Contest Winner + New Contest!

_Dear Friends,_

It’s Kali, writing for Don this week while he and Grace test their “iron butts” as they ride across the country to Sturgis, South Dakota. As many of you know, Don and Grace are avid riders, and just the other day, they clocked over 450 miles in a day! I’d thought maybe it’d be fun to have our readers send some suggestions for possible stops along the way, so feel free to “email Don”:mailto:don@smalldog.com and tell him why they __absolutely have__ to stop in your town.

I’m also pleased to announce that Small Dog Electronics has won a “Daysies Award”:http://www.7dvt.com/category/daysies/services-stuff-best-computer-store from Vermont super news source Seven Days for Best Computer Store again this year! There were over 3,500 voters this year, and I can’t say enough how grateful we are just to be considered for this award, let alone win. We love our customers! I’m headed to the Awards ceremony in S. Burlington tonight, which will take place at the “Echo Lake Aquarium and Science Center.”:http://www.echovermont.org/ I will take pictures as always, and I’ll be keeping it classy while I represent for Small Dog Electronics up there!

“Mac to School”:http://www.smalldog.com/mactoschool is in full swing over here. For students who need a basic computer, we have “closeout white MacBooks”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/76364/macbook-2-1ghz-1gb-120gb-combo-white/at_kb in stock for just $699–and they’re already covered by AppleCare until May 2011. Any other Mac that we feature that is eligible for AppleCare also features a $50 or $100 gift card when you buy both together. Be sure to check out the “Mac to School page”:http://www.smalldog.com/mactoschool for more deals and further info.

We have picked a winner of the i5 MacBook Pro and want to announce a new contest for a 27″ iMac–keep reading for all the details and to enter to win.

If you’re like me, you got hit with a tinge of jealousy when Apple unveiled their swanky new “Magic Trackpad”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/abracadabra-apple-introduces-magic-trackpad/ last week. Suddenly, the Multi-Touch trackpad on my MacBook Pro just didn’t seem as cool. With features such as inertial scrolling and three-finger drag, the Magic Trackpad debuted with features unsupported by some of Apple’s portables.

Don’t get trackpad envy just yet, though. Apple has released the *Magic Trackpad and Multi-Touch Trackpad Update 1.0* which brings much of the Magic Trackpad’s functionality to older unibody machines.

As long as you are running *Mac OS 10.6.4* and have a compatible machine, you can bring these exciting new features to your current trackpad. To check for the update, simply run Software Update from the Apple Menu. After the update has been applied, visit *System Preferences > Trackpad* to enable the new features.

Click “here”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/3635/get-in-touch-with-your-trackpad/ for a list of compatible machines.

Fridays are always a busy day for us–there’s usually a lot to do before many of us retire for the weekend. Of course, there’s not much downtime when it comes to the plans for the new store in Manchester, NH, but our time is being well-spent. We look forward to seeing our friends from NH, MA, ME, etc. in person in the next month.

Thank you for reading this issue of -Kali & Ben- …er, Kibbles & Bytes! (We’re thinking a name change might be in order with Don out of the office!) Of course, our prolific cohort Ed will be filling in for Don next week, as he and Grace journey through week two of their Sturgis Bike Bonanza.

Your Kibbles & Bytes team,
_Kali, Ed & Ben_

With all of the fuss surrounding the elegant and speedy iPhone 4, it is easy to forget about its curved backed forebear: the iPhone 3G. While many 3Gs and iPhone 4 owners enjoy multi-tasking merriment under iOS4, plain vanilla 3G users are having a radically different experience.

Instead of an enhancement, iOS4 on iPhone 3G feels more like a downgrade. Though the promised new features do make an appearance, the update slows the phone’s performance to an almost unusable crawl, and causes frequent crashing and freezing.

This might be considered permissible performance on an ancient piece of hardware, but the 3G isn’t old! In fact, Apple sold the device alongside the 3Gs models until the iPhone 4 was announced a few months back. Personally, my 3G will turn two this Fall, but there are thousands who purchased a 3G as little as three or four months ago.

To have a relatively current–in some cases warrantied–and fully supported device disabled to an unusable state is unacceptable, and very unlike Apple. While recent reports suggest that Apple is looking into the matter, there are some immediate steps you can take to relieve your anguish.

*Restart the Hard Way*

As many may be aware, restarting your iPhone quits processes and frees up valuable system RAM. Though this can temporarily boost the speed of the phone, the effects wear off quickly as new apps are launched. For a more permanent solution, try performing a hard reset on the phone. This is accomplished by holding the Sleep/Wake button + the Home button for about 10 seconds. When restarting using this method, it is normal for the phone to take up to 5 minutes to start back up. As the phone is actually relaunching iOS4 as opposed to opening a disk image, it can take substantially longer than a normal restart.

*Sayonara Spotlight*

Spotlight, a feature first implemented in 3.0, is a quick way to browse the contents of your phone. While convenient, the trade-off of using it is a major performance hit. Spotlight constantly indexes your phone’s applications in the background, and this can take up a lot of RAM if left unchecked. To disable Spotlight simply tap: *Settings > General > Home Button > Spotlight Search*. In this menu, proceed to uncheck every item on the list. Though this method doesn’t actually disable the Spotlight screen, it prevents the phone from indexing data, and results in a noticeable speed increase.

*Wipe Out!*

Still reading? Unfortunately we’ve hit the end of the line. This is the last resort, and it means saying goodbye to your application data. Many users are reporting that restoring their iPhone 3G through iTunes and selecting “Set up as a new phone” gets the 3G running iOS4 at an acceptable clip. Obviously the huge compromise made here is that all application data (game saves, preferences, entered text, sms logs, etc) are *permanently wiped out*. Though some select apps have the option to backup data and export via email, the vast majority lack this functionality. Since none of this information is synced to your computer when you backup your device, it will be *PERMANENTLY LOST* if you choose this method. I personally cannot attest to how well this solution works, as I just can’t bring myself to part with my Plants Vs. Zombies high scores. *Try this solution at your own risk!*

All of these solutions will hopefully remedy frustrations to some extent, but keep in mind their effects are very subtle. iOS4 simply seems like bloated software inadequately optimized around the 3G’s slower specifications. Until Apple officially addresses this situation, I urge all 3G owners who haven’t “upgraded” to stick with 3.0!

About this time last week, Apple rolled out a wave of new product updates. Among them were updates to the 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs. After some contemplation, I’ve decided that now is the perfect time to purchase Apple’s well rounded all-in-one offering.* There are numerous enhancements which give this generation of iMacs an edge over those previous, especially in terms of high-end custom configuration.

Traditionally, iMacs have borrowed many performance aspects from Apple’s notebooks. In some cases, iMacs have even featured similar or identical parts to some of Apple’s portable machines. As April’s MacBook Pro update introduced the Intel Core processor series to all 15-inch and 17-inch machines, it was only natural that the iMacs follow suit.

As anticipated, the new iMacs move away from Intel’s acclaimed but older Core 2 Duo technology. The inclusion of *32-nanometer* Intel Core processors in even the most basic of iMac models is a huge shift in performance. Apple has implemented the *Intel Core i3* into all 21.5-inch and the base 27-inch machines with a custom to order *Core i5* option available. The higher tiered 27-inch machines introduce the lightening fast *quad-core i5 and i7 processors*, which are capable of delivering some of the highest performance currently available in a consumer level machine.

Many of the new iMacs also feature Intel’s *Turbo Boost* technology which increases available core speed when working with resource intensive applications. Though the 15″ and 17″ MacBook Pros were the first to feature the Core series as an across-the-line standard option, the new iMacs offer overall higher clock speeds and multi-core performance unmatched by even the most luxurious of MacBooks.

Coupled with the standard inclusion of Intel Core processors, Apple has also included discreet graphics processors across the line. It’s an iMac first, as many earlier models still relied on an integrated chipset such as Intel’s own *9400M*. With different dedicated processors to suit different needs, the 27-inch machine features up to *1GB of GDDR5*.

This is great news for creative professionals and gamers alike. While these users will ultimately benefit the most from the updated graphics, standard users will appreciate the smoother performance a discreet graphics processor offers. Regardless of usage, dedicated graphics processors traditionally boost the overall lifespan of the a computer as well, making this generation of iMacs an even better value.

Another iMac first is the option of a primary or secondary solid state drive. In the 27-inch model, buyers are given the option to select a *256GB SSD* as their primary or secondary storage medium. As SSD drives feature up to twice the performance of traditional SATA drives, a SSD enabled 27-inch iMac will boot faster than ever. A multi-drive setup such as this allows for different types of data to be assigned to each drive.

For instance, if you were to load OS X and all of your applications onto the SSD while keeping other extraneous media on the internal SATA, boot time and application launch time would be sliced in half. Since SSDs also have a greater reliability than traditional SATA drives, they are a great option for storing sensitive or important data with confidence. As 256GB is a bit small for a primary drive the iMac also supports up to *2TB internal SATA* storage to supplement a proposed SSD.

Other more minor tweaks such as the *SDXC* card reader allow for a fair bit of “future proofing.” While this card reader is backwards compatible with SD and SDHC cards, it also supports the new SDXC format. Though this format is fairly new and expensive, it supports an unfathomable capacity of 2TB. Though 2TB SDXC cards will not be available until later next year, built-in compatibility is a nice default feature.

Quad Core performance and discreet graphics alone make the new line of iMacs a tempting choice, but Apple’s embrace of emerging advancements in data management and storage seal the deal. Though even the baseline 21.5-inch machine is great, the more configurable high end 27-inch machines offer a tremendous solution for more intensive users.

Even though Apple simultaneously debuted new models of the Mac Pro last week, they hardly eclipse the tremendous value that is the iMac. A pro-sumer machine at all levels, the iMac offers better performance than ever in a highly affordable and configurable package. Due to all of the refinements introduced last Tuesday, now is a better time to buy than ever!

“See all iMacs here!”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Apple|iMac

*Editor’s Note: I just bought the 27″ Quad Core iMac a couple of days ago, and it’s love at first chime… I won’t be getting rid of my iconic iMac G4 anytime soon (or ever), but I was more than happy to clear some room on my desk for this one! __-KH__