I've had zero luck interacting with multiple staff member at my local Microsoft store, and was wondering if anyone here had some experience. The first few paragraphs are just sharing an experience. They're kind of fussy and ranty. You can skip to the asterisked question below.
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As a professional cartoonist, I come from a Wacom/Apple/Adobe background. I work with industry-standard techniques and programs. My workflow fluctuates between digital and traditional, depending on what kind of piece I'm doing (comic page, illustration, sketch, etc) and how accurate or polished I want the piece to be. Typically, I reserve my more polished pieces for Photoshop. Right now I use a Wacom Intuos4 tablet, and while I'd like to upgrade to the industry-standard Wacom Cintiq (touch monitor), I'd like to save a few dollars as well. (If you don't know the Cintiq, it's $1k+ for a monitor. The computer is a separate deal.)
For the longest time I've been a Mac fan, but the flexibility of Microsoft's products--and their culture!--is really appealing to me, and I'd like to support them.
However, like I said above...I've had nothing but massive failures when asking questions in the Microsoft stores. My question "does this pen work with this computer?" (meaning the Bamboo feel pen + an all-in-one HP) has been met with unsure glances. I ask multiple staff members and they all give me different answers. When I asked to just try it out (though of course it probably wouldn't have the correct drivers), I was told they had sent their demo version back. Corporate doesn't allow them to break the seals of products, even when there isn't one available to demo out.
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So I left and went to the Apple store, where I was met with understanding and was recommended several products that would fit my needs perfectly. Even though I already had one, they recommended a Wacom tablet to hook up to an iMac for the best color and resolution.
Microsoft is missing out on a HUGE demographic here. Sure, 10" tablets with pressure-sensitive, Wacom-technology pens are fun for just casual sketching, but they don't have any device that allows a professional to create finished works of art. I'm really itching to support Windows, but it's very difficult when they don't even offer the understanding of what I need in a computer. And despite searching ravenously online, I can't find any Windows touch-screen product that is touch sensitive larger than the Surface (and I really need a COMPUTER--not a tablet). Time and time again staff tells me the Surface is great for sketching, but I tell them I'd like something larger to digital paint with and they bring up the included Fresh Paint program...that's not what I was asking. :( Sigh.
***Are there any veteran Windows-using artists that could help me out? Otherwise I will just go the normal route and hook a Cintiq (or off-brand touch monitor) up to my laptop. The dream, however, is to have an all-in-one, pressure-sensitive, touch screen computer to eliminate all these wires and potential for damage.
PS: I feel like Microsoft has been trying to nail down the professional artist demographic for decades...I remember commercials touting photographers and Adobe CC and music production, but they don't seem to have any insight towards what artists want, need, or already have. Their systems can support it, I don't know why they don't.
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