ByMike Moffit

Dear Friends,

Wow, what a week! Autumn has burst upon the scene with some of the most brilliant fall colors in a long time. If you are waiting for “peak foliage” in Vermont to take a visit, you’d better get on your horse, because it’s now. The local public radio station’s weatherman keeps mentioning different “Signs of Fall;” the one I liked this morning was that one has to “turn the light on to get dressed in the morning.”

The financial crisis was the biggest news this week, and with it, a couple of those troubled banking companies downgraded Apple’s stock. Now, let’s get this straight—the same guys who need our tax dollars to keep them from going out of business because of their greed and stupidity are downgrading Apple? Come on now; this is the same Apple that is continuing to grab market share, that has $20 billion in cash in the bank (I hope it’s a good bank) and who continues to provide innovative products that lead the industry. One source reports that Apple now has a 35% market share based upon dollars, and their notebook sales are up 35% while Windoze-based laptops are down 1.5% In other news, ComputerWorld reported that Mac OS X market share is 8.2%. This means that based upon 40,000 websites, 8.2% accessed those sites using Mac OS X. By the way, one of those other little innovations from Apple—the iPhone—already has a 0.3% market share for those same websites.

You may have noticed the new image of us on the left—Hammer and I were cover boys on the cover of Vermont Business Magazine this month, that included a feature story about me! It was fun posing with Hammer at the studio. I just read the article this morning, and I had fun talking with the author, Joyce Marcel, while at the interview. I got a copy of the cover shot from the photographer, Glenn Moody, and gave it to my mom for her 88th birthday on Tuesday.

The Garage Sale continues and we have been scrambling to catch up with all the orders and get these bargains on the way. They are a lot of fun, but it does stretch our resources a bit in the fulfillment phase. By the way, a couple of readers pointed out our error in starting the sale on Rosh Hashanah. My apologies; I was out sick, or I would have caught that (I might catch something from my mom for that oversight!). At any rate, Happy New Year 5769!

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    On the Mac, there are two easy keyboard shortcuts for selecting multiple files at a time. These shortcuts work in most OS X applications, including Address Book, Mail, iTunes, and iPhoto. I use these shortcuts while scrolling through iPhoto to quickly select photos for a photo album; I use these shortcuts while scrolling through iTunes to quickly make a music playlist.

    To choose a congruent list of files from a larger list or group of files, click on the first file you want, then hold down the Shift key, then click on the last file at the end of your list. All files in between will be highlighted. You can drag and drop the highlighted files or even move them to the trash.

    If you want to pick and choose non-congruent files out of a larger group, simply hold down the Command key while selecting files. The selected files will be highlighted. Again, you can drag and drop these highlighted files or move them to the trash.

  • QUICK TIP: When in Doubt, Google It.

    That’s probably a no-brainer these days, but I was reminded recently how much I have come to depend on Google to find things for me! The other day, I opened a file that someone sent me in Adobe Illustrator to edit it. Everything was perfectly viewable, but not editable.

    There was this pesky little icon of a pencil with a line through it. I thought it had to be some setting, so I looked through Illustrator to see if I could find it. I even used Command-I on the file to see if it was a locked file, but no dice. So, I Googled it. I entered “illustrator pencil line” and what do you know… the first thing that came up was a forum where someone had asked the same question. Turns out it was a locked layer. Of course!

    Moral of the story: enter the search criteria using the most pertinent words you can think of to describe the query (and omit uneccessary ones). Hopefully, you’ll find what you were looking for. Thanks, Google!

    (In a related Google search, I came across another good tip regarding icons, but I’ll write more about that next week!)

  • Friend Us On Facebook, Follow Us On Twitter!

    Did you know that Small Dog has a Facebook page? And did you know that we randomly select two fans a month to win a doggie bag of Mac and iPod-related goodies? The doggie bag has about a $50 retail value, and we include items that are both fun and useful. We have over 580 fans. We are currently expanding our contests and exclusive, Facebook-fan offers. But don’t worry–we won’t be spamming you and posting junk on your Facebook wall. We’ll be a very polite addition to your Facebook friends! Visit us on Facebook here:

    “http://www.facebook.com/pages/Small-Dog-Electronics/18904017006”:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Small-Dog-Electronics/18904017006

    Also, Small Dog Electronics has a Twitter page, which we update daily with news, info about what we’re up to, and Mac tips. If you use Twitter, follow us here:

    “http://twitter.com/hellosmalldog”:http://twitter.com/hellosmalldog

    We’ll follow you in turn!

  • SPECIALS | 10/03/08 – 10/10/08

    View specials while on-hand supplies last. Please note that some specials may not be available in our retail stores; check for availability.

  • FileMaker Pro Seminars in October!

    THEY’RE FREE!

    Join Mike Williamson, a long-term developer of FileMaker solutions, for two FileMaker presentations at Small Dog Electronics. He’ll address how to get started with FileMaker, what they don’t tell you in the manuals, and if a database is right for you. Plus, he’ll offer free tech support. Bring your questions, concerns and ideas!

    There are two seminars, one in Waitsfield and one in S. Burlington. See below for details. Email Rob Amon, rob@smalldog.com to sign up!

    – Tuesday, October 21, 2008, S. Burlington retail store, at 7PM
    – Wednesday, October 22, 2008, Waitsfield retail store, at 1PM

  • FEATURE OF THE WEEK

    Our famous Garage Sale continues through the weekend. Hundreds of items have already sold, but we added items to the list through the week. Hundreds of new, used, and very used items are still listed.

    As I write this, I see diverse items such as laptop locks, mice, keyboards, MacBook cases, old games, obsolete software and parts for Xserves, iMacs, iBooks, and PowerMac towers. There are useful items, collectors items, joke items, and some really old stuff.

    We have a Garage Sale 1-2 times per year, and it’s an online sale only (no telephone or retails orders). We plan on taking the Garage Sale offline next week, so hurry!

    “Click here to view all items”:http://www.smalldog.com/garagesale/.