Author: Emily Dolloff

  • Where Do I Find My Photos?

    Have you ever spent what feels like hours looking for a specific photo? You might remember some foggy details about the photo like…

  • But Where Is That Photo?

    Have you ever spent what feels like hours looking for a specific photo? You might remember some foggy details about the photo like where it was taken or who was in the photo, but perhaps you don’t remember when you took that photo. I have definitely logged hours in the last year trying to find a photo I remember partial details of, but can’t locate the actual photo within Photos. I would love to say that I am the super organized photographer, but I am far from that. I do not create albums unless I need to create one for a specific event. I don’t even delete the bad photos on a regular basis. This leaves me to scrolling through literally thousands of photos looking for just the right one. Honestly I’ve just never taken the time to really organize my photos. Thankfully, in some regards there is no need to have an extensive organizational program with a few simple built-in features within Photos. With basic information like who is in the photo, where the photo was taken or even how the photo was taken, you can quickly narrow down your search.

    **People**

    By default most photos are simply organized by date. This is helpful for a quick search through photos, but it’s not terribly specific. You might find dates associated with some photos are simply the date it was downloaded to Photos, it might not actually be the date it was taken. Photos has a surprisingly accurate system for facial recognition. It’s located under albums and simply called People. Without having to specifically tag individuals within my Photos I had default faces generically categorized. I also found it interesting that as I looked at the pictures of my kids, they were actually separated by age. Both my kids had a few different sets of photos depending on their age, kind of neat! However it’s not efficient to have multiple categories for one person, so I simply renamed each group according to whomever was featured in the photos and merged to a single group per person. You can easily ‘tag’ people in specific photos by selecting the photo by double clicking, then select the ‘i’ with the circle around it to tag a face. The photo will now be easily found under people and the individual’s name.

    **Places**

    For this feature to work you do need to have location services turned on within the camera app on your phone. You can make sure this feature is turned on by going into Settings > Privacy > Location Services. If you select the ‘places’ option under albums a map shows up. The map shows the number of photos in a generic location. For example in my album it showed 483 photos taken in the Florida area. I simply double clicked near the photo in the Florida section of the map and it begins to break down the locations, I ultimately double clicked the state of Florida 3 times and it showed a how many photos and where photos were taken when I was in Florida this winter. Double clicking on the little bubble above a photo with a number it will open all of the photos taken. This is very handy if you know you want to look back for a specific photo taken in a location. Even better, I didn’t have to do anything other than make sure location services were turned on.

    **Depth Effect, Slow-Mo and More**

    Another built in organizational feature that requires nothing on your part to organize is how you took the photo. I take a lot of depth-effect photos, so if I want to only look at those pictures I just have to scroll down to Depth Effect under albums. Instantly I can see all of the photos that were taken using this effect. The same goes for Panoramic, Slow-Mo and Selfies. I know I rarely remember how I specifically took a photo or when I might have used an effect such as Slow-Mo, so it’s fun and easy to look up some of these images.

    Taking advantage of some already built in organizational features within Photos can really reduce your time and headaches when looking for a specific photo. Even better, you don’t have to spend extended periods of time setting up some more in depth and basic organizational options. A few simple clicks can make your life significantly easier and even better makes you look a lot more organized than you perhaps are.

  • Unplugging?

    Over the last month or so I’ve begun spending a lot of time after work and on the weekends in a wifi and cell-free zone. There are countless studies about how valuable this is for us for multiple reasons. For myself and my family it’s awesome. We are campers with a seasonal set up at a local campground, we have many conveniences but phones and internet are not one of them.

    Having no cell phone coverage and no internet service doesn’t mean you have to give up some of your guilty pleasures while you’re still enjoying the great outdoors and time with friends and family. Traditional radios often don’t work where we camp because we are located in a bit of a hole so we’ve become very accustomed to utilizing offline playlists and bluetooth speakers around the campfire. One of our favorite little speakers around the camp is our “Outdoor Tech Turtle Shell”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/88743/outdoor-tech-turtle-shell-3-0-rugged-waterproof-wireless-boombox-red speaker and we’ve recently added a “Tivoli”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/88258/tivoli-audio-pal-bt-high-gloss-blue-white speaker to our collection. We’ve begun utilizing our Apple Music account so much that we’ve actually discontinued our satellite radio subscriptions in our cars. If you have the music in your pocket already why pay for it again? Well, that is a personal opinion but we’ve seen no drawbacks as a family downsizing to just one paid music service.

    Download and watch later! iTunes has let you download and watch offline movie rentals or purchased content for a while now and so has Amazon Prime. Some might not know that Netflix also made this an option back in November. With both Netflix and Amazon Prime you are limited a bit in the content that is available for download and viewing offline. I have found that about 50% of what I consider downloading to watch when I am out of wifi and cellular service to be an option. Just like with iTunes rentals, there is a time limit with each service for how long you have to watch the content before it’s removed from your device. I have loaded up several shows on my iPad, but admit I haven’t watch any yet. I still pick up a book rather than my device. When it comes to a good binge watching moment it’s nice to know I have options loaded up and ready for a rainy weekend at camp.

    What about charging all these devices for offline use? Good question. Many folks reading this might perhaps think my idea of camping is more “glamping” and you’re right! For those who might want to take advantage of a good show while riding out a rain storm in your tent or just want to listen to your favorite podcast while cooking on your camp stove there are countless products to allow you to keep your devices fully charged when you can’t just plug them into an outlet. “Goal Zero”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/?mmfg%5B0%5D=Goal+Zero has a wide variety of products to help keep your devices powered when you’re off the grid. Even though I do have access to power I still often carry a battery pack for my iPhone. You never know when you might end up without an available power source.

    While you’re enjoying this long holiday weekend, keep in mind that you don’t necessarily have to leave everything behind. While it’s a bit frustrating at times to not have access to the outside world it is nice to feel at least partially unplugged for a while.

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    Have you heard the news? Small Dog Electronics is now an **Apple Premier Partner!** What does this mean for you, our valued customers? Being an Apple Premier Partners means we’re able to open up our service departments for additional repairs and that both Waitsfield and South Burlington can accept repairs. **Small Dog Electronics can now repair computers in Waitsfield and South Burlington.** Additionally we can now repair iPods, iPads, Beats Headphones, Apple TV and just about all the Apple accessories in both our Vermont retail locations.

    But that’s not all. Just in time for the Dad or Grad on your list we “**now carry the Apple Watch.**”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Apple/Watch/Series_2 If you don’t see the watch you want on our website stop by our “retail stores”:http://www.smalldog.com/retail/visit-us-in-store-at-any-of-our-locations or call us at **1-800-511-6227.** If the Apple Watch isn’t a must have on your grad’s list we have a great computer bundle: buy any laptop with AppleCare and get a “FREE pair of BeatsX wireless headphones”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002669/congratulations-class-of-2017? or buy any Sonos speaker get a “FREE Lutron audio remote.”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002669/congratulations-class-of-2017

    We’ve got a lot to be excited about and thankful for this holiday weekend. If you get a chance “check out all of our deals”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002669/congratulations-class-of-2017 and don’t worry, these deals run through June 19th, 2017. Small Dog Electronics wishes everyone a fun, safe and enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend. On Monday May 29th our South Burlington location will be open from 9am to 5pm, Waitsfield is closed on Memorial Day.

    h3{text-align: center;}. **No need to interrupt your weekend BBQ! Memorial Day Weekend, e-mail exclusive bundle.**

    Get a 13in MacBook Pro configured with 8gb of RAM, 256GB hard drive
    two Sono’s Play 1 speakers, Applecare and
    BeatsX wireless headphones for
    **$2099.99**

    Lastly, please take a moment to check out the next event from our good friends at “Technology for Tomorrow.”:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/t4ts-summer-tech-talk-tickets-33840967244 Small Dog Electronics continues to be involved with this great organization and will be raffling off an iPad at their next event.

    “!http://blog.smalldog.com/images/5087.jpg!”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002669/congratulations-class-of-2017

  • It’s hard to believe that May is already half over! I’m a life-long Vermonter and I always feel indifferent about winter, but this spring is proving that a good solid winter of steady snowfall is just what Mother Nature needed. Last year we didn’t get much snow and I’m not sure it was as rainy in the spring which I feel made for a delay in the mountains and fields returning to life. Increased snow melt and plenty of rainy spring days has lead to intense greens and colorful flowers popping up daily. It was nice for once to mow my lawn without having to dodge raindrops last night and there have been just enough dry days this spring to allow for several springtime projects to hit completion before the busy summer hits. I’m looking forward to the upper 80 degree temperatures later this week.

    Besides being graced with some beautiful spring weather and temperatures this week we’ve also had some incredible news around the Small Dog offices. We’re now an Apple Premier Partner! This means in addition to being able to sell additional Apple accessories like the Watch, we’ve also had our annual service contract renewal which, combined with our Premier Partner status, means we now have some increased service offerings. We can now provide warranty service for Beats headphones, Apple TV and iOS devices like the iPad. The service team has been hard at work this week to make sure everyone is familiar with our new warranty offerings and how to service these products. The weekly service e-mail and meeting was abuzz with new information and excitement!

    Thank you for reading!

    Emily Dolloff
    “emily@smalldog.com”:mailto:emily@smalldog.com

  • Beware Of Counterfeit Cables

    Earlier this week I had a customer asking me about an inexpensive cable for their Mac. Their current charging cable had finally stopped…

  • Beware of Counterfeit Cables!

    Earlier this week I had a customer asking me about an inexpensive cable for their Mac. Their current charging cable had finally stopped worked and they were looking for a replacement. I honestly can’t tell you how many times over the years I have had to answer the question about what other option besides the Apple branded charging cable for their Mac, iPhone or iPad. The short answer is there are very few. When it comes to your MagSafe charger the answer is pretty straight forward. You absolutely want to buy the Apple charger. If your shopping on the internet or walk into a store and find a killer deal on a charger it’s very likely it’s a knock off and there are legitimate dangers with these too-good-to-be-true chargers.

    I’ve seen in our service department over the years a handful of Apple lookalike MagSafe chargers. It’s usually a minor detail in the manufacturing that tips us off it’s not authentic. The real problem with these chargers and iOS chargers is the risk of fire. Eventually many of us will end up with cables that need replacing. With both your computer’s MagSafe and your iOS charging cable a common failure is the wires becoming frayed and exposed. Once the wires become exposed you do want to replace them rather than trying to repair or just cover them with electrical tape. The electrical tape trick can work for a little bit, but you’re still at risk for a short and in extreme cases you can end up damaging your charging port or even worse cause the device to catch fire.

    When you are looking to replace your cables, there are alternatives besides the Apple Lightning or 30pin charger, but you want to make sure you can “identify a counterfeit or uncertified cable”:https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204566 before making the purchase. Another tip for purchasing a non-Apple cable for your iOS device is to stick with a manufacturer you have heard of like Belkin or Griffin.

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    Lastly you can do a few things to try and extend the life of your cables as long as you can. Proper cable management is often not discussed. Some of us prefer to keep cables neat and tidy, others just throw them in a drawer and when we find a place to plug them in just make sure the device can reach the port. It’s very important to make sure that you don’t wrap your cables too tight and force tension right at the connector. I’m forever reminding my kids not to use their devices while charging in a manner that the wire right at the lighting cable is bent at a 90 degree angle. This will surely cause the cable to bend and fray in no time. It’s also important to disconnect the cable by grabbing it right at the plug verses just grabbing it from any old spot and tugging.

    Follow these quick tips and steps and you’ll be sure to continue safely charging your devices. Our charging cables go through a lot in a lifetime and they are ultimately fragile accessories.

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    It’s a rainy weekend here in the Green Mountains which means it’s the perfect time to work on some inside projects! Have you heard that we’ve set up new “home automation”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Home_Automation centers in our South Burlington and Waitsfield retail stores? If you haven’t checked out our stores lately this weekend is the perfect time.

    We’ve talked a lot about home automation in the last few months and we want to make it seamless for everyone to make their home or office run just a little bit smoother. We’ll come to you at **no cost for an initial consult** where we will take a look at your space, provide recommendations and a quote for your space.

    If you’re not sure what or how home automation works, our retail stores have demos of lighting from “**Phillips Hue**”:http://www.smalldog.com/search?search=phillips and Lutron. We can show how to make every room in your house rock with your existing speakers or add some new “**Sonos**”:http://www.smalldog.com/search?search=sonos speakers. You can monitor your air quality with “**El Gato Sensors**”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/88350/elgato-eve-room-wireless-indoor-sensor and even turn on lights from just about anywhere. Have a rental space? Locks from “**August**”:http://www.smalldog.com/search?search=august are quick and easy to install and provide access via digital keys on a smart phone or key pad.

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