Apple I'm trying to like you but you make it so damn hard.

So now that the free iPad arrived that frankly I feel like I earned. No, paid for in the grief that horrible company gave me, I decided to try to actually use it.

I've never owned an iPhone or iPad so this operating system is all new to me but I know a lot of people use them for artwork. I've been using my Samsung Galaxy phone for most of my digital drawing and it's fine but I am always hearing about the proprietary art application, Procreate. I see people using the famous Apple Pencil and saying how amazing it all is. Now that I have an iPad I could see what the grass was like on the other side of the fence.  So I went looking for a an Apple Pencil.  My friend had a second generation Apple Pencil she didn't use and let me try it out but it wouldn't work which had me Googling and I found that the model of iPad I have while new, it's not the greatest which means I cant use the newer and fancier Apple Pencils on it. Only the 1st generation and the USBC version are compatible with my iPad. So as one does, I skipped the Gen1 and went straight for the newer of the two. I never thought to check if the specs included pressure sensitivity or not... I just assumed.. you know because the free stick of thin plastic that came with and lives inside my Samsung phone has pressure sensitivity that the luxury brand, $80 Apple Pencil would have it..... NOPE. Why does this even exist? Why would you NOT have that feature in a premium writing/drawing device? Apparently the Gen1 does and all of the other ones do but the USBC version does not? I'm actually angry.

my phone with it's S-Pen

So to get what comes standard on the S-Pen which I think comes with most compatible Galaxy devices (also the pen that came with my Surface Pro has pressure sensitivity) I have to fork out $100. A hundred friggin dollars for something that came out in 2015 –just so I can properly draw on this damn thing. And since the 1st gen Pencil uses an Apple Lightning port to charge I will have to buy an adapter.

I was just ranting out loud to my coworker and jokingly exaggerated a guess "an Apple USBC adapter is probably like $30!" but then I googled it and holy shit it is 30 fucking dollars.

And for the 20 mins or so I was trying to use it to draw I noticed that the tip is hard-as-fuck plastic.  Writing or drawing with a hard plastic tip on hard glass is not pleasurable.  For the first several Galaxy Note phones the S-Pen came with extra tips.  A couple hard ones and a couple soft rubber ones.  I always used the rubber ones.  And with my newest phone they only came with rubber. Because they figured out nobody likes the hard ones.  So for Apple to charge that much and not even include alternate or extra tips is fucking bullshit.  

I've always hated iPhones and iPads mostly because I've never really used one and every time I've tried I get frustrated.  It's mostly Android fan-boy bias but after this experience I'm starting to feel justified.  The USBC Apple Pencil not having the same basic features as the generation before it just should not exist. And yes, pressure sensitivity is a basic-ass feature any officially branded stylus should have. There's 1000 knock offs on Amazon that are basically the same thing as the USBC Apple Pencil in functionality for $10. I bought one and returned it because it didn't have the pressure sensitivity. I was like OK then I guess I'll have to fork over the $$ to Apple to get the real shit and then I get it and it's useless garbage.  This only makes me hate Apple even more.  I tried to like you but you just make it so damn hard, Apple.  

So now I'm like do I even try?  Do I just return this USBC Pencil and try to sell the iPad?  I feel like an entire portion of the population is being gaslit by Apple to think they're good but they're not.  

Changing Internet Providers Part 3

Go back and check out the first two installments of my saga of trying to switch internet providers. 

Part 1 here
Part 2 here

It's basically about how fucking shitty Optimum is.  Immediately after cancelling my service I got emails with offers to stay, several things in the mail trying to get me to come back but I just threw them out.  Then I got this text message

Praying hands emoji?  oh man.  Then the next option is STOP with a broken heart emoji.  These fuckers are desperate and it's almost embarrassing.  I haven't gotten a text or anything from them since.  Well that's not true.  In part two, I mention how I was supposed to get a free iPad when I signed up and the rep said I needed to stay with them another month and even offered 2 free months to stay but after 45 mins on the phone I just didn't care anymore and said I didn't want it.  Well yesterday I had a package on my porch.  It was nothing I was actually expecting... it's the free iPad!  

The box has a bunch of optimum mobile promo material in it so I was like low key afraid to turn it on in case it's automatically signed up for a free month of mobile account I have to opt out of. I turned off all the cellular connections and so far, so good.  This company sucks so hard I would not be surprised.  

That dude on the phone totally lied to me and said I wouldn't get it unless I stayed signed up longer.  But that's what they do they fucking lie.  Since the first time I called them to the last time I talked to them before cancelling.  I'll say this again.  Their service is fine.  It was fast enough to do what I wanted.  Everything worked.  But they fucking lie.  They jack up your rates. There's gigabites of horror stories on the Optimum subreddit about how they go out of their way to be shitty when they don't have to.  Just stop being a shitty company. Give people a normal rate so they don't call mad at you for jacking their price just so you can just give them a great deal again.   There's this poor guy Randy who posts from Optimum offering help but the people have turned on him.  

Get outta there, Randy!  

Hopefully this is the end of my saga.  I'm waiting to see if they try to take another auto-payment out of my bank account.  But I hope this is the end.