The Brooks Review

Category: Links

  • ‘Being a Bit Disingenuous’

    Stupid Apple Rumors does a nice job calling out 9to5Mac.

  • Record Breaking iPhone 4S Launch

    Josh Lowensohn reporting on the disappointment that is the “not iPhone 5”:
    >AT&T says that this morning’s preorder session for Apple’s iPhone 4S was its most successful iPhone launch yet, with the company grabbing more than 200,000 preorders in the first 12 hours the device was on sale.

  • Marco Arment on Screen Size

    Marco Arment:

    >As a four-year iPhone user, I’ve never thought, “You know what I don’t like about this phone? The screen’s too small. I’d like to reduce my battery life, and I’d like my phone to protrude from my pocket in a larger and more conspicuous rectangle, to achieve a larger screen that I cannot comfortably use one-handed. That would be completely worth it.”

    That *would* be fantastic wouldn’t it.

  • Computer Virus Hits US Predator and Reaper Drone Fleet

    Oh that sounds *real* safe. Let’s just keep flying around these armed drones chocked full of a virus we can’t remove. *Fantastic.*

    On another note, why do the “pilots” still wear flight suits?

  • Texting and Driving, Now Worse Than Previously Thought

    Participants were on a closed, wide, track driving 30 miles per hour while texting and there were “many close calls”. At this point, who honestly thinks texting while driving is a good idea?

  • ‘3.5 Inches’

    Dustin Curtis on why Apple sticks with the 3.5 inch screen:

    >I pulled out my iPhone 4 to do a quick test, and it turns out that when you hold the iPhone in your left hand and articulate your thumb, you can reach almost exactly to the other side of the screen. This means it’s easy to touch any area of the screen while holding the phone in one hand, with your thumb.

    Makes a lot of sense. Not to mention the pocketability of this size.

  • iPhone 4S Voice and Data Plans: AT&T vs. Sprint vs. Verizon

    A nice run down of the data plan pricing. Interestingly Verizon doesn’t do as well as I thought it would.

  • Will Sprint iPhones be Fast?

    A nice look by Stacey Higginbotham on what the data speeds will be like on Sprint. From what she is saying it sounds as though AT&T is the top tier with the fastest and most expensive network (if it works in your area), Verizon is in the middle, and Sprint is the slower bargain priced carrier.

    Should be interesting to see how this works out for Verizon.

  • Remembering Steve Jobs

    Incredibly sad. My sincerest condolences to his family and friends.

  • This is a joke, right?

    *Note: Don’t read the post this article links to, just don’t. It’s terrible.*

    Zach “I say one thing and then take it back” Epstein over at BGR:
    >But an interesting takeaway from yesterday’s announcement may simply be that Apple has fallen from grace in some respects. Apple is fallible, even if the 4S ends up being a success.

    MG Siegler says in [response](http://parislemon.com/post/11065619448/apples-fall-from-grace) ((Read his entire response, it’s spot on.)):

    >This is, quite simply, one of the worst pieces I’ve ever read on Apple.

    While John Gruber [states](http://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/10/05/some-fall):

    >The *show me something new and shiny* pundits have never understood Apple.

    Me? I just wish I could have my time back I spent reading Epstein’s post.

  • ‘Unicorns and Wheels’

    Jason Kottke on the over (under?) reaction to the iPhone 4S:
    >This is where Apple is at with the iPhone now, a conceptually solved problem: people know what they are, what they’re used for, and Apple’s gonna knuckle down and crank out ever better/faster/smarter versions of them in the future.

    Or — to use an analogy Kottke uses — why would you reinvent the wheel when you just invented the damned thing?

  • Siri v. Google

    Dan Frommer on the implications that Siri has to Google search:
    >And, more importantly, Apple is sticking itself between you and Google, by offering direct search access to sites like Wikipedia and Yelp — and many more sites and apps to come, no doubt. Siri doesn’t have to go through Google Search, and it doesn’t show you any Google ads. And that should be scary to the folks at Google, which still makes the vast majority of its profit from search advertising.

    That’s a great point, though I think it all comes down to usage in the end.

  • Windows Tablets Versus the iPad

    Paul “Windows Guy” Thurrott:
    >I’ve been saying for a while now that Apple fanatics are underestimating the demand for Windows on an iPad-like tablet, and that many consumers probably walk into Apple Stores to see the iPad but then walk out without one when they discover it doesn’t run Windows or Microsoft Office.

    That explains the massive sales that Windows tablets (slates/convertibles) have had prior to the iPad, now doesn’t it.

  • Cult of Mac Blaming Apple for iPhone 4S Upgrade Pricing That Screws Loyal iPhone Customers

    David W. Martin is blaming Apple, under the thinly veiled guise of “an AT&T customer service representative (CSR)” telling him something, for the [messed up upgrade pricing](https://brooksreview.net/2011/10/att-upgrade-lunacy/) on the iPhone 4S. Yeah, I have heard from a few of those “CSRs” too — all of them blame AT&T, not Apple.

    Why would Apple — the company that works hard to continually lower or keep prices the same — not want everyone to buy the phone subsidized? Apple gets full price no matter what, so they would stand to sell many more phones if it was subsidized — thus it makes the most business and goodwill sense for Apple to offer the upgrade pricing.

    This “report” just makes no sense. ((Hard to believe he refrained from adding “Exclusive” to the title.))

  • Moving to Micro Four-Thirds

    Mike Davidson has a great look at the choices we currently have with regard to cameras. I personally use my iPhone 4 and a Canon 5D, however I have been considering the Micro 43 move as well — it makes better sense as a travel/hiking camera.

    If I could swing the expense, I would buy the Olympus PEN E-P3 (affiliate link) right now — a great setup.

  • ‘Cart before the horse’

    Florian Mueller with yet another excellent analysis — this time why Samsung’s attempt to ban the iPhone 4S is bad for everyone. Specifically that it would seem Samsung is jumping the gun, seeking to shut something down without even asking for licensing fees first. In his penultimate paragraph Mueller wonders:

    >Why aren’t those carriers, whose business fundamentally depends on the undisrupted functioning of industry standards, up in arms when Samsung uses communications standards patents against Apple?

    He is of course referring to this: “Verizon and T-Mobile filed amicus curiae (“friend-of-the-court”) briefs in support of Samsung in California”. The question then becomes: are Verizon and T-Mobile hypocrites?

    Time to pop some popcorn. ((Yes, Shawn, in the microwave.))

  • The Carrier Question

    Great, quick, overview by MG Siegler of what choosing each of the iPhone carriers likely means. I didn’t realize that AT&T was the only carrier that has the full 14.4 speed network that the new iPhone can do (at least they are for now).

  • HowTo: Setup Secure and Private Facebook Browsing

    Nik Cubrilovic has another post that I missed about how to setup up a secure system for browsing if you are a Facebook user. He breaks it into three steps, each of which have several sub-steps.

    I it still recommended by the TBR staff ((Which is just me.)) that you don’t use Facebook. The benefits (what ever you convince yourself they are) do not out weigh the eventual consequences. ((If you disagree, then so be it.))

  • Facebook Re-Enables Controversial Tracking Cookie

    Nik Cubrilovic on a Facebook cookie that tracks you, even if you are not a Facebook user:
    >The cookie was being set even if the user had never been to the Facebook site, and even if they didn’t click a ‘like’ or ‘share’ button.

    Damned good reason to never pollute your site with a Facebook button. ((I am contemplating the removal of the Tweet button on this site.)) It was present on my computer…

  • iPhone 4S – the Most Amazing iPhone Yet.

    New, illogical name. Same look with some amazing features. Notably an amazing camera, and the Siri assistant. You are going to want the 64GB model this time around.