The Brooks Review

Month: September 2016

  • The Value of a Smaller iPad Pro

    The other day I was talking to a good friend about how much we both still love the 12.9″ iPad Pro — we use it a lot for work and leisure. We then talked about the smaller 9.7″ and we took some pot shots at it, but now I feel bad — because I undervalue how much a part of my workflow the 9.7″ iPad Pro has become.

    When I purchased the smaller iPad Pro I envisioned using it as an auxiliary device — much in the same way I envisioned using the iPad mini. The iPad mini has never fit in well with my life, and with a larger plus model iPhone — it’s even more redundant. But I use the crap out of my 9.7″ iPad Pro, just as I do with my 12.9″ iPad — both end most days with their batteries nearing depletion.

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  • RAW iPhone Photo Apps

    With iOS 10, newer model iPhones can shoot RAW images (DNG format), but they cannot do this from the native camera app. Which means you have to rely on third party apps, so I set out to find which would be the best to use.

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  • The Nock Lanier – Initial Thoughts

    Editor’s note: This product was provided to me at no cost for review purposes.

    Nock is best known as a company serious about their writing implements — so serious that they create niche carrying cases for writing implements, as well as high quality notebooks. It’s been a while since I wrote about them last, and part of this needs to be addressed up front, because Nock is almost the antithesis of my approach to working.

    I work hard to digitize my life onto my iPads, and Nock works to maintain the tradition of handwritten excellence. Two approaches to the same problems. The last time around I hacked a Nock case to hold my wires and stuff, but now Nock is taking aim at something I know all too much about: bags.

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  • Freudian Slip

    This is a nice video review of the Tom Bihn Maker’s Bag by Fraser Speirs. I really loved the part showing how he uses the Freudian Slip to hold his iPad Pro. So clever.

  • The Lanier Briefcase

    This looks like it could be a really neat little Briefcase. Can’t wait to try one out.

  • Thoughts on the iPhone Upgrade Program, and Buying iPhones in General

    I fully admit that this is not an earth shattering problem, but the sheer amount of people asking me to elaborate have caused me to pen this post.

    As those of you who follow me on Twitter know, I was rather upset by the ordering process for iPhones this year.

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  • Samsung S7 Edge explodes in teacher’s hands in middle of busy cafe

    I have no clue why anyone would want to own a Samsung phone at this point.

  • Adblock Plus Is Now Going To Sell Ads

    Adblock Plus, one of the web’s most popular ad-blocking services, will soon begin selling its own ads—and taking a little bit of the cut as well.

    The plus means less ads, but with more special ads.

  • iOS 10 is A Major Shift for iOS

    For years the Apple mantra was always “just works” and as Apple became more entrenched with their just cause of protecting user privacy — Google went the opposite way. Deep machine learning pushed Android to be preemptive and understanding — Google Now being the primary focus, but certainly not the only place this happens. Back on iOS we have always been siloed where one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing, unless you explicitly tell each hand what the hell is going on. A task as tedious as it is to read about.

    And while I typically don’t write iOS reviews, iOS 10 is Apple’s first step into the future of software which customizes itself to the user — and they figured out how to do this without compromising your privacy. People have been hesitant to embrace iOS as their only platform, but iOS 10 is what is going to push a great many people over the edge.

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  • Apple of the Future

    Over the weekend a few others have expressed similar thoughts, but let’s face the fact that this stuff is likely bigger than most of us realized when Apple made its announcements.

    Here’s Will Oremus on the matter:

    The AirPods can’t store files or access the internet on their own, of course. They need your other Apple devices for that. But as processors continue to shrink, they’re likely to grow more independent with time, as the Apple Watch is beginning to do.

    Exactly.

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  • Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 Recall Is a Nightmare So Far

    Christina Warren:

    The process is proving to be a shitshow both for those who bought the device through carriers, and for those who purchased directly from Samsung.

    And:

    The situation isn’t any better for customers at other carriers. T-Mobile and AT&T don’t have fresh inventory from Samsung either, which means customers can either wait around with a phone that might spontaneously explode or get something else.

    The news coverage of this has been abysmal, but it’s a big deal. I’d never want to buy Samsung phone, not only because it might explode, but the company doesn’t seem to care much about making it right with their customers.

  • Just Glass

    I started a new experiment the other day, born out of a few comments from readers. They all remarked how much better it is to edit writing with the software keyboard, over a physical one on the iPad. Which is funny because I was actually thinking about working on setting up a mechanical keyboard again, but realized I packed them away (getting ready to hopefully move).

    So I tore off my Smart Keyboards and stowed them in a drawer and committed to using the software keyboard for a week. I expected long fits of rage, but what I’ve found is that I quite like it.

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  • Dropping Dropbox

    Duncan Davidson on the nefarious shit Dropbox is pulling:

    After all, every time you ask permission, you not only annoy the user, you’re making them consider saying no, which is bad for numbers in a company driven by the almighty gods of daily, weekly, and monthly active usage.

    I bitched about this on twitter and Dropbox responded with an overly dense statement. It’s not about whether they need this access, it’s how they go about getting it.

  • What a Week

    I’ve started a new newsletter, and it is ad supported. I’d love it if you signed up, it’s a weekly affair. Here’s a taste from this week’s:

    I wasn’t going to mention all the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Fire Editions, but umm, well it burned a Jeep to the ground (and if the story couldn’t be better, FLORIDA). I don’t even know what to say, but my bigger question is: how does anyone ever trust Samsung again? This isn’t like a Tesla catching fire — people feel like they can escape from cars. This is a potential bomb you are putting in your pocket, right next to your sensitive areas there. Good lord. Even Australian airlines are banning these phones from flight and the FAA is wanting you to keep them off. I joke a bit, but I am serious about the implications: how long until people question whether their phone is going to burn down their house while they sleep? Amazingly, this isn’t getting the news coverage it really should be.

    Sign up here.

  • Special B&B Throwback Episode: The iPhone 7 Event

    I texted Shawn on Tuesday to see if he wanted to do a special show, and amazingly we both had time to fit it in. We talk about the iPhone 7 stuff, as well as paying for new devices. Shawn also explains math to me. All in all: good times.

  • How My Friends Described Some Colors To Me When I Couldn’t See

    This is one of those things you read when you are having a rough day.

    (Via Kottke)

  • So This Thing About Files on iOS

    There is a very frustrating notion circling — the idea that managing files, or sharing files between apps, is hard on iOS. I’ve read three posts of late about them, each I will omit for varying reasons. The fact of the matter is that managing files on iOS is not hard — it is tricky and requires a modicum of brain power at times — but hard it is not.

    In general the complaints are two fold:

    1. Sharing files between apps is difficult.
    2. Opening certain types of files is so cumbersome that many users will think it is not possible.

    I’ve been using iOS full time for long enough now, I actually wondered if it is me who is out of touch with the level of difficulty, so I took this as a problem to investigate.

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  • Fastmail, end of an era

    When I started this site, my email was hosted on Google Apps, then I moved to Media Temple, and from there my @brooksreview.net emails have been hosted on whatever server my website was hosted on. This was never an issue for me, and I always wondered why people hated hosting email themselves, because it’s taken me 6 years to come to a breaking point. I was pumped to finally move to a Mac mini server so I could host all my email on a Mac using Mac tools. That was quite some time ago, and it’s been chugging along ever since. Sure, it goes down when I screw up the server, but thats part of the fun.

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  • How Tech Giants Are Devising Real Ethics for Artificial Intelligence

    The report also does not consider the belief of some computer specialists about the possibility of a “singularity” that might lead to machines that are more intelligent and possibly threaten humans.

    How do you not even consider that possibility? See, this is how we go extinct.

  • Automated Killing Machines

    Completely unregulated.