Shake That Thing…

_Dear Friends,_

Still not much snow up in Vermont but I do see a little dusting on the lawn on Prickly when I look at the webcam. Artie took advantage of the artificial snow up on Sugarbush and his “ski” clause in his employment agreement to get a few runs in this week. It was a very mild November and December is also mild. I definitely would have extended my motorcycling season this year if I was in Vermont. Motorcycling down here is a 12-month affair but a lot more boring – there is really only one road for about 100 miles.

It is funny how my grandkid’s Christmas lists mature over the years. They have gone from asking for the latest game, toy or doll to much more practical stuff. My oldest teenage granddaughter, Khadija, had the following on her list: bed spread, house plants, tea, yarn and knitting needles, banana bread, stuff I need for college & anything from the heart.

We have good stock of all the Apple products and third-party accessories at each of our stores so if you are doing some holiday shopping, drop into any of our stores in Vermont or down here in Key West!

This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive is the Apple iPad Air 16GB with WiFi in Space Gray. This is a great iPad at a very affordable price. It features a 9.7 inch screen, the powerful Apple A4 processor and a 10-hour battery life. While supplies last, this “*16GB iPad Air is available to Kibbles & Bytes readers for $389 and you get a $25 Small Dog Gift card, too!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002102/ Only a limited quantity available at this price!

Back in college when I was working at the IT helpdesk, we’d sometimes have days that were just really slow. One of my favorite things to do back then was hop onto Yahoo Answers and find questions that I could help answer for people. They were mostly technical questions and I liked being able to help out people with the knowledge I had.

Although Yahoo Answers still exists today, it’s often not taken seriously because of the large number of people there posting fake questions and answers. So where should you go if you have questions you want answered by a volunteer community of experts? Enter “*StackExchange*”:http://stackexchange.com/

Launched in 2009, StackExchange has become host to dozens of excellent topic-specific sub-sites or exchanges where you can ask questions and get answers. The community is exceptionally helpful and friendly. The biggest exchange is “*Stack Overflow*”:http://stackoverflow.com/, where you can ask any and all questions related to computer programming. This is also the main exchange that spawned the rest of StackExchange. Other large popular exchanges include “*Server Fault*”:http://serverfault.com/ (for server admins), “*Super User*”:http://superuser.com/ (for computer power users), “*Ask Ubuntu*”:http://askubuntu.com/ (for Ubuntu users), “*Ask Different*”:http://apple.stackexchange.com/ (for Mac users) and many more.

The cool thing is that although it started off as a primarily technical Q&A site, various exchanges have popped up over the years for other things as well like, “*English Language and Usage*”:http://english.stackexchange.com/, “*Mathematics*”:http://math.stackexchange.com/, “*Travel*”:http://travel.stackexchange.com/, “*Parenting*”:http://parenting.stackexchange.com/, “*Chemistry*”:http://chemistry.stackexchange.com/, “*Pets*”:http://pets.stackexchange.com/ and more. I can’t tell you how often I google search some question I have and end up finding the answer on StackExchange.

New exchanges can be created as well. If you visit “*Area 51*”:http://area51.stackexchange.com/ their new site staging zone, you can see all the proposals for new exchanges. Some up and coming exchanges include Latin Language, 3D Printing, and Arts and Crafts.

So if you’re an expert on something and want to lend a hand to others, or if you are looking for expert answers to very specific questions, give StackExchange a try!

Let’s say you just got that new iMac and you are finding that your network is running slow. Your wireless signal drops out a few times a day and you just can’t seem to stay online. Well, it is probably time to upgrade your wireless network. Fortunately, Apple offers several options with their Airport wireless routers.

There is not much choice in the flying type of airport either here in Key West or in Vermont. When it comes to equipping your home or office with a wireless network, Apple offers three different options for Apple AiPort base stations: the Apple AirPort Express, Apple AirPort Extreme and the Apple AirPort Time Capsule. With an AirPort base station you can easily create a Wi-Fi network with a Mac or an iOS device in just a few steps. You can also use the AirPort base station to share a printer or hard drive, stream iTunes to your stereo and back-up your Mac.

Let’s take a look at each of Apple’s offerings:

h3. AirPort Express

The compact AirPort Express utilizes the 802.11n Wi-Fi standard and supports AirPlay. It is great for an apartment or smaller space, it allows you to use AirPlay to wirelessly stream music to your stereo or compatible speakers and has a USB port so that you can print wirelessly. It also has an audio output port (AKA headphone jack) to support wireless music streaming. It has an Ethernet input and one Ethernet output so it can be easily connected to your DSL or Cable modem and to your Ethernet network if you have that, too. The Express has an internal power supply, so no wall wart!

h3. AirPort Extreme

The Apple AirPort Extreme is more powerful, features 802.11ac Wi-Fi and offers increased performance and extended range. This is the unit for you if you have a larger home, a small business or in the classroom. Its taller shape increases the range due to better antenna performance and it features a USB port to enable wireless printing or to connect a hard drive. It features three Ethernet LAN ports in addition to the single Ethernet WAN port. The AirPort Extreme’s power supply is also built-in.

h3. Airport Time Capsule

The Airport Time Capsule looks identical to the AirPort Extreme and has the same ports and wireless specifications. It adds either a 2TB or 3TB internal hard drive for Time Machine backups.

All of these Apple AirPort base stations are very easy to set-up. You plug it in, turn it on and connect it to your cable or DSL modem via the Ethernet WAN port. Your Mac or iOS device will recognize the AirPort, select the new AirPort base station and the built-in setup assistant provides step-by-step instructions and suggests the best network configuration. You select “Create a new network” create a password and you are surfing.

Deciding which Apple AirPort base station is right for you depends on where you are using it, i.e. the range you need and whether you need the maximum speed. The latest Apple Macs all support 802.11ac and that may push you towards the Extreme or Time Capsule.

It is somewhat of an undocumented feature that you can, in fact, attach a USB drive to an AirPort Extreme and use that combination with Time Machine for backups. It does take a little bit more configuration time but I can say from personal experience that it works flawlessly. While there is an advantage to having the all-in-one Time Capsule it can also be an advantage having separate devices so that IF one fails, the other is still functional.