A great device deserves a great case, and lately I’ve been outfitting my first-generation iPad in the “*black Booq Taipan Spacesuit for iPad.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/78115/booq-taipan-spacesuit-xs-sleeve-for-ipad-2-black/at_kb The futuristic look of the slightly shimmery neoprene case blends well with the sleek aesthetic of the iPad.

I love the snug but not overly tight fit of the case; my iPad slides in easily without my needing to stretch the case over the iPad. I prefer a sleeve-style case that will fully protect my iPad when it’s in my bag, so the Spacesuit’s full coverage and durable zipper were a major draw for me. As an added bonus to the durability of the case, the Spacesuit manages to be slim and light while providing a nice cushion due to the textured material.

Available in black, silver or berry, the Booq Taipan Spacesuit for iPad fits either the first-generation iPad or iPad 2 (with or without an Apple Smart Cover). The Spacesuit is currently on sale for $21.99 (regularly $29.99) and “*available here*.”:http://www.smalldog.com/search/?find=spacesuit

It’s that time of year again! Now that we’ve entered August, it’s time to start thinking about the upcoming school year. Never fear, Small Dog has all your Apple needs covered.

Our “*Mac to School special*”:http://www.smalldog.com/mactoschool is in full swing, and next week we’ll bring you a special back-to-school edition of Kibbles & Bytes!

Looking for a great deal on earbuds? We’re offering brand new but unpackaged white “*Apple earbuds*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/76912/apple-earbuds-no-packaging-white–the style that come standard with the iPod–for $9.99. These Apple earbuds feature a sleeker design than previous models, delivering great sound while fitting comfortably in your ears. A favorite with iPod users, Apple earbuds are both stylish and functional–a prefect combination!

Kibbles & Bytes subscribers get free shipping on these great earbuds this week only by using code *kbbuds* in the cart!

“*Click here to view details*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/76912/apple-earbuds-no-packaging-white–$9.99 with free shipping (with code *kbbuds*).

_Dear Friends,_

Sweet corn season is here. If I ride over the mountain to the Champlain Valley (where the climate is mild), there is local sweet corn. The corn at our local supermarket gets closer every day. First, it was Florida corn a month ago, then Rhode Island, then New England corn.

I think our neighbor at the Neil farm will have sweet corn any day now, since the corn looks pretty good as I drive by the field on the way to work. Harvest time is here with lots of great stuff from the garden. I have been grazing in my yard eating blueberries, strawberries, grapes, Arctic Kiwi, raspberries and blackberries.

I have been getting acquainted with my new MacBook Air and it is one screaming machine. I have the special configure-to-order model with the i7 chip that we are stocking and I really appreciate the speed. The feature I love most is the new backlit keyboard when I work late at night.

Now I know that some people wonder how they will get along without an optical drive. I had one of the externals attached to my set-up at the office but I never used the drive. With the App store, most software is now a download and I no longer rent or buy DVDs because between the iTunes store and NetFlix, I can just download movies to my Mac. Apple again has a prescience of the market trends and sees that optical drives will soon go the way of floppy drives.

I want to give a huge shout out to Robert Garmhausen from Charlotte Street Computers in Asheville, NC. We were able to convince his boss, Jen Mayer, to loan her head Mac tech to us to help us overcome a huge backlog in service at our S. Burlington location. Robert was here all week and simply rocked the place and was a machine, cranking through the repairs and getting us caught up. Today, he leaves at the crack of dawn to head back south to Asheville for their tax-free sale.

If you ever need Mac stuff or repair in the south, I can give you my highest recommendation to Charlotte Street Computers and know their team will take great care of you! Thanks Robert!

Greetings, readers! I just wanted to take a moment to introduce Stephanie Reich, who will be joining us as a regular contributor to Kibbles & Bytes and full-time member of the Marketing Department–now with more Girl Power™. Stephanie filled in while I was on maternity leave (and did a fabulous job, I might add), and we are thrilled to now have her on lock here at Small Dog!

In addition to welcoming Stephanie, I will be resuming a larger role as a writer again, and we will continue to feature other writers and contributors to bring you high-quality, entertaining news and Apple coverage.

While Kibbles & Bytes is Don’s baby (and the first newsletter Small Dog ever published, “dating back to 1996”:http://www.smalldog.com/kibbles/), we here in Marketing have a large hand in the production, so we are especially attached to it and its readers.

We’d love to hear from you–are there topics that you would like to see us cover? Maybe less of something else? Please drop us a line and let us know what you think.

Now that Apple has unleashed OS 10.7 Lion, all eyes are on the other major OS release announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June: “*iOS 5*”:http://www.apple.com/ios/ios5/, the new operating system for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch launching this fall. One of the most anticipated features of iOS 5 is iCloud, which will provide online storage for users’ music, documents, contacts, calendars, apps and more as well as replace MobileMe as the service for updating data across users’ iOS devices and computers. Earlier this week iCloud.com went live for developers, who can now begin preparing their apps for service in iCloud.

Also this week, Apple announced the pricing for iCloud storage upgrade options. iCloud users get 5GB of storage for free; however, purchased music, apps and books don’t count against the 5GB of free storage, nor does “*Photo Stream*.”:http://www.apple.com/icloud/features/photo-stream.html Users who need more than 5GB of storage for their mail, documents, photos and other data can upgrade to 10GB, 20GB or 50GB for $20, $40 or $100/year, respectively.

While we still have to wait a bit longer for the iCloud to fully roll in, beta versions of two great iCloud features–automatic downloading of new music and past music and TV shows purchased from iTunes to iOS devices that meet system requirements–are currently available in “*iTunes*.”:http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/