tulip's "new" tech toy
first off - i just want to apologize real quick for the lack of blog posts. the last month has been rough for me, but i'm slowly rebuilding myself bit by bit. maybe i'll write about that another time. for now, i want to focus on a plot twist in my life. an unexpected turn of events.
after years of being a skeptic... i now own an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil. ?!
they're both hand-me-downs that i got for free. considering one of my biggest complaints was the price point - an iPad costs as much as a laptop, and you still have to buy a keyboard AND the pen separately??? - this is a pretty big deal for me! that's a lot of money to spend on a setup that i couldn't even guarantee i'd enjoy. and now i get to finally try it, for the low, low cost of $free.
so far, it's been a fascinating experience. it hasn't been in my possession for very long; as i'm writing this, it's only been about 24 hours or so. but i love to tinker with and learn new operating systems, so i couldn't resist poking around and experimenting.
they're both older models - an iPad Pro 2nd gen, and the often-loathed Apple Pencil 1st gen - but i'm pretty surprised by how well they hold up. i haven't noticed any significant lagginess or unresponsiveness while playing around with the iPad so far, and despite the charging quirks of the 1st gen Pencil, it feels pretty good.
i'm really eager to talk about my initial thoughts on iPadOS, though. i have never owned an iPhone, and briefly played around with an old iPad Air that was incredibly outdated and barely usable. so, this whole "ecosystem" is entirely foreign to me. sure, i'm plenty familiar with late 00s-to-2010s-era Mac OS X! but on the mobile end of things, that's a completely different world. i never got deep into Apple's whole "ecosystem".
first off: going straight from hyperfixating on customizing KDE on my PCs to the rigidness of iPadOS is wild. that's definitely an adjustment for me. it's not as inflexible as i had initially feared; it looks like there were some widget and lockscreen customization options added in the past few years. that being said, i'm still twitching a bit over not having total control over everything. (incidentally: if anyone has recommendations for good quality apps that allow me to customize my home screen more, Please Let Me Know,)
speaking of apps! that is another thing that is very different from what i'm used to. not just in terms of UI design, actually. i've gotten used to FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) on my main devices. so it's kind of jarring to see how many apps are "free", either locking behind features behind a monthly premium plan, or forcing the user to watch ads to use "premium" features. the ad thing feels particularly deranged to me, and it's bizarre to read reviews that mention it so nonchalantly.
on the flip side, it's making me realize that i'd rather pay a flat, one-time-purchase to support a developer than to deal with ad-supported freeware. i'm definitely aware of how much labor goes into developing software, and how FOSS can cause a lot of burnout in devs. much to think about.
as far as the actual drawing experience goes... well. i'll keep you updated on that. i bought Procreate today, and did 1 (one) doodle in it so far. and i think i like it? it's definitely a lot more convenient to pick up and start drawing than any of my current digital art setups, that much is for sure. no cord wrangling, no multi-monitor setups to configure, no weird driver hiccups to worry about. even with my moderately-high tolerance of Technical Jankiness, it can take me a while to settle in before i can start focusing on art. so having an option that's about as simple as flipping open a sketchbook and grabbing a pencil is really compelling.
anyway, i'll have more thoughts as i continue to play around with my "new" device. it's gonna be a learning curve. i get the feeling that most people find learning new systems irritating and frustrating, but for me, that's part of the fun. i love learning and experimenting. that's one of the big reasons why i picked up Linux back in 2023! now i finally get to see what all the fuss over Apple Pencils are about, and if it'll work for me or not. we shall see!!