The Times, They Are a-Changin'

I am going to do some work on Hapy’s and my pick-up truck this weekend. It still has the remnants of mud season in the form of mud and rocks caked on the wheels, so I will take them off and pressure wash them. (That is, in between motorcycle rides and playing with my grandchildren who will be spending some time up on Prickly Mountain.)

I hope you have an awesome summer weekend! Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
_Don, Kali & Stephanie_

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/

_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!

Recently, my good friend Dawn was visiting from New York and came into our Waitsfield store to buy a new iPod touch. Dawn works out regularly, so I bought her a “*PDO Sporteer Armband*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/76392/pdo-sporteer-armband-for-iphone-4-iphone-3g-ipod-touch-black/at_kb to hold her iPod while she exercises so she can listen to her favorite tunes.

The PDO Sporteer Armband is such a great product. It features super-durable neoprene with reflective inserts for use at night and a screen protector that allows for easy touch screen navigation, and it’s adjustable to fit most arm sizes. All those features for only $14.99! When I asked Dawn how it was working out for her (no pun intended), she said she uses it everyday and absolutely loves it.

She also shared her favorite features: “It even has a slot in the back for a credit card or cash, so picking up sushi or yogurt after exercising is a breeze!” Dawn is so pleased with her armband that I’m offering free shipping to Kibbles & Bytes readers this week only when they buy the PDO Sporteer Armband!

One of the great things about Mail in Lion is the layout. I am a huge fan of the left-to-right format that was made so popular by iOS. This way, I get to read the first couple of lines of those “enhancement” emails without opening them! Score!

Seriously though, aside from the content preview benefit, one can now view Mail threads as “Conversations” (taking a cue from–and one-upping–Google… nice job). What I found, though, was that when I viewed my inbox conversations, I only could see what was actually in my inbox–i.e. responses __to__ me. The fix? Click the “Show Related Messages” button in the Toolbar and you’ll see your own sent mail neatly in order.

Mac Treat #159 Update: Since this was featured in “last week’s Kibbles & Bytes,”:http://blog.smalldog.com/kibbles/kb734/ I received a few responses which pointed out that if one does not have a Trackpad (either no laptop or no Apple Trackpad), the Trackpad preferences will not be visible. To that I say, you’re right! If you don’t have a Trackpad attached, you’ll find the same option in the Mouse preferences.

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