Additionally PowerPoint’s pen tool allows for a much more intuitive interaction compared to Omnidazzle on the Mac (though there is less flexibility in the style of the annotations). On Windows, Camtasia has an add-in for PowerPoint that allows the user to control nearly the whole recording process without needing to go into Camtasia. Software consolidation helps with that goal. This leaves the kit with a more focused purpose: allow faculty a frictionless way to record presentations on their own time and to get those recordings to us. A large portion of the materials are now shot with 4K cameras and edited in Final Cut – a big leap from the webcams and Screenflows of years past. In the time since that Companion review, our production and editing processes have evolved where the kit plays a less central role in creating the online courses. In evaluating Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4, it seems like its the best of all worlds.
This was despite the fact that consolidating our Lecture Recording Kit into an (almost) single device came with a lot of benefits. The Surface Pen will come with the Surface Pro 4, which will be available on October 26th for $899.In a review of the Wacom Companion 2 last year, I concluded that it was ultimately overpowered and overpriced for the utility of simply recording video lectures. Although it isn't rechargeable like the Apple Pencil, the battery in the Surface Pen will last for one year. The new stylus even comes with an eraser on the top, for which Microsoft device chief Panos Panay remarked, "It's kind of funny, there's a Pencil out there without an eraser."Īs with the Surface Pro 3 pen, the Surface Pen can be double clicked to open OneNote, and if you hold down the pen eraser it will activate Cortana. It comes with 1,024 points of pressure and is magnetized so it can be stored right in the top of your Surface Pro 4. The Surface Pen comes in five different colors and will come with interchangeable pen tips for different styles of writing and drawing. While it looks very similar to the Surface Pro 3 Pen, the new Surface Pen has been substantially improved over its predecessor. During its hardware event today, Microsoft unveiled its new Surface Pro 4 and showed off it's new Surface Pen, which it claims is the best stylus to date, going up against the Apple Pencil.