By now you’ve probably seen one of those odd-looking white squares with a bunch of smaller square dots that make up a random pattern inside–that’s a QR code. QR stands for “Quick Response,” and a QR code is a form of barcode, just like on the packaging of nearly everything you buy.

Usually QR codes are used to store Web links–URLs–so an ad can display just the QR code instead an unwieldy and hard-to-type web address. But QR codes aren’t just for ads. They’ve appeared on business cards, in magazines and books, on coins and bills, and even on tombstones–any place it would be nice to help someone load a Web link into a smartphone but where there isn’t enough room for a URL or in situations where viewers won’t remember the URL later. And the links? They can display anything that can appear on the Web: text, photos, videos, games, and more.

Only one built-in iPhone app can scan QR codes–the Wallet app in iOS 9–but it can scan only QR codes that are associated with Wallet passes, things like airline boarding passes, concert tickets, and iTunes gift cards. For QR codes that encode any other sort of data, Wallet shows an error. It would be nice if Apple would add general QR scanning capabilities to Wallet or the Camera app, but until that happens, you’ll need another app.
There are numerous QR code scanning apps in the App Store, but if you need a recommendation, give TapMedia’s QR Reader for iPhone a try. It’s free with ads (remove them with a $1.99 in-app purchase), scans both QR codes and traditional barcodes on most commercial products, and displays the associated information within the app. It can even help you create your own QR codes.

To use a QR code scanner, launch the app, allow it to access the camera when it asks, and then point it at the QR code. Good apps will scan nearly instantly, but if not, move the camera so the QR code is centered between the guides. If even that doesn’t work, move forward or back so the camera can focus on the centered code.

Once the code has been scanned, the app will usually bring up an in-app Web browser to display whatever was encoded. For certain kinds of data, like books or grocery items, the app may go right to Amazon or a price comparison site. Good apps will also keep a record of sites you’ve scanned, so you can go back to them later, even if you can no longer scan the QR code.

So download a QR code scanning app and keep an eye out for QR codes. Once you start looking, you’ll find them everywhere–it’s a modern-day treasure hunt!

You are visiting Key West, accompanied by your trusty iPhone and MacBook Air. Suddenly there’s an emergency at work, and you need to get online with your Mac. You can pick up a cell signal with the iPhone, but there’s no Wi-Fi that isn’t locked up. Well, my first thought might be “oh well, I’m on vacation!” but you are dedicated and need to be online.

Don’t worry! You can use your iPhone’s cellular data plan to create a personal Wi-Fi hotspot that lets your Mac access the Internet through your iPhone. Also called “tethering,” it’s fast, easy, and can be a life-saver when you just have to get online with a Mac or your Wi-Fi-only iPad. It supports up to 5 users, too, which means you can get your team online, too!

Before we explain how to do set up a personal hotspot, note that most but not all cellular carriers allow tethering on existing plans. For some, you might have to pay more for tethering. Keep in mind that any data consumed by your Mac while tethered will count against your data allowance and may generate overage fees. Carriers with “unlimited” data, like T-Mobile and Sprint, generally throttle your bandwidth to slower speeds if you use too much data.

Along those lines, if you use a file sharing service like Dropbox or Google Drive, or an Internet backup service like CrashPlan or Backblaze, turn them off before connecting. Particularly if they haven’t connected in a while, those services can transfer a lot of data quickly, which could result in a hefty overage charge or awkward data throttling for the rest of the month.

With those warnings out of the way, follow these steps in iOS 9 to turn on Personal Hotspot:

1. On your iPhone, if you’ve never enabled the feature before, go to Settings > Cellular > Personal Hotspot. Once you’ve turned Personal Hotspot on once, it moves up a level, so you can access it from Settings > Personal Hotspot.

1. Tap on Wi-Fi Password and enter a password that’s at least 8 characters long and easy to type. It doesn’t need to be super secure because you can keep Personal Hotspot turned off unless you’re using it. But you do want a password so random people nearby can’t connect and use your data.

1. Once you’ve entered a password, slide the Personal Hotspot switch.

That’s it! The Personal Hotspot screen provides basic instructions for connecting to the iPhone via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB. Stick with Wi-Fi, since it’s the easiest and most reliable in most cases.

• To connect to your new Personal Hot Spot on your Mac, click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar and choose your iPhone’s name.

• On your iPad, go to Settings > Wi-Fi and choose your iPhone.

• Enter your password when prompted, making sure to select Remember This Network. That way, you won’t even have to enter your password the next time.

• The Mac or iPad then connects to your iPhone, showing a hotspot icon instead of the usual wave icon for the Wi-Fi menu.

Could it get any simpler? When you’re done, the safest thing to do, to ensure you don’t accidentally end up using too much of your data allowance, is to turn off the Personal Hotspot switch in Settings > Personal Hotspot. Your Mac or iPad will automatically disconnect.

Actually, it CAN be simpler! Your Mac can automatically use the personal hotspot on your iPhone to connect to the Internet when they’re within range of each other.

Use Instant Hotspot on your iPhone (with iOS 8 or later) to provide internet access to your Mac computers and other iOS devices (with OS X Yosemite or iOS 8) that are in range and signed into iCloud using the same Apple ID. Instant Hotspot uses your iPhone — you don’t have to enter a password or even turn on Personal Hotspot.

Make sure your iOS device and your Mac are signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID.

On your Mac, click the Wi-Fi status icon in the menu bar, then choose your iPhone or iPad.

After you connect to the iPhone or iPad Personal Hotspot, you can check the cellular signal strength and the battery status of the iPhone or iPad in the Wi-Fi status menu.

When you’re not using using the hotspot, your devices automatically disconnect to save battery life.

One more big advantage of Personal Hot Spots. When you are shopping for that new iPad, perhaps you don’t need the cellular model if you nearly always have your iPhone handy. That’s what I do. If I need internet access on my Wi-Fi iPad, I simply connect to my Hot Spot! Saves me the added cost of a cellular-enabled iPad and the monthly fees from the cell carrier!

_Dear Friends,_

Vermont is back in the freezer as April becomes the most frustrating month for the Green Mountains. The days are longer, there is sun but it is too early to work in the garden. The roads are muddy and while the black flies haven’t awoken yet, it is hard to stay in the house but challenging to go outside.

The iPad Pro 9.7-inch model has arrived at our stores and the initial sales have been strong. While this new iPad, at first glance, looks like the old iPad, once people start using it, playing with the Apple Pencil and realizing the advancements of this latest iPad they are hooked. Size-wise, I think that it might be ideal. The iPad Pro 12-inch model is, well it is big. The iPad mini is good for reading or checking your email abut the 9.7-inch iPad Pro is just right.

I am very pleased to introduce the latest member of the Small Dog Team, Amy Farnsworth, who joins us as our Marketing and Design manager. Amy has strong marketing and graphic design background from her work in Utah and has recently relocated to Vermont with her husband. She says “I am a graphic designer, daydreamer, dog lover, wife, sister, best friend, Netflix junky & secret dad joke lover.” I think she will fit in fine! Please join me in welcoming Amy!

This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive features the Apple Certified Refurbished MacBook Pro. This is not a stripped down MacBook Pro but a fully-configured unit ready for your toughest challenges. It features the 2.8 GHz i7 intel processor, 16GB of ram, a 1TB hard drive and the NVIDIA 750M graphics chip driving the awesome “15-inch Retina display.”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002189 This Macbook Pro comes with the same 1-year warranty as new Macbook Pros but we are bundling it this week with Applecare that not only extends that 1-year warranty to 3-years but also extends your 90-days of free tech support from Apple to 3-years as well. “Kibbles & Bytes readers save $100 on this bundle at only $2925.98!”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002189