The Brooks Review

Month: December 2011

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  • Fixing GoDaddy

    Dave Winer on fixing GoDaddy: >They must change their company so that their support of SOPA could not have happened.

  • Subscribing to The New York Times

    Khoi Vinh on his attempt to renew his *New York Times* subscription: >The total customer experience here is haphazard at best, and, at worst — I hate to say this because I am still friendly with many people at the company, but in truth there’s no way around it — it’s insulting. It shows a…

  • ‘The Windows Phone Problem In Three Words: Way Too Late’

    MG Siegler on why Windows Phone hasn’t taken off: >Two to three years in the hole, the only way Windows Phone can win the market now is to make a product that is leaps and bounds better than what’s out there. They need something that’s an iPhone-in-2007 type product. The product they have, while good,…

  • More GoDaddy Ridiculousness

    From what I read yesterday it sounds like GoDaddy was working its hijinks to try its best to slow down the waves of domains being transferred out. As of today it sounds like they have given up on that “tactic”, but why would you want to stay with them now?

  • Tests Cast Doubt on F.A.A. Restrictions on Kindle and iPad

    Nick Bilton: >The F.A.A. and other groups seem to be running out of reasons we can’t use digital e-readers on planes during takeoff and landing. Maybe their next response will be: “Because I said so!” Isn’t that the current reasoning? ((We are being told what to do by idiots, I swear.))

  • ‘By keeping an unlawful feature, Google will disadvantage HTC, rile Apple, and alienate the ITC’

    Florian Mueller: >I believe everyone will agree that Google’s related policy must […] as a matter of good citizenship (also known as “corporate social responsibility”) respect the law and the institutions tasked with interpreting and enforcing it. >You know, “don’t be evil”. How many times has Google’s mantra comeback to bite it in the ass…

  • eBay Hates Sellers

    Elliott C. Back: >I’m personally convinced that eBay hates its sellers, an ironic proposition that seems to undermine its primary business model of creating an online marketplace. He’s not alone. I used to sell on eBay all the time and stopped once they made it nearly impossible to leave negative feedback on buyers — eBay…

  • Go Daddy’s SOPA Fallout

    If I am reading this correctly, then since Monday Go Daddy has lost 72,354 domains despite reversing? ((See the bottom of the link post for clarification.)) thier stance on SOPA yesterday. Well done Internet. Well done.

  • Quote of the Day: Brent Simmons

    “I can’t prove that good software respects people, but I can look at good software and show how it respects people. I can look at bad software and show how it doesn’t respect people.” — Brent Simmons

  • Respect

    John Gruber commenting about the long term software updates on Android devices versus iOS devices: >One company clearly has more respect for its customers; that company is also clearly more successful. If you don’t see the connection, go ahead and keep your head in the sand. He’s talking from a relationship built by giving a…

  • Tom Bihn Smart Alec Photos

    I have been getting a few emails from people wanting to see my Smart Alec bag by Tom Bihn on me, here are a few shots for those of you asking.

  • The B&B Podcast – Episode 39: Kinda a Tom Clancy Fan

    >Shawn and Ben talk about board games and holiday plans before discussing writing on the web and the business that surrounds it. They also answer several listener-submitted questions about publishing a website. Thanks to our sponsor: [Instacast](http://affiliate.vemedio.com/itunes/app/420368235/bbsponsor).

  • Tweet of the Day: @Sschillace

    “Under SOPA, you could get 5 years for uploading a Michael Jackson song, one year more than the doctor who killed him.” — Sam Schillace (@sschillace) December 3, 2011

  • A Step-by-Step Guide to Transfer Domains Out of GoDaddy

    Doesn’t matter if you care about SOPA or not (you should) because Go Daddy is a pretty crappy registrar. I use [Dynadot](https://www.dynadot.com/) (use referral code: 6J7g8FT6q6p6S7F and I get a kick back), but I hear [NameCheap](http://www.namecheap.com/) is popular these days. Update: GoDaddy has [withdrawn support of SOPA](http://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/12/23/go-daddy-chokes-on-the-internets-vitriol-pulls-support-for-sopa/). Still don’t use it.

  • ‘The Many Faces of Fiddling’

    Sounds like Brett Kelly and I agree here: >Simplifying ones life/tools/garden/thing is an incredibly popular pastime these days. I won’t dig into why I disagree with much of this movement (which I do, believe me), but I do want to point out that perpetually trying to pare down the list of tools you use can…

  • Almove: Porta MacBook 13

    File this under: a case that looks cooler than it probably is once you get it.

  • Shawn Blanc’s Galaxy Nexus Review

    His review is definitive in my mind. It is the best Galaxy Nexus review I have read and very comprehensive. Here’s his statement on 4G usage and battery life: >Think about that. If you’re on a road trip and want to use the 4G LTE network to provide you with driving directions, your drive had…

  • Piezo Gets Even Better

    David Sparks: >Version 1.1 is out now and records both sides of Skype calls. That’s choice.

  • ‘The Other Side of Open’

    MG Siegler writing about the potential consequence to Google of having Android be an “open” platform if Amazon strikes a default search deal with Microsoft: >This would mean that Google would be making essentially nothing off of each Kindle Fire, even though they created the platform on which it runs. And this matters because the…

  • Does Airport Security Really Make Us Safer?

    Charles C. Mann: >What the government should be doing is focusing on the terrorists when they are planning their plots. “That’s how the British caught the liquid bombers,” Schneier says. “They never got anywhere near the plane. That’s what you want—not catching them at the last minute as they try to board the flight.” What…