The Brooks Review

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Recent Articles

  • The Trouble With Free

    Matthew Yglesias: >And so once the basic business proposition is “this company will make the most amazing Web services available and give them away for free in order to sell you to advertisers,” plummeting levels of privacy become inevitable. Very true, he also asks the million dollar question: >The business question is that if we…

    Matthew Yglesias:

    >And so once the basic business proposition is “this company will make the most amazing Web services available and give them away for free in order to sell you to advertisers,” plummeting levels of privacy become inevitable.

    Very true, he also asks the million dollar question:

    >The business question is that if we assume some other firm or set of firms could come up with comparable quality products to Gmail, Youtube, Google Search, etc., how many people would be willing to pay a premium for privacy-respecting ad-free versions of them and how much would they be willing to pay?

    [I would](https://brooksreview.net/2011/03/fragility-free/), but I am not the majority.

  • iBook and iAd Pluralization

    Marco Arment: >The books available on the iBookstore are just called books. I had no clue, but this seems *more* clumsy. With this method (as I read it) this statement would not be correct: “I own the *Steve Jobs* iBook.” Instead it seems the correct statement would be: “I own the *Steve Jobs* book, from…

    Marco Arment:

    >The books available on the iBookstore are just called books.

    I had no clue, but this seems *more* clumsy.

    With this method (as I read it) this statement would not be correct: “I own the *Steve Jobs* iBook.” Instead it seems the correct statement would be: “I own the *Steve Jobs* book, from the iBookstore.” That’s far more clumsy in my mind.

    You could, technically, leave out the “from the iBookstore” bit, but in doing so you would have no way of indicating that you purchased a digital version instead of a dead tree version.

  • ‘The Android Oil Rig’

    MG Siegler on Android’s money making ability compared to Apple’s iOS: >Google’s best shot to turn Android into a business with iPhone-like profits would be to create an Android-powered oil rig and get drilling.  As Siegler states, it doesn’t seem silly to think that one day Android will make Google money, but it does seem…

    MG Siegler on Android’s money making ability compared to Apple’s iOS:

    >Google’s best shot to turn Android into a business with iPhone-like profits would be to create an Android-powered oil rig and get drilling. 

    As Siegler states, it doesn’t seem silly to think that one day Android will make Google money, but it does seem silly to even imagine them making iOS like profits from Android. I think this is going to become a major problem for investors as they sit and watch Apple rake in the cash. Moreover it will be hard for Google to show a direct link from Android to profits — Android seems to be set up to indirectly profit Google and I think that will make it pretty hard to justify to Wall Street.

  • The B&B Podcast – Episode 44: Before a Live Studio Audience

    Super short episode and the first recorded with us in the same room. Brought to you by: [Verses](http://kepner.me/versesapp).

    Super short episode and the first recorded with us in the same room.

    Brought to you by: [Verses](http://kepner.me/versesapp).

  • ‘Size Still Matters’

    Tim Bray has an interesting post on cellphone screen size, where he says: >I noticed right from the start that I was always using the bigger one whenever there was a choice […] He carries one work phone and one personal phone, but they are different sizes and he likes the bigger screen. Again, Bray:…

    Tim Bray has an interesting post on cellphone screen size, where he says:

    >I noticed right from the start that I was always using the bigger one whenever there was a choice […]

    He carries one work phone and one personal phone, but they are different sizes and he likes the bigger screen. Again, Bray:

    >Yeah, there are a few occasions where I have to wiggle the phone around in my hand to reach some part of the screen. But the huge display and the soft buttons just make the Nexus S feel dinky and stupid and clumsy.

    That’s the part I find interesting because I read that as: “Yes the larger phone is more cumbersome to use, but I like that.” I get one phone dwarfing another, but is wiggling a phone around in your hand really the less clumsy option?

    Bray again:

    >But unless I’m weird, big-screen phones are going to be appealing to lots of people.

    Define “lots”…

  • ‘Shipped, Not Sold’

    Speaking of MG Siegler he has a great post up about Motorola’s performance in Q4.

    Speaking of MG Siegler he has a great post up about Motorola’s performance in Q4.

  • ‘Like Gasoline on a Fire’

    MG Siegler on Apple’s financial results: >A new iPhone plus holiday shopping season is apparently like gasoline on a fire. That’s why my bet is that Apple keeps this ‘new’ release schedule of a new iPhone every fall.

    MG Siegler on Apple’s financial results:

    >A new iPhone plus holiday shopping season is apparently like gasoline on a fire.

    That’s why my bet is that Apple keeps this ‘new’ release schedule of a new iPhone every fall.

  • Siri Reliability

    Marco Arment on the reliability of Siri: >Anecdotally, I’ve had about a 50% failure rate recently. Same here and what’s more is that Siri not being ‘available’ is far more frustrating than Siri not understanding you.

    Marco Arment on the reliability of Siri:

    >Anecdotally, I’ve had about a 50% failure rate recently.

    Same here and what’s more is that Siri not being ‘available’ is far more frustrating than Siri not understanding you.

  • Dalrymple on Apple’s iBooks Author EULA

    Jim Dalrymple on the iBooks EULA: >That doesn’t mean Apple owns the content of the book. You are free to sell the content of the book on Amazon or any other digital bookstore — you just can’t use Apple’s tools to build the book. If *The Beard* says it is so, then I believe it.

    Jim Dalrymple on the iBooks EULA:
    >That doesn’t mean Apple owns the content of the book. You are free to sell the content of the book on Amazon or any other digital bookstore — you just can’t use Apple’s tools to build the book.

    If *The Beard* says it is so, then I believe it.

  • ‘Doing it Right Totally Sucks’

    Matt Drance: >Hollywood continues to completely ignore that lesson. It continues to punish the people who play by the rules with an insufferable customer experience. This is the sole reason piracy is up and profits are down: because *doing it right totally sucks*.

    Matt Drance:

    >Hollywood continues to completely ignore that lesson. It continues to punish the people who play by the rules with an insufferable customer experience. This is the sole reason piracy is up and profits are down: because *doing it right totally sucks*.

  • What Information is Google Organizing?

    Sarah Lacy: >Put another way, is Google moving from being a company that organizes the world’s information to one that organizes the information of “your” world? Yes. And I don’t think that’s good — it’s certainly not what I want.

    Sarah Lacy:
    >Put another way, is Google moving from being a company that organizes the world’s information to one that organizes the information of “your” world?

    Yes. And I don’t think that’s good — it’s certainly not what I want.

  • Cool Guys Today

    A short hello video shot at Macworld. From left to right in the video it is: [Brett Kelly](http://nerdgap.com), [Stephen Hackett](http://512pixels.net), me, and [Shawn Blanc](http://shawnblanc.net).

    A short hello video shot at Macworld.

    From left to right in the video it is: [Brett Kelly](http://nerdgap.com), [Stephen Hackett](http://512pixels.net), me, and [Shawn Blanc](http://shawnblanc.net).

  • Why Does the Next Xbox Need Discs?

    An interesting point from Dan Frommer: >If the next generation of Microsoft’s Xbox gaming system will be designed to bring us well beyond 2020, why would it still rely on last century’s technology – spinning discs – for games? Of course the challenge, as Frommer points out, is the increasing size of games. It will…

    An interesting point from Dan Frommer:

    >If the next generation of Microsoft’s Xbox gaming system will be designed to bring us well beyond 2020, why would it still rely on last century’s technology – spinning discs – for games?

    Of course the challenge, as Frommer points out, is the increasing size of games. It will be interesting to see how video games consoles cope with the instant demand that iOS users have when they want games as the games keep getting bigger.

  • ‘Happiness Takes (A Little) Magic’

    Brian Lam: >Happiness is the most important metric in personal technology. If it improves lives, it is important. I’ve always suspected that sitting around on the internet was a sort of rot, but I had no proof until I read this piece on the Stanford study. I just don’t know why this research isn’t getting as…

    Brian Lam:
    >Happiness is the most important metric in personal technology. If it improves lives, it is important. I’ve always suspected that sitting around on the internet was a sort of rot, but I had no proof until I read this piece on the Stanford study. I just don’t know why this research isn’t getting as much attention from reporters as new iPads, CEO changes, earnings reports, acquisitions, and other bullshit that only affects the greedy.

    A powerful essay and one I highly recommend you read.

  • PDFpen for iPad

    Nice overview from Federico Viticci. I downloaded the app this morning and it really does look nice. The iCloud sync alone could be fantastic.

    Nice overview from Federico Viticci. I downloaded the app this morning and it really does look nice. The iCloud sync alone could be fantastic.

  • Quote of the Day: Dave Winer

    “Google’s feature-creep is creeping me out.” — Dave Winer

    “Google’s feature-creep is creeping me out.”

  • DuckDuckGo on Same Path as Google?

    Dave Winer: >DuckDuckGo could be that, except for this one problem. Imho, it’s inexorably on the same path that Google was on. That means they’re going to spend years of our time pretending that they are still on our side, until one day it’ll be blatantly obvious that we just wasted years waiting for them…

    Dave Winer:
    >DuckDuckGo could be that, except for this one problem. Imho, it’s inexorably on the same path that Google was on. That means they’re going to spend years of our time pretending that they are still on our side, until one day it’ll be blatantly obvious that we just wasted years waiting for them to give take us somewhere we’d want to go

    A very similar thought had crossed my mind when I moved over to DuckDuckGo, but I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt. I gave the same to Google until it became obvious that they gave up on being on the “user” side of things.

  • ‘Once Again, the Street Blew It’

    Philip Elmer-DeWitt after analyzing predictions by “Street analysts” and non-analysts(?) concludes: >Once again, the Street blew it. And although even the most bullish independents were surprised by the strength of Apple’s Q1 2012 results, at least they were in the ball park. Just look at the spreadsheet he put together — amazing how bad people…

    Philip Elmer-DeWitt after analyzing predictions by “Street analysts” and non-analysts(?) concludes:
    >Once again, the Street blew it. And although even the most bullish independents were surprised by the strength of Apple’s Q1 2012 results, at least they were in the ball park.

    Just look at the spreadsheet he put together — amazing how bad people that get paid to guess are at, erm, guessing.

  • ‘What Your Favorite Blog Says About You’

    Nick Douglas: >Daring Fireball: You know three ways to tell Helvetica from Arial. I’d add: *at least*.

    Nick Douglas:
    >Daring Fireball: You know three ways to tell Helvetica from Arial.

    I’d add: *at least*.

  • The Google Privacy Changes

    [This article](http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/google-tracks-consumers-across-products-users-cant-opt-out/2012/01/24/gIQArgJHOQ_story.html), or versions like it, have been getting emailed and sent to me all day long. There’s three important things that you need to know from this article: 1. Google is changing its privacy policy. 2. The change allows Google to share your information with itself so that it can integrate it’s own products.…

    [This article](http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/google-tracks-consumers-across-products-users-cant-opt-out/2012/01/24/gIQArgJHOQ_story.html), or versions like it, have been getting emailed and sent to me all day long. There’s three important things that you need to know from this article:

    1. Google is changing its privacy policy.
    2. The change allows Google to share your information with itself so that it can integrate it’s own products.
    3. Those changes happen March 1st and you can’t opt-out.

    These changes aren’t bad, they are actually good, and Google is going about them the right way. Google didn’t just plop the changes on everyone, they are changing the necessary documents first and giving people a heads up.

    >Google said it would notify its hundreds of millions of users of the change through an e-mail and a message on its Web sites. It will apply to all of its services except for Google Wallet, the Chrome browser and Google Books.

    Google isn’t trying to sell off your data to other people.

    So the scary thing about this is: more targeted ads with the data being pulled from all the a google properties.

    > If someone watches an NBA clip online and lives in Washington, the firm could advertise Washington Wizards tickets in that person’s Gmail account.

    That is scary, but a smart user already knows that Google has that information and all this change does is formally allows them to better tailor the ads to you. This is a fact of life with Google products. If you can’t accept that then you really shouldn’t be using Google products to begin with.

    The part I think is worth focusing on (that others aren’t) is that this is not an “evil” move by Google. At least I don’t think it is in the same way that the Search+ changes are.

    There is certainly a monetary reason for Google to do this,but more than that: this change will substantially improve Google’s services from the perspective of the user.

    >Consumers could also benefit, the company said. When someone is searching for the word “jaguar,” Google would have a better idea of whether the person was interested in the animal or the car. Or the firm might suggest e-mailing contacts in New York when it learns you are planning a trip there.

    This move has the potential to not only help Google’s bottom line, but to help Google’s users. When’s the last time Google did that?

    These services should have never been sandboxed to begin with, but they are. Google wants to change that. There’s good and bad with it, but I for one ((Not a Google lover.)) think there is far more good than bad here.