The Brooks Review

Year: 2011

  • Apps are Critical

    I really was disappointed with the design and usability of all the Android apps that I tried on my Fire — at least the ones that weren’t a popular iOS game already. I actually didn’t think a well designed Android app existed, so much so that I started to write a post about how stupid it is that one doesn’t exist.

    I thought: surely it is possible and at least worth someones time.

    As part of the research for that post (yeah I occasionally research) I Googled: “Best Kindle Fire Apps”. After looking through stupid slideshow after stupid slideshow ((Seriously, this is not a good way to display anything. Even *The Big Picture*, a photo blog, knows this.)) I finally found one app that looked like it might actually be decent: Evernote.

    Now, I am not an Evernote user, nor am I someone who understands the allure of the app. It was however free and looked promising so I downloaded it — I used Evernote back in 2009 so I had an account and a bunch of notes in it already to play with.

    I have to say, Evernote is a really great looking Android app and it works well to boot. Evernote gives you a good idea of just how good an Android app can be — that means that most Android developers either don’t care, or don’t *need* to care about the design of their Android app.

    I am so happy to have found the Evernote app that I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just a clone of another UI Evernote has used on iOS or the Mac — it isn’t. In fact the iPad, iPhone, Mac and Android (Fire) all have their own UIs that make sense for each of the devices, imagine that.

    This isn’t a review of the Evernote app — that app just serves as proof that you can make great looking and highly useable Android apps.

    This post is about why Android developers don’t make great looking apps — generally speaking. (Though Evernote is literally the only app, games aside, that I have found to look really nice.)

    ### Apps Matter

    One thing that has become abundantly clear after reading through all the Kindle Fire reviews is that apps matter. No matter the platform or device, what makes or breaks a tablet is the overall depth and quality of the apps that the tablet has at its disposal.

    On the [episode 35](http://thebbpodcast.com/2011/11/episode-35-lunchbox-locker/) of the the B&B podcast Shawn said (roughly): “If I had to choose between only getting the built in iOS apps, or only 3rd Party apps, I would choose 3rd party.”

    I agree.

    That’s a pretty powerful statement too, because it says that what makes the device so valuable is not what it comes with, but what can be added to it. Apple wouldn’t ever include an app that uses a camera to deliver your heart rate, but for $0.99 I can [buy one](https://brooksreview.net/2011/11/ipad-vitals/) (it works too).

    This is where most other devices get it wrong. The absolute best looking and feeling app that I downloaded for my Fire before outwardly searching for a fantastic app was: Angry Birds. Ask me the same question about my iPad and I couldn’t choose between the plethora of great apps that I have currently sitting on my home screen, not to mention the 100s of others I have yet to try that many others say are excellent.

    Why? Why are these apps missing from Android?

    It’s not the user base, because that is supposedly pretty high. I can’t believe it is because “[Android users don’t buy apps](http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/11/21/googles_android_market_estimated_to_earn_just_7_of_what_apples_app_store_makes.html)” because I think that is largely due to the fact that there aren’t apps worth buying.

    Why?

    I can think of a few reasons:

    – Pirating is supposedly rampant. So developers are naturally wary about the platform.
    – Copyright infringement from what I hear is not only common, but not dealt with very quickly.
    – Fragmentation between screen sizes and specific Android OS builds is high. This makes it harder to make one app that is great on all the Android devices.
    – More than one store on a device so picking which app store it be in is a bit of a pain.

    Even with all those reasons, I just can’t believe that there is still only one Android app that I can look at and say: “yes, that’s what I am talking about.”

    Even if all the above reasons for not developing for Android are true, it would still seems highly unusual that I was only able to find one good app.

    The best guess I have has to be that the “market share” is just not that high, thus not making it “worth” it for developers to make amazing apps for the platform. If that is the case, then that is a shame — I think a large part of the reason Android doesn’t appeal to me is because of the lack of apps. ((There are other reasons, but the lack of apps keeps me unwilling to even consider the platform.))

  • WTF Is Up at Twitter

    Edward Domain ((Awesome name.)) noticed a bunch of higher-ups at Twitter are leaving or choosing to be “less involved” and noted:
    >When this many leaders start leaving a company… it doesn’t mean the company is falling apart but it definitely raises some questions.

    Add to this the fact that Jack Dorsey is [trying to split his time](https://brooksreview.net/2011/11/not-sustainable/) at Twitter with Square and it raises some good questions.

  • Amazon Item of the Week: Stainless Steel HIP Flask

    The holidays are coming up, make sure you are prepared.

  • On Leaving Twitter

    Adrien Cahen on deciding to leave Twitter:

    >Eventually, the kool-aid turned a bit sour for me.

    Don’t take that out of context, you should read his post in full. I do think it is interesting how fast a tech darling can become too chaotic for many.

  • (Excluding Apple)

    Sarah Bogaty for PR Web:
    >“If you look at the tablet market without Apple there are a number of high-profile brands vying for that number two spot,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. “According to NPD’s Consumer Tracking Service, 76 percent of consumers who purchased a non-Apple tablet didn’t even consider the iPad, an indication that a large group of consumers are looking for alternatives, and an opportunity for the rest of the market to grow their business.”

    Exciting times to be “vying for that number two spot”. Also it is no surprise that people who didn’t buy and iPad, didn’t also consider it.

    How is NPD still in business?

    >The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries.

    Excluding Apple — naturally.

    [via Every where]

  • About Pepper Spray

    So if a habenero comes in at 350,000 Scoville units, where does Pepper Spray come in? Deborah Blum says:
    >It’s listed at between 2 million and 5.3 million Scoville units. The lower number refers to the kind of pepper spray that you and I might be able to purchase for self-protective uses. And the higher number? It’s the kind of spray that police use, the super-high dose given in the orange-colored spray used at UC-Davis.

    Not only that, but there are very real, known, health risks associated with Pepper Spray:

    >The more worrisome effects have to do with inhalation – and by some reports, California university police officers deliberately put OC spray down protestors throats. Capsaicins inflame the airways, causing swelling and restriction. And this means that pepper sprays pose a genuine risk to people with asthma and other respiratory conditions.

    >And by genuine risk, I mean a known risk, a no-surprise any police department should know this risk, easy enough to find in the scientific literature.

    This post, if this stuff outrages you, is well worth the read.

    I have only seen the effects of Pepper Spray once, when my roommate went through Campus Security training in College. They volunteered to be sprayed so that they could actually carry the spray. They were sprayed with one pass and carried to a shower where they are immediately treated. When I saw him next, an hour later, his face was still bright red and he was still very much in pain.

    He was prepared and expecting to be sprayed. He had his mouth closed tightly and plugged his nose, because the Campus Security trainer knew that it would be very bad if he inhaled it.

    The lackadaisical way in which the [officer sprayed those students](http://waxy.org/2011/11/viewing_the_uc_davis_pepper_spraying_from_multiple_angles/) is what outrages me. How can you do this, multiple passes, to a peaceful set of protesters on a college campus in the United States. Shameful.

  • Like versus Stamped

    Brett Kelly reviewing Stamped:
    >The “like” function is a little weird to me. I get that they wanted to add a way for people to give feedback on a stamp without having to stamp it themselves, but the UI for this feature feels like an afterthought, particularly since (near as I can tell) there’s no way to see who liked a given item other than in the little news ticker thingie.

    I am with him, the like functionality not only seems like an afterthought, but runs counter to the idea behind stamped. What’s the difference between liking and Stamping something if they both actually mean that you, well, like something? I, for one, think ‘likes’ should be removed.

    That said I absolutely am addicted to Stamped right now.

    Kelly also notes that the To-Do function is a great idea and I would have to agree. Whereas with other apps the To-Do stuff seems silly, with stamped it seems really neat — especially if it does get an API. Could be great fun there.

    Give Stamped a try if you haven’t already, because at the very least it has a great icon.

  • What’s Smaller Than Apple?

    Well how about the cost of the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs…

  • Google Search App for iPad Updated

    Dave Caolo commenting on the new iPad Google Search app:
    >The UI is far superior to that of a Google search with mobile Safari, but I can’t help but wonder if I’ll use this app instead of Safari, especially now that the new “tablet view” looks so good.

    My thoughts exactly. The app is great to use and look at, but when I need to Google something I can’t see myself going for this app over Safari — let alone Siri.

  • Stamped

    Love the typography and simplicity of the app.

  • What Ron Johnson Learned Building the Apple Store

    Ron Johnson on the Apple Store experience:
    >There are lots of components to that experience, but maybe the most important — and this is something that can translate to any retailer — is that the staff isn’t focused on selling stuff, it’s focused on building relationships and trying to make people’s lives better. That may sound hokey, but it’s true.

    Great take on the problems that face most retailers.

  • Amazon Kindles ‘Damaged by Airport Scanners’

    I don’t buy it. Way too many people carrying Kindles on planes for this to *just now* become an issue. The static build-up as a very rare occurrence seems more likely.

  • Vital Signs Camera for iPad

    From the iTunes description:

    >Vital Signs Camera is the only App that measures your heart rate and breathing rate remotely, simply using the camera of your iPad 2!

    It was $0.99 and I was bored at Starbucks so I purchased the app. Amazingly, it works. The heart rate seems pretty accurate and it was pretty fast to acquire it too.

    Overall I find the app pretty useless, but amazing at the same time.

  • ‘Specialness’

    ST Holdings, LTD, a distributor for “over 200” music labels, on pulling its music from Spotify and other streaming services:
    >As a distributor we have to do what is best for our labels. The majority of which do not want their music on such services. They provide poor revenue and have a detrimental affect on sales. Add to that, the feeling that their music loses its specialness by its exploitation as a low value/free commodity. Quoting one of our labels “Let’s keep the music special, fuck Spotify”

    I mean, Radio is special, just not IP enabled radio. Can’t *you* see the difference?

    The Wire [notes](http://www.thewire.co.uk/articles/7994/) about the music that ST Holdings serves: “specialises in techno, grime, dubstep, and bass music”

  • Hacker Says Texas Town Used Three Character Password to Secure Internet Facing SCADA System

    Paul Roberts relaying a comment from hacker “pr0f”:
    >”I’m sorry this ain’t a tale of advanced persistent threats and stuff, but frankly most compromises I’ve seen have been have been a result of gross stupidity, not incredible technical skill on the part of the attacker. Sorry to disappoint.”

    Or to state it more succinctly: people are idiots.

  • [SPONSOR] CaptureNotes

    CaptureNotes 2 is more than just a note-taking app for the iPad. It lets you record audio while you type.

    While there might be other apps that let you take notes and record, CaptureNotes 2 brings an entirely new feature to the experience: Flags.

    Flags are intelligent bookmarks, allowing you to place specific marks in time during a recording to follow up on in later review. For example, if you were using CaptureNotes in a class, you could mark things like test questions, text references, follow-up requests, or even make your own custom flag set. In a meeting at work, you could mark action items to follow up on.

    When it comes time to study for your test or compile your to-do list, you can sort notes by flag type, taking you back to that specific piece of audio recording and notes.

    Note-taking is also available on imported PDFs and email sessions. CaptureNotes lets you store your binders and notebooks on Dropbox.

    CaptureNotes 2 was recently selected as app of the week at TiPB, and is sale to celebrate. Capture everything at school, work, or home with [CaptureNotes 2](http://click.syndicateads.net/2011/11/CaptureNotes/brooksreview.html).

  • Ars Investigates If the iPhone 4S Can Replace a “Real” Digital Camera

    Chris Foresman:
    >Would a professional photographer replace her trusty DSLR with an iPhone 4S? No. But, might a casual snap shooter replace a pocket camera with an iPhone 4S? It’s pretty likely.

    Nice comparison, though I would have liked to seen more point and shoots and less smartphones.

  • Google Chrome and pre-installed web apps

    Wladimir Palant commenting on some things he found while digging around the Chrome browser:
    >Don’t get me wrong: Google Chrome is a great browser and it is easy to get excited about it, argue about benchmarks, brand-new standards and such. But sometimes you get a reminder: this is a Google product and it has to benefit Google. It isn’t merely about making the web better, it is also about promoting Google products and giving them an advantage over competing services.

  • Terpstra on the Nest

    Brett Terpstra:
    >The longest part of the installation was entering my wifi password using the dial, and even that was under a minute.

    I am buying a house just so that I can get one of these.

  • Netflix Picks Up New Episodes Of ‘Arrested Development’

    Nellie Andreeva:
    >Netflix has outbid an established pay cable network for the rights to new episodes of short-lived Arrested Development.

    Smart move. I’d like to see Netflix do more of this.