New tablet

I got a new tablet recently, a Lenovo Tab K11 LTE, which is the same as the Lenovo Tab M11 but with an LTE modem. The main motivation for this was school: I have a class that expects me to draw (on) diagrams and turn them in digitally. This was a pain in the ass to try to do with a mouse. A couple weeks ago I was also in the library, trying to do math homework (I'm working on scratch paper but it has to be turned in digitally too) with a tiny table, and I was thinking, damn it would be really nice to have one of those Surface tablets or something that I can put up in a tent mode. So after that, I spent the next week looking for a tablet, and with some suggestions I ended up finding this one. Buying straight from Lenovo got me the LTE version and a (albeit small) student discount! (On top of the sale they had on it.) So I got that and the pen for the price I'd normally just get the tablet for.

Now that I have a keyboard-case and matte screen protector for it, I'm all set. The matte screen protector makes writing on it feel SO much better, and it makes it possible for me to actually READ it when the sun's square in the window behind me in the mornings after class. The keyboard will be nice in the library, mostly, but the folding case gives me some peace of mind about how safe it'll be in my backpack (I just noticed today my laptop shell got chipped from taking it to school!), and it makes it nice to prop up in places and hold and protect the screen even more. The only complaint I have is that I couldn't get the screen protector on right because I couldn't get it completely dust-free.

(In case you're wondering, the device names my tablet now has are Hal's Reader and Sleep Token. The latter is the hostname and Bluetooth name, which is part of a pattern where all my devices have band names. The former is the name I have for Quick Share, and I might scrap it to call it Sleep Token there too.)

Anyway, I keep thinking of how I want to live my life, especially technology-wise. One of these things involves a tablet. I really wanted this to be an e-paper device, but Sleep Token will have to do. Mobile data was a necessity, because I intend to eventually pair it with a smartwatch, and not have to carry the tablet around with me (possibly, I'd keep it in a bike bag). This, and the important case of school, guides and dictates how I am setting up and using this device. I'm obviously picking tablet optimized apps, but I'm also picking FOSS apps from F-Droid (Droidify, really) as much as possible, and intentionally not downloading any games. (If I get a desktop PC like I'm planning to at the start of summer, I may install Steam Link.)

There's quite a bit more of this at gemini://blakes.dev/futurism, under Futurism (or Reinspired, which is likely its next name).

The next part to this, which I am not at all concerned about at present, is to upgrade my smartwatch to one with LTE. I'm really looking for basically the exact watch I have except with LTE and a knob added (I can find plenty with one button and one knob-button, and plenty with two buttons, but I want two buttons and a knob-maybe-also-button). The closest I can think of is a Galaxy Watch Ultra, but it's insanely expensive and has a "rugged" look I don't like. (I love the sleek look of the one I have. I don't even like the way the Pixel Watch looks or works, and I am a happy Pixel 6 owner.)

The tablet-and-watch combo is intended to make it so that I can use the watch for on-the-go stuff: payment, communications, following map directions or understanding my surroundings, and not much else; and the tablet for more involved stuff, like plotting a course, long form communication, news reading, weather radar, and that type of thing. I think I'm going to pair this with a PC, so I potentially could, if I wanted to, stream games to it. And the idea is that this setup would eventually replace my phone.

Now that I think about it a little more, I might want to keep my Steam Deck so I can play some video games if I'm in rural areas with poor internet or reception (like in the mountains, or in Wisconsin). I won't need to upgrade it for a very long time, but I won't be able to sell it, either.

I'm not sure I'll be able to sell my laptop. It's damaged for sure, probably has bugs in it, and it's showing its age now. I might keep it, even if I don't use it all that much anymore, and decide what to do with it later. For now, it'll remain as my "programming device," since it's an external device that's more powerful than my tablet, and won't be bogged down by game storage.

I'm also thinking of getting a NAS at some point, for Jellyfin and to move FreshRSS to. Maybe I had better wait to move out first.

Another thought I just had: I do still live in the US, a very bike-hostile place. Plus bicycles aren't known for being secure storage, so keeping a tablet on it in a zipped fabric pocket anywhere in the world is a very bad idea. It doesn't fit in my pocket, which is kinda on purpose as part of it is to reduce how much I need to carry in my pocket too, so.... One very important innovation we still need in bicycles is convenient and secure locking. The bike people delude themselves into thinking parking is easier with a bike. It really isn't, and there is a lot to be done to make it so.

(Also, we need public standardization for e-bike battery pinouts and form factors, controllers, and computers, so that things Just Work with each other. Public chargers, battery swaps, headlights, taillights, turn signals, USB ports, maybe even wheel lights. USB-C PD could charge them, right? Then you could have that port work in reverse too..... And I look forward to sodium glass batteries, when and if they ever make it to market...)