Dear Friends,

Sometimes I take technology for granted. With Grace off in Honduras volunteering at a hospital for a couple weeks, I thought it was unlikely I would hear from her very often. Ten or twenty years ago the only way to communicate would have been an expensive phone call or a letter. But now, I get daily texts, FaceTime chats, pictures and even a Skype call or two. When Hapy and I started Small Dog Electronics our mission was to encourage the use of technology to build and communicate, to bridge cultural divides and not to set us apart and destroy.

In the balance, I believe that technology has enhanced communication and understanding. I know that I have met friends all over the world aided by the ability to instantly communicate. My good friend, Simon is a young man that I met online in China. What started out as friendly communications late at night about the NBA led to discussions of just about everything, a business relationship that continues to this day and a friendship of two people on opposite sides of the world.

I want to applaud Apple for taking a stand, not only against the Muslim ban but today against the reversal of protections for transgender students. “Apple believes everyone deserves a chance to thrive in an environment free from stigma and discrimination,” Apple said. “We support efforts toward greater acceptance, not less, and we strongly believe that transgender students should be treated as equals. We disagree with any effort to limit or rescind their rights and protections.” We echo those sentiments and praise Apple for stepping up!

This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive features the new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar in either Space Gray or Silver bundled with the AppleCare Protection Plan. This new MacBook Pro has the 2.6GHz i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD drive. AppleCare extends the normal 1-year Apple warranty to 3 years and the 90 days of free technical support also to three years. For Kibbles & Bytes readers this bundle is $100 off at $2649!