Shock and Awe(nnoyance) — As yet unsettled

When I got the first iPad the morning it debuted, I took it home and almost had several heart attacks because the ridiculous background image had star trails that looked every time like deep scratches in the glass.

The first real thing I did on that iPad, that very morning, was create a new deep-gray background image to replace Apple’s. That gray image has been the background on every iOS device I’ve had in the damned-near-decade since. (Except for my OLED iPhone X, which I gave an all-black one.)

Update: When I posted this last night, I lamented that the background picture I made was lost to computer moves and history. But I’ve been trying to take advantage of this time off by doing some things I’ve been meaning to do for ages. Sorting through all my pictures – trying to organize and compile them – I found it.

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As I said earlier, I've been trying to read more, and, as I also said, I now have some time off to do so. I recently picked up a very-cheap used Kindle Paperwhite that’s in remarkably good condition. I’ve been carrying it around in my bag and kinda-sorta worrying about damaging its screen.

Today, this screensaver appeared:

Hey device makers! Stop including images that look like screen damage! FFS.

A day or so later, another one appeared that also freaked me out. (Update: Perhaps I should clarify that I have no idea at all what happens to an E ink display when it breaks. The photo here looks, at least, like what happens with a broken LCD. I suppose I could/should mollify my concerns by looking at online photos of damaged E ink screens. ~one minute later Okay, they just look like computer glitches – like something from the r/glitch_art subreddit.)

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After that momentary oh-fuck shock, I looked online to find out how to install my own image and delete Amazon’s – let’s-face it – not very good variety. It’s a hard no on that score – Amazon doesn’t allow it. It’s impossible without jailbreaking.

Pfft.

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For what it’s worth, this was gonna be my new screensaver....

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