2013 Prognostications

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It is true there are a finite number of USB ports on every Mac. Lucky for you the Hub Man will give you an extra 4 ports. Even luckier for you every order of this neat little guy ships for FREE!

For all of you peeps who made the ever-popular New Year’s Resolution to work out more and get into shape, I have some great apps to help out.

I have never been a great runner, but I do it because…well…I’m not good at it. When I decided that I was going to run more, I started by searching for an interval app that would help me ease into this whole process. Instead of getting on the treadmill and just going for it, I downloaded “*Run 5K*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Frun-5k-interval-training-coach%2Fid313494823%3Fmt%3D8%26uo%3D4%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 and started the process of trying to become a “runner.”

Run 5K is an eight-week program that has you running three days a week for 20-30 minutes. Those 20-30 minutes consist of a 5-minute warmup, 5-minute cooldown and a series of different intervals that involve walking and running. There are both audio and visual cues telling you when its time to run or walk. The first week starts off super easy — warm up for 5 minutes, jog 45 seconds, walk 90 seconds, jog 45 seconds, walk 60 seconds and repeat 5 times. Each week you’ll run a little longer and walk a little less. The goal by the end of the whole thing is to be able to run a 5K (or 3.1 miles) straight without walking.

“*Run 5K*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Frun-5k-interval-training-coach%2Fid313494823%3Fmt%3D8%26uo%3D4%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 is $2.99 and is also available in a 10K version. I highly recommend it for those of you who want to ease into the running thing and also like planned workout routines.

Another great app for tracking your outdoor activity is “*MapMyRun.*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fmapmyrun-gps-running%2Fid291890420%3Fmt%3D8%26uo%3D4%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 MapMyRun uses the GPS feature to track and log your pace, live route map, distance, calories and elevation. I’ve used it mainly for running and walking, but you can also track a hike, stairs, biking, swimming (hopefully with a waterproof case) and all sorts of other exercise. I love it for tracking how far I’ve run outside and to see what my pace was. It will also give you voice prompts when you’ve gone a mile, or two, three, four…etc.

“*MapMyRun.*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fmapmyrun-gps-running%2Fid291890420%3Fmt%3D8%26uo%3D4%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 is a free app and definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of keeping track of your progress.

My third and final health and fitness app recommendation is “*MyFitnessPal,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fcalorie-counter-diet-tracker%2Fid488519281%3Fmt%3D8%26uo%3D4%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 a calorie counter and diet tracker. It’s easy to use and also quickly makes you realize just how much you’re really eating. Log your breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with your snacks and how much water you’re drinking during the day. The app has many major brands of foods ready to choose from; for instance, not just orange juice, but Tropicana No Pulp orange juice with all the nutritional information preloaded. This makes adding it to your food diary really simple.

The only downfall to MyFitnessPal is that sometimes it can take a long time to add your meal. Overall though, it’s a great way to keep a virtual food journal going, and it’s free!

Whether you’re choosing to start your New Year off in a highly active way or just trying to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle throughout the year, I’d recommend checking these apps out. I use all three throughout the year and find that they each bring something helpful to the table (pun intended!).

_Dear Friends,_

Happy New Year! We slipped over the fiscal cliff and hit -20° F this morning on the way into work. It’s a good old-Vermont winter temperature, but it is supposed to moderate later this weekend.

I was looking at the “*Internet Archive Wayback Machine*”:http://archive.org/web/web.php and found our original website from 1996, back when the URL was still “Smalldoggy.com,” which will slowly but surely still redirect you to “*Smalldog.com.*”:http://www.smalldog.com Back then, we had the “Haploid Clone Page” with two pictures of Hapy and specials on all of the Mac Clones. The URL Smalldog.com was owned by a small record company at the time, but we made friends with them and ended up trading a PowerBook Duo for the domain name.

This newsletter was first published in October of 1996. In it, we published our entire price list which included such gems as a Power Mac 9500/180MP for $5,599 and a 64MB DIMM for $499! You’re reading issue number 809, a good 16 years later! It wasn’t until 2000 that I started making my annual predictions. To commemorate, here are what my Y2K predictions were:

* Apple stock will hit $175/share
* Internet access will be free for nearly everyone
* Apple will release an innovative Palm device w/color LCD
* Several non-profitable internet companies will fold their tents
* Sammy Sosa will hit over 70 home runs
* Apple will make a surprising acquisition
* LCD Monitors will decline 50% in price
* Small Dog Electronics will be authorized to sell new Macs on the net
* I will put more miles on my motorcycle than last year
* Adrian Griffin will be the NBA Rookie of the Year
* NASDAQ will hit 8000
* Steve Jobs will remain interim CEO of Apple for another year
* The fastest Macintosh will continue to kick butt over any Intel/Microsoft
* Small Dog’s website will reach 5 million hits

I am going back to that simple format for my predictions this year — just a random prognostication for what’s to come in 2013.

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Lately, I have been dealing a great bit with color (not too surprising for someone working in the marketing department!). I’ve found that Apple has a great base to build upon with their Colors Utility.

If you’re wondering what the Colors Utility is, it’s a good bet you’ve used it without realizing. In apps like Text Edit, Mail and “*Pages*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fpages%2Fid409201541%3Fmt%3D12%26uo%3D4%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 to name a few, there is a utility that lets you choose the colors you want for text, backgrounds and other stuff. You may find it in the Inspector in the native Apple apps, or in various menus, but it usually can be found with the same keyboard shortcut (Command + Shift + C). Once opened, you are able to select the color you want by choosing it via the virtual box of crayons or from the full color spectrum.

If you’d like to select a specific color from a source on your screen, you can use the magnifying glass, found in the upper part of the Colors window. If you click the magnifying glass, you can then hover over any part of your screen and then click to pick the color your cursor is over. Once the color is picked, it is now your active color and you can drag it to some highlighted text or shape to change the color of that element. My primary use is to figure out the RGB and CMYK values for certain colors I find.

Unfortunately, not every app has a need for the Colors Utility even if ??you?? might (like I do). I stumbled upon a “*website*”:http://www.robinwood.com that has a script to launch the Colors Utility as a standalone app. There’s an article that the developer wrote about the Colors Utility “*here;*”:http://www.robinwood.com/Catalog/Technical/OtherTuts/MacColorPicker/MacColorPicker.html just scroll to the very bottom to find the link for her ColorPicker app.

Once you have downloaded it, just drag the script anywhere you’d like (I put it in the Applications folder). Click on it like you would any other app and it will launch the script. Then you are all set to start picking colors, regardless of the app you are currently using. Good examples: Now you can save that color you came across on a random website, or Facebook blue just because.

Note: ColorPicker is not an “Apple Approved” app since it is not found in the App store, so you must use this *at your own risk.* I have been using it for the past two months with absolutely zero issues and I love it. I recommend checking out the article at the very least to learn more about the Colors Utility.