_Dear Friends,_

It is one of the most brilliant fall foliage displays this year with brilliant neon colors. I take the long way to work this time of year so I can drive slowly through the upper Common road to see the amazing quilt of autumn colors in the mountains off in the distance. (Another reason I take the back roads is to avoid the slow-moving gawkers who are just as amazed as I am at Vermont’s fall display of color.)

I am off to Hong Kong and China next week to search for new products for our Hammerhead and Chill Pill brands. I usually go with my buddy Jason Wu, but this time I’m on my own. I will be attending two trade shows in Hong Kong and then traveling into China to Dongguan and Shenzhen to visit our manufacturers and partners. I have a good list of products to search for, including items for the iPhone 5.

We have some products that have just arrived, like our new Neoprene Cases for iPad and MacBook Pros and a dual-USB charger that will allow you to charge an iPhone and iPad simultaneously. We also are introducing a Bluetooth version of our popular Chill Pill mobile speakers in time for the holidays. Hey, if you have any great ideas for new accessories that you think might look good under our brand, drop me a note — who knows, we may name that product after you (or your dog)!

For all of the news and Tim Cook’s public explanation of the not-quite-ready-for-primetime Maps application, I have found that it is a great navigation device and it has not gotten me lost…yet. I guess we will see how it does in China! I remember being in Shanghai with Grace last year and we were using the old Google Maps-based app and as we were trying find our hotel after wandering around the city, we realized that we must have walked by it five times already because the information was wrong. We finally pulled out the business card with the address in Chinese that the concierge had given us and handed it to a group of women walking by. They started laughing and pointed to the entrance about 100 yards away!

This week, when you buy and Apple Keyboard and Mouse, get free shipping when you add the Mountain Lion Pocket Guide! It makes a great gift to go along with a new laptop purchase.

Yesterday, Apple released updates to both Lion (10.7) and Mountain Lion (10.8). For users with Lion, 10.7.5 Supplemental Update includes the following fixes:

* Resolves a time delay issue with Time Machine backups
* Addresses a launch issue in applications signed with a Developer ID

The Lion Supplemental Update is recommended if you have Lion v10.7.5 update (build 11G56) installed, but not needed if you have Lion v10.7.5 update (build 11G63).

For Mountain Lion, the OS X v10.8.2 Supplemental Update is recommended for __all users.__ It includes the following fixes:

* Resolves certain language characters to appear incorrectly in Mail
• Allows Safari to access secure sites when parental controls are enabled
• Addresses an issue that may prevent systems with more than 64 GB of RAM from starting up
• Resolves an issue that may cause DVD Player to unexpectedly quit

Find the updates under *Apple > Software Update…*

Over $900 off, plus free shipping on Apple refurbished 17-inch MacBook Pros — and don’t forget that factory refurbished MacBook Pros are eligible AppleCare, too.

Yesterday was both “*Dawn*”:http://www.smalldog.com/dawn and “*Art’s*”:http://www.smalldog.com/art 20-year wedding anniversary, as well as Barack and Michelle Obama’s 20th (congrats, you crazy kids!). Today, however, marks a decidedly sadder anniversary: it’s one year from Steve Jobs’ untimely death.

Tim Cook, Apple’s current CEO, wrote about it on Apple’s homepage, and Apple has posted a video highlighting his life. Tim writes,

bq. __”Steve’s passing one year ago today was a sad and difficult time for all of us. I hope that today everyone will reflect on his extraordinary life and the many ways he made the world a better place.__

bq. __One of the greatest gifts Steve gave to the world is Apple. No company has ever inspired such creativity or set such high standards for itself. Our values originated from Steve and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple. We share the great privilege and responsibility of carrying his legacy into the future.__

bq. __I’m incredibly proud of the work we are doing, delivering products that our customers love and dreaming up new ones that will delight them down the road. It’s a wonderful tribute to Steve’s memory and everything he stood for.__”

“*See the note and video here.*”:http://www.apple.com

Apple CEO Tim Cook “*recently released an apology*”:http://www.apple.com/letter-from-tim-cook-on-maps/ for the frustration that their new Maps app has caused users. There were numerous reasons that Apple decided to create its own app rather than continue to use Google Maps, but as “*we’ve mentioned previously,*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/ios-6-maps-app-flop-or-not/ using it is a mixed bag.

An overwhelming number of people have protested that it’s not quite ready for prime time, but in about a week’s time (three uses, to be exact), I’ve had no issue. Granted, even though I had never been to any of the places I mapped, they were relatively straightforward (i.e. right off the highway/in a location with solid cell coverage, etc.). I did notice, however, that the 3D feature wasn’t populating in most of the areas I was in. (That wasn’t __too__ surprising, given that many areas of Vermont are so to get adequate coverage.) I loved how much I could see from the main overview — ETA, mileage to go, etc.

However, for those of you who have tried it and found that it’s not quite up-to-snuff, Cook specifically mentions “*MapQuest,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mapquest/id316126557?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30 “*Bing,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bing/id345323231?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30 “*Waze,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/waze-social-gps-traffic-gas/id323229106?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30 or even adding a shortcut app icon that directs to Google Maps on the web (great call!).

I’ve tried MapQuest before, and it was probably everyone’s go-to before Google Maps. It’s a good, solid app, and gets positive reviews for its accurate directions and features, such as turn-by-turn navigation and rerouting after a missed turn.

I haven’t tried Bing or Waze, but upon reading reviews, most users find these to be well-organized apps that get the job done. Bing, of course, is Microsoft’s answer to Google, as current TV ads are pitting its search head-to-head with ubiquitous Google in a clever “blind” test reminiscent of the soda wars of the ’80s. While Bing “does it all,” Waze is an app specifically designed for GPS navigation. It also has a social component, with community-provided traffic updates. Pretty cool. I’ll be downloading this over the weekend as I navigate around the Baltimore-Washington beltway!

All are free.

Download “*MapQuest.*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mapquest/id316126557?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30
Download “*Bing.*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bing/id345323231?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30
Download “*Waze.*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/waze-social-gps-traffic-gas/id323229106?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30

To add an icon to your home screen, navigate to the page you want in our iOS browser of choice, and click the Share icon to choose “Add to Home Screen.”

Happy trails!