much better, but not perfect. AniPro continues to be
unstable and unusable.
Once again, when asked to write a functional driver for 3DS, our
response is misunderstood. Our ADI 4.1-P driver works well with 3DS
and have recieve NO complants thusfar. If and when Autodesk upgrades
thier 3DS driver to 4.2 or 5.0 (future), we would seriously consider
enhancing our 4.2 driver to better support it. Like most ADI
developers, we prefer to work with the current ADI spec, not one
that is obsolete.
>> The Summa now sits in a pile while I use the mouse and save my money
for a new tablet. I would not dare sell it to someone because I
would feel dishonest doing so.
Perhaps you would not dare sell it to someone in your field;
however, I'd be suprised if an AutoCAD user would not buy if from
you, especially, knowing how new it is. If you don't know of any,
just post a FOR-SALE add in the ACAD forum.
>>Of course, I realize that in life very little stays constant, and
the new Summa may be an excellent tablet for the money.
Unfortunately, I cannot afford to buy another tablet just to see if
it works. Perhaps you could expound a little on why I, and others,
should "consider" another Summa.
If you have been following the threads lately, namely "Summa doesn't
work", you might begin to understand why we do not have a clean
interface between the SS and Autodesk's multimedia products. We are
optimistic that by the next release of their software, that they
will upgrade their digitizer interface to a modern one and all
developers in digitizer land will be at peace with them and the
multitude of customers that are in the exact same situation that you
are in.
Because we do design and test our drivers for all SS tablets, rest
assured that some day your tablet will work well with the products
you intended to use it for. There is little if nothing I can do to
speed that day up.
Regretably yours;
Steve McGuinness,
Summagraphics
————————————————————-
Steve McGuinness,
Summagraphics;
Thank you for your response.
I suggest, however, you post it publicly on the ASOFT forum (before I
do), where many 3DS and AniPro users have read the begininning of the
conversation and may be interested in the rest.
Many Autodesk multimedia product users may stand ready to purchase a
tablet and should be informed not only of Summagraphics disclaimer
regarding these products, but of the promise of future compatibitlty.
Posting your response publicly may help some to avoid making the same
mistake I did and Summagraphics may therefore avoid further alienating
a segment of its potential customer base.
JKJ
————————————————————-
Date: 17-Feb-94 19:31 EST
From: Summagraphics [73144,2412]
Subj: SummaSketch will work …
Dear John;
Feel free to post my response on any BBS/forum you like, as long as
you post your message and my response in it's entirety. I also
recommend that you voice your concerns to Autodesk, so they can see
how damaging an obsolete or disfunctional driver can be to the
expectations of our mutial customes. They have already heard it from
us. This will only expedite their efforts in developing a modern ADI
interface and/or functional SummaSketch tablet driver in their
Multimedia products.
I encourage you and all of the Multimedia community to ban together
in this effort. I will continue to do whatever is necessary to
assist you.
Steve McGuinness,
Summagraphics Corporation
————————————————————-
I apologize again for forcing all uninterested persons into paying
for downloading this tiresome exchange, but I hope it will at least
help to explain why you may be having problems. (Although this is
not much longer than a single round of Lind-Landis discourse. <gd&r>)