ByEmily Dolloff

Dear Friends,

May you live in interesting times. Some say that is an ancient Chinese curse although no such Chinese expression exists. But if you had any doubt about just how interesting the times are they were answered this week with the surprising election results. Tim Cook sent a letter to Apple employees and said in part:

While there is discussion today about uncertainties ahead, you can be confident that Apple’s North Star hasn’t changed. Our products connect people everywhere, and they provide the tools for our customers to do great things to improve their lives and the world at large. Our company is open to all, and we celebrate the diversity of our team here in the United States and around the world — regardless of what they look like, where they come from, how they worship or who they love.

I can echo that sentiment for Small Dog Electronics. We will continue to be guided by our triple bottom line of people, planet & profit. We celebrate diversity and strive for social justice for all.

Every year around this time retailers trip over themselves to offer discounts and “door busters” in preparation for the big Black Friday and holiday season. After doing that for a number of years, keeping the store open for extended hours (24 hours at one Black Friday!) and still losing sales to those that just discount we decided to take a step back. It started when the mall we were in when we had a store in NH wanted us to be open on Thanksgiving. They threatened to fine us if we would not open. I refused to open, Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends not commerce. We went further the next year and instead of discounting our products we decided to give a percentage of each sale to the Vermont Food Bank. That was a very popular program and we are doing it again this year. We will be donating to the Vermont Food Bank here in Vermont and to Star of the Sea Outreach Mission down here in Key West. You will be hearing more about this exciting promotion.

This week’s Kibbles & Bytes Exclusive features the new iPad Pro 9.7-inch with 128GB Wi-Fi and Cellular in Space Gray. We are bundling it this week with AppleCare Plus for the iPad and giving you $50 off! Get the iPad Pro with AppleCare+ for only $879.99!

Similar Posts

  • Walk With Your Knees Bent

    I was on a conference call today with Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility where, of course, the topic turned to the recent election results. One of the business leaders said “keep your chin up” and another piped in with “and walk with your knees bent” as we all agreed that there was opportunity in the hard work that we have to do.

    I woke up on Wednesday in shock and disbelief. I was unable to get started with my day, even though I had a lot of work to do. My thoughts turned to leaving the country, to giving up and the spiral of depressing dismay that many were feeling. It was actually my granddaughter, Khadija, that shocked me from my funk.

    She and I first exchanged some posts on Facebook and then long heartfelt letters. Khadija is a high school senior choosing colleges. She, like me, had the first notion of flight and told me she started investigating colleges in Canada, Australia and the UK. As a young black woman it was personal for her. She said:

    ??When I found out the news I thought there is no way I can stay in this country, and I’m just about to enter adulthood is this really the place I want to live in? But it is, and I know what I need to do. We need to continue our campaign for love and stop the hate in this country and do whatever we can to speak as loud as possible for those who can’t. I fully intend on doing this, and I’m just getting started. I am not abandoning this country and everything I believe it can be.??

    It is her commitment and faith that inspires me to work as hard as I can for all the issues that are so important. To fight for social justice, to combat climate change, to rise up against racism and to know that love will always conquer evil.

    The results of the election may impact everyone differently but it will be the people that are the checks on unbridled power. It is Khadija’s generation that brings me mountains of hope and when I hear her say she is ready to fight I will be there at her side 100%.

    The tremendous positive energy of the Bernie Sanders campaign was not just a fluke. It was the next generation saying – this is mine- and that voice is compelling and will continue to be heard. Hillary Clinton won more votes in this election and this valley has a way up!

    This soapbox is basically dedicated to that beacon of hope that is personified by Khadija and her friends, the ones who we pass onto the responsibility to be the change agents we so need.

    End soapbox

  • Move Your Butt

    One of the most popular uses of the Apple Watch is fitness. The Activity app is the center of that universe and one of the newest features is the ability to “share activity”. I am sort of a couch potato so when my friend Jen Mayer over at Charlotte Street Computers invited me to share activity with her, I was hesitant. But I did it anyway so I could see how this stuff works. Jen works sometimes as an aerobics and spin instructor so I am going to have a hard time competing with dog walking and the occasional swim in the ocean.

    If you wear your Apple Watch throughout the day, the Activity app can automatically track your daily movements. You can check your progress, meet goals, and customize notifications. To get started, just open the app on your Apple Watch and enter some information about yourself.

    You can check on your progress by opening the Activity app on your watch which will give you an immediate picture of your progress. Swipe up to see details for each ring. Swipe up again to see more, like how far you’ve gone that day. Firmly press any screen to change your daily Move goal. You can adjust only this goal.

    !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4876.png! There are three rings to measure your progress towards your goals, Move, Exercise and Stand. The Move ring shows how many active calories you’ve burned so far. Active calories, unlike resting, are ones that you burn by standing or moving around. The Exercise ring shows how many minutes of brisk activity you’ve completed so far. Complete your daily Exercise goal by exercising for at least 30 minutes each day. The Stand ring shows hours in which you’ve stood and moved for at least a minute. Complete your daily Stand goal by standing up and moving around for at least 1 minute during 12 different hours in the day. Even if you stand all day, you still need to move around. If you’ve specified that you use a wheelchair, the Stand ring switches to the Roll ring. Roll shows hours in which you’ve pushed around for at least 1 minute.

    You can share your data with your friends for competition or just for fun. Stay motivated by sharing your activity with your family, friends, or trainer. When your friends meet all three Activity goals, finish workouts, or earn achievements, you get notifications about their progress.

    To get started, add your friends. After you add friends, open the Activity app, then swipe left. Tap a friend to see their stats for the day. You can even send a message to all your friends just like in the Apple commercials.

    Who knows, sharing my data with Jen and Grace might make me move my ass more…

  • I have always been the glass half full kind of guy but this week really tried me. But thanks to Khadija for kicking my butt and breaking me out, I am again determined to work hard to make this rock we live on a better place.

    I was playing around with some home automation stuff this week, too. I got a Google Home assistant and my initial impressions is that Google made a half-hearted attempt to compete with Amazon Echo. The Echo seems so much smarter and more capable but I will continue to put Google to the test.

    My Amazon Echo now turns on and off my Philips Hue lighting, adjusts my Nest thermostat, reads me the morning news and now that I just installed an outdoor ceiling fan from the Big Ass Fan company, I can also control the fan and the fan’s light on our front porch. Siri remains my favorite artificial helper and is smarter than Alexa but Alexa remains more practical in real life. I bet it is not long before Siri makes her way into the home in a more prominent way–perhaps through the Apple TV.

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes team,

    _Don, Emily, Hadley & Amy_