Modbook Update

As promised, I attended a demo of the tablet laptop called the AXIOTRON MODBOOK hosted by the good people at Disney IT and Disney Animation. (click HERE for my previous post)

It was a good chance to actually test it and also get to hear the experts from Axiotron explain the modification process in great detail. It has everything that I could wish for in a tablet PC plus the Wacom digitzer screen and pen work like a dream. The reinforced, etched Forceglass covering the digitizer did feel more "glass-like" when I sketched on it as compared to the Wacom Cintiq, but using different Wacom pens gave you different kinds of feedback.

The good news is that the user has a pick of what Wacom pen suits them in terms of drawing feel and/or weight. And speaking of weight, even with the added weight of the digitizer, glass cover and the magnesium allow frame, the Modbook weighs comfortably at 5.2 pounds and only adds a sixteenth of an inch thickness to the stock Macbook.


It will take some time getting used to scribbling notes instead of typing on a keyboard but since the Modbook does have built-in Bluetooth technology, I can imagine carrying a wireless keyboard and mouse around in my bag for email and Photoshop use.

All in all, the Modbook is a solid product and more importantly, the eggheads at Axiotron have identified us artists as their primary market and are wide open to suggestions on how to improve and enhance the future generations of the product.

I sure hope a certain group of people from Cupertino, California from a certain company are paying attention to all of this... Starting with a guy named Steve....

Thanks to Disney IT for the awesome demo! Sorry for the teeny pictures. I forgot to bring my camera so I snapped these quickly using my camera phone....

...IN OTHER NEWS...

I'm on the move! Job-wise that is.... I'm glad to announce that i'll be returning to Nickelodeon Animation Studios on a brand new production. My third stint with Disney is done but as always, moving on is a bittersweet proposition. I was blessed to have worked with some of the most amazing and talented people in the business and the great thing is ... we'll get to do it again pretty soon.

In comic news..... my four page contribution to the next HOT MEXICAN LOVE COMICS issue is done! It's an all digital affair and I couldn't be happier with the results. (That modbook would have come in handy though..) Look for further details and a preview soon. My graphic novel preview comic is undergoing some minor changes but I'm optmistic to having it all done and printed by July for Comic-con 2007.