Linux Tablet Driver Project Revived

Our users on Linux have often had a very binary decision to make when it comes to graphics tablet hardware. Buying a Wacom tablet and having it work fairly well, or buying something much cheaper but not having any guarantee it would work or having an easy time of getting it working if it was possible. The Wacom drivers in Linux have been around for a long time and their success owes much to Wacom themselves, who have invested manpower into making their drivers work. Other manufacturers haven't been as big or as forward-thinking to invest in their Linux compatibility, so volunteers have often had to make up the difference.

This brings us to Nikolai Kondrashov and his DIGImend project. It has been around for a while, volunteering with a couple of other people to develop a whole list of compatibility for these other graphics tablets. But the project needs more resources to really be effective in supporting the wide variety of devices out there and Nikolai has written a blog post explaining how you can help by pledging a small amount that will go to fund the work he does on these drivers.

This kind of work is invaluable to the Inkscape project, because we depend on drivers that allow our users to make great works with the tools they have. This goes doubly so for enabling poorer artists to use less expensive hardware, as lowering the barrier for making art is what we do here, too.

So please, if you have an interest, go support Nikolai and his work.