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[via Amitava B]
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Leica Sofort 2June 13, 2024
Grand Seiko SBGX261February 23, 2023
Casio Duro MDV-106 Re-ReviewDecember 15, 2022
Recent Articles
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[SPONSOR] Scheduling App
Scheduling is web based employee scheduling software that takes all the pain out of making and posting work schedules. People can easily request time off, use the company wall to communicate and post documents, and their work schedules get emailed automatically. There’s a 30 day free trial with no credit card required, and you can…
Scheduling is web based employee scheduling software that takes all the pain out of making and posting work schedules. People can easily request time off, use the company wall to communicate and post documents, and their work schedules get emailed automatically. There’s a 30 day free trial with no credit card required, and you can use the coupon code BROOKSREVIEW for 50% off your first paid month.
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Goodbye, Cruel Word
Steven Poole on leaving Microsoft Word: >Microsoft Word still uses the metaphor of the page, the computer screen that imitates a blank, bounded sheet of physical paper. For me, this is outdated and unimaginative. It has become a barrier rather than a window. His entire article is a fantastic read and really shows “the light”…
Steven Poole on leaving Microsoft Word:
>Microsoft Word still uses the metaphor of the page, the computer screen that imitates a blank, bounded sheet of physical paper. For me, this is outdated and unimaginative. It has become a barrier rather than a window.His entire article is a fantastic read and really shows “the light” that was triggered for me when I stopped using “page layout” programs to write in. ((I define ‘page layout’ programs as anything that wants you to save the formatting of your text in a way that said formatting would be lost if the ‘document’ was to be opened in a plain text editor. More importantly anything that shows “page breaks”.))
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Nintendo’s Pressure to Make iOS Games
Marco Arment commenting on the strategy of a company like Nintendo selling iOS versions of their games: >I’m not even sure that their brand recognition is relevant enough in these markets to guarantee that their games would do particularly well there. How much of the iOS gaming market is too young to have much loyalty…
Marco Arment commenting on the strategy of a company like Nintendo selling iOS versions of their games:
>I’m not even sure that their brand recognition is relevant enough in these markets to guarantee that their games would do particularly well there. How much of the iOS gaming market is too young to have much loyalty to Mario and Zelda? (And how much of the Facebook gaming market is too old?)
I’d go a step further and suggest that it’s not just the brand recognition, but that the fundamental way that games make money has changed. Nintendo made money off of: hardware, accessories, and games. Zynga and others makes money off of: fake currency, ads, and in-app purchases.
How do you make Mario into a game that sells for nothing and has IAP to make up for the difference? Game play, not just hardware, has changed. Nintendo hasn’t.
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Converse for iPad
This looks massively clever, what a great little tool.
This looks massively clever, what a great little tool.
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AFP: Apple, Publishers ‘Sued for Price Fixing’
AFP: >”We intend to prove that Apple needed a way to neutralize Amazon?s Kindle before its popularity could challenge the upcoming introduction of the iPad, a device Apple intended to compete as an e-reader,” Berman added. Apple *may* have been a party to actions publishers took with regard to price fixing, but if the entire…
AFP:
>”We intend to prove that Apple needed a way to neutralize Amazon?s Kindle before its popularity could challenge the upcoming introduction of the iPad, a device Apple intended to compete as an e-reader,” Berman added.Apple *may* have been a party to actions publishers took with regard to price fixing, but if the entire argument depends on proving that Apple was worried about its fully-functional tablet competing with an eInk reader — well you will lose that argument. Apple never made the iPad so that it would be *just* an e-reader, never.
This sounds like someone dragging the Apple brand into something to garner more attention.
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RIM Forced to Rewrite Its Playbook Again
Ina Fried, reporting in 2011 — contrary to the fact that it sounds more like 2010: >In the meantime, the shift means it will be even longer before RIM has a tablet capable of connecting to the Internet without Wi-Fi or a nearby BlackBerry. Someone needs to put RIM out of its misery at this…
Ina Fried, reporting in 2011 — contrary to the fact that it sounds more like 2010:
>In the meantime, the shift means it will be even longer before RIM has a tablet capable of connecting to the Internet without Wi-Fi or a nearby BlackBerry.Someone needs to put RIM out of its misery at this point.
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Theodolite from Hunter Research and Technology
My thanks to Hunter Research and Technology for sponsoring the RSS feed this week to promote Theodolite. This is one of those apps that make you feel like you are carrying a ‘Q’ issued iPhone — it’s just really damn neat. The best way I can describe it is that Theodolite is like your eyes…
My thanks to Hunter Research and Technology for sponsoring the RSS feed this week to promote Theodolite. This is one of those apps that make you feel like you are carrying a ‘Q’ issued iPhone — it’s just really damn neat.
The best way I can describe it is that Theodolite is like your eyes coupled with live data from a computer. You get all sorts of things to see: angles… well truly you get a bunch of data that may never be very useful, but that looks pretty sweet.
From where I sit the top of the door across the room is elevated at +8.5 degrees from here — the knob is -2.3 degrees from me. Theodolite is very choice.
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The B&B Podcast – Episode 22: Fo’ Drizzle
This is a good one to listen in on. Shawn takes over reading the ads and does his best “radio voice”, while he also *attempts* to tell some jokes. Oh and we talk about Internet speed stuff, backlit keyboards, and standing for work versus sitting. Many thanks to our sponsors: [Paste Interactive](http://pasteinteractive.com/) and [InVision](http://www.invisionapp.com/)
This is a good one to listen in on. Shawn takes over reading the ads and does his best “radio voice”, while he also *attempts* to tell some jokes. Oh and we talk about Internet speed stuff, backlit keyboards, and standing for work versus sitting.
Many thanks to our sponsors: [Paste Interactive](http://pasteinteractive.com/) and [InVision](http://www.invisionapp.com/)
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Quote of the Day: Russell Brand
“If we don’t want our young people to tear apart our communities then don’t let people in power tear apart the values that hold our communities together.” — Russell Brand
“If we don’t want our young people to tear apart our communities then don’t let people in power tear apart the values that hold our communities together.” -
The Patent System Is *Kind* Of Broken
Yesterday [Nilay Patel posted a massive overview](http://thisismynext.com/2011/08/11/broken-patent-system/) of the U.S. Patent system. I skimmed most of it once I got half way through — the tone didn’t sit well with me. I am linking to Marco Arment’s comments on the post as this statement really got me thinking: >Spoken like a true lawyer: yes, the…
Yesterday [Nilay Patel posted a massive overview](http://thisismynext.com/2011/08/11/broken-patent-system/) of the U.S. Patent system. I skimmed most of it once I got half way through — the tone didn’t sit well with me. I am linking to Marco Arment’s comments on the post as this statement really got me thinking:
>Spoken like a true lawyer: yes, the courts have given lawyers a lot of tools with which to defend patent lawsuits, but only those that actually reach the point of being heard in courts.
You should read all of Marco’s comments as I 100% agree with him.
Here’s another thought bouncing around my head: If we changed it so that patent disputes were decided through the USPTO instead of between lawyers — and sometimes courts — I wonder how much *less* that would cost everyone.
That is: is what is being patented the problem? Or are the courts the problem? Or are the over worked USPTO staff the problem? Or are the laws the problem? Or are lawyers the problem?
Don’t get me wrong, I like lawyers and think they serve a valuable purpose, but how many less patent disputes would we have if instead of a room full of lawyers it was a room full of USPTO staff and inventors — presumably people with direct knowledge of the patent and technologies and inventions at hand. ((Again this is not a solution, just a thought. Also this is not what Marco was saying, just something that he prompted me to think about, personally.))
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Eliminating Batteries
Christopher Mims: >The average human expends between 100 and 200 watts of power when exercising vigorously, but your iPhone can only accept up to 2.5 watts when charging. Somewhere, somehow, there’s got to be an inexpensive and reliable way to connect these two realities. I hear that [submerging humans in goo](https://f3a98a5aca88d28ed629-2f664c0697d743fb9a738111ab4002bd.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/the-matrix.gif) works pretty well.
Christopher Mims:
>The average human expends between 100 and 200 watts of power when exercising vigorously, but your iPhone can only accept up to 2.5 watts when charging. Somewhere, somehow, there’s got to be an inexpensive and reliable way to connect these two realities.I hear that [submerging humans in goo](https://f3a98a5aca88d28ed629-2f664c0697d743fb9a738111ab4002bd.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/the-matrix.gif) works pretty well.
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Counterfeit Pilot IDs and Uniforms Will Now Be Sufficient to Bypass Airport Security
Bruce Schneier on the TSA decision not to screen pilots: >But the TSA isn’t in a position to screen pilots; all they can decide to do is to not screen people who are in pilot uniforms with pilot IDs. And it’s far safer to just screen everybody than to trust that TSA agents will be…
Bruce Schneier on the TSA decision not to screen pilots:
>But the TSA isn’t in a position to screen pilots; all they can decide to do is to not screen people who are in pilot uniforms with pilot IDs. And it’s far safer to just screen everybody than to trust that TSA agents will be able figure out who is a real pilot and who is someone just pretending to be a pilot.I don’t have a problem with the idea of the TSA — I have a problem with the hiring standards to become a TSA agent. ((For example: I searched through the job openings for a basic screener with the TSA. No where in there are basic educational requirements. Basically you need to be a citizen, pass a basic background check and pass a TSA training course. I may be elitist in saying this, but those that are protecting our air travel — well — I just think they should be required to at least have an Associates Degree, at least.))
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App Store Review Culture and Entitlement
David Chartier on App Store reviews: >Maybe leaving these nasty reviews in the App Store is the first way a lot of people have felt any kind of power around technology in a really long time. That’s certainly part of it.
David Chartier on App Store reviews:
>Maybe leaving these nasty reviews in the App Store is the first way a lot of people have felt any kind of power around technology in a really long time.That’s certainly part of it.
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Webcolumn
I cringe every time someone mentions that I “blog”. I hate the term because the term to me means posting pictures of people doing stupid stuff and the food you ate for lunch. I tell people: “I write a website”. It was the best I could think of, but Skoda — he’s using ‘webcolumn’ now.…
I cringe every time someone mentions that I “blog”. I hate the term because the term to me means posting pictures of people doing stupid stuff and the food you ate for lunch. I tell people: “I write a website”. It was the best I could think of, but Skoda — he’s using ‘webcolumn’ now.
I quite like that.
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FTC Focuses Google Probe on Android, Web Search
The FTC and EU are looking into the anti-competitive practices that Google is allegedly doing. Apple is suing every Android “partner” they can get their hands on. Ditto Microsoft. Ditto Intellectual Ventures. Google is getting squeezed from every side — they are getting cornered. Reminds me of [this post I wrote in August 2010](https://brooksreview.net/2010/08/google-predictions/). (At…
The FTC and EU are looking into the anti-competitive practices that Google is allegedly doing. Apple is suing every Android “partner” they can get their hands on. Ditto Microsoft. Ditto Intellectual Ventures.
Google is getting squeezed from every side — they are getting cornered.
Reminds me of [this post I wrote in August 2010](https://brooksreview.net/2010/08/google-predictions/). (At least I got #1 right — so far.)
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Quote of the Day: Khoi Vinh
“You can be highly productive on the iPad if you’re creating something different from spreadsheets and slide decks — the problem is, that something hasn’t been invented yet.” — Khoi Vinh
“You can be highly productive on the iPad if you’re creating something different from spreadsheets and slide decks — the problem is, that something hasn’t been invented yet.” -
Elliot Jay Stocks’ New Mac Set-Up
On the most recent episode of The B&B Podcast I talked about how I may go back to the desktop + laptop routine. I have received some questions of how that would look, and basically it would be the exact same setup that Elliot Jay Stocks has right now. It seems like the perfect setup…
On the most recent episode of The B&B Podcast I talked about how I may go back to the desktop + laptop routine. I have received some questions of how that would look, and basically it would be the exact same setup that Elliot Jay Stocks has right now.
It seems like the perfect setup to me if I only had one office. Until I get rid of this second office a 13″ MacBook Air will be my best solution (given a limited budget).
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Siegler on: ‘Facebook Messenger, SMS and iMessage’
MG Siegler responded to [my post this morning](https://brooksreview.net/2011/08/sms/) about my feelings on Facebook Messenger and iMessage. The main question here is what happens to SMS when iMessage reaches 100% adoption. The answer: probably nothing. Meaning unless iMessage is open to be able for use on every device, then SMS is a more open, and thus…
MG Siegler responded to [my post this morning](https://brooksreview.net/2011/08/sms/) about my feelings on Facebook Messenger and iMessage. The main question here is what happens to SMS when iMessage reaches 100% adoption. The answer: probably nothing.
Meaning unless iMessage is open to be able for use on every device, then SMS is a more open, and thus likely, a more popular solution. The Facebook Messenger approach is to create a standalone app that *is* on every major platform and use the massive user base to make the app popular.
Two completely different approaches with Facebook Messenger having the potential to have the most impact on the SMS industry.
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Dressing Well
George Hobica: >But everything else being equal (same frequent flier status, etc.), when a flight is oversold in economy and the airline needs to upgrade someone, are they going to choose the passenger in the tank top or the one wearing the nice dress or suit? You already know the answer, (but as always, it…
George Hobica:
>But everything else being equal (same frequent flier status, etc.), when a flight is oversold in economy and the airline needs to upgrade someone, are they going to choose the passenger in the tank top or the one wearing the nice dress or suit? You already know the answer, (but as always, it doesn’t hurt to be extra nice to any staff you should encounter).
**Pro tip**: Dressing well gets you better service almost anywhere you go (restaurants, not the DMV, meetings, flying, travel). I don’t wear suits when I fly, but I also don’t wear PJ’s — I make sure to wear a nice looking outfit by today’s standards and by the standards of my age group (often slacks or nicer-than-jeans pants with a button down shirt).
You would be amazed at what better service you get when you put care into your outward appearance, even if you stop short of wearing a suit. Yes dressier clothes may not be as comfortable, but planes are uncomfortable anyways. Just remember: wearing a suit and sitting in first-class will always be more comfortable than your PJ’s in the sardine seat section.