The Brooks Review

Year: 2016

  • Changes to 2Do Pricing

    The new pricing model is free with an unlock for pro-type features:

    In short, even after the trial expires, the app will continue to offer all of its features, except for Sync, Backups and Alert Notifications (i.e. turn into a dumb, but useful to do list). In order to enable those, the user could upgrade to the full version by paying once.

    This is a good read which goes over the trade offs of all the models. I loathe the idea of all my apps being monthly subscriptions, but would be all for yearly subscriptions. $1-2 apps have always done well initially and I had always hoped a market could be sustainable with yearly $1-2 subscriptions instead of monthly.

  • This is How Trump Lost $916M and Avoided Tax

    Basically:

    So while Trump made money at every turn, the banks that lent him money, the workers and small businesses who delivered for Trump, and the investors in his casino company all got stiffed. And while they paid taxes on whatever income they did manage to collect, Trump enjoyed at least $916 million of tax-free income.

    Insanely savvy management of his wealth, but also shows a pure lack of concern for anyone that is not him.

  • Innovation in Photography

    Steven Sinofsky looking at the iPhone 7 and the Depth Effect:

    Each of these innovations in tools is creating a new form of imaging. These are not just “features” but we are slowly observing a paradigm shift. When you consider this, the iPhone 7 camera is not just “cool photo blur feature” but the start of a new paradigm where a new type of image is defined. If you think back, there was a time before the “norm” seen in images today. That norm was defined by the constraint of the tool (and physics).

    He has some stellar examples of the Bokeh achieved from high end lenses. I had never seen the disc style Bokeh before from a mirror lens, but thought it was on point to show how that was highly popular when it came out, and is now see as a defect.

    Yes, the iPhone doesn’t do bokeh, but that’s not the point. The point of the iPhone 7 Plus Depth Effect is not to mimic a high end lens, but rather to give you a “better” portrait. With that in mind, I don’t see how the feature is anything but a success.

  • Real work on the iPad

    Manton Reece:

    With the right apps and workflows, it’s a fun computer to work on. I didn’t miss my Mac while traveling last week, and I expect iOS to serve me well on future trips.

    Only a matter of time before everyone slowly moves to iOS, and I don’t think it’ll be a conscious decision for most. Just something that happens naturally over time.

  • That iPhone Portrait Mode Post Everyone is Sharing

    Such a great post:

    See, our eyes actually have very deep focus, but our brains and our hearts fire at ƒ/0.95.

    This post is being shared everywhere, and it deserves it.

  • Nebo’s Handwriting Recognition Elevates Your Notes

    John Voorhees:

    Nebo’s Ink handwriting recognition system is the standout feature of the app. Its accuracy is truly astounding given that it doesn’t require you to alter your handwriting. In fact, in the example notebook/user guide that comes with the app, most of the handwriting is written in cursive. I don’t write in cursive, but over the years my handwriting has evolved to where certain letter combinations run together. Even when I wrote in a deliberately sloppy way, I had a hard time fooling Nebo.

    A while back when I talked about making notes apps smarter, this is the type of app I was talking about. It’s a really impressive app, but the design leaves a lot to be desired as I really don’t care to use the app. Good features, delivered in a poor package.

  • Providing the best possible App Store experience

    The Omni Group:

    With the original download free, we can implement any pricing options we want to offer customers through In-App Purchases. We can offer our standard unlocks of Standard and Pro, of course. But we can also offer a free 2-week trial which unlocks all of the features of Pro and Standard, letting you freely choose between them. We can offer a discounted upgrade to the new Standard. And we can offer free upgrades to the new versions to any customers who recently purchased the old app.”

    Great start to a really tough problem. This seems like the best possible solution for them. Love it.

  • Apple Restricts iPhone 7 Reservations to Upgrade Program Members

    For its part, Apple’s reservation page has always noted that a 24-month installment loan through Citizens Bank, which finances the iPhone Upgrade Program, is required — this change just cements it. In other countries where the iPhone Upgrade Program does not exist, such as Canada, all customers are able to use Reserve and Pick Up regardless of their payment method of choice.

    Good start to unfucking iPhone Upgrade customers.

  • The Hero’s Journey

    Tom Bihn personally showed me this creation before it hit production (I’ve been moving so I haven’t had a chance to get a review sample) and I was thoroughly impressed. They have solved one of the biggest problems for one bag travelers: needing a smaller bag on a plane or at the destination. In this case it zips right off and can be a shoulder, hip, or backpack. The design of this feature is outstanding.

    I really can’t wait to put one of these bags through the test.

  • 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.