The Brooks Review

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Leica Sofort 2June 13, 2024
The Hype: Yoshida & Co’s Porter BagsAugust 26, 2025
Casio Duro MDV-106 Re-ReviewDecember 15, 2022

Recent Articles

  • Arming the TSA, and Not With Knowledge

    [Brian Tumulty](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/02/tsa-lax-shooting-armed-guards/3394601/): > The union representing airport screeners for the Transportation Security Administration says Friday’s fatal shooting of an agent at Los Angeles International Airport highlights the need for armed security officers at every airport checkpoint. Why stop there? Why not arm the ticketing agents, the bag handlers, and the custodian staff should definitely get…

    [Brian Tumulty](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/02/tsa-lax-shooting-armed-guards/3394601/):

    > The union representing airport screeners for the Transportation Security Administration says Friday’s fatal shooting of an agent at Los Angeles International Airport highlights the need for armed security officers at every airport checkpoint.

    Why stop there? Why not arm the ticketing agents, the bag handlers, and the custodian staff should definitely get AR-15s. The gate agents should get shotguns though, too close range for an AR. ((I very much feel for the family of the victim(s), but it’s this kind of reactionary thinking that makes the rest of the world laugh at us.))

  • Quote of the Day: The Macalope

    “It’s odd that an article “rediscovering” the concept of planned obsolescence would be about Apple, as its phones have a far longer shelf life and a far higher resale value than any of its competitors’ phones. The fact that it’s about Apple says more about the Times’s business model than it does about Apple’s.” —…

    “It’s odd that an article “rediscovering” the concept of planned obsolescence would be about Apple, as its phones have a far longer shelf life and a far higher resale value than any of its competitors’ phones. The fact that it’s about Apple says more about the Times’s business model than it does about Apple’s.”

  • ‘Tom Bihn Co-Pilot Bag Review’

    Matt Henderson, talking about why he is switching away from the universally loved Ristretto: > First, its vertical orientation. When all my gear is packed in the bag, it’s quite tight in depth (from front to back). However, since it’s tall, there’s still a lot of unused (and unusable) volume in the top of the…

    Matt Henderson, talking about why he is switching away from the universally loved Ristretto:

    > First, its vertical orientation. When all my gear is packed in the bag, it’s quite tight in depth (from front to back). However, since it’s tall, there’s still a lot of unused (and unusable) volume in the top of the bag.

    That’s a really astute point and one that becomes very annoying when you are trying to cram a bunch of crap into the bag to get home. I ran into that a bunch when I had the bag, but I never put it together as being part of the vertical nature of the bag.

    Henderson bought the Co-Pilot (a bag that has always interested me) and has some good thoughts on his limited usage of the bag thus far.

    The one thing I cannot be convinced of is that the Dyneema nylon looks good. I like the checkerboard design on the inside of the bag, but it looks silly to me on the exterior.

  • ‘iPad Air Benchmarks Versus Other Apple Devices’

    Bare Feats: > The iPad Air is truly twice as fast as the iPad 4 running the three CPU crunch tests and two GPU intensive tests above. BrowserMark was the only exception.

    Bare Feats:

    > The iPad Air is truly twice as fast as the iPad 4 running the three CPU crunch tests and two GPU intensive tests above. BrowserMark was the only exception.

  • Let’s make it 2.0 so we can charge for it again.

    [Chris Bowler on apps that charge for new versions](http://chrisbowler.com/journal/app-fatigue): > But as the consumer, I have to admit I grow tired of paying for the same app three or four times. I suspect this is a common refrain and I think there are more than a few issues compounding this: 1. The iOS 7 update…

    [Chris Bowler on apps that charge for new versions](http://chrisbowler.com/journal/app-fatigue):

    > But as the consumer, I have to admit I grow tired of paying for the same app three or four times.

    I suspect this is a common refrain and I think there are more than a few issues compounding this:

    1. The iOS 7 update has certainly caused a lot of apps to charge for new versions and all together that gets expensive, but this is certainly not how a normal couple of months go for paid upgrades of apps.
    2. As Bowler notes, there is no reason to upgrade something that is working, but we often feel we *must*. Either because of a new design, new features, or what have you to an app that we use several times a day. It’s hard not to update something when you use it constantly and the upgrade is only a few dollars. That said, it adds up.
    3. There are some bad seed developers ruining the experience for others. Some that do barely anything to their app and then call it version 12 and charge for a new version. I’ve been seeing a lot of head scratchers lately, and that is also adding to customer frustrations.

    There’s nothing easy to point at as the cause, but there are a lot of little factors that are adding up right now. Ultimately, I think more subscription pricing is the future — allowing developers to set expectations that you have to pay me $X.99 per year/month to use this app. I’d personally love to see apps start charging $1.99-2.99 a year for an app with free upgrades. There’s no surprises in that for users and it gives developers a way to keep money coming in without having to resort to shady tactics.

  • More Reasons to Hate Comcast

    The Washington Post had a [nice investigative article about Comcast donating to opponents of Seattle’s incumbent mayor, Mike McGinn](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/10/31/comcast-is-donating-heavily-to-defeat-the-mayor-who-is-bringing-gigabit-fiber-to-seattle/). (McGinn is trying to get gigabit fiber in a way that hurts the Comcast monopoly in Seattle.) The Post just added to that with [an interview with McGinn](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/11/01/seattle-mayor-i-have-comcast-and-i-would-like-better-service/), which begins: > **First, I have a personal…

    The Washington Post had a [nice investigative article about Comcast donating to opponents of Seattle’s incumbent mayor, Mike McGinn](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/10/31/comcast-is-donating-heavily-to-defeat-the-mayor-who-is-bringing-gigabit-fiber-to-seattle/). (McGinn is trying to get gigabit fiber in a way that hurts the Comcast monopoly in Seattle.) The Post just added to that with [an interview with McGinn](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/11/01/seattle-mayor-i-have-comcast-and-i-would-like-better-service/), which begins:

    > **First, I have a personal question. Who is your Internet provider and are happy with your service?**
    > My Internet is provided by Comcast, and I know my family would like better service. I will speak for my gamer son as well.

    And ends:

    > **Do you have any specific comment on Comcast’s contributions to various PACs during this race?**
    > I just think it speaks for itself.

    God, I hate Comcast.

  • Hypocrites

    Julian Borger: > The German, French, Spanish and Swedish intelligence services have all developed methods of mass surveillance of internet and phone traffic over the past five years in close partnership with Britain’s GCHQ eavesdropping agency. And, my favorite bit: > The German, French and Spanish governments have reacted angrily to reports based on National…

    Julian Borger:
    > The German, French, Spanish and Swedish intelligence services have all developed methods of mass surveillance of internet and phone traffic over the past five years in close partnership with Britain’s GCHQ eavesdropping agency.

    And, my favorite bit:

    > The German, French and Spanish governments have reacted angrily to reports based on National Security Agency (NSA) files leaked by Snowden since June, revealing the interception of communications by tens of millions of their citizens each month. US intelligence officials have insisted the mass monitoring was carried out by the security agencies in the countries involved and shared with the US.

  • What it’s like to carry an 8lbs Bag

    Gabe Weatherhead: > This is the bag you finish with, not the bag you start with. Oh, and that’s 8lbs *empty*.

    Gabe Weatherhead:

    > This is the bag you finish with, not the bag you start with.

    Oh, and that’s 8lbs *empty*.

  • Most Exciting

    [Kerry Dawson](http://dailymacview.com/2013/11/02/twenty-four-hours-with-the-ipad-air/) on the iPad Air: > It is probably one of the most exciting devices to have emerged from Apple for a while. Although the iPad Air has predecessors and nobody can say it doesn’t have a great lineage to call its own, it stands unique in its line. *Agreed.*

    [Kerry Dawson](http://dailymacview.com/2013/11/02/twenty-four-hours-with-the-ipad-air/) on the iPad Air:

    > It is probably one of the most exciting devices to have emerged from Apple for a while. Although the iPad Air has predecessors and nobody can say it doesn’t have a great lineage to call its own, it stands unique in its line.

    *Agreed.*

  • One-Strapping

    Forrest Wickman: > I, like everyone cool (or trying to be cool) in my high school, one-strapped all the way. It was a foundational tenet of cool—you might argue about what kind of music was cool, or what clothes, or what hairstyles, but it was a given that one-strapping was the only way to wear…

    Forrest Wickman:
    > I, like everyone cool (or trying to be cool) in my high school, one-strapped all the way. It was a foundational tenet of cool—you might argue about what kind of music was cool, or what clothes, or what hairstyles, but it was a given that one-strapping was the only way to wear a backpack. Is one-strapping really not cool anymore? And if so, how could something once so cool become so not?

    Absolutely fascinating look at pop culture in the US.

  • Ummm, What?

    [Jim Dalrymple](lhttp://www.loopinsight.com/2013/10/31/j-d-power-tablet-numbers-dont-add-up/): > So cost is the lowest percentage of importance. Apple scored higher in every category, except price which is ranked the lowest by percentage, but yet Samsung wins?

    [Jim Dalrymple](lhttp://www.loopinsight.com/2013/10/31/j-d-power-tablet-numbers-dont-add-up/):

    > So cost is the lowest percentage of importance. Apple scored higher in every category, except price which is ranked the lowest by percentage, but yet Samsung wins?

  • Holy BIOS

    [Dan Goodin](http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/10/meet-badbios-the-mysterious-mac-and-pc-malware-that-jumps-airgaps/): > With the speakers and mic intact, Ruiu said, the isolated computer seemed to be using the high-frequency connection to maintain the integrity of the badBIOS infection as he worked to dismantle software components the malware relied on. > “The airgapped machine is acting like it’s connected to the Internet,” he said. “Most…

    [Dan Goodin](http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/10/meet-badbios-the-mysterious-mac-and-pc-malware-that-jumps-airgaps/):

    > With the speakers and mic intact, Ruiu said, the isolated computer seemed to be using the high-frequency connection to maintain the integrity of the badBIOS infection as he worked to dismantle software components the malware relied on.

    > “The airgapped machine is acting like it’s connected to the Internet,” he said. “Most of the problems we were having is we were slightly disabling bits of the components of the system. It would not let us disable some things. Things kept getting fixed automatically as soon as we tried to break them. It was weird.”

    The best guess is that the first computer was infected from a USB device, but what’s nuts (if true, it’s not 100% yet) is that a computer with no wifi or Bluetooth, or ethernet can still communicate and send data through the mic and speakers. I mean. Wow. What a hack.

    Update: [Errata Security has more information](http://blog.erratasec.com/2013/10/badbios-features-explained.html#.UnQYebK9KK0) on the plausibility of this hack:

    > In other words, while I know of no talk at a hacking conference on “air gapped communication” via sound waves, it’s pretty darn easy, so expect to see one soon at a conference.

    > By the way, there are other ways to do air gapped communications using covert channels. For example, you might exploit blinking LEDs and using the built-in camera on the laptop. Or, you might be able to monitor the voltage on the power supply on one computer while turn on the power supply on/off on another. The overage laptop computer has a godaweful number of inputs/outputs that we don’t quite realize.

    Excuse me while I go buy more tin foil.

  • Patent Wars

    Matt Drance on the patent filings against Google: > If you think that sounds like nearly 95% of Google’s revenue, you’re not alone. This sole patent feels like enough motivation for Google to have won this auction at all costs. Not only did Google not win, it made joke bids. What were they thinking?

    Matt Drance on the patent filings against Google:

    > If you think that sounds like nearly 95% of Google’s revenue, you’re not alone. This sole patent feels like enough motivation for Google to have won this auction at all costs. Not only did Google not win, it made joke bids. What were they thinking?

  • The Push

    Shawn Blanc, talking about which iPad would be best for him, [mentions a quandary that I often find myself in][1]: > There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages to iOS’s constraints just as there are advantages and disadvantages to the versatility of OS X. Each device and its operating system have their own ways of…

    Shawn Blanc, talking about which iPad would be best for him, [mentions a quandary that I often find myself in][1]:

    > There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages to iOS’s constraints just as there are advantages and disadvantages to the versatility of OS X. Each device and its operating system have their own ways of empowering creative work as well as hindering it.
    > It’s often easier for me to work from my MacBook Air and sometimes I flat out need to. But I want to and will continue to work from my iPad as often as possible.

    There is no doubt that if I have a desk to work at, and fast WiFi, it is almost always easier for me to work with my MacBook Pro. *For any task*. the MacBook Pro is fast, it has a bigger screen, a [better keyboard][2], and all of my Keyboard Maestro macros.

    But, I still very much want to work on my iPad as much as possible.

    Like Shawn, when I travel, I struggle with what I should take, laptop, iPad, or both. I have gone through a lot of work to make sure that I can do 90-95% of my work on my iOS devices with no problems, but that doesn’t mean I can do that work as fast as on my MacBook Pro.

    That’s frustrating as a nerd, and I didn’t realize why until now. It’s not the device speed, but instead it is a lot like HDMI, well before HDMI was standard. I’d get a TV or receiver with HDMI ports, but no devices that used HDMI — what I really wanted was to *use* the HDMI ports, not just have them. That’s what having an iPad feels like to me at time: a great tool that is missing parts to make it truly useful.

    [I think John Gruber explained this nerd want for change well][3]:

    > The way I see the iPad taking over the mass market from laptop PCs is subtly. I think it’s more about people hanging on to old laptops for legacy tasks, spending their money now on new iPads, and then using their old laptops less and less over time.

    I could easily get by without an iPad. It would be even easier to get by with an iPad 2. But with each new model of iPads my life gets a bit easier — not exponentially, but incrementally. Even so I don’t need an iPad, but I want one. I want to use it more.

    And as Gruber highlights it will be a slow takeover, but as a nerd I want it to be an immediate takeover and the pull between the two is painful for any nerd. But the platform isn’t ready yet, it gets closer everyday, but it’s not quite there yet.

    I suspect this is part of the pull that nerds are feeling, and part of the push that ‘normals’ are beginning to feel. The idea that the next thing is already here, but the rest of the world, in one way or another, has yet to catch up.

    I bought my MacBook Pro with the assumption that I wouldn’t upgrade it for three years. By then my iPad might be faster at computing tasks. By then the iPad may be *there*. By then I just may not need a laptop in the traditional sense of what people use laptops for.

    I can’t wait for then.

    [1]: http://shawnblanc.net/2013/10/airs/
    [2]: https://brooksreview.net/2013/10/code/
    [3]: http://daringfireball.net/linked/2013/10/30/bajarin-iPad-air

  • Patent War

    Joe Mullin: > The complaint tries to use the fact that Google bid for the patents as an extra point against the search giant. “Google subsequently increased its bid multiple times, ultimately bidding as high as $4.4 billion,” write Rockstar’s lawyers. “That price was insufficient to win the auction, as a group led by the…

    Joe Mullin:
    > The complaint tries to use the fact that Google bid for the patents as an extra point against the search giant. “Google subsequently increased its bid multiple times, ultimately bidding as high as $4.4 billion,” write Rockstar’s lawyers. “That price was insufficient to win the auction, as a group led by the current shareholders of Rockstar purchased the portfolio for $4.5 billion. Despite losing in its attempt to acquire the patents-in-suit at auction, Google has infringed and continues to infringe the patents-in-suit.”

    This is going to get nasty. Can’t wait.

  • ‘Clone Dropbox with a Raspberry Pi and BTSync’

    I’ve been using BTSync for a while now and it is fantastic. I have a Mac mini server to sync with, but if you don’t then this solution from Shane Reustle looks like a great solution. I’d love it if the hard drive could be encrypted too — I am sure it is possible.

    I’ve been using BTSync for a while now and it is fantastic. I have a Mac mini server to sync with, but if you don’t then this solution from Shane Reustle looks like a great solution. I’d love it if the hard drive could be encrypted too — I am sure it is possible.

  • Schneier on Security: NSA Eavesdropping on Google and Yahoo Networks

    Bruce Schneier: > Although the Washington Post article specifically talks about Google and Yahoo, you have to assume that all the other major — and many of the minor — cloud services are compromised this same way. That means Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Badoo, Dropbox, and on and on and on.

    Bruce Schneier:

    > Although the Washington Post article specifically talks about Google and Yahoo, you have to assume that all the other major — and many of the minor — cloud services are compromised this same way. That means Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Badoo, Dropbox, and on and on and on.

  • Portable Electronics Frequently Asked Questions

    You heard you can now use your iPad during all phases of the flight, right? Well don’t get too excited: > Can I use my e-book reader/tablet/cell phone throughout my flight now? > Once your airline has shown the FAA its airplanes can safely handle radio interference from portable electronics, they can let you use…

    You heard you can now use your iPad during all phases of the flight, right? Well don’t get too excited:

    > Can I use my e-book reader/tablet/cell phone throughout my flight now?
    > Once your airline has shown the FAA its airplanes can safely handle radio interference from portable electronics, they can let you use your devices in airplane mode only most of the time. At certain times — for example, a landing in reduced visibility — the Captain may tell passengers to turn off their devices to make absolutely sure they don’t interfere with onboard communications and navigation equipment.

    So the FAA has approved it, but now the airlines themselves have to send data to the FAA to allow passengers to use these devices. That shouldn’t take *any* time.

  • Quote of the Day: Moron Rogers

    “You can’t have your privacy violated if you don’t know your privacy is violated.” – Moron Rogers

    “You can’t have your privacy violated if you don’t know your privacy is violated.”

  • ‘I Challenged Hackers to Investigate Me and What They Found Out Is Chilling’

    Adam L. Penenberg: > The newly updated OSX malware, which another member of the team, digital forensics specialist Josh Grunzweig coded, was dropped on to her machine. SpiderLabs now had complete access to her laptop whenever it was on the Internet. > On Charlotte’s machine were our family’s W2s, which included our social security numbers as well…

    Adam L. Penenberg:

    > The newly updated OSX malware, which another member of the team, digital forensics specialist Josh Grunzweig coded, was dropped on to her machine. SpiderLabs now had complete access to her laptop whenever it was on the Internet.

    > On Charlotte’s machine were our family’s W2s, which included our social security numbers as well as our income and all of our deductions, paperwork and copies of credit card and banking statements. They also came upon a password to our home router. More frightening, they discovered her password and log in to our Chase online banking account.