I'm using Wacom bamboo Pen & Touch, but some of these rules will apply on tablets in general. My regular mouse broke down recently, so now I'm using tablet as my primary pointing device. And I find it even kind'a handy. The first thing that usually brakes down in most natural way is the plastic pen tip. And those things cost 10 pounds per pack of 3, for god's sake.
Alright, here you go:
1.Use it upside down.
To save the plastic tip, use "eraser", when you're not drawing.
2.Keep it up to date.
Wacom has one of most easy-to-use driver supports I have ever seen. I bought mine half a year ago, and there was 3 new driver releases last time I checked. So check it in a while.
3.Use your hands.
Personally I don't find it very comfortable, but some do. As for Pen & Touch, it comes with multi touch function, which some find really handy.
4.No parties for tablets, please.
I learned this the hard way:) My previous tablet was spilled with beer, at every party, I swear. Keep it locked. Everyone usually want to touch it, see, how it works, blah blah.
Keep it somewhere safe. Same applies if you have kids:]
5.Be gentle.
Most important tip. Don't push it. When I'm drawing in Photoshop, I turn the size of the brush up for about twice or even 3 times of what I actually need, so I don't need to push it too much.
Well, It seems, that's about it. These are the simplest things, but so many forget/don't consider them. Hope this was helpful to at least one person in the world. This is my first "# ways to.." article:]
Keep things pretty!
Cheers
