MAC TREAT #250: Prevent App Redirects

I am sure that the “*Mad River Valley*”:http://www.madrivervalley.com is filling up with skiers for Presidents’ Week and business must be good for the ski areas as we have had a ton of snow (_editor’s note: by my calculations, Vermont actually has received over 30 MILLION tons of snow in the last few weeks!_). I have a close friend visiting for the week and will be playing tour guide down here in Key West and just thinking about how I am missing the snow…with a big smile on my face.

Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

_Don, Rachel, Dean & Mike_

In the words of Plain White T’s famous song “*1, 2, 3, 4:*”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6pW_q1PvH0 __There’s only one way to say those three words and that’s what I’ll do.. I Love You ❤__

Music can turn a mood upside down, add romantic flair to a dull evening, and make it easy to say things you’ve wanted to for a very long time. I’ve highlighted just a few tunes to impress your sweetheart and make this Valentine’s Day one to remember.

*Today’s Hits*

“*Thinking Out Loud*”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp-EO5I60KA&feature=youtu.be __by Ed Sheeran__

__And darling, I will be loving you ’til we’re 70__
__And, baby, my heart could still bass as hard at 23__

Ed Sheeran has said he wrote his ultra-romantic ballad as a “walking-down-the-aisle” song. Borrow Sheeran’s lyrics (and music) for your sweetie this Valentine’s Day and maybe you, too, will find love “right where you are.”

“*A Sky Full Of Stars*”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPRjCeoBqrI&feature=youtu.be __by Coldplay__

__Because you’re a sky, you’re a sky full of stars__
__Such a heavenly view, You’re such a heavenly view__

This song displays an age-old tradition of elevating love to other-worldly status, making it a shining example of songs for Valentine’s Day.

“*XO*”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xUfCUFPL-8&feature=youtu.be, __by Beyonce__

__Your love is bright as ever, Even in the shadows__
__Baby, kiss me, Before they turn the lights out__

Beyonce’s fun mid-tempo hit takes a light-hearted approach to love. Her un-filtered vocals are sure to woo your honey on Valentine’s Day.

“*All of Me*”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=450p7goxZqg&feature=youtu.be, __by John Legend__

__Cause all of me Loves all of you__
__Love your curves and all your edges, All your perfect imperfections__

As one of the biggest hits in 2014, “All of Me”, was praised as a “mountainous piano crusher” by Rolling Stone’s Jon Dolan. This love ballad should be saved for those in serious relationships…casual daters need-not-apply.

*Yesterday’s Favorites*

“*I’ll Make Love to You*”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV8vB1BB2qc __by Boyz II Men__

One of the best love (making) songs that you can use for the special day.

“*Come Away With Me*”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqqPgA-yuuc __by Norah Jones__

This peaceful love ballad is sure to slow you down. Perfect if you want to drop everything and start slow dancing.

“*Crash Into Me*”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7in-9E3ImQ __by Dave Matthews Band__

Fall for each other over and over again with the wonderful lyrics from the Dave Matthews Band.

“*Truly Madly Deeply*”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQnAxOQxQIU __by Savage Garden__

Produced in 1997, this is a wonderful song by Savage Garden. This romantic music has a softness through which it has managed to become one of the most romantic love songs for Valentine’s Day.

“*(Everything I Do) I Do It For You*”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGoWtY_h4xo, __by Bryan Adams__

__You know it’s true__
__Everything I do, I do it for you__

If you’re looking for a song to say all the things you may get choked up over, look no further. You’ll be able to find a way to your significant other’s heart by stealing some of Bryan Adams lyrics.

“*Because You Loved Me*”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih1945e4q7I, __by Celine Dion__

This popular wedding song will get you thinking about everything your sweetie does for you. From lifting you up when you can’t reach to being your voice when you can’t speak.

_Dear Friends,_

Big news out of Vermont this week was that the Vermont National Guard has been deployed to help Massachusetts dig out of their record snowfall. You know, proper tool for the right job, kind of thing. It is Hapy’s birthday today and aside from being the heartbeat of the company (everything flows through Hapy) Hapy is also a “master” competitor in the Highland Games where he lifts and throws heavy objects. Here’s a picture that is one of my favorites but I wish I had a picture from a few years ago when we bought him a harness and hooked him up to our GEM truck and had him tow a bunch of us up a hill. Happy Birthday to Hapy!

Apple stock took another ride up this week and Apple is now the most valuable company ever with a market cap of over $730 Billion, making Apple worth more than say Switzerland, Google, and Microsoft combined or the entire Spanish stock market. There was an interview with Tim Cook who was speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference. He talked about the Apple Watch and had some interesting things to say. He said the watch will shake up the market by “changing the way you live your life.” Apple’s CEO said that “the Apple Watch will give you a little tap 10 minutes before the hour if you haven’t moved within the hour. Why? Because a lot of doctors believe that sitting is the new cancer, right?”. Tim Cook said a lot of his employees who use the watch are now standing up and moving around at 10 minutes before the hour.

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Tim also announced an $848 million 130 megawatt solar array that will generate all the power Apple uses by the end of 2016. In partnership with “*First Solar*”:http://www.firstsolar.com, the plant will be 280 megawatts with Apple buying 130 MW of that capacity. It is a dramatic demonstration of Apple’s commitment to fight climate change. I am happy that Small Dog Electronics has also been providing most of the power we use in Vermont through the solar array at our facility in Waitsfield that was provided by “*All Earth Renewables.*”:http://www.allearthrenewables.com

This week’s Kibbles & Bytes special is a product that works great with iOS 8’s HealthKit. The Cardioarm Blood Pressure monitor is a self contained Bluetooth device to monitor your blood pressure. Grace and I use this ourselves and it works great! Once your blood pressure has been taken, it automatically dumps the data to the Health App. This is normally $99.99 but this week for Kibbles & Bytes readers we are giving $10 off so your price is $89.99!

“*Check it out here!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001750

I have been doing more onsite installations and lessons down here in Key West. So many times as I start to help a customer we run into the password roadblock. I was at a customer’s home yesterday and needed to set up her email and iCloud account. I asked for the administrator password for her Mac and she went to a little pile of sticky notes and tried to find the right one and the scene was repeated for each password we needed. I then proceeded to show her Keychain Access and I could see the light bulb hovering above her head as she understood the value of this app from Apple.

Mac OS X supports what are known as keychains: secure storage lockers for certificates, passwords, or any small bits of information to be kept private. The primary purpose of a keychain is to remember passwords for various applications and accounts such as mail and ftp servers, web sites, or encrypted disk images. The basic idea is that a single password, the keychain password, is used to unlock access to all passwords stored in that keychain.

I keep Keychain Access in my dock and use it all the time to find passwords, banking information, or secure notes. To find Keychain Access you follow this path: *Finder > Applications > Utilities > Keychain Access*. I do recommend that once you find it that you drag it to your dock, because once you start using it, you will wonder how you ever lived without it.

With the advent of iCloud and OS X 10.9 Mavericks, Apple made Keychain even more valuable as iCloud Keychain lets you share your Keychain in the iCloud so you can access it from all of your devices. I wish there was an app like Keychain Access on your iOS devices but still, it is awful handy to have your device automatically remember your password for websites, etc.

When you launch Keychain Access you will see that the window is divided into three panes. The top-left pane lists keychains accessible to you. Below this is the Category pane. Here you can choose to view specific kinds of things stored in the keychain: passwords, secure notes, certificates associated with your account, encryption keys, and certificates used by your Mac. The largest pane, to the right, displays the contents of selected category items—for example, all of the items that have a password associated with them. Except in the case of certificates, you can double-click on one of these items to open a window where you can view the item’s attributes: name, kind, associated account, location (a website or network address), as well as its access control.

Keychain Access can do a lot of useful things. For example, if you’ve forgotten a password and would like to recover it, Keychain Access is the place to go. To learn the identity of a password, select All Items or Passwords in the Category pane, then find the the item you want the password for and double-click it. In the resulting window, enable the Show Password option. You will be prompted for the password for the login keychain which is either your login password or the administrator password (which will be the same if you are an admin user on your machine). Enter that and click Allow, and the password will be revealed in the Password field.

I have just scratched the surface of this great utility, perhaps we will go into some more technical detail in our sister eNewsletter, Tech Tails or in a future issue of Kibbles & Bytes. But if you are not using Keychain to its full potential, I suggest dragging it to your dock and checking it out!

This Presidents’ Week we have a special for everyone.

*SAVE $300*
!>http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4252.png!
* Receive savings of up to $300 when you purchase an Apple Certified Refurbished Mac Bundle. Purchase a refurbished MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, with AppleCare (which extends your Apple Warranty to 3 years) and receive a Free Canon AirPrint Printer. Limited quantity available so “*grab this awesome deal before it is gone!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001748

*BOGO*
* Buy One Get One Free deals on iPhone 5, 5s, 5c, 6, and 6 Plus accessories, so whatever model you own you’ll be able to add to the collection. “*See all specials here.*”:https://www.smalldog.com/presidentsday/presidents-day-sale

* One for me, one for you specials are the best! Especially when they are for headphones. Purchase Urbanear Plattan, the perfect classic full-size headphone which allows for rich, secluded sound, and get a pair free! “*Snag this deal here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001733

*SAVE $30*

!

h2. For more Presidents’ Day specials, visit “*smalldog.com/presidentsday*”:https://www.smalldog.com/presidentsday/presidents-day-saleshop online or come into one of our “*retail stores.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/retail/visit-us-in-store-at-any-of-our-locations Deals run through the end of the month.