On Wednesdays at 5PM, Rebecca and Matt take Mac, iPod and even iPhone tech questions via “Twitter”:http://twitter.com/hellosmalldog and also via email for our Tech Tails TV broadcasts on Ustream. If you’re not familiar with Ustream, it’s generally used as a platform for live streaming and “lifecasting.”

Tune your browsers to “http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tech-tails-tv”:http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tech-tails-tv Wednesday at 5:00 PM EST to watch live. We’ll record the show so you can watch it on our Ustream channel, YouTube, or our blog for viewing at any time.

If you want to send questions in via Twitter, simply post your question and reference *@hellosmalldog* so we see you’ve posted. Or, simply send your questions to Matt at “matt@smalldog.com”:mailto:matt@smalldog.com or Rebecca at “rebeccak@smalldog.com.”:mailto:rebeccak@smalldog.com

Check out our stream, “@hellosmalldog, here and follow us”:http://www.ustream.tv/user/hellosmalldog for future broadcasts!

Attention all Chittenden County, VT residents! April is traditionally a time where we “think about recycling,”:http://www.smalldog.com/ewaste so we wanted to let you know that our friends over at “CSWD”:http://www.cswd.net/ are having a tire recycling roundup of their own next weekend.

*WHEN: Saturday, April 24, 8:00 am – 3:30 pm
*WHERE: CSWD Drop-Off Centers located in Burlington, Essex, Hinesburg, Milton, Richmond, South Burlington, and Williston.*

This year, they’re also accepting food donations to benefit local emergency food banks. All banks are part of the Vermont Food Bank network. We all get by with a little help from our friends, so bring in any of the following non-perishable, unexpired food items when you bring in your tires, and we’ll get it to the folks who can get it into the hands of our fellow Vermonters:

* Canned fish, meat, fruits, veggies, and soups
* Cereal and pasta
* Boxed meals such as mac and cheese, Hamburger Helper, etc.

__Tire round ups are for Chittenden County residents only. Residents are responsible for transporting and unloading all items brought to the round ups.__

*Tire Specifications:*

* Standard automobile and light truck tires only (19.5 inch rim size or less).
* Note: Limit 4 tires per household (8 tire limit at Williston Drop-Off Center only).
* There is a $1 fee for tires on rims.

*NOT INCLUDED:*

* Tires with rim size larger than 19.5 inches.

“See CSWD’s website for all the details!”:http://www.cswd.net/events/tire_roundup.shtml

The MacBook Pros have been updated! All models (13-inch, 15-inch, and 17-inch) sport new and refined features.

All new 13-inch, 15-inch, and 17-inch MacBook Pros include:

* 4GB of RAM (expandable to 8GB)
* Updated glass Multi-Touch trackpad, which now supports inertial scrolling
* An updated notebook battery that delivers longer battery life on a single charge (up to 10 hours of wireless productivity on the 13-inch models)
* Widescreen LED-backlit display
* Sudden Motion Sensor to protect hard drive data
* Slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW) optical drive
* Mini DisplayPort (VGA, DVI and HDMI adapters sold separately)
* AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
* Gigabit Ethernet port
* iSight video camera
* Two USB 2.0 ports (three on the 17-inch MacBook Pro)
* One FireWire 800 port
* SD card slot
* Updated MagSafe Power Adapter

All 13-inch MacBook Pro models now include faster Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 4GB RAM, a 10-hour built-in battery and the new NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor. With 48 processing cores, the new NVIDIA GeForce 320M is the fastest integrated graphics processor on the market, ideal for graphics intensive applications or high performance games. The GeForce 320M is apparently a custom production just for Apple.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro is available in two configurations: one with a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 250GB hard drive priced at $1,199; and one with a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 320GB hard drive priced at $1,499.

Bigger changes are found in the 15-inch and 17-inch models. They now ship with the 2.4GHz or 2.53GHz Intel Core i5 processor, with an option to upgrade to the more powerful 2.66GHz Intel Core i7 processor. While at first glance the processor clock speed is the same as the previous generation, the processor architecture in the i5 and i7 intel processors is completely different than the previous Intel Core 2 Duo.

Apple states that they are the fastest dual-core processors available, with a smaller nanometer process, Hyper-Threading, and Turbo Boost, that improve performance up to 50% from previous models.

All 15-inch and 17-inch models include two graphics processors, the new NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M for peak performance and Intel HD Graphics for energy efficient operation.

The powerful new GeForce GT 330M is more than twice as fast as the GeForce 320M. Apple’s updated automatic graphics switching determines which graphics processor an application needs and switches instantly between processors to deliver peak performance and long battery life. Tightly integrated hardware and software allow the new 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro to deliver 8 to 9 hours on a single charge.

The 17-inch MacBook Pro includes a high resolution 1920 x 1200 display, and the 15-inch MacBook Pro is now available with an optional high resolution 1680 x 1050 display. Customers can also upgrade their MacBook Pro with new 128GB, 256GB and 512GB solid state drives. Both the 17-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro screens can be upgraded with an anti-glare coating for an additional fee.

As the industry’s greenest notebook lineup, every Mac notebook achieves EPEAT Gold status and meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements, setting a new standard for environmentally friendly notebook design. Each unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, are PVC-free and are constructed of recyclable materials.

All Macs come with Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music.

Sure, the above two paragraphs are Apple PR speak–but not only are they true, but they (Snow Leopard and green tech) are two major reasons we love Macs!

“Click to see all 13-inch MacBook Pros”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Apple|MacBook_Pro_13in

“Click to see all 15-inch MacBook Pros”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Apple|MacBook_Pro_15in

“Click to see all 17-inch MacBook Pros”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Apple|MacBook_Pro_17in

Buy any MacBook Pro (any size, new, closeout, demo, or refurbished) and get a free Imelda (Small Dog logo) 4GB flash drive! Use coupon code *newmbp* in your cart at checkout on “Smalldog.com.”:http://www.smalldog.com

Top Sites is one of Safari 4’s most notable features. Top Sites provides an at-a-glance preview of your favorite and most visited websites. While you browse, Safari 4 indexes and ranks your favorite sites, and then presents up to 24 thumbnails of those sites on a single page.

Sites with a star icon in the upper-right corner have new content. A single click opens the page and updates its thumbnail. Whenever you want to return to your Top Sites page, click the Top Sites button in the bookmarks bar.

Many people don’t know that this page is customizable. Open a new window in Safari 4 to see your Top Sites. Then, in the lower left corner of the Top Sites page click the “Edit” button. You can pin a favorite site to a specific location in the grid. That locks it into position, so you know just where to find it every time you open Top Sites.

To see 24 Top Sites click the Small tab. To see 12 Top Sites click the Medium tab. To see 6 Top Sites click the Large tab. To arrange the order of your Top Sites, click and drag a Top Site to the location on the Top Sites grid where you would like it to appear. To remove a top site, click the X icon connected to the Top Site you wish to remove. To lock a top site, click the “Push Pin” icon connected to the Top Site you wish to pin.

You can also manually add a webpage to Top Sites. First, load the page in Safari 4. Then drag the site icon located in the left side of the Address (URL) field to the Top Sites icon (the Top Sites icon looks like a waffle and is next to the Bookmarks icon.) This will add the website to the upper-left position in Top Sites.

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