The Brooks Review

Year: 2012

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  • What is the Everyman’s PC?

    When the MacBook Air “relaunched” in 2010, I immediately thought that it was the absolute best computer that any general computer user could buy. It was priced right, fast enough, light enough, had great battery life — and so on — it blew everything else out of the water.

    More importantly it came with an SSD standard. For most users that SSD will be the single greatest speed boost they have ever seen when upgrading from one computer to another.

    It seemed to me that the 2010 MacBook Air (and it’s subsequent upgrades) was the computer that 95% of all computer users should buy — not just Mac users.

    I haven’t thought much about this until the never-ending debate over whether an iPad is a PC overtook my RSS reader (again) this past week. I have nothing further to comment on that debate other than to say that iPads can, and are, certainly being used in place of PCs. ((Personally I think it is foolish to think of the iPad as anything but a PC. The more interesting debate to me is whether iPhones and Android phones are PCs.))

    If I, and many others, believe that the iPad is actually a PC — then does my theory that the MacBook Air is the best PC that people can buy still hold true today?

    That is: is the iPad a better PC for most people than a MacBook Air?

    That was interesting enough to me that I started to write this post, but then something else occurred to me. If the iPad is better for most people than a MacBook Air, then is an iPhone better for most people than an iPad and thus a MacBook Air?

    It’s a topic that [Shawn and I discussed on the last episode of our podcast](http://thebbpodcast.com/2012/02/episode-45-a-slightly-better-pedigree-of-americanos/), but one that I think warrants further thought.

    It’s easy ((Because people are already doing it.)) to see why one would argue that the iPad could be better suited for most people than a MacBook Air, but a cellphone? That seems like a stretch, right?

    ### More with Less?

    I am not arguing that everyone goes out a buys iPhones and ditches all other computers. That’s short sighted.

    I do however think that the iPhone can do *more* than an iPad while being far more convenient. Thus if you think buying an iPad instead of a PC is a good idea, then perhaps buying an iPhone instead of either would be an even *better* idea.

    I don’t have a strong argument that the iPhone is a better computer than a MacBook Air — because it’s not. But I do think that it is by far my (a many other peoples) most *used* computer.

    So my question now becomes: if I use my iPhone more than my iPad, and more than my MacBook Air — is my iPhone the best computer I have?

    I think the answer is a resounding: yes.

    Not only that, but I think that any one of my iPhones (certainly the 4S) is *the* best computer I have ever owned. Yet, while that is most certainly a true statement, I wouldn’t dare ditch my iPad or MacBook Air.

    ### Niche Computer Era

    The simple fact is that we now have two types of computing devices: general purpose and niche. All of these devices are “personal computers” it just so happens that not all of them a general purpose personal computers. ((I guess I did end up weighing in on the debate.))

    My MacBook Air and everything with a “Mac” label are general purpose computers. However things like my iPhone, iPad, and the Nest are all niche computers.

    There’s certainly nothing wrong with choosing a niche computer over a general purpose computer — just so long as you can do what you need and want to do with the computer. If all I need a computer for is to control the temperature in my house, then the Nest makes far more sense than a Mac Pro.

    So to get back to my original question: If the iPad is better for most people than a MacBook Air, then is an iPhone better for most people than an iPad and thus a MacBook Air?

    The iPhone is probably not better for most, but certainly better for some. ((Where the term “some” doesn’t necessarily amount to a small percentage of people. I believe this group is rapidly growing.)) I would even argue that as time progress the amount of people that the iPhone is a better computer for is actually increasing, not decreasing.

    For me the iPhone has done far more to reduce my need of a MacBook Air type computer than the iPad has ever done. ((And I love my iPad.))

  • Picture: Galaxy Note next to iPhone 4S

    Holy giant phone Batman.

  • ‘Path Uploads Your Entire iPhone Address Book to Its Servers’

    Arun Thampi:
    >Upon inspecting closer, I noticed that my **entire address book (including full names, emails and phone numbers) was being sent as a plist to Path**. Now I don’t remember having given permission to Path to access my address book and send its contents to its servers, so I created a completely new “Path” and repeated the experiment and I got the same result – my address book was in Path’s hands.

    Not cool.

  • Chrome for Android

    MG Siegler on Google porting Chrome for Android devices:
    >Say I have 5 tabs open in Chrome on my iMac and I get up to leave my home. I can see all 5 in Chrome for Android. And if I have 3 other tabs open on my MacBook Air, I can see those as well, all labeled and separated.

    Sounds like a huge step forward for Android users (and would be awesome to get in iOS), but:

    >Back to the bad news: some of the more advanced features of Chrome for Android require APIs found only in Ice Cream Sandwich, so the team made the call to make it only available for Android 4.0 and beyond. Again, this means only 1% of current Android users out there can actually get and use the browser right now.

  • Looking at the Wrong Specs

    *Editors note: This post was updated to remove all mention of the Tim Moynihan post that I had originally linked to and quoted.*

    [Canon released a new camera](http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/digital_cameras/powershot_sx260_hs) that:

    >The fact that the PowerShot SX260 HS digital camera is an ultra-slim camera with a powerful 20x Optical Zoom […]

    I don’t give a damn about this camera, but I think it offers an interesting glimpse at the market. That is: consumers are looking at the wrong specs. Traditionally in this segment it was all about megapixels, but now it seems to be all about: optical zoom and Wi-Fi (this particular camera does not have Wi-Fi but it was a trend at CES). Both are horrible features to care about, let alone to base a decision on.

    Wi-Fi is just a way to get pictures off your camera and onto the computer without all that “hassle” of taking a memory card out. It’s a non-feature-feature — a throw-in.

    Optical zoom *is* important, but not when stated as 20x. Because a multiplier specification like `20x` is not something you can compare from camera to camera. If the focal length starts at 10mm on one and 40mm on another then 20x that initial focal length on the first and 20x on the second means two entirely different things.

    In fact, if you are worried about zooming in that much with a point and shoot, perhaps you should look at other offerings.

    The two features that matter most on a point-and-shoot to almost all consumers are:

    1. How wide angle is the lens. This matters because you are going to take far more pictures close up to things than you will far away. Wouldn’t it be nice to fit that entire building in the frame without having to walk a block away? Or fit the line of five friends in frame while still being able to stand in the same room? My most used camera lens on my dSLR? A 17-40 wide angle lens on a full frame camera — that’s a useful lens. My least used: 80-200mm lens.
    2. ISO, or noise is the second most important factor. Most of our pictures aren’t well lit, so you really need to look at how well the camera handles noise in dimly lit photos. If you can get a camera that performs with low noise at high ISO speeds, then you are going to be far happier with your photos and that trip to download them on the computer won’t matter as much.

    Those two items are going to be far more helpful than a 20x optical zoom ever will be — remember that the next time you buy any camera.

  • Tweet of the Day: Dan Frommer

    “Google, once the poster child for simplicity, has become Microsoft. Try managing a Google Apps domain for the full experience.”
    — Dan Frommer (@fromedome) February 7, 2012

  • ‘Samsung Shoots at Apple, Hits the Customer’

    Shawn Blanc on Samsung’s odd Super Bowl ad:
    >Whomever it was that Samsung was trying to advertise to, they managed to insult instead.

  • A Succinct Description of Starbucks

    Frank Chimero on why he likes to write at Starbucks:
    >I can focus on the words, because the rest of the environment is vignetted in a fuzziness produced by its lack of opinion on the world.

    Well said.

  • Amazon Item of the Week: My New Travel/Office Headphones

    I purchased these Sennheiser PX 200 II i headphones on a recommendation from Marco and took them with me on the plane to San Francisco. Not only are they nice and compact, but they are incredibly comfortable.

    I typically don’t go for headphones that are on-ear. My ideal headphones are over the ear style after which I I used to prefer in-ear buds — but no more. This was the first plane flight where I wasn’t messing about with my in-ear headphones, trying keep them in my ear, or trying and find a more comfortable position.

    They are priced right too.

  • An Amazon Store in Seattle?

    Laura Owen:
    >A new report suggests that Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) is opening a small, Kindle-focused retail store in Seattle to test whether the concept could be expanded to other markets.

    Sounds like the idea is that they would sell Kindles, accessories, and Kindle exclusive books. It’s interesting to me mostly because I can’t help but wonder what such a store would look like.

    It stands to reason that Amazon might copy the Apple Store model that Microsoft also hijacked, but then again Amazon also doesn’t seem to mind being a bit different. I’m not talking just about the products they would stock, but how those products are displayed and how the staff interacts with customers.

    I think such a store would reveal a heck of a lot about Amazon.

    More than anything, opening a physical store, seems to go against everything that Amazon is and everything Amazon has built up.

  • The B&B Podcast – Episode 45: A Slightly Better Pedigree of Americanos

    >Shawn and Ben talk about coffee and Americanos, the Samsung Galaxy Note and its revolutionary new stylus, and then they go down the rabbit hole known as ‘Ben’s Paranoia’ as they discuss Google and social networks.

    Brought to you by the fine folks behind [Doxie Go](http://www.getdoxie.com/a/bbpodcast_feb12.php) and [Jumpchart](https://www.jumpchart.com/).

  • ‘PSA: WD40 Will Not Fix Your Home Button, May Damage Your iPhone or iPad’

    Allyson Kazmucha for iMore on the WD-40 home button “fix”:

    >WD-40 may be non-conductive but the solvent in it will break down plastic. Your home button is plastic as well as some of the internal parts. Your speaker assembly is plastic and sits directly below your home button.

    [Exactly](https://brooksreview.net/2012/01/wd-40-trick/).

  • ‘Speculative Developers’

    David Sparks on speculative developers:
    >Don’t make 60 crappy apps: Make one really good one.

    These types of developers along with those that simply copy other developers are really ruining the experience for geeks and non-geeks alike.

    At least, it seems, Apple is [starting to crack down](http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/40101/Apple_removes_several_iOS_copycat_games_from_one_offending_developer.php) on some the more obvious copycat offenders in the App Store.

  • ‘It’s Got a Pen?’

    That’s the key line in Samsung’s Super Bowl ad for it’s new pen based tablet/phone thing.

    I didn’t comment when the ad came on, but here’s roughly what I heard in the room I was standing in:

    – “Bwahahaahahah, is that a tablet or a phone?”
    – “My old Palm Pilot had a pen…”
    – “Mine too, do you still have your Palm?”

    Two thoughts about this:

    1. If your brand new product is being compared to a Palm Pilot, then you have already lost.
    2. If the first feature of a new touchscreen device that you want to tout is a stylus — perhaps you need to rethink that device.

  • ‘Over 3 Years Later, “Deleted” Facebook Photos Are Still Online’

    Jacqui Cheng:
    >In the meantime, photos that users thought they “deleted” from the social network months or even years ago remain accessible via direct link.

    I think it is safest to assume that once a photo, or anything really, is online it is out there permanently.

  • ‘Weblining’

    Lori Andrews:
    >The term Weblining describes the practice of denying people opportunities based on their digital selves. You might be refused health insurance based on a Google search you did about a medical condition. You might be shown a credit card with a lower credit limit, not because of your credit history, but because of your race, sex or ZIP code or the types of Web sites you visit.

    If you use Google, or any social network, then this is a must read.

  • iMovie vs Avid Studio

    Leanna Lofte:
    >Both iMove and Avid Studio can do the basics that you would expect from any video editor. You can insert videos, photos, and music, trim clips, add titles, and export to YouTube. Unfortunately for iMovie, this is where the similarities end.

    Glad she wrote this up — I have been really curious how the two stack up. Sounds like Avid is the real deal and should only get better.

  • The iPad’s split keyboard has phantom buttons.

    That’s clever. I rarely see the need for the split keyboard, but I’m glad to see it wasn’t as much as of an afterthought as it first seemed the keyboard was.

  • Tumblr Introduces Another Revenue Stream… Maybe

    David Karp on the Tumblr Staff blog:
    >For one dollar, your post will stand out in the Dashboard with a customizable sticker to make sure your followers take notice!

    I am reminded of [this quote from Art Webb](http://quotesondesign.com/art-webb/):

    >If you make everything bold, nothing is bold.