Jordan Aubry Robison's Blog, page 3

Avengers: Infinity Wars – Film Review

WARNING: THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD

Avengers: Infinity Wars is the film to see right now.

Fair warning: If you haven’t been watching the Marvel movies in the last ten years, then don’t expect to have any idea what is going on.

This film assumes you’ve seen all the previous films. It wastes no time on exposition. It starts after the end of another movie and ends to start another film.

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Avengers: Infinity Wars is a film meant to fill in space. It has not a real beginning. It has no real ending. Between the beginning and the end of the film, we are greeted with some of the best stories to consider throughout the Marvel film franchise. All are established characters. Their powers are well-known.

We as an audience who has spent the last ten years getting to know these characters are already invested in them. There is no need to place this film as a separate entity. It is merely a piece of a puzzle that is the Marvel movie franchise.

In a film with no exposition (other than the eighteen some previous films), the action is immediate. Sometimes the action seems a bit of a distraction. The fights could have been much shorter. More time could have been spent on the characters development. At least, that is what I started thinking. I watched it thinking every action sequence was a methodical step to a climax that never delivered.

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The character (Josh Brolin) is presented somewhat sympathetically. At one point I wondered if he was the protagonist? Others have questioned if Thanos should’ve received an origin story for himself. Perhaps. But arguably Avengers: Infinity War is his origin story. He has been behind the scenes in many of the films. Here he is the central antagonist, and some might argue the central character.

Some prominent characters are killed off in the film. And yet I didn’t feel moved by it. I’m not sure what it is? But the deaths seemed cheap and were over too quickly. Or the moment was broken by a joke or sight gag. Which surprised me since I had already grown to love many these characters.

(Tom Hiddleston) dies at the very beginning. (Zoe Saldana) dies. Vision dies (though Vision was never easy to like. All-knowing and way too fucking two-dimensional. He was an antagonist in Captain America: Civil War). Not to mention, the cheap spontaneous combustion of so many characters near the end of the film. Left me wondering if Marvel thinks death is only temporary and not permanent?

It’s hard to packs many characters into one film. Making sure all get enough screen time is hard. Some are thrown in the movie like cameos.

I enjoyed this film. I would recommend it to anyone who loves Marvel. Anyone who has seen most, if not all, of the Marvel films. But if you haven’t seen any of them don’t bother. It would be pretty stupid to walk in to see this film without having a least some knowledge of the characters. Again, this is a film with no exposition. There is no time for that.

There is time for action. There is time to give each character a moment to be funny. There is a time a chapter in a series. A section that will close making you want to go to the next chapter. And then the next. And then the next. All the while Disney and Marvel are laughing to the bank as we keep coming back for more. Just one more hit. Only one more film. Just one more CGI sequence. Just one more mediocre moment and flashy moment of drama disguised as something more than what it is: a comic book movie.

Avengers: Infinity War | Directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo | Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | PG-132h 29m

NY Times Review

Washington Post Review

I Stopped Writing because I was Trying to be Perfect

I stopped writing for a long time because I focused on perfection. Instead of filling an empty page with content. I filled it with my frustration.

I had already written a novel. So far my first and only book. Every time I tried to write something else I would get stuck. I stopped because of pretension and ego. I made rules I thought I should follow before I could write with confidence.

I knew I was fooling myself. I knew this was slowing me down. But the obsession with perfection took over me. Everything had to as perfect as Frank McCourt’s first novel. Everything had to be jewels or it wouldn’t be good enough

First Sentence

My first mistake was obsessing over the first sentence. One thing I was most proud of in my first novel, Living on Empty, was the first sentence and first paragraph of my book. I wanted to repeat that because I felt it was important to grab my readers with the first sentence. I still believe this is important.

I hammered out page after page on subtle variations of the same words. Writing subtle differences of the same paragraph. Overthinking it. Dreaming about it. Waking up in cold sweat wondering if it would ever be as perfect as I wanted? Wondering if I was wasting my time? Wondering if I should admit I am a hack? I was getting nowhere fast.

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Before I knew it, I was tired. I was tired from doing this and hadn’t really written anything substantial other than re-writes of three or four sentences.

Talking About Writing

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I have a superstition connected with talking about writing. There is nothing wrong with discussing one’s writing. But talking too much about what one is writing or what one is going to write somehow reduces one’s likelihood of actually writing.

I spent a good number of my days talking about what I was going to write. Or talking about what I was trying to write. Sometimes to impress people and sometimes because I enjoyed talking about it. And then I would talk myself out of writing.

My inspiration from my conversations had left me when I sat down to write. I now realize it is preferable to focus on the writing and not spend so much time talking about it. It is better to talk about after you have something finished. Like a first draft, for example.

Just Write

The best advice is just to write. Some writers may not agree with my recommendation. Typing through your own bullshit is the only way you get through the pain of writing. Writing is not as romantic or as dreamy as a number of of us think.

Not all writers are sitting in coffee shops writing a great novel while wearing a turtleneck and sipping an espresso. The most productive writers are never seen. They write where ever they can and whenever they find the free time to write.

Writing is solitary and lonely. No one sees’s your writing. A reader only sees the final result. And that is all we should care about. The end result.

For myself, I have found writing early in the morning before work when it’s still dark outside. Everything is quiet. My wife is asleep. I play music in a low volume sipping my morning coffee. Here is where I am always writing. Here is where I am most productive. Here is where I don’t listen any criticism. I write.

Right now, I don’t write during any other time of the day. Most of the time.

Perfection Comes Later

Writing, unfortunately, is the easiest part of the whole process. Going through and re-writing, editing, takes just as much time as filling an empty space with words. So, there is no point on fretting on being perfect at the beginning. Especially if you have nothing to edit, nothing to perfect. Perfection comes later. It comes at the end of all the work of writing. Sometimes after an hour of writing endless shit.

From a pile a worthless shit a dedicated writer should be able to mold gold. So keep writing shit.

A Quiet Place – Film Review

**A Quiet Place** (2018),  is a thriller of a horror film. The story is about a family forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound. Here is a film with a unique concept that could have been quickly reduced to cheap thrills. Instead, this is a movie with excellent direction and tremendous feats in acting. This is an actor’s horror film.

On the surface, this film is a horror film about blind creatures who hunt base on sound. These creatures have an uncanny ability to appear as soon as they hear any noise. Their ability to travel this fast makes them a beast hard to combat.

We never learn how these creatures can so quickly appear. Or why they aren’t easy to hunt down. All we know is civilization has gone into hiding as a result. It has learned to adapt to a life of silence. A life without making a sound. With every tree branch stepped on mistake is a moment of life and death in this world.

I often feel horror films are overlooked by all the various awards given to movies. Some of the great horror films often have some of the best acting.   performance of as a pregnant woman living in this world confirms what we already know: She is one of the best actors of her generation.

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Actor/director , is no slouch himself. With A Quiet Place, he gives himself a vehicle to show off his acting chops. A film where he can present himself in a different light to a mainstream audience. Most of us know him as Jim Halbert from the U.S. version of The Office. There is no doubt he will garner more opportunities going forward, thanks to this film. 

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Left to right: Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe in A QUIET PLACE, from Paramount Pictures.

The children themselves ( and ) each give great performances in their own right. When we see great performances from children, we know they have been given great direction.   is showing us he can direct children. His talent knows no bounds. And the two young actors in this film have laid the groundwork for their careers, should they decide to pursue acting in the long run.

A Quiet Place is going to go down as a great horror film. It came out at the perfect time before the big action summer release. If you haven’t already, go see this film.

‘A Quiet Place ‘ is a Simple Horror Film Brilliantly Executed

A Quiet Place (2018), is a thriller of a horror film. The story is about a family forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound. Here is a film with a unique concept that could have been quickly reduced to cheap thrills. Instead, this is a movie with excellent direction and tremendous feats in acting. This is an actor’s horror film.

On the surface, this film is a horror film about blind creatures who hunt based on sound. These creatures have an uncanny ability to appear as soon as they hear any noise. Their ability to travel this fast makes them a beast hard to combat.

We never learn how these creatures are able to quickly appear. Or why they aren’t easy to hunt down? All we know is civilization has gone into hiding as a result. It has learned to adapt to a life of silence. A life without making a sound. With every tree branch stepped on by mistake is a moment of life and death in this world.

I often feel horror films are overlooked by all the various awards given to movies. Some of the great horror films often have some of the best acting. performance of as a pregnant woman living in this world confirms what we already know: She is one of the best actors of her generation.

[image error]

Actor/director , is no slouch himself. With A Quiet Place, he gives himself a vehicle to show off his acting chops. A film where he can present himself in a different light to a mainstream audience. Most of us know him as Jim Halbert from the U.S. version of The Office. There is no doubt he will garner more opportunities going forward, thanks to this film.

[image error]

Left to right: Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe in A QUIET PLACE, from Paramount Pictures.

The children themselves ( and ) each give great performances in their own right. When we see great performances from children, we know they have been given great direction. is showing us he can direct children. His talent knows no bounds. And the two young actors in this film have laid the groundwork for their careers, should they decide to pursue acting in the long run.

A Quiet Place is going to go down as a great horror film. It came out at the perfect time before the big action summer release. If you haven’t already, go see this film.

I Left Goodreads because I don’t See a Benefit Anymore

Yesterday I deleted my Goodreads account. I had an author’s profile. It proved not as useful as was promised.

I first joined several years ago. Early as a regular member. Then I graduate to an author’s account after I published my first novel. Now that has all been deleted. Cache cleared.

No longer am I sharing with friends the books I am reading. Or the book I am going to read. Or when reading a book the actual progress of how much I read versus how much I haven’t read. This is for real. I am not going back. No more feeling guilty about not everyone knowing I still haven’t finished reading Commonwealth.

Look, man! You’ve had progress of 53% for Commonwealth for several months, now. We’re starting to get worried. Do you plan ever to finish this book? Or are you just that fucking lazy? Maybe you don’t belong here among us readers. Those of us who love reading books and showing off how many books we have read and are going to read. Speaking of which, have you read the one about the boy in the boat with the tiger? If you haven’t then you’re missing on the real books.

A social network focused on books, and reading books was at first a beautiful idea of taking the concept of social networking to a place it had always been. Who among us doesn’t remember sitting in a circle in class while the teacher read to us from a book? Or was a member of a book club?

You could look up a book and see the varying opinions by a plethora of people not writing for the New York Times or the Washington Post. Most kept their reviews to a paragraph. These were not professional critics paid to write intensive reports found in the book section of the Sunday paper riddled with pretentious review after pretentious review. No one was being paid to give their opinion. It was freely unadulterated given opinion.

But like all things which start out with the best of intentions, such as Yelp!, it shifted a bit when Amazon took over.

Goodreads was also a place where the independent writer could get easily promote their book to other members. For a while, during the independent writer boom, this was arguably the best place to support one’s writing. Not so much anymore. Now Goodreads is merely an extension of the Amazon empire. People are no longer flocking to Goodreads to find a new and exciting book by an independent author. Some established writers have discovered spots on Goodreads to blog themselves. The golden age of Goodreads is over, and we have Amazon to thank for that.

Own a Kindle? If you buy a Kindle ebook from Amazon’s ebook store, before you even open the book you’re blasted with an option to add the book to your book list via Goodreads. Or to agree to allow Amazon to share the progress you’re at while reading the book. For all you slow readers who might feel self-conscious about this, this doesn’t sound like the best of options.

After finishing a book, you’re then asked to rate it and share your thoughts via Goodreads. This is like a smartphone app asking you to rate it every time you open it.

I was under the impression Apple had cracked down on that. But I am not sure it is something they can police.

As an independent writer, I bought ad time based on Goodreads claim they would be able to promote interest in my first novel. After spending around fifty dollars, which was all I was comfortable in spending, I garnered little attention in my book. Perhaps if I spent twenty-four-seven on Goodreads, I might have gained an audience.

I even linked my personal blog to my Goodreads profile. Goodreads, then displayed my blog posts in a fractured mess which did not look as clean as my actual blog or of my writing on Medium.

But after five years with Goodreads, I can no longer see the benefit if participating. Maybe if I was just here to read. But even that now seems intrusive in light of recent Facebook-related events.

We live in a world where everything is being documented, archived, analyzed and sold to the highest bitter to manipulate our actions. It’s becoming increasingly concerning how much this is growing. We might take one-day wake-up in a world where we are slaves to manipulation.

I understand the need to get someone to rate and review your product. Since everything sold online uses an algorithm, most are design to promote those with the best reviews and ratings. Though, this system is far from perfect. I have seen products on Amazon listed with higher scores of 4 out of 5 stars with only twenty reviews. While a product with a similar 4 out of 5-star rating, but with 1,000 or more reviews, is way behind the one with 20 reviews. Is there a way to improve this? Or is this something that can’t be developed.

Farewell Goodreads.

I have gone to find some better reads.

Safe journey.

Why I left Goodreads

Yesterday I deleted my Goodreads account. I had an author’s profile. It proved not as useful as was promised.

I first joined several years ago. Early as a regular member. Then I graduate to an author’s account after I published my first novel. Now that has all been deleted. Cache cleared.

No longer am I sharing with friends the books I am reading. Or the book I am going to read. Or when reading a book the actual progress of how much I read versus how much I haven’t read. This is for real. I am not going back. No more feeling guilty about not everyone knowing I still haven’t finished reading Commonwealth.

Look, man! You’ve had progress of 53% for Commonwealth for several months, now. We’re starting to get worried. Do you plan ever to finish this book? Or are you just that fucking lazy? Maybe you don’t belong here among us readers. Those of us who love reading books and showing off how many books we have read and are going to read. Speaking of which, have you read the one about the boy in the boat with the tiger? If you haven’t then you’re missing on the real books.

A social network focused on books, and reading books was at first a beautiful idea of taking the concept of social networking to a place it had always been. Who among us doesn’t remember sitting in a circle in class while the teacher read to us from a book? Or was a member of a book club?

You could look up a book and see the varying opinions by a plethora of people not writing for the New York Times or the Washington Post. Most kept their reviews to a paragraph. These were not professional critics paid to write intensive reports found in the book section of the Sunday paper riddled with pretentious review after pretentious review. No one was being paid to give their opinion. It was freely unadulterated given opinion.

But like all things which start out with the best of intentions, such as Yelp!, it shifted a bit when Amazon took over.

Goodreads was also a place where the independent writer could get easily promote their book to other members. For a while, during the independent writer boom, this was arguably the best place to support one’s writing. Not so much anymore. Now Goodreads is merely an extension of the Amazon empire. People are no longer flocking to Goodreads to find a new and exciting book by an independent author. Some established writers have discovered spots on Goodreads to blog themselves. The golden age of Goodreads is over, and we have Amazon to thank for that.

Own a Kindle? If you buy a Kindle ebook from Amazon’s ebook store, before you even open the book you’re blasted with an option to add the book to your book list via Goodreads. Or to agree to allow Amazon to share the progress you’re at while reading the book. For all you slow readers who might feel self-conscious about this, this doesn’t sound like the best of options.

After finishing a book, you’re then asked to rate it and share your thoughts via Goodreads. This is like a smartphone app asking you to rate it every time you open it.

I was under the impression Apple had cracked down on that. But I am not sure it is something they can police.

As an independent writer, I bought ad time based on Goodreads claim they would be able to promote interest in my first novel. After spending around fifty dollars, which was all I was comfortable in spending, I garnered little attention in my book. Perhaps if I spent twenty-four-seven on Goodreads, I might have gained an audience.

I even linked my personal blog to my Goodreads profile. Goodreads, then displayed my blog posts in a fractured mess which did not look as clean as my actual blog or of my writing on Medium.

But after five years with Goodreads, I can no longer see the benefit if participating. Maybe if I was just here to read. But even that now seems intrusive in light of recent Facebook-related events.

We live in a world where everything is being documented, archived, analyzed and sold to the highest bitter to manipulate our actions. It’s becoming increasingly concerning how much this is growing. We might take one-day wake-up in a world where we are slaves to manipulation.

I understand the need to get someone to rate and review your product. Since everything sold online uses an algorithm, most are design to promote those with the best reviews and ratings. Though, this system is far from perfect. I have seen products on Amazon listed with higher scores of 4 out of 5 stars with only twenty reviews. While a product with a similar 4 out of 5-star rating, but with 1,000 or more reviews, is way behind the one with 20 reviews. Is there a way to improve this? Or is this something that can’t be developed.

Farewell Goodreads.

I have gone to find some better reads.

Safe journey.

Unsubscribe me from Your Newsletter

 Nowadays I hesitate when I open any website or app which asks me to sign-up with my email. It seems the only way to sign-up for anything these days is via Facebook, Twitter, Google, or your email.

Not wanting to share my Facebook profile with every potential marketer—I often choose to sign-up via my email. The email sign-up option seems the lesser of the evils. Without fail, the same thing always happens: I will get a notification of a new email in my inbox. Then, I will open my email to find a newsletter  from something I recently registered.

Eventbrite and Dailymotion

I recently purchased some tickets to an event I was going to see via Eventbrite. I have had an Eventbrite account for about two years. It has proven to be as handy as Evite.  Which my wife and I used as a cheap and more efficient way to send out our wedding invitations instead of using the traditional snail mail method.

And then this morning Eventbrite sent me a newsletter about their “Top Picks” for me. How do they know what my top picks are? Looking at my past events I seem privy to attending events where food is involved. Hmm, I am not ashamed of that. I never asked for this newsletter. And why suddenly after two years are they sending me an email now? I opened their email and didn’t read anything. Instead, I scrolled down all the way to the bottom, where they often hide the unsubscribe options in fine print. MailChimp confirmed that they unsubscribed me. And then offered the same choice of five questions for why I was unsubscribing.

Guess which one I always pick?

“I never subscribed to this email.”

I received another one recently from Dailymotion.com who was recently hacked. I was not using Dailymotion.com for anything. I don’t even remember signing-up. Instead of updating my password I went ahead and deleted my account. Deleting an account is grounds for an email newsletter in the hackable world of Dailymotion.com. The text at the bottom of their unwanted newsletter email which reads ‘unsubscribe’ was an empty promise. The link did not work. Into the SPAM folder, they go!

Obsessively Clicking Delete

Because I am consistent and methodical I obsessively delete unwanted emails. I do this on a daily basis. It is the only way to keep my mailbox clean. Same as receiving unsolicited mail. Where I end having to shred these unwanted letters. And then take them out to recycling. Companies like wasting paper sending me their shit. It is the most useless and wasteful form of marketing still in existence today.

I often wonder how many minutes I have waisted in my life shredding the paper of mail I never wanted. Shredding paper of mail I and never asked to receive. Or opening an e-newsletter, I never sign-up for and clicking unsubscribe. Add up all those lost minutes, and I would be able to get a week of lost time, at this point. Am I overestimating? No idea. Since I have no actual numbers to back up my claim, regardless, I need to vent.

This senseless act of host of hostility by telemarketers, or web-marketers, needs to come to a conclusive end. No more I say. Unsubscribe me from your newsletter, good sir!

How to Get Your App Deleted from my Phone

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If your app signs me up for a newsletter which I never asked for I will unsubscribe from your newsletter and more often than not delete your app from my smart phone.

Sometimes an app, which I downloaded at one time and had to sign-up to use, and have since deleted will send me an email about a new and exciting update. Again, I never asked for this. Congrats on updating your app with a new feature. But your app is no longer on my phone, and it is not coming back. The fact that the app has sent me an unsolicited newsletter about it supports my previous conclusion. Your app is not worth revisiting. The end.

Find other ways to market. I am an avid reader of tech news. I prefer discovering updates about apps that way. Especially when one of the better tech reporters gives a detailed walkthrough and review of an app or any new gadget. Color me curious. 

I like to be informed. I do not want you throwing your advertisements in my face. That is now how the majority of us prefer consuming information.  Copy write, much?

I know others may disagree but this how I see it. My passion for this knows no end. Before you send me your next newsletter, know that I am already going to scroll down, not read a damn thing, and click unsubscribe.

A Week with my New iPhone Battery

It has been nearly a week since going to the Apple Store to replace my aging iPhone 6 Plus battery with a new one. The result is night and day. For what came to a total  $37 (including sales tax) and almost two hours of waiting, my phone feels fresh, again. Not as bright as the day I bought it and unwrapped it from its plastic wrapping. However, renewed.

The Apple Genius’s even managed to fix my iPhone’s dent. During the first six months of having my iPhone, I was using a straightforward and thin iPhone case thinking I did not need a big bulky case as I used with my previous iPhone 5s. I threw my phone down on the ground while arguing like an idiot. When I went to pick-up my phone, I saw it now had a bent. The top of the screen had also separated from the back of the phone.

I went to the Apple Store as soon as I could to get it fixed. They were able to reconnect the top of my screen to the back, but now my phone had a slightly bent. I then bought a tougher case and resolved to live with this for the rest of my time as owner of this phone. I believe the only issue related to the phone bent is my reception.

Since owning my iPhone 6 Plus, I have switched phone providers three times. The luxury of having an unlocked and paid off iPhone has also afforded me the opportunity to try out different cell phone providers. This is how it should have always been. I started with AT&T, then switched to Verizon when they released an unlimited plan. Since Verizon is evil, I then switched to T-Mobile, who is primarily charging me the same as Verizon (Verizon had claimed they were giving me a military discount), coupled with an offer to pay for my Netflix subscription.

Of all the three, so far T-Mobile has turned out to have better service where I live versus the others. However, I have always noticed I do not ever get the best reception compared to my wife, who has the same iPhone model and same service as me, but her phone has one significant detail: it has no bend. I must have damaged the cellular antenna somehow. Or maybe not? I am no expert, after all.

Everything works again. The only thing that still doesn’t work is my Touch ID. According to the Apple Store peeps, the cost to fix my Touch ID would be the same as buying a new iPhone (not the iPhone X, mind you). So, I would be better off either not fixing it for now and waiting for a new iPhone. Which is what I plan to do: Wait for a new iPhone. It will be easier to wait now that my iPhone has been given a breath of fresh life.

Apple Music works again. I am not sure why artificially slowing down my iPhone was the culprit, but I was able to download all of my music from the iCloud back and store them offline on my iPhone’s storage. Apple Maps works. Bear works still!

Before replacing my battery with a new one, Bear was one of those apps that always stalled. Sometimes this app would crash multiple times before  I finally gave up. I have the MacOS version of Bearand use it every day. But I can now use it on my iPhone. It still sometimes takes a few seconds to get working. But from what I have read via their support forum, this is a bug others are also experiencing. And the Bear developers have stated they hope to fix this bug with the release of their next update. I hope so because there is no reason why their app should be freezing anymore. Sometimes it still takes two attempts to open Bear before it unfreezes itself.

My iPhone is starting to settle in; there are some moments of slowdown. Some moments of hanging such as when I try to delete an app. For some reason, the app will go grey and hang there for a solid five seconds or more before it disappears. I think this is more related to the nature of iOS 11. Even since Apple adopted new drag and dropped features for the iPad in iOS 11, its become more cumbersome to delete apps, moves apps around, or move apps in and out of folders. If they do not fix this in the next iOS 11 updated, I do hope they fix it in iOS 12. (this problem has been apparently fixed with the iOS 11.3 update)

I recall Apple stating one of the main reasons they artificially slowed down iPhones with older batteries was to save these iPhones from having a constant state of a crashing iPhone restarting itself.  And that may well be the case, however, my iPhone was most definitely freezing and restarting at least once a week regardless of this ’safety’ feature Apple claims they built into their iOS. Not so much anymore with my new battery. However, it has only been a week. I remain skeptical. Let’s see how it does in a month or so. Or maybe even several months.

Apple has an iPad Problem

What’s a Computer?

This past week Apple released yet another low-budget version of its regular 9.7 inch iPad. When last year they released another low-budget version of their 9.7 inch iPad. That same time the previous year they also released a 10.5 inch iPad Pro. While two years before that they released the first version of their 12.9 inch iPad Pro.

In all this time they have yet to update their aging iPad Mini 4 with its aging hardware and lack of support for the Apple Pencil. And again they still sell it like they sell their Mac Pro, which hardware Apple hasn’t updated since 2013. Every year the analysts predict the end of the iPad Mini 4. Every time I enter the Apple Store, there is the iPad Mini 4. Next to the other newer and flashier iPads. At least, the iPad Mini 4 has come down in price, unlike the Mac Pro.

Fragmentation

As Apple keeps trying to push the iPad every year with new versions with various hardware features, it is clear they are still trying to figure out what to do with their beloved iPad. They want to push iPads and iOS as the future of their company. While insisting on limiting the software to would be power users who have the strength of spreading their opinions to their friends who rely on their technological knowledge.

One CNET reviewer made a valid point: Though there appear to be compromised in the new iPad 9.7 inch versus what is available in the iPad Pro models, the software doesn’t by any means help rationalize the need to pay more for the Pro versions. None of the currently available apps can run only on an iPad Pro. All apps, for the most part, run as smoothly on my aging iPhone 6 Plus as they can on an iPad Pro. Sure, things are a bit slower on my now dated hardware, but I can still open most apps without issue. Thank you, new battery!

The public is being overwhelmed with too many choices from Apple. A company who was once known for having a small product line. Apple is desperately trying to focus their message, yet again. They want their iPads to be a gateway to the education industry by providing reasons for schools to adopt their hardware at Apple’s idea of discounted prices.

We’ve seen this before. Apple already tried to push their iPads to schools back when Steve Jobs was still alive and the iPad was slower and thicker. And it failed. So what is so different now? Short attention span, maybe? Better hardware? Probably.

Temptation

Despite all my criticisms, I am tempted to purchase their new low-priced iPad. I had an iPad mini 4, for a while and then I sold it. I’m not sure why I sold it? Now I miss having something with a bigger screen and more comfortable to hold in my hand when I am relaxing at home. For me, that is where the iPad is best fitted.

Lying in my bed with an iPad, or sitting in my chair in my living room with an iPad. I only open my MacBook when I need to work, or when I’m working on my writing. I might go out and buy this iPad just to have one lying around when I need it now that I know better of what an iPad is for me. But, first I will need to go to the Apple Store and give it a good look over. Hold it in my hands. See how it feels. And then think about buying the iPad for at least several months before I pull the trigger. That is how I usually go about making big purchases.

I remember someone arguing as a way to prevent impulse buys: to wait on buying something you covet a week later. That way one might realize they didn’t want to buy their new item as much as may have before. And therefore, save money.

Regrettably, this doesn’t work with me. Instead, I get more obsessed with something. I research more about it, and if it’s an Apple product, I may visit the Apple store several times. I have done the same thing with previous owned MacBooks. I’ve done the same exercise with last owned iPads. I’ve done the same ritual with my Apple Watch 3. I am a lost cause.

Conclusion

Arguably the only tablet device worth owning is still Apple’s iPad. Sure there are Android versions, Window’s Surface (which isn’t a tablet, more of a specialized hybrid), but none work as well as Apple’s iPads. Many have tried to copy and compete, but as the year’s progress, this is a category which belongs only to Apple. And Apple needs to get it right.

Waiting for my New iPhone Battery

Almost a month ago I tried to schedule an appointment with Apple to get a new battery installed in my aging iPhone 6 Plus. Thier automated phone system redirected to their Customer Service Department. The woman whom I spoke with informed me that they would have to special order my battery from China since they no longer manufacture batteries for my iPhone model anymore. I Customer Service representative told me it might take up to a month. It has now been a month. And still, I wait.

My iPhone is a piece of crap now. It is slow. I cannot load most apps. A lot of my apps freeze. Even the most basic Apple apps do not work. It is sad when Apple’s own Apple Maps apps crash your iPhone when the Google Maps functions without issue.

Or Apple Music! I am a paying member of Apple Music. One day my Apple Music app crashed. All of the music downloaded was removed. Thankfully it still exists in the iCloud, but now I am forced to stream my music. I cannot listen to it offline when there is no cell phone reception as if often the case in the subway. I was understandably frustrated. However, resolving to not cry over spilled milk, I tried to re-download my music. Unfortunately, the app keeps crashing when I try to download any music. As a result, because Apple can no longer get their stuff to work on my aging iPhone, I was forced to seek other apps.

I have since tried Spotify Premium for a three-month promotion. I have since tried Pandora Premium for a similar three-month promotion. Both of these apps work better than Apple’s Music app. Both of these apps are better designed than Apple’s Music app. And both of these apps are not unnecessarily overly complicated like Apple’s Music app. I do not care that Apple has increased the size of the font on their music Apple. Their app is still a mess.

What is happening, Apple?

I am trying to give Apple the benefit of the doubt. Since many are claiming the slow down issue a number of us are experiencing with our older phones is battery related, I want to see if this is indeed the case.  If Apple is going to charge $30 to replace my battery, why not do it?

My iPhone is a little bent due to my clumsiness. However, has worked flawlessly for the majority of the time it has been in my possession. Otherwise, I might take a gamble and purchase iFixit’s battery replacement kit. However, I worry I would damage my phone worse. Also, should anything in my phone become unworkable after Apple replaces the battery, they might just go ahead and replace my phone? Or so I have heard from a friend of a friend. That would be nice.

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Photo by Michael Mroczek on Unsplash

The Android Dilemma

Apple claims they do not make items with built-in obsolesce. But if the only thing slowing down my aging iPhone is the battery, being able to replace the battery easily seems like a no-brainer to me. There are days when I would love to switch over to Android and try something different. However, I am so locked into the Apple ecosystem, to leave would be to say goodbye to some of my favorite apps. Two of my favorite apps:  Bear and Things—are iOS/MacOS only. The developers at Bear have stated they have no intentions of developing for Android or Windows.

Why are the best note taking apps and writing apps only available on MacOS? Maybe because more would-be writers prefer to be seen writing on a MacBook versus a Windows in coffee shops? Not sure.

Walled Garden Syndrome

If more apps were not built within walled-gardens, it would be easier for consumers to switch back and forth. But alas, we do not live in that world. We live in a world where Apple. Google and Amazon want to lock you in their versions of walled gardens. Forcing you to use them and use them exclusively. Making you a loyal and repeat customer, whether you come willingly or now. This is not the future we want.

I admit I came willingly to Apple’s ecosystem. I happily allowed myself to be locked in. At the time, I was an Android user. I was very much frustrated with the state of Android and its apps. Where most apps seem half-baked at the time due to Google’s very open Play Store. Of course, Google came down hard on Play Store, and some of the poorly made apps or malware apps are imitating more popular apps. Google has since improved on Android significantly from what I have recently read and seen.

Around the time the iPhone 4S was released I jumped ship from Android. Telling myself I would never look back. But that turned out to be a lie. I still prefer Apple’s build quality. Only now I think Samsung’s phones are comparable. However, I am still not a fan of Samsung’s TouchWiz layer of Android. Or they are blatant insistent of making shitty Samsung app versions of nearly every available stock app. They even have a very shitty Samsung app store and Samsung Pay. Samsung will not stop doing this, of course. They see Apple, Google, and Amazon thriving ecosystems and inevitably said, “Why not us, too?”

But Jesus, Samsung! Wait until something is ready before you release it in the wild. Don’t program something up to a Beta (or sometimes in an Alpha state) and then release it to the masses. Get your house in order!

The New Battery is Coming

I am still waiting for a new battery.  I got an email today that my battery has arrived and I need to schedule a time at an Apple Store so my battery can be replaced. I have less than a week to do this apparently. And my Apple Store is all booked up, it seems. Sigh.

My phone is ready to be buried in the ground. My hope is I can make it see whatever Apple releases this upcoming September. I am hoping they release an iPhone with Touch ID built into their screen. I am not a fan of their Face ID. As I have heard many friends with iPhone X’s state their frustration with this method of authentication. But regardless, whatever Apple releases in 2018, I and going to get it because I have no choice. And that is exactly how Apple wants the world to burn.