Back up Your Dads and Grads

_Dear Friends,_

Apple’s announcements at WWDC this week, which are covered below, are another step in the company’s vision of our digital future. Apple is rolling out some astounding new capabilities that will complement their products for years to come.

While these announcements will begin to impact our lives as they are rolled out, I was also quite impressed with the amazing proposed new Apple campus that Steve Jobs presented to the City of Cupertino this week. This circular 4-story building looks like an alien spaceship and will hold up to 12,000 new Apple employees. Do you think Apple is on a roll or what?

Apple did announce that the next Mac OS, Lion, will be available only from the App store, and this marks the end of OS upgrades as boxed products. While this is the end of a long history of boxed software upgrades, it is really inevitable and I think that the era of boxed software is over. Apple is the first company not only to recognize this but also to embrace it. You will need Snow Leopard to upgrade to Lion, so now might be a great time to buy that upgrade–still in a box–if you are running Leopard or Tiger. Check it out “*here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/75800/apple-mac-os-x-10-6-3-snow-leopard-retail/at_kb

Our new Hammerhead® iPad 2 cases have been arriving all week and we have been selling them quickly from our stores, and to other Apple Specialists for resale. I think you will like these new cases. You can see the entire selection at the new “*Hammerhead website*”:http://www.hammerheadcase.com/ or at “*Smalldog.com.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/search/?find=hammerhead+case&offset=0

Following its Lion announcement, Apple previewed iOS 5, the next major iteration of its mobile iOS operating system. Sporting a fall release, iOS 5 contains over 200 new features, several of which were highlighted at Monday’s WWDC keynote presentation. Additionally, the new mobile operating system integrates heavily with Apple’s simultaneously announced iCloud service. This inclusion will allow users to wirelessly sync their devices’ information–including full device backups–without the need to connect to a computer when the service debuts this fall. Among the features presented, the following stand out the most:

*Notification Center:*

Notification Center offers a much needed solution to the notification problem identified by many users in previous versions of iOS. Alerts quickly appear at the top of the screen, and are then collated into a single menu. This menu can be conveniently accessed at any time by swiping down on a device’s screen. Additionally, notifications appear on the lock screen, providing easy access to their corresponding apps with a single tap.

*Newsstand:*

Borrowing heavily from iBooks, Newsstand works with the newly announced subscriptions portion of the App Store. From within the app–which works like a folder–users can easily view, manage and organize their subscriptions. Newsstand automatically updates in the background to ensure the most current edition of a given publication is available for offline viewing.

*Safari:*

Safari for iOS 5 introduces many highly requested features including tabbed browsing, Safari Reader–inspired by its OS X counterpart–and Reading List, an Instapaper like service for saving articles to read later.

*Twitter Integration:*

iOS 5 features system wide Twitter integration. This enables users to sign in once, and then tweet directly from 1st and 3rd party Twitter enabled apps. Though similar support is already featured in a variety of 3rd party apps, Apple has built Twitter support into its collection of 1st party offerings such as Camera, Safari, Maps and YouTube.

*iMessage:*

iMessage is a substantial reworking of the iPhone exclusive Messages app. Bringing support to iPad and iPod touch, iMessages allows all iOS 5 users to communicate with each other via text message, photo or video. Making use of Wi-Fi and 3G networks where applicable, conversations are pushed across devices. This means a conversation can be originated by an iPhone, and concluded later from an iPad over Wi-Fi.

*Reminders:*

Taking a cue from the myriad of 3rd party to-do list apps, Apple has created a task management app of its own, dubbed Reminders. This app enables users to create and group related tasks together; and set time or location-based reminder alerts, priorities and due dates, so you can be reminded of a task as its deadline approaches, or when you arrive or depart a given location.

*Camera:*

Making much needed updates to its default Camera app–which has been largely untouched since the debut of the original iPhone–Apple has listened to user feedback and modified the app accordingly. iOS 5 brings camera access to the lock screen by way of a double tap on the home button, volume-up shutter control, optional grid lines and many additional enhancements.

iOS 5 is slated for release this fall, and is compatible with the following devices:

* iPhone 4
* iPhone 3GS

* iPad 2
* iPad

* iPod touch 4th gen.
* iPod touch 3rd gen.

For more information on the features of iOS 5, click “*here.*”:http://www.apple.com/ios/ios5/features.html

My electric motorcycle project is coming along. I pulled the gas tank and exhaust from the bike and the electric motor and new wheel is under construction. The next big step is to remove the engine and transmission from the Victory. I’m going to get it all ready to be removed and then get Hapy to come over to help hoist the heavy assembly.

Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes. You may notice that we have changed the format a bit to tell you more about the products we are offering in each issue. We know, here at Small Dog Electronics that it is YOU, our loyal customers that pay our wages and we want to make sure that you have as much information as possible about the products we are offering in Kibbles & Bytes.

Look for more in-depth, exclusive specials in subsequent issues. I hope you’ll agree with me that the new way of presenting our special Kibbles & Bytes values is better!

Your Kibbles & Bytes team,
_Don, Ben & Kali_

Monday morning, Steve Jobs introduced Apple’s revolutionary new iCloud service at the company’s WWDC event. This free set of cloud-based services vastly surpasses anything previously available from Apple or its competitors.

Although the details and features of the service may seem complex at first glance, the underlying concept is essentially a perfection of the MobileMe suite of cloud services Apple debuted in 2008. Offering deeper integration with both OS X and iOS, iCould effortlessly works with Apple’s range of mobile and desktop products. Pushing and pulling information and media as its added or updated, iCloud syncs information across a range of devices–keeping them all in sync with one another. While unveiling the new service at Monday’s keynote address, Steve Jobs commented:

bq. “Today it is a real hassle and very frustrating to keep all your information and content up-to-date across all your devices. iCloud keeps your important information and content up to date across all your devices. All of this happens automatically and wirelessly, and because it’s integrated into our apps, you don’t even need to think about it–it all just works.”

iCloud includes a wide offering of services–old and new–that look to officially usher in the era of cloud computing for Mac and PC users of all levels. Formerly features exclusive to Apple’s paid MobileMe service, Contacts, Calendar and Mail have been completely rewritten for Apple’s new service. Users are allotted 5GB of free storage for this information, and all services are ad-free.

Additionally, iCloud integrates with the App Store and the iBookstore to make managing app and iBook purchases significantly easier. Content will be pushed to all devices in a given user’s collection–not just the device initiating the download. Users can also view a purchase history and download any uninstalled apps to a device for no additional cost.

Among its more revolutionary features, iCloud supports wireless backups of iOS devices while they charge. Apple has essentially “cut the cable” on its mobile devices eliminating the need for manual iTunes syncing. Now, information such as purchased content, photos and videos, settings and app data will be wirelessly stored in the cloud. iCloud users can also upload documents created in Pages, Numbers and Keynote as well as other apps utilizing Apple’s iCloud Storage APIs. This data collectively contributes towards a user’s 5GB total.

Photo Stream automatically uploads photos taken on one device to other iOS devices and computers. Further reducing the need to manually sync content from a device to a computer, iCloud’s Photo Stream transfers photos over the air. The last 1,000 photos taken are stored on a device for immediate viewing or transfer to a Mac or PC for permanent storage. Additional photos will be stored in iCloud for 30 days, affording users plenty of time to download them via Wi-Fi.

iTunes in the iCloud rounds out the new service’s features. iCloud users can download previously purchased iTunes music to any of their devices for free. Additionally, any new content purchased from the iTunes Music Store will be downloaded across all devices.

For a $24.99 annual fee, users can take their cloud based music experience further with iTunes Match. This revolutionary service–subject to significant speculation leading up to the keynote–matches songs obtained outside the iTunes Music Store with Apple’s collection of over 18 million available songs. Subscribers will be granted instant access to high quality versions of their music via iCloud. Only if a given song is not available on iTunes will a user be required to upload it in order to listen.

iCloud will debut this fall alongside iOS 5, and requires an iOS 5 compatible device or a Mac running Mac OS X Lion. To learn more about iCloud, click “*here.*”:http://www.apple.com/icloud/

This Monday, Apple provided attendees with an detailed glimpse at the successor to 10.6 Snow Leopard: Mac OS X v10.7 Lion. Announced at last October’s “Back to the Mac” event, Lion has been under continuous development previously holding a loose “Summer 2011” release date.

At WWDC Monday morning, Apple’s Phil Schiller took the stage to unveil many additional details about the OS, including a more concrete release date (July) and pricing. Perhaps the most unique aspect of Lion is that it will be the first version of Mac OS X to be available exclusively via the Mac App Store. This change is as significant as the jump from floppy to CD-ROM in the earlier days of Mac OS. Taking a cue from the popularity and accessibility of Snow Leopard’s price point, Schiller announced that Lion will sell for $29.99 when it lands in the MAS next month.

After delivering an update on the performance and popularity of the Mac, Schiller shifted his focus to 10 of the more than 250 new features included in the new OS. The earlier half of Schiller’s talk focused largely on features teased last year. No longer in their infancy, features such as the Mac App Store, Launchpad, Full-screen apps and Mission Control were thoroughly demoed–showcasing their fluid and seamless interactions with each other.

Additional features such as the completely reworked Mail, AirDrop WiFi P2P file transfer and Multi-touch gestures were also demoed. While the keynote marked the formal debut of the three aforementioned features, they were included in February’s developer preview build and widely documented. To learn more about these features, click “*here.*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/what-s-new-in-lion/

Schiller also announced several entirely new features of the OS to supplement those already mentioned. These included:

*Resume:*

Resume is a revolutionary new feature that enables closed apps to reopen right where they left off. Particularly useful for palette heavy apps such as Apple’s iWork and Adobe’s Creative Suite, Resume effectively eliminates the need to “setup” a workspace whenever an application is reopened. Taking things a step further, Resume even enables Lion users to restart their machines and return to exactly where they left off.

*Auto Save:*

As its name implies, Lion has auto save functionality built-in. The feature–which works system wide–will automatically save progress as users work. Combined with Resume and Versions, this feature looks to make Command-S a relic of the past.

*Versions:*

Working in conjunction with Resume and Auto Save, Versions is a Time Machine styled chronicling of the history of the documents on a machine. Saving different states as users work, Versions enables Lion users to travel back in time to view or harvest information from previous versions of a document.

All three of these features–as well as those previously covered–look to revolutionize the Mac user experience. Elevating the concept of a desktop operating system to include the best aspects of its mobile iOS seems to be a winning strategy for Apple. With improved usability, functionality and stability Lion looks to be a release worthy of its majestic title.

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion requires an Intel-based Mac with a Core 2 Duo, i3, i5, i7 or Xeon processor, 2GB of RAM, and Mac OS X 10.6.7. For additional information on Lion, click “*here.*”:http://www.apple.com/macosx/

We have made a special pink version of our popular Chill Pill portable speakers. For each pink Chill Pill we sell, we make a $1 donation to Breast Cancer research.

The Chill Pill is an amazingly compact self-contained speaker system that has 6-hour play time on a charge. With the retractable cables, pop-up resonator and big sound, these speakers fit in the palm of your hand. Great for camping, dorm rooms, traveling and of course, a great graduation gift.

*To make this an even more compelling offer for Kibbles & Bytes readers this week, I want to offer the pink Chill Pill for $5 off for you __and__ increase our contribution toward Breast Cancer research to $5 for each one sold!*

I think you will love these speakers and you can do something good, too!