An impossible task, probably
Something else to add to my list of “probably impossible” tasks: applying one of those plastic screen protectors to a tablet computer. Not the application, per se; the application without introducing a whole 3D layer of bubbles.
This afternoon, I started with a new, very clean tablet. I removed the new plastic sheet from a sealed cellophane package, carefully aligned the edge (as instructed on the little instruction paper) and calmly created a topography reminiscent of the moon (if the craters were actually bumps). No “sticky stuff” involved, just static. And there’s the rub. I must live in the dustiest environment possible, because each bump contained a seed particle. I removed the sheet, and started again. Several times. Used the special lint-free cloth provided in the package. And now I’m going to let things sit, for a year or two. OK, slight exaggeration. Time won’t make a difference.
No wonder the stores charge serious moolah to “install” screen protectors. Somewhere, there’s a designated employee with a trade secret. His or her position in the corporate hierarchy is protected, as well.
The other thing I learned this afternoon is that clerks in big box stores do not like questions to which they don’t have a ready answer. I decided I’d check for a cheap charger for stuff (cellphones, tablets, ebook readers, whatever). I was cornered by a commission employee, and rather than run, I asked where. Not what. Where. And I could see the fear in his eyes.
You see, he didn’t know. And in retail, that’s not how you earn your daily bread. I was kind. I left him, the time to forage elsewhere.
