SPECIAL | Prices As Low As They Can Go

Are you the type of person who likes to keep a passcode on your iOS device to keep intruders from snooping around? Apple automatically defaults to a “simple passcode,” which is a 4-digit number and probably what most of you use. There is actually a way to make a longer passcode if you prefer it to contain letters and numbers, potentially making it a bit more secure.

To do this, simply open up *Settings > General > Passcode Lock > Turn Simple Passcode off* on your iOS device. If your Passcode is currently off, you’ll need to switch it on and it will then prompt you to enter a new one. Make whatever passcode you’d like, whether it contains both letters and numbers, only numbers, or only letters. There isn’t a required set of characters that that passcode needs to include (i.e. at least one capital letter, one number and one punctuation).

That’s it! It’s now pretty simple to create a longer, more secure passcode on your iOS device. Make sure you remember that fancy passcode though; if you enter an incorrect passcode too many times, “*the device will be disabled temporarily.*”:http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1212

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A little while back, I was asked to test out this new portable hard drive we would be carrying made by Seagate called the Wireless Plus. At first, I was giddy like a schoolgirl to have an extra 1TB of storage space to move my media around. I then had to throw on my professional cap and get down to business.

After getting it home, I started the unboxing process. The packaging was like any other, made of cardboard and sturdy enough to reassure me the drive hadn’t been bouncing around in transit. The drive’s outer shell, on the other hand, was made of plastic, which personally I always dislike. Sure it helps keep costs down and is probably better for the wireless signal, but it is far more flimsy than something made of metal.

In the box, you will find a 1TB wireless hard drive, a USB 3.0 cable, a USB to DC power cable, a USB wall adapter and a quick start guide. Something I had fun admiring was this plate that let you replace the USB port once you had the drive set up to be a standalone wireless drive. So, I started playing around with the buttons and ports before reading any instructions (the typical thing guys do, I think…).

After I had my fill of playing, I opened up the instructions and followed them “to a T.” The initial setup (where I connected the drive to my iPhone) was simple and straightforward, but when it came to wirelessly connecting the drive to my Mac, the directions were slightly more vague. This was disappointing, since my Mac was the device I wanted the drive to talk with in the first place. The directions said to install some software on the Mac, but didn’t tell you where the software was located. No discs were included with the drive, so I presumed that the software would be on the hard drive. I was right, but it would have been nice if that was explicitly mentioned in the guide.

*Disclaimer:* It is not mentioned in the quick start guide, but the complete user guide available “*here*”:http://www.seagate.com/files/www-content/support-content/external-products/satellite/_shared/docs/Seagate%20Wireless%20Plus%20User%20Guide_EN.pdf tells you __not__ to use the Wireless Plus drive for backup with Time Machine when you plug it in for the ??first time??. Your Mac will attempt to reformat the drive and erase the software you are tying to install.

Once I had the device up and running on my wireless network, everything seemed to work seamlessly. My preferred method of use for this device was just as an external hard drive to store more of my media on — but the Wireless Plus has more going for it then just that! You can view and play your media from the Seagate Media app. The only drawback is that there are some limitations on the types of files that the app can play. The list they give seems a bit light, but it’s what I found within the user guide, so I say try it with any type of media and see what works for you.

Here is a break down of some supported file types:

* Video: H.246 video, MPEG-4, Motion-JPEG
* Audio: AAC, MP3, M4a Audible (formats 2, 3, 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV
* Documents: Microsoft Office, iWork, Adobe Acrobat (PDF)

Since we are talking details, I should mention the product specifications for the Wireless Plus.
*Supported Devices*

* iPad, iPhone, iPod touch running iOS 4 and above
* Android-based tablets and smartphones running Android release 2.1 and above
* Other Wi-Fi enabled tablets and smartphones (ed. note — could they be any more vague?)
* Mac computer running Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later operating systems
* Windows computer running Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP

*Supported Web Browsers*

* Safari 5 of later
* WebKit
* Internet Explorer 8 of later
* Firefox
* Google Chrome

*Hardware Specifications*

* Capacity: 1TB
* SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port (the machine you are connected to will also need USB 3.0 to achieve the highest transfer speeds) or USB 2.0 port
* Battery: Non-user replaceable lithium-ion battery
* Battery Life: Up to 10 hours of continuous streaming (1 user); up to 25 hours of standby
* Maximum Wi-Fi range: 45 meters (147 feet)
* Drive Format: NTFS (the included software will help with making this drive a Mac format)

With all that techie jargon out of the way, I have to tell you about my second moment of frustration. All of a sudden, the drive died one day. It had no blinking lights, wasn’t spinning up, nor mounting on my desktop. This really threw me for a loop since I had the device plugged in via the USB cable, so it should have been receiving power. I plugged in the included DC power adapter and that solved the problem. It seems as though the drive will not charge via USB like some other portable hard drives do. This isn’t a drawback by any means since you typically won’t have the drive plugged in via USB like I did, but it certainly was a moment of shock.

Overall, I am very happy with the Seagate Wireless Plus. I don’t use all the extra bells and whistles that the drive is capable of, but as a wireless external storage unit, it is exactly what I would expect. When the weather gets nicer, I plan on testing the wireless capabilities by attempting to have my PS3 read movie files off it for my mini home-drive-in movie nights.

You can find the Seagate Wireless Plus on our website “*here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/83044/seagate-wireless-plus-wifi-usb-3-0-1tb-hard-drive If you are in the market for a wireless portable hard drive, I recommend considering this one.

_Dear Friends,_

I was down in Rutland this week to participate in a panel discussion on the technology sector in Vermont and of course, to check on the progress of the construction for our new store. With big employers in our state such as GE and IBM, we have a pretty strong technology sector that has spawned hundreds of new businesses. This includes some amazing success stories such as “*Biotek,*”:http://www.biotek.com/ “*dealer.com*”:http://www.dealer.com and “*mywebgrocer.com,*”:http://mywebgrocer.com as well as software developers in all of the nooks and crannies of the state.

The biggest barrier that keeps Vermont from being more of a high-tech hub is the ongoing development of high speed broadband to all areas of the state. While some of the build-outs seem to look towards somewhat limiting technologies such as wireless, the most effective and only real solution to our rural and mountainous state is fiber optics. We are fortunate at Small Dog Electronics to have a forward-thinking local phone and internet company, Waitsfield Telecom, that has brought fiber to our headquarters a few years ago.

We will start moving furniture, equipment and furniture in to the Rutland store starting next week. We have been training our newest employees for the store and are really looking forward to the opening of that new location.

The sap buckets and pipelines are filling with sweet maple sap as the days are warm, and nights cool. All the predictions call for a banner year for maple syrup here in the maple syrup capital of the universe. Of course, this same weather makes for muddy back roads and cars that shimmy and shake as mud is caked on the wheels. Hammerhead likes to sit close on the bench seat of my pickup truck as we slog though the mud.

We have some fantastic bargains on Apple factory-reconditioned 17-inch MacBook Pros. As you know, the big daddy of the MacBook Pro line is no longer manufactured, but these units have been refurbished by Apple to new specifications and carry the same 1-year Apple warranty as a new Mac. Plus, they are eligible for the AppleCare Protection Plan that extends that warranty to 3 years and takes the free tech support from Apple from 90 days to 3 years. *These 17-inch MacBook Pros start at $1099(!)* and if you are looking for a bigger laptop Mac, this is the best opportunity yet!

“*Check them out!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Apple/MacBook_Pro/17in

Rebecca and I are back together on Small Dog Speaks on WDEV AM/FM these next few weeks after a bit of traveling. We have a lot of fun answering questions and talking about Macs, iPhones, iPads and dogs every week on Thursdays at 1PM. You can catch the stream of the show at wdevradio.com and we do have a toll-free call-in number at 877-291-8255. We would love to hear from you!

“*Visit our SDSpeaks page to see the latest and ask a question for us.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/sdspeaks

Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
_Don, Kali, Steph & Mike_