The Brooks Review

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Leica Sofort 2June 13, 2024
Grand Seiko SBGX261February 23, 2023
Casio Duro MDV-106 Re-ReviewDecember 15, 2022

Recent Articles

  • Mariners ‘Peanut Man’ Rick Kaminski

    [Sad news today](https://twitter.com/#!/king5seattle/status/96276328705302528) that ‘Peanut Man’ Rick Kaminski of the Seattle Mariners has passed away. He has been a highlight of Mariners games for years now, I am linking not to the story of his passing, but to a video highlighting his skills. He will be missed. Update:[ A note from Mariners president Chuck Armstrong](http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/marinersblog/2015742490_mariners_at_new_york_yankees_j_2.html#continue):…

    [Sad news today](https://twitter.com/#!/king5seattle/status/96276328705302528) that ‘Peanut Man’ Rick Kaminski of the Seattle Mariners has passed away. He has been a highlight of Mariners games for years now, I am linking not to the story of his passing, but to a video highlighting his skills.

    He will be missed.

    Update:[ A note from Mariners president Chuck Armstrong](http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/marinersblog/2015742490_mariners_at_new_york_yankees_j_2.html#continue):

    >On behalf of everyone at the Seattle Mariners, our deepest sympathies go out to Rick Kaminski’s partner Candy, his family, his many friends, and fans. Rick was a fixture at Seattle sporting events for as long as I can remember. His speed and accuracy with a bag of peanuts was matched by his quick wit and smile. He always seemed happy to see you, even if he was meeting you for the first time. Rick loved what he did and the fans loved him for it. He will be sorely missed at Safeco Field as well as Peoria, Arizona, where he got in his ‘Spring Training’ along with everyone else.

  • The 13″ MacBook Pro’s Place

    Stephen M. Hackett commenting on the 13″ MacBook Pro’s position: >This machine is a great cross between power and portability. Pros need FireWire 800, Ethernet and more onboard. I know I can’t live with an Air as my primary machine at work. Because nothing screams pro like: [Supported resolutions: 1280 by 800 (native)](http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro?mco=MTM3NjU5MzU). If you…

    Stephen M. Hackett commenting on the 13″ MacBook Pro’s position:
    >This machine is a great cross between power and portability. Pros need FireWire 800, Ethernet and more onboard. I know I can’t live with an Air as my primary machine at work.

    Because nothing screams pro like: [Supported resolutions: 1280 by 800 (native)](http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro?mco=MTM3NjU5MzU). If you really need power and portability with FireWire 800: MacBook Air 13″ Core i7 with a new Thunderbolt display. There are also Thunderbolt adapter cables in the works to provide FireWire 800 without the extra glass. The 13″ is dead and, unfortunately, Apple just hasn’t told it that yet.

  • Ryan Cash on Online Newpapers

    >Welcome to the Internet – a place where physical pages don’t exist, and there’s no such thing as “no space left”. So true.

    >Welcome to the Internet – a place where physical pages don’t exist, and there’s no such thing as “no space left”.

    So true.

  • Mad Men on Netflix Instant Streaming

    It’s a fantastic show. Now is the time to catch up. Also, Netflix, your instant streaming selection is rather poor — Mad Men makes up for it somewhat, but we both know you can do better.

    It’s a fantastic show. Now is the time to catch up. Also, Netflix, your instant streaming selection is rather poor — Mad Men makes up for it somewhat, but we both know you can do better.

  • This Is Why Your Newspaper Is Dying

    Number 1 and number 7 drive me nuts.

    Number 1 and number 7 drive me nuts.

  • Why Microsoft Won’t Dump Bing

    Bing is integrated everywhere in Microsoft products, so it *is* unlikely that they would fire sale Bing. Though the whole search ‘on your TV with Kinect’ component — that sounds “fun”. ((Also gotta love the 1995 era design on this site.))

    Bing is integrated everywhere in Microsoft products, so it *is* unlikely that they would fire sale Bing. Though the whole search ‘on your TV with Kinect’ component — that sounds “fun”. ((Also gotta love the 1995 era design on this site.))

  • The B&B Podcast – Episode 20: MacBook Airs

    In this episode Shawn and I mostly talk about his new MacBook Air and FileVault. We also touch on some pre-holiday Apple launches and I talk about the degrading quality of our Skype connection — even though as a listener you won’t hear it… Thanks to the fantastic [Fantastical](http://flexibits.com/) for sponsoring.

    In this episode Shawn and I mostly talk about his new MacBook Air and FileVault. We also touch on some pre-holiday Apple launches and I talk about the degrading quality of our Skype connection — even though as a listener you won’t hear it…

    Thanks to the fantastic [Fantastical](http://flexibits.com/) for sponsoring.

  • Face Detection Software and API Land in iOS 5

    Mark Gurman: >Apple is not specifically planning to launch an iOS 5 application that relies on their face detection technology, but plans to do something much more important. Open up facial recognition as a public developer API for iOS 5 applications. I bet Apple does use face detection in one of their most prominent apps…

    Mark Gurman:
    >Apple is not specifically planning to launch an iOS 5 application that relies on their face detection technology, but plans to do something much more important. Open up facial recognition as a public developer API for iOS 5 applications.

    I bet Apple does use face detection in one of their most prominent apps on the iPhone: the camera. Not so you can tag friends, but so you get that fancy ‘focus on faces’ mode that is popular in point and shoots.

  • Transparent Lithium-Ion Batteries Make Sci-Fi Gadgets a Reality

    This is cool, but it would be way cooler if they had a green meter on them that made the batteries look like they had liquid in them. Thus you can visually see the battery draining — although this is not as useful as a clear battery. ((This is why I am not in charge…

    This is cool, but it would be way cooler if they had a green meter on them that made the batteries look like they had liquid in them. Thus you can visually see the battery draining — although this is not as useful as a clear battery. ((This is why I am not in charge of such decisions.))

  • Mac OS X Lion Login Passwords Extracted With Ease

    Isn’t it fun when a new version of Mac OS X comes out and you get to learn about all these security companies that you never heard of before? Not really, but Mike Lennon reports on a possible vulnerability in 10.6 and 10.7: >The Mac OS vulnerability relates to user login passwords that are stored…

    Isn’t it fun when a new version of Mac OS X comes out and you get to learn about all these security companies that you never heard of before? Not really, but Mike Lennon reports on a possible vulnerability in 10.6 and 10.7:

    >The Mac OS vulnerability relates to user login passwords that are stored in the system memory even if the computer is locked or put into a sleep mode. Passware’s software captures live Mac computer memory over FireWire and analyzes it, extracting these passwords, a process that the company says takes just a few minutes–regardless of password strength and use of a FileVault encryption.

    So I guess a good defense would be to use a MacBook Air because it doesn’t have FireWire?

  • Kobo, WSJ Halt Direct Sales on Apple-Device Apps

    By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg And Russell Adams reporting: >In a pair of moves that suggest Apple Inc. is enforcing rules for selling content on its devices, Kobo Inc., the Canadian e-book retailer, and The Wall Street Journal said Sunday they will no longer sell content directly to customers through their apps for Apple devices. [I…

    By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg And Russell Adams reporting:
    >In a pair of moves that suggest Apple Inc. is enforcing rules for selling content on its devices, Kobo Inc., the Canadian e-book retailer, and The Wall Street Journal said Sunday they will no longer sell content directly to customers through their apps for Apple devices.

    [I doubt any of this will matter soon.](http://www.apple.com/ios/ios5/features.html#newsstand)

    UPDATE: [Looks like Amazon killed their button to the Kindle Store too](http://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/25/amazons-kindle-app-updated-to-remove-direct-kindle-store-links/). Periodicals will likely go the way of the Newsstand as I alluded to above, however book apps like Kobo and Kindle — they will likely have to suffer. Still though it’s better than Apple making iBooks the only ebook reader on iOS.

  • Hide Reading List in Safari’s Bookmarks Bar

    Great tip.

    Great tip.

  • McDonalds Wi-Fi Guide

    Classic.

    Classic.

  • Quote of the Day: Mike Elgan

    “For those of you under the age of 25, a magazine is a blog made out of trees” — Mike Elgan

    “For those of you under the age of 25, a magazine is a blog made out of trees”

  • Google

    Robert Scoble relaying a conversation he had with Google VP Vic Gundotra about some of the problems Google+ has right now: >He says it isn’t about real names. He says he isn’t using his legal name here. He says, instead, it is about having common names and removing people who spell their names in weird…

    Robert Scoble relaying a conversation he had with Google VP Vic Gundotra about some of the problems Google+ has right now:
    >He says it isn’t about real names. He says he isn’t using his legal name here. He says, instead, it is about having common names and removing people who spell their names in weird ways, like using upside-down characters, or who are using obviously fake names, like “god” or worse.

    I find that hard to believe. They allowed whatever name people wanted to use for email addresses — suddenly now they want them to be “real”? I forget, do advertisers like to be able to link data with real names? ((Actually I didn’t forget. They do.))

  • [SPONSOR] Brew Review

    Brew Review is an iPhone app that helps you rate and track the beers you taste in your own personal beer journal. Ratings are made from a hand picked list of qualities, so it’s easy to capture the details you want to remember, such as the flavors and aromas or the intensity of the hops…

    Brew Review is an iPhone app that helps you rate and track the beers you taste in your own personal beer journal. Ratings are made from a hand picked list of qualities, so it’s easy to capture the details you want to remember, such as the flavors and aromas or the intensity of the hops and malt that you taste in your beer.

    With Brew Review, whether you’re new to the world of beer, or a seasoned pro with a wealth of beer knowledge, you’ll never forget the beers you enjoy, and more importantly, why you enjoyed them.

  • Why Google Cares if You Use Your Real Name

    Dave Winer on why Google cares if you use a *real* name for Google Plus: >And to give them information about what you do on the Internet, without obfuscation of pseudonyms. It’s about the greenbacks…

    Dave Winer on why Google cares if you use a *real* name for Google Plus:
    >And to give them information about what you do on the Internet, without obfuscation of pseudonyms.

    It’s about the greenbacks…

  • When Statistics Are Not Helpful

    Dave Cameron, perhaps my favorite baseball writer, informing readers of his diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia: >Statistics can be powerful, useful tools, and at times, they can be critical to understanding what to do. Other times, though, they’re useless, and so, for this situation, I say screw the data; I choose hope instead. Thoughts and…

    Dave Cameron, perhaps my favorite baseball writer, informing readers of his diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia:

    >Statistics can be powerful, useful tools, and at times, they can be critical to understanding what to do. Other times, though, they’re useless, and so, for this situation, I say screw the data; I choose hope instead.

    Thoughts and prayers with you Dave.

  • What’s Going on With the Wall Street Journal and Apple?

    There is certainly something going on between the two lately. Whether Murdoch is pulling the strings or not, we can only speculate. It’s sad that in my eyes the WSJ is slowly losing credibility. It’s fine to report news and speculation — that’s the medias job (self-appointed as it may be) — but the timing…

    There is certainly something going on between the two lately. Whether Murdoch is pulling the strings or not, we can only speculate. It’s sad that in my eyes the WSJ is slowly losing credibility.

    It’s fine to report news and speculation — that’s the medias job (self-appointed as it may be) — but the timing of these reports and the type of reports they were is what concerns me.

  • Microsoft’s Online Business for the Year: Over $2.5 Billion …Lost

    Mg Siegler: >And then there is the biggest number of all. For the year, the Online Services Division lost .557 billion. He also notes that the division has been losing money for 6 years now and that the losses have been getting worse not better. He also notes: >Don’t overlook another crazy stat: Microsoft was…

    Mg Siegler:

    >And then there is the biggest number of all. For the year, the Online Services Division lost .557 billion.

    He also notes that the division has been losing money for 6 years now and that the losses have been getting worse not better.

    He also notes:

    >Don’t overlook another crazy stat: Microsoft was able to decrease general and administrative expenses by 60 percent for the year, and still lost more than ever.

    That’s crazy. It’s time to cut your losses and walk away Microsoft.