my tablet is dead

[mcity]

For those of you who do not know what a graphics tablet is, it's a device that allows one to draw directly on the computer, using a pen-like device called a stylus.

Their workings are mysterious, but it is suspected they run on fairy dust and science.

I bought my Wacom Graphire3 two years back, and had to send it back twice, under warranty, for a bad USB cable. The second time I just made it inside the warranty period. I vowed that if it broke again, I'd buy a new tablet.

A few days ago, my tablet dies. I use Wacom's contact form to contact them.

Me: Hey, my tablet broke again, but I'm not under warranty. Can y'all fix it? If so, how would I pay. If not, no biggie. I'll just buy a new one.
Wacom Sales Person: You seemed to have accidentally selected the wrong option on the contact form. I'm not the right guy, but did you, by any chance, wrap the USB cable around the tablet instead of storing it behind it?
Me:


I contacted Tech Support and they told me the same. They recommended the Bamboo Fun, on account of it having a generic, detachable USB cable. They did not add "idiot" to the end of the sentence, but I wouldn't have blamed them.

The cable itself is silver. Near each end is the telltale green of oxidization, starting right where the cable bent when I wrapped it around the tablet. Presumably it weakened the material the cable is made of in such a manner as to allow disrupt the flow of electricity, causing oxidation.

Not accepting this "logic" I opened up the tablet, in order to see if there was some way for me to replace the cable. What I found was nothing but a few wires and silicon.

The answer was clear to me. Obviously, by wrapping the cable around the tablet, it had developed a leak, allowing the science to get out. Curses.

I'm currently trying to decide between a Bamboo Fun small and a Bamboo Fun medium. My last tablet was a medium, but I've been asking myself if I really need all that extra space. I also note that the Bamboo, which looks cooler than the Fun, doesn't come in medium. It also has bigger buttons. In fact, both have several more buttons than the Graphire.


And if the Fun, which color? I'm planning to get a Mac when I go off to school, so maybe I want the white one. Or the black, for contrast. Or the Industrial Blue, for visibility.

Perhaps I should be worrying about whether I'm even going off to school.