Not an artist - will I ever use the pen?

[kensmo]

I'm looking to buy a Windows tablet and/or convertible. Dell's new XPS laptops look very nice but the idea of the pen (with different tips) sounds intriguing.

I'm not an artist and can't draw to save my life. I'm a software developer and will use my new computer for development, web browsing, Netflix, and casual gaming. I don't use a computer to takes notes in meetings.

Once the novelty of drawing on the screen wears off, am I ever going to use the pen?

 

[jnjroach]

If you use a paper based note taking strategy, switch to OneNote and the Pen and it all becomes searchable and digital. You can also use it for any flow-charting, mind-maps, etc.

 

[Johnny365]

I thought I would use my pen more, but I don't. I still keep it in the loop on the side of my SP3.

 

[kensmo]

The idea of note-taking with a pen is probably the biggest attraction for me. I'm a heavy OneNote user. I use it on my MacBook Pro, my Windows 7 PC at work, and my iPhone (occasionally). I saw a "Tested" video for the SP3 where they were using the pen as a pointing device. My son has a Windows 8.1 laptop and he tried doing touch for a while but gave up because too many of the programs he uses were not touch friendly and the places he needed to "click" were too small for fingers. I could see a pen coming in handy when not using a mouse.

 

[Johnny365]

Sometimes I forget that the SP3 has a touch screen. I use a bluetooth mouse and the type cover exclusively.

 

[callihan_44]

I use the pen to crop photos when I edit out and about, also if I need to note something quickly I will use the pen in one note. Also the pen can be handy when selecting text to copy on a webpage and pasting into one note

 

[Johnny365]

I wish OneNote had Share capabilities of Facebook/Twitter. I always have to crop a photo/webpage in OneNote, and then copy/paste it to Paint and then save it as a jpg only to upload it to Facebook that way. Would make things a lot easier.

 

[leeshor]

I wish OneNote had Share capabilities of Facebook/Twitter. I always have to crop a photo/webpage in OneNote, and then copy/paste it to Paint and then save it as a jpg only to upload it to Facebook that way. Would make things a lot easier.

Wouldn't using the snipping tool be a little easier?

 

[starstreak]

Oh, on a side note, they give the pen tips when you buy another pen. Too bad they don't give it to you with the surface. I bought the Pen tips. I hope it comes with a fine point like the photo they have online. That would be awesome.

 

[hughlle]

I'm anything bust an artist, and when simply using the surface pro as a computer or tablet have no use for the pen, but the moment I get to university, it's pen only.

One note and the pen is a match made in heaven for me. It has proven invaluable to my studies and organisation.

 

[Moonsurface]

I didn't think I'd use mine that much but I use it all the time. I love notetaking in meetings and conferences with the pen. Much better than paper as One Note can decipher your handwriting (if it's legible enough) and you can search written notes. Better than typing as you can draw diagrams etc and highlight/circle /star stuff easily. I love it!!

Everyone is different but don't underestimate the power of the written note and a program like One Note for increasing your productivity. Before I had the Surface I'd looked at Evernote but never really got into using it . Now EVERYTHING gets clipped and saved in One Note, written on, doodled on etc etc and the beauty is I can find it all and find it on my desktop PC, my phone anywhere I can sync to the cloud. Brilliant.

 

[Moonsurface]

Wouldn't using the snipping tool be a little easier?

Snipping tool is my new best friend. Snip and paste.. you can even paste straight into a facebook post without having to save as an image first... I discovered that the other day!