The Brooks Review

Top Posts

Casio Duro MDV-106 Re-ReviewDecember 15, 2022
The Hype: Yoshida & Co’s Porter BagsAugust 26, 2025
Grand Seiko SBGX261February 23, 2023

Recent Articles

  • This Should Be A Lot Easier Than it is

    When every solution is just a good demo and not a good tool.

    My wife and I wanted to buy a new couch — the problem we ran into though was the new couch is huge. I typically can see how and where things fit very easily in my head, but this one needed some more planning because even I wasn’t sure.

    This seemed like the most natural use for an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil if I had ever heard of one. In the past I used various CAD programs on my Mac, or often Adobe Illustrator to help me figure it out. This time I downloaded a ton of apps to try and see what I could do to plan out this room.

    (more…)

  • The writing class I’d like to teach

    Jason Fried: It would be a writing course. Every assignment would be delivered in five versions: A three page version, a one page version, a three paragraph version, a one paragraph version, and a one sentence version. I’d pay to take that writing class.

    Jason Fried:

    It would be a writing course. Every assignment would be delivered in five versions: A three page version, a one page version, a three paragraph version, a one paragraph version, and a one sentence version.

    I’d pay to take that writing class.

  • In 2007, Trump was forced to face his own falsehoods

    David Fahrenthold: That deposition — 170 transcribed pages — offers extraordinary insights into Trump’s relationship with the truth. Trump’s falsehoods were unstrategic — needless, highly specific, easy to disprove. When caught, Trump sometimes blamed others for the error or explained that the untrue thing really was true, in his mind, because he saw the situation…

    David Fahrenthold:

    That deposition — 170 transcribed pages — offers extraordinary insights into Trump’s relationship with the truth. Trump’s falsehoods were unstrategic — needless, highly specific, easy to disprove. When caught, Trump sometimes blamed others for the error or explained that the untrue thing really was true, in his mind, because he saw the situation more positively than others did.

  • Microsoft Secure Boot key debacle causes security panic

    Microsoft has accidentally leaked the keys to the kingdom, permitting attackers to unlock devices protected by Secure Boot — and it may not be possible to fully resolve the leak. “Oops” seems like an understatement.

    Microsoft has accidentally leaked the keys to the kingdom, permitting attackers to unlock devices protected by Secure Boot — and it may not be possible to fully resolve the leak.

    “Oops” seems like an understatement.

  • Frequent Password Changes is Bad Advice

    Not so much the fact you change your password, but that it leads people to pick less secure passwords because they have to remember so many changes. Fairly obvious, but nice this is coming about now. We are creatures of habit and patters, get yourself 1Password (despite their overly complex and overbearing new pricing models,…

    Not so much the fact you change your password, but that it leads people to pick less secure passwords because they have to remember so many changes. Fairly obvious, but nice this is coming about now. We are creatures of habit and patters, get yourself 1Password (despite their overly complex and overbearing new pricing models, it’s still the best).

  • Fuck Yeah, Profanity

    Noah Berlatsky: If you’re teaching your kids profanity, you need to teach them that profanity isn’t something they’re supposed to use. Otherwise, how will they fucking learn to use it correctly? Every time my kids swear, I can barely contain my laughter. It’s fucking hilarious.

    Noah Berlatsky:

    If you’re teaching your kids profanity, you need to teach them that profanity isn’t something they’re supposed to use. Otherwise, how will they fucking learn to use it correctly?

    Every time my kids swear, I can barely contain my laughter. It’s fucking hilarious.

  • Outlier Quadzip Review

    I thought I wanted a smaller daily bag, turns out, I just wanted a lighter daily bag.

    Last year Outlier released the “Ultrahigh Backpack”, which is a Dyneema (a.k.a. Cuben Fiber) rolltop style backpack. It looks tremendous. The size is comparable to the smaller GR1, and the price is $350. It remains a drool worthy backpack, however the rolltop style of the bag always made me hesitate the many times my finger hovered over the buy button. I just wasn’t sold that it was the style of backpack I would find useful.

    This year, in addition to updating the Rolltop backpack design, Outlier introduced the Ultrahigh Quadzip Backpack. Taking the same design cues from the roll top, still making it out of the same fabric, but this time allowing the bag to be fully unzipped with a quad zipper design (more on that in a bit). At $298 I still hesitated to buy it, but given the bag purge I was already committed to, and my general dissatisfaction in my daily carry backpack situation, I went ahead and bought the bag.

    This is a stunning backpack.

    (more…)

  • The Oppressive Gospel of ‘Minimalism’

    The word was defanged, no longer a critical insult and no longer a viable strategy within art — though it never quite gave up its veneer of provocation. Even austerity can be made decadent: To wealthy practitioners, minimalism is now little more than a slightly intriguing perversion, like drinking at breakfast. Great follow up to…

    The word was defanged, no longer a critical insult and no longer a viable strategy within art — though it never quite gave up its veneer of provocation. Even austerity can be made decadent: To wealthy practitioners, minimalism is now little more than a slightly intriguing perversion, like drinking at breakfast.

    Great follow up to my recent newsletter on the topic. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter here, it’s a thing.

    (via Steve Owens)

  • Ulysses 2.6

    The best keeps getting better, on its way to perfection.

    This release, of the best writing software money can buy, is a bit of a dream release for me. It adds two spectacular features:

    1. Typewriter Mode
    2. Complete WordPress publishing

    It’s no secret that I love, and use, Ulysses all day long — nor is it a secret that I publish with WordPress and only use iOS. This storm of factors means that I have a very specific set of requirements to make a dream writing app, and The Soulmen (the company behind Ulysses) asked me what I still yearned for in their app. The above features were at the top of my very short list.

    (more…)

  • Travel Light: Outlier Futureworks

    These are the only pants I want to wear.

    After I last posted about travel pants, I had a pretty comfortable routine for my life: Icebreakers were my day-to-day pants, and the Bluffworks and Ministry of Supply pants were what I wore if I wanted to dress up a bit more. Sitting at the top of my “to test” list were the Outlier Futureworks. Aside from having a great name, they had a compelling promise:

    These are the ones to take around the world. Classic looks meet technical movement in a lightweight yet durable pant.

    At $140 they are more money than many other options you can buy, but they are the most inexpensive pants Outlier sells. I picked up a pair of them shortly after my last post on pants, and have been testing them nonstop ever since. I chose dark navy, as the color is versatile for both work and leisure.

    (more…)

  • Your 2 Cents

    Great advice.

    Great advice.

  • The New Desktop Linux

    Ok, here we go. Cracks Knuckles

    Watts Martin has penned an interesting take on people, like me, who are using iOS as their primary computer. I was reluctant to read this, since I respect Martin a great deal, but I think his post is a common sentiment of the anti-iOS-is-better-at-all-the-things crowd. I do think there is confusion here, though.

    A common statement by iOS is amazing people: “Some things are a little harder or slower, but it’s fun figuring that out.”

    (more…)

  • Credit card companies are blowing it with chip payments

    The title of this post is an understatement. One of my favorite places to shop right now is Walgreens. Why? Because they have somehow managed to unfuck the current payment system. I can not only use Apple Pay quickly and easily, but my loyalty card is setup to work with Apple Pay too. Walk in,…

    The title of this post is an understatement. One of my favorite places to shop right now is Walgreens. Why? Because they have somehow managed to unfuck the current payment system.

    I can not only use Apple Pay quickly and easily, but my loyalty card is setup to work with Apple Pay too. Walk in, use my watch for the loyalty card and payment, and walk out.

    I’ve seen these things take forever (Apple Pay fails a lot even at the Apple Store) but at Walgreens, for whatever reason, the shit is magically fast. That’s how it should be, and frankly it makes me prefer shopping there because of it. Office Depot is the worst by far — what a stupid set of systems we have right now.

  • Setting up My iOS Only Environment

    Some insight into how I am working iOS only.

    I’ve talked a bit about how I am using each of my devices, and why I went ahead and got a second iPad Pro. Now I want to talk more specifically about how I am accomplishing some of the key tasks that could end up being stumbling blocks for many people.

    (more…)

  • Does the Snapchat Generation Even Know What Yahoo Is?

    Om Malik: Yahoo is a perfect illustration of how large Internet companies die—by fading into irrelevance. A healthy Internet service possesses three qualities: it encourages habit formation; it appeals to a younger demographic, which can age alongside it; and it displays evidence of growth.

    Om Malik:

    Yahoo is a perfect illustration of how large Internet companies die—by fading into irrelevance. A healthy Internet service possesses three qualities: it encourages habit formation; it appeals to a younger demographic, which can age alongside it; and it displays evidence of growth.

  • State of Desktop iPadding

    I’ve used more duct tape in the past few months, than I have in the past few years.

    The launch of the Razer Mechanical keyboard brings about what will likely be among the first of many accessories which are seeking to make the iPad a better desktop computer — something that is likely to seem comical for many. The validity of using the iPad as a desktop computer notwithstanding, as a full time iPad Pro user I am finding the ways you can use the iPad on a desk to be challenging to say the least.

    (more…)

  • Traveling the World with One Backpack

    Life on the road with just a GR2? Yes please.

    Life on the road with just a GR2? Yes please.

  • Razer Mechanical Keyboard Case

    Jason Snell: If you want to turn your iPad into a nearly four-pound black laptop with mechanical keyswitches, this is the product for you. LOL

    Jason Snell:

    If you want to turn your iPad into a nearly four-pound black laptop with mechanical keyswitches, this is the product for you.

    LOL

  • Traveling Light: Merino Ankle Socks

    Holy heel balls, these are amazing socks.

    When I posted my initial Traveling Light post on socks, I mentioned how I don’t wear anything special for style considerations. There is, however, one caveat: athletic socks, or more specifically the ankle socks I wear with shorts and sneakers.

    I picked up two different kinds to try over my recent family vacation, and I am a little blown away at how great they are. (I would have bought them sooner, but I so rarely wear these, I never got around to it.) I picked up Icebreakers and Darn Tough socks, both are heavily Merino wool based.

    (more…)

  • Traveling Light: Warm Weather Gear

    I never thought I would be so excited about a pair of shorts.

    I mentioned in my initial posts that I would be following up to post about shorts and short-sleeved shirts. This is that post. I tried out the Outlier New Ways, and the Ministry of Supply Apollo Polo shirts. Both are outstanding.

    (more…)