Beta Is So 2004

I almost had to turn on the heat last night, it was so chilly. Grace reminded me that it was “against the law” to heat the house in the summer so I just put on a sweater and cuddled up with Hammerhead to stay warm. We are looking forward to some better weather and so are the plants in my garden!

Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
Don, Kali & Ed

This week we have a *Small Dog Refurbished 2008 Time Capsule on sale for only $169.99!*

Time Capsule includes an AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi base station along with a 500GB hard drive. This allows you to wirelessly back up your Mac (via Time Machine + Leopard) or PC, as well as use Time Capsule as a wireless community-shared hard drive! Time Capsule also serves as a network router.

The refurbished Time Capsule doesn’t include any software discs or manuals, but does include the original packaging and (of course) a power cord. You can download all manuals and software directly from Apple by “clicking here.”:http://www.apple.com/support/airport/ For PC users, you can “download Bonjour for Windows here.”:http://support.apple.com/downloads/Bonjour_for_Windows

These have been throughly inspected and tested by our Service Department.

“Perfect for home or office, and only $169.99!”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag19316/

Our friends at “EpikOne”:http://www.epikone.com/summit are about to host their third annual Seminar for Success Summit (formerly OM Boot Camp) in Burlington, Vermont from August 11 to August 14.

The Seminar for Success Summit includes four days of in-depth training on Google’s online marketing suite of tools (Analytics, AdWords, Optimizer and more) from Google experts. This is a great chance to “Ask the Experts” and learn from Google Analytics Authorized Consultants. The final day is a thought leadership event, where participants harvest strategic insights. At night, participants experience the best Vermont has to offer while socializing with peers.

I’m going to attend August 11 to August 14 Seminar for Success Summit, and I can’t wait. Rather than stuffy panels and boring workshops, EpikOne Seminars feature practical, specific action items that can be implemented immediately.

Whether you’re just getting started using Google Analytics or a seasoned veteran ready to take your website performance to the next level, the EpikOne Seminars For Success will help you make the most out of your online efforts.

Request information “by clicking here!”:http://www.epikone.com/summit/request_info

Or, go ahead and register online “by clicking here.”:http://s4s-summit-vt.eventbrite.com/

*Get 25% off any day(s) or full summit by typing “smalldog” into the online discount field when registering!*

EpikOne was selected as one of only five original Google Analytics Authorized Consultants (GAAC’s). EpikOne has since expanded its relationship with Google and is also a Google Enterprise Professional, Website Optimizer Authorized Consultant and AdWords Qualified Company. As a team, EpikOne has successfully propelled client accounts ranging from start-up status to multi-million dollar international conglomerates.

Google has many excellent, free applications and services for Mac. I rely on many of them literally almost every single day I use my Mac, both at home and at work. Some of the apps are desktop-based (you download and install them on your Mac’s hard drive), while others are browser based (you run them via a web browser while connected to the web).

From Google’s Mac page, you can download Google Toolbar for Firefox, Picasa for Mac, Google Earth, SketchUp, Picasa Web Albums Uploader, Notifier for the Mac, AdWords Editor, and the Google Quick Search Box. Visit Google’s Mac page by clicking here. Note that the Google search bar at the top the page limits results to Mac Sites—which can be useful when looking for Mac-specific information.

A notable absence is Google’s new Chrome web browser. Chrome is currently only available for Windows, though a Mac version should be out this autumn.

Through a web browser, Mac users have access to nearly all of Google’s free web services, which include Gmail, Google Calendar, Reader, Sites, iGoogle, Blogger, Google Talk, Finance, Book Search, Groups, Knol, Video, Search History, Google Analytics, AdWords, and many more titles. Click here to see these.

Google has a Mac-centric blog which often features interesting Mac-related news, tools, and ideas. Click here to see this.

Click here for a link to Google Mobile, which features software and services for mobile phones, including the iPhone and iPod touch.

_Dear Friends,_

The weather has not been very summery here in the Green Mountains, as we have received a lot of rain and cooler temperatures. This has impacted some farmers who cannot get into their fields to harvest their first cut of hay both because the tractors don’t work that well in mud and because the sun is an important element in hay harvesting. Back when I first moved to Vermont and was a student at Goddard College, I worked at many odd jobs, including helping a French-Canadian farmer with his haying. On a sunny summer day, he would call and say in his heavily accented voice “time to pick up da bales.” I’d gather together a few friends and we would spend a hot summer day loading hay bales onto a trailer and then haul them to his barn and to stack them. Hard work, but a very fond memory.

The 4th of July was wet, too, although the gigantic slug we had for the Prickly Mountain float made it through the parade without getting rained upon. We have some interesting traditions for our float. We cannot come up with the idea more than 4 or 5 days before it is built, it must be people-powered and we have a strict $300 budget. Nevertheless, we have created some amazing floats and usually win the “Best Overall” award. I was inside the slug helping to carry it down the parade route. I haven’t been in the Prickly float for a couple of years since we have ridden our bikes in the parade in support of the local motorcycle rally. This year, I noticed that the inside of our float had been upgraded with duct tape cup holders and other accoutrements.

As you may have heard, the great news is that Steve Jobs is back on the job at Apple. Reports coming from the campus in Cupertino say he is looking good and energetic. While Apple seemed to roll on while Steve was on his medical leave, there is no question that he is the heart and soul of Apple. It is his vision and business sense that have led one of the most remarkable business stories in history. Welcome back, Steve!

In other Apple news, the latest “Guide to Greener Electronics”:http://members.greenpeace.org/blog/greenpeaceusa_blog/2009/07/01/guide_to_greener_electronics_12th_editio from “Greenpeace”:http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/ continues a trend in reversing their pointed criticism of Apple by giving them higher marks. While Dell, HP and others are delaying plans to remove PVC and brominated flame retardants (BFR), Macs are nearly free of PVC and have no BFRs whatsoever. We encourage Apple to continue to lead in this important area!