Crystal Ball Gazing

It is that time of the year where I review my predictions for 2014 and polish up the crystal ball for 2015.

Here’s what the ball said last year:

Apple stock will exceed $700 by year’s end

Nailed that one!

Apple will introduce “wearable” technology that will have some features that surprise Hapy

The Apple watch was introduced, don’t know if Hapy was surprised but I am pretty sure that some feature did

The Apple TV will become more than a “hobby”

More and more content is becoming available and with Apple selling over 20 million of the devices, I am giving myself this one, too

There really will be confirmation of extraterrestrial (intelligent) life

Okay, discovery of water on Mars and earth-like planets doesn’t quite qualify

The Cubs will really climb out of the cellar this season and the Washington Nationals will win the World Series

Just wait until next year

The Celtics will make the playoffs, lose in the first round and the Indiana Pacers will upset the Miami Heat and go on to win the NBA Championship

Just wait until 2017?

The Democrats will not lose the US Senate and will pick up seats in the House

Just wait until 2016?

The Patriots will not win the Super Bowl

Congrats to the Seahawks!

Norway will win the most medals at the Winter Olympics with the USA not doing better than 4th place in the medal count

Norway finished 3rd and the USA 2nd – Russia had the most

There will be at least one significant event tied undisputedly to climate change

Lots of events and crazy weather but nothing that meets my criteria for significant event

The polls will show that a majority of Americans have favorable opinions of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) by the end of the year

Not a good year for the ACA even though many Americans have greater coverage

Hmmm… three out of eleven – not so good for 2014. I’d better put some elbow grease into that crystal ball polishing.

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  • _Dear Friends,_

    Happy New Year to each and every Kibbles reader! 2014 is in the books and we look forward to an exciting 2015. We already know that there will be some great new products from Apple this new year with the Apple Watch scheduled to be released in the spring and we also know that Apple has been working hard on a variety of other new products. We are also entering Small Dog Electronics’ 20th anniversary year and it is hard to believe that we have been around that long. I know that when I started the company in my garage, I had no idea that we would still be providing Apple products and accessories two decades later.

    We have decided to concentrate our marketing efforts during January to center around the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday with the focus on “Celebrate Diversity”.  At Small Dog Electronics we are firm believers that diversity brings strength. No color, race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation separates us. We are truly all equal members of the human family. This has been a core belief for the company for our 20 years! Several years ago we ran a series of “celebrate diversity” web banners that, at the time, were controversial. We lost some customers but I think we gained far more with our message of equality.

    The diverse product offerings that we have are a great tie-in, whether you are looking for a desktop or portable device or any of the wide range of peripherals like Beats headphones, home automation products or data backup solutions. While it is a marketing campaign, our hearts are deeply invested in promoting equality.

    The holiday season seems to have been a big success for Apple as data from the analytics company Flurry shows that iPhones and iPads made up more than half of all mobile device activations between December 19th and 25th. That was three times the number of activations as the second place finisher, Samsung.  

    I don’t know what you got for the holidays, but if you received an iPad or iPhone you probably need a spare charger to keep it charged up. And you probably need one for the car, too! This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive features the Hammerhead 4-port USB charger and Hammerhead 2-port 17 watt car charger bundled with an Apple 1 meter Lightning to USB cable for only $39.99. This bundle is normally $65!

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  • Olloclip for iPhone 6

    I’m always skeptical when it comes to accessories for iOS devices that add things whether it is a microphone, an extra lens for the camera, cases that add wallets, etc… The whole point of the iPhone for me was to have less. I got rid of my camera, video camera, handheld video games, and when my bank signs on to Apple Pay, I’ll lose the wallet. So when I got an Olloclip for Christmas I was worried about how much I would use it and if it was worth carrying these extra lenses with me.

    Granted, I’m only a few days in, but so far the photos are worth it and it’s not a huge pain to carry. It’s not something I would carry every day as the camera on the iPhone is fine for everyday shots, but when you know you’ll have the chance to snap some great shots it’s well worth carrying the Olloclip. Like it’s original lens kit for iPhone 4/4S the “*4-in-1 for iPhone 6*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/86350/olloclip-4-in-1-lens-solution-for-iphone-6-6-plus-silver-black includes a fisheye lens, wide angle, and underneath both lenses it has a Macro 10x and 15x. These are great for capturing shots I never even thought of.

    The fisheye allows you to capture more of your surroundings and of course gives that beautiful effect. Wide angle doesn’t affect the actual photo but still captures more of what’s around you. I really like using the wide angle lens to take panoramic shots…it creates a huge photo great for landscapes. Then the macro lens captures detail I didn’t know was possible with the iPhone. For instance, I took a picture of the ice during our recent thaw and you can see the air bubbles and other imperfections which made for a beautiful photo. Even a simple shot of the Lego I got for Christmas came to life.

    Ok, enough of my ranting how amazing it is. What’s not amazing about it? Well not much but some small things for sure. The pluses I will note heavily outweigh the negatives, in my opinion. For instance, this version for iPhone 6 works on both rear and front facing camera. Which leads me into the negative. In doing that it covers the light sensor, so if you have your phone set to auto brightness it will automatically think it’s night and turn your screen down. It also makes hitting the effects within the camera app, such as HDR and timer, difficult to hit. You also can’t use a case with these attachments in use. I would imagine that for those using a LifeProof or Otterbox case this would cause quite a bit of hassle.

    Overall a great accessory for those who love their iPhone’s camera but want to make it even better.

  • I am off to Las Vegas for the big Consumer Electronics Show so Rachel may have to twist Emily or Hapy’s arm to do some writing for next week’s Kibbles & Bytes. It has always been tricky getting out of Vermont for CES due to the unpredictable weather but this year I will be flying from Key West so chances are I won’t be spending a lot of extra time in the Detroit airport as I have done in the past.

    All of us at Small Dog Electronics send our wishes to you for a safe and prosperous New Year! Make it green in 2015, don’t be mean in 2015 and other slogans…

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    _Don, Rachel, Mike & Dean_

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