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We’ve added to the three Chill Pill colors, black, red and silver, with a new blue model! Check out the new color here.
And, for one week only, we’re offering free shipping—an exclusive Kibbles & Bytes Reader Special. Click here to view/purchase this exclusive special. (Note: Be sure to use this link; otherwise, the special is not viewable on the web!)
Thank you so much to everyone who voted and entered. Don’t worry, if you didn’t win this time, there will be plenty more chances to win a prize pack from Small Dog!
*Halloween Costume Contest Winner:* Allison S. of Addison, TX
*Twitter Winner:* Megan M. of Williston, VT
*Facebook Winner:* Michael T. of San Jose, CA
*Newsletter Winner:* Joseph C. of NY, NY
Prizes are on their way!
I am pretty fussy with my pointing devices so when the new Apple Magic Mouse appeared in the warehouse, Jaime was quick to set one aside for me. My initial first impression was that the packaging is spectacular. The iPod-like plastic case showcased the Magic Mouse as a slick, sci-fi device that would fit right in on the deck of the Starship Enterprise.
I stopped ogling the packaging and was pleased to see that batteries were included and installed. There is a small latch to get to the battery compartment on the bottom and it takes two AA batteries. When the alkaline batteries die, I will replace them with lithium AAs which tend to last about 3-4 times longer.
I activated the Magic Mouse by moving the little on-off switch to the on position and then using the Bluetooth assistant to locate and connect to the mouse. It worked great as a nice lightweight mouse, but the scrolling and other features did not work. I noticed that the Mouse preferences did not have any reference to the Magic Mouse either, so I concluded that I needed to download software. Luckily, the Apple Wireless Mouse Update was waiting for download at the Software Update panel. *You will need to download this 67MB file and restart your Mac to activate all the Magic Mouse features.*
Once I had updated my software, the Magic Mouse was fully functional and I could right click, left click, scroll horizontally and vertically and swipe with two fingers left or right to navigate. I have to say that I am hooked. I love the Magic Mouse. I am getting used to the feel and know that in a few days the mouse will feel like an extension of my hand with flowing motions and easy navigation.
The Mouse system preference panel now supports the Magic Mouse and lets you customize the tracking, scrolling and double-click speeds. It also will allow you to set the right click to the right or left, set scroll with or without momentum (I love momentum!) and gives options for screen zooming with the control, command or option key held down. I also allows you to toggle two-finger navigation (why would you turn that off?). The panel also has a video demonstrating each of these features and a battery meter so you know when to change the batteries on the Magic Mouse.
Kali keeps trying to convince me to give up the Magic Mouse so she can have it but no way–this is now my pointing device of choice!
__Editor’s note: When the cat is away, the mice will play…__
In years past, “Macheist”:http://www.macheist.com has grown famous for offering incredible bundles of high-quality, independent Mac software, usually priced for just $49. This is a savings of literally hundreds of dollars. I’ve personally discovered and downloaded some great software from these bundles in the past–software I continue to use daily.
This year, “Macheist.com”:http://www.macheist.com has outdone themselves by offering a FREE bundle of six great software titles. It’s worth checking this out, even if you’re only likely to use one or two of the titles.
Say hello to the “MacHeist nanoBundle”:http://www.macheist.com:
* “ShoveBox”:http://www.macheist.com/#shovebox – ($25) – Catch all the little scraps of information that you can’t immediately act on, but don’t want to forget. ShoveBox sits up in your menu bar, waiting for you to drag in text, images, URLs, and more.
* “WriteRoom”:http://www.macheist.com/#writeroom – ($25) – Writeroom is a simple, but powerful app that provides you with a distraction-free writing environment. WriteRoom does one main thing and does it incredibly well: It’s all about writing…
* “Twitterrific”:http://www.macheist.com/#twitterrific – $14.99 – Twitterrific is an exquisite app that enables you to make the most out of your Twitter experience. It has a clean user interface that’s designed to take up little of your precious desktop space. Twitterrific is packed with features, so that you’ll feel like you’re in total control over everything you do on Twitter.
* “TinyGrab”:http://www.macheist.com/#tinygrab – ($14) – TinyGrab is a simple, powerful app that enables you to quickly share screenshots of everything on your Mac. TinyGrab quickly uploads the screenshot and puts the URL for it on your Clipboard so you can easily share it via email, IM, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
* “Hordes of Orcs”:http://www.macheist.com/#hordes – ($25) – Hordes of Orcs is a Tower Defense strategy game where you build walls and towers to defend your village from orcs gone rogue. There are several different towers, each with its own unique abilities. Build Arrow Towers, Radiation Towers, Fire Towers, and more to keep your village safe from the deadly clutches of green meanies.
* “Mariner Write”:http://www.macheist.com/#marinerwrite – ($50) – Unlocked for everyone when Macheist reaches 500,000 participants! Mariner Write is a fast, streamlined word processor that’s useful for everyone… professional writers, educators, students, casual computer users, and everyone in-between. It has a simple, elegant user interface so that you can create beautiful documents the very first time you start using it. If you’re tied to using Microsoft Word, then don’t fret… Mariner Write has the power to open and edit Word documents with ease. And it can save your documents in many different formats including RTF, PDF, and various other formats. You stay compatible.
Click here to visit “MacHeist”:http://www.macheist.com to learn more and download all the great apps!
It looks like we are going to have a nice weekend here in the Green Mountains. I’ve buttoned up most of my motorcycles but kept one ready to go so I think we’ll get out for a ride in November. Grace’s bike is at Ron Hernandez’s shop in Burlington.
A long time ago Ron called and I happened to answer the phone and we got talking about painting motorcycles. Ron is ‘Airbrush Ron’ and is an airbrush artist. I was looking for a birthday present for Grace, so I searched our database and found Ron; he’s going to do something special on Grace’s ride. I think it will have something to do with chickens–I’ll post the final product when Ron is done in the spring.
Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!
Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
_Don, Kali and Ed_
I love using tabs–even though I’m lucky to use a 30″ display at work, I still find that it’s the best way to maximize my desktop space and workflow. I use them in just about any application I can. Most of you are probably aware that tabs are a useful aspect of a web browser, but this tip makes Safari especially great.
Safari allows you to save a set of tabs in your bookmarks. If you have several tabs open that you use fairly often, you can save the set to be opened at any time. I find I use this every week to set up our newsletters–I simply have a bookmark in my Bookmarks Bar that says “Kibbles” and it automatically opens all associated tabs I use.
*Here’s how:*
* When you have all the tabs open you want to save in a window, select *Bookmark > Add Bookmark for…*
* Safari will prompt you to save the group in your bookmarks.
* Name it what you want, save it and then click your new bookmark when you’re ready to view your tabs!
You’ll be able to differentiate saved tabs bookmarks from regular ones by the small square icon next to the name. And I thought bookmark __folders__ in Safari were the best thing since sliced bread…!