The Brooks Review

Month: May 2012

  • ‘Rethinking the iPhone’s App Switcher’

    A fantastic post by `brentcas` in *The Verge* forums ((Still the place to find the best content on *The Verge*.)) rethinking the app switcher in iOS. I don’t like all of the concepts that he introduces (such as clear all apps), but I think what he shows *is* a better app switcher.

    For starters I like the idea of two dedicated pages, one for settings and another for music, that show page specific controls below the menubar. The double-tap home button is massively convenient, but right now I think Apple is limiting its usefulness too much.

  • How Common Is Your Birthday?

    I always thought mine was fairly uncommon, but it turns out I am wrong (despite never knowing anyone that shares my birthday with me). But, wow, look at July, August, and September.

  • iCloud is the Difference Between Great and Excellent

    iCloud is Apple’s online “cloud” offering of sync, storage, email, and more. It is the successor of MobileMe and thus also the successor to the infamous .Mac, but it’s more than just a new name — it’s a new game for Apple. This time around Apple [knows how important iCloud](http://gigaom.com/apple/for-apple-icloud-is-just-the-beginning/) is to the success of iOS and OS X.

    A [report from the Wall Street Journal](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304371504577404180417927436.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines) (subscription required) talks about rumored upgrades to iCloud — all of which make sense if you really think about how important iCloud is to Apple. iCloud is essentially the sanity glue for all iOS+Mac users out there — of which there are millions.

    iOS and OS X can survive on their own without iCloud — that much we know from history. However, at this point, iOS and Mac OS X cannot survive *together* without iCloud — because without iCloud the alternative is Exchange or iTunes, both of which are cumbersome at best and downright aggravating most of the time.

    Apple products are often described as something that ‘just works’ and while you may disagree with that, it’s hard to disagree with the notion that a large part of the ’just works’ ideology is: seamless integration of hardware and software.

    That’s easy with laptops, that’s easy with mobile, but it’s hard if you want the seamless integration *between* two different (or same for that matter) devices. This is why most of us nerds love Dropbox sync, because Dropbox makes it easier to work on two Macs in a back and forth scenario. This is what iCloud is trying to solve between not only Macs, but Macs and iOS.

    This is why iCloud success is crucial to Apple.

    This is a problem Microsoft will also need to solve, but by the very nature of Google, it’s not a problem that Google need solve — because they have solved it as much as they want to: use Google products only on the web, we don’t do desktop.

    It only makes sense then that iCloud keeps expanding, because the more tasks it takes on between devices, the happier users will be and Apple will also strengthen two key areas:

    1. Bullet point checklists when compared with competitors.
    2. Platform lock-in. If all your data lives in iCloud and not Microsoft or Google, well you are far less likely to undertake such a large data migration.

    I would be surprised if iCloud wasn’t a very large part of WWDC this year. Apple will be putting the finishing touches on iCloud’s integration with iOS and Mac OS X, but they will also need developers to give widespread adoption to its use for the service to catch on.

    This should scare Microsoft and Google, but more than that I think it should scare Dropbox. As much as I love Dropbox, iCloud is easier.

    A widely adopted, seamless, fast, robust iCloud is the greatest threat to Apple’s competitors — and this time around I think Apple knows it.

  • Kaspersky’s Oops

    Engadget has an update from Kaspersky about whether they are really working with Apple or not:

    >The article reports that Kaspersky Lab had “begun the process of analyzing the Mac OS platform at Apple’s request” to identify vulnerabilities. This statement was taken out of context by the magazine – Apple did not invite or solicit Kaspersky Lab’s assistance in analyzing the Mac OS X platform.

    That doesn’t sound so much like the publications fault, as much as Kaspersky stretching the truth. Good luck working with Apple now, Kaspersky.

  • ‘Alarming Abundance of Alerts’

    Joe Kissell on the annoying habit of getting calendars alerts spread out across all your Apple devices at roughly the same time:
    >Ultimately, I would like to see a system of cascading alerts. My devices make their best guess about which one is primary at the moment, and display any alerts on just that one device. If I dismiss an alert there, that’s the end of the story. If a few minutes go by without any action from me, the next-most-likely device displays the alert, and so on. But regardless of where I ultimately see that alert, explicitly dismissing it makes it disappear from all my screens.

    I like that idea and think it may be the most simple from a users perspective. I always thought another way would for Macs and iOS devices to somehow know (maybe by WiFi network) when they are near each other and only sound the alert once.

    This is a really tough problem to solve for Apple, but I think we can be assured they are working on it. If evidenced by Messages on the Mac alone. When you are iMessageing you don’t get alerts on all your devices under very particular circumstances — that’s Apple’s acknowledgment of the annoyance factor that comes from multiple alerts. And Messages largely works in a very similar manner to what Kissell is suggesting.

    So if you want to know the direction Apple may take with calendar alerts, I don’t think you need to look any further than Messages on the Mac.

  • Gifting Kickstarter Rewards in iTunes

    Or more specifically: “What the Dark Sky team learned when trying to get pre-ordered copies of their iOS app to backers.”

    The end result of which was a massive increase in funds spent. I look forward to reading more of their posts about their Kickstarter experience.

  • [Sponsor] Igloo Software

    Work isn’t a place – it’s what you do.

    And you might work on a lot of devices – a Mac, an iPhone, an iPad – in a lot of places. You might work on the road or maybe from home (with your Aeropress and clickity keyboard). And that makes it hard to securely use a shared drive, coordinate with clients and collaborate with your team.

    Igloo offers a complete digital workplace – you get full access to all your files, project discussions and plans for world domination. The information you need to work is available anywhere in the world, literally at your fingertips.

    Igloo has a space for your team. Each team gets dedicated file sharing, Twitter-like microblogs, activity streams and a host of other collaboration tools in one cloud-based platform. [Plans start at just $4/user/month](http://j.mp/KcOveJ).

    Work better, not harder.

    Enter to [win an Aeropress](http://j.mp/IXAEgh) and [try Igloo free for 30 days](http://j.mp/IXAEgh).

  • Amazon Item of the Week: CableDrop

    I never thought I would want to stick something like this on my desk or any other piece of furniture — so when these came out I dismissed them. Then my wife and I moved and we each got new nightstands — nightstands that had no way to keep our charger cables on the top.

    After weeks of have to fish around the floor to plugin my phone and then try to discern in the dark if I had a hold of the iPad or iPhone charger, well I broke down a bought these. This is easily in the top 10 of best things I have bought for $10 or less.

    They just work perfectly, no really.

    So if you notice that you have a cable that keeps dropping to the floor when you want it on your desk, or wherever, do yourself a favor and order these.

    (They also come in other colors, [like white](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004K2YBQI/ref=nosim&tag=brooksreview-20).)

  • Why Digital Pagination Works

    Nate Barham offers up a suggestion on why digital pagination is oddly nice:
    >The fact that the page-flip animation is “slow,” that’s a feature. As someone who teaches literature and language every day, processing time can be a huge factor in a reader’s ability to internalize and apply information. Pagination can be helpful in doing so with digital content.

    After reading this I couldn’t help but notice that I do enjoy that fraction of a second break that I get when I “flip” the page.

  • ‘Why Flipping Through Paper-Like Pages Endures in the Digital World’

    This is really interesting to me, because even though I hate skeuomorphic tricks — well — I prefer the iBooks style pagination in Instapaper. It just feels right to me. Scrolling is too tedious and the fast pagination is too fast and disorienting. I like the iBooks page flip — oddly enough.

  • Smile

    My thanks to Smile for sponsoring the RSS feed this week to promote their PDFpen software. It is the best PDF software you can get for your Mac, but don’t just take my word for it.

    Macworld just reviewed the [PDFpenPro](http://www.macworld.com/article/1166723/pdfpenpro_5_8_1_a_feature_filled_app_for_pdfs.html) and [PDFpen for iPad](http://www.macworld.com/appguide/app.html?id=1180638&expand=true), giving them [4.5](http://www.macworld.com/article/1166723/pdfpenpro_5_8_1_a_feature_filled_app_for_pdfs.html) and [4](http://www.macworld.com/appguide/app.html?id=1180638&expand=true) mice respectively.

    As a TBR reader you can save $15, allowing you to get both the Mac software and iPad app for the price you would pay for *just* the Mac app. What a deal.

  • ‘Instagram’s Facebook Filter’

    Paul Smalera:

    >It’s easy to believe that Facebook can stay in control of the Web in perpetuity by acquiring tech’s prettiest young things. But remember that a decade ago, Google looked like the substrate of the Internet. Nearly everything about the way we surfed flowed through Google. Now, not so much. While Google is far from toppled, a tectonic shift has created new land masses in the ocean, where previously there was only misty horizon.

    Google was in trouble the minute TV ads started showing their Facebook URLs instead of their web address. Companies now say: “find us on Facebook” and that’s bad for Google because Facebook has its own search box free of Google ads.

  • Carroll Shelby, Dead at 89

    Joe Simnacher and Terry Box:

    >In 1962, Mr. Shelby created the first Shelby Cobra, borrowing British Ace Bristol sports car bodies and mating them to Ford V-8 engines in his Venice, Calif., garage. The Shelby Cobras finished first and second in a race held around the Dodger Stadium parking lot. The race prompted Ford to sponsor his project.

    That car was a game changer.

  • 5by5 Radio App [iTunes Link]

    Great little app from 5by5 that allows you to listen to the live stream and get push alerts when your favorite show is starting.

    I’ve been using it for a while, and it’s a great way of listening to great podcasts do go get it.

  • Forbes v. HBO

    Dustin Curtis looked into that Forbes article that claims the HBO’s president, Eric Kessler said the Internet was a “temporary phenomenon” and here’s what he found:
    >It’s so unbelievable that I went to the primary source, a 40 minute video interview with Mr. Kessler, which draws a fascinating picture of HBO’s business strategy. After listening to the entire interview twice, I could not pinpoint where Kessler actually said “temporary phenomenon.”

    It turns out what HBO’s president, Eric Kessler said was more along the lines that he thinks the Internet is big, but it can’t replace the deal they have going right now with cable. Which makes sense.

    So good job with the Linkbait Forbes.

  • The Leica Monochrome

    A new $8,000 digital camera from Leica that only shoots in B&W. Yep, you read that right.

    So: why? Well take a look at the images posted on this link, they are shot at ISO 6400 and ISO 10,000 and yet they have very low noise compared to most other cameras.

    That’s why.

    Also the B&W looks excellent, cool camera — just wish it was in my price range.

  • FastEver – Quickly Create Evernote Text Note

    In my [Evernote post the other day](https://brooksreview.net/2012/05/evernote-end-game/) I mentioned that Evernote should strive to be more like [Drafts](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/drafts/id502385074?mt=8) for note capture — turns out someone already has a Drafts like app for Evernote. (Buyer beware: I haven’t tried this app at all.)

  • Seven iPad Keyboard Tricks

    Dan Miller:

    > So if you swipe up on the dash, you get an em dash. Swipe up on the dollar sign and you get the cents symbol. One thing I like is that this is one way to get smart quotation marks.

    I had no clue.

  • The ‘New’ Bing

    Microsoft:
    >When searching for a particular subject, a list of Facebook friends who may know about that topic is displayed in a light-gray sidebar on the right-side panel of the results page. “So if you query ‘Hawaii,’ user models in the network look at public information in your profile such as where your friends live or have lived, what they’ve liked on Facebook, and photos — and turn up a list of people who likely have information relevant to your query,” says Sandy Wong, principal development lead for Bing. “You’ll still see search results for Hawaii within the traditional Web search results. But now you’ll also be able to consider the advice of your friends who may know something about Hawaii.”

    Bing will pull from Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Yelp, LinkedIn, Quora — man there’s one missing isn’t there? Hmm. Oh yeah, Google+ — yeah doesn’t pull from that. So let’s recap:

    – Bing: Pulls from all non-Google social networks.
    – Google: Pulls from Google+

    I’m still a DuckDuckGo fan, but this is a smart move from Microsoft.

  • The B&B Podcast #60: You Sound Great to Me

    Shawn and I have a lot of Skype problems on this show, but we manage to discuss diaper technology and advertising on the web.

    Thanks to our fine show sponsors: [Igloo Software](http://www.igloosoftware.com/officeofipads) and [Hover](http://hover.com/dansentme).