Author: Emily Dolloff

  • The All New MacBook Pro

    After weeks of anticipation and months of speculation, Apple finally announced updates to the MacBook Pro lineup. Before we get into the details let’s pause for a moment of silence. Apple has officially eliminated the optical disk drive from the entire computer lineup by removing the entry-level MacBook Pro 13in 2.5GHz which hadn’t been updated since 2012.

    The new MacBook Pros offer some pretty remarkable upgrades. They have up to 130% faster graphics, screens that are 67% brighter, up to 58% more storage volume and are 17% thinner. Apple has also removed the function keys from most MacBook Pro models and replaced them with the all new Touch Bar which also allows for integrated Touch ID. The 13in MacBook Pro has slimmed down from 4.5lbs to just 3lbs. The removal of the optical drive, the traditional spinning disk drive and most of the ports has allowed this dramatic reduction in weight. The Force Touch Trackpad is now 2x bigger on each MacBook Pro, the flash storage is up to 100% faster and the battery life has been increased to 10 hours.

    **Thunderbolt 3**

    Thunderbolt 3 has been introduced to the new MacBook Pro and now supports 5K. Like previous generations of Thunderbolt, these new ports allow the user to connect multiple devices through the same port configuration. The base model 13in unit comes with two Thunderbolt 3 ports while the stepped-up 13in and the 15in models have four Thunderbolt 3 ports. The 15in MacBook pro can support up to two additional 5K displays and dual RAID systems allowing for some pretty incredible productivity and amazing work experience from a portable machine.

    **Touch Bar and Touch ID**

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    The all new Touch Bar replaces the function keys on all the MacBook Pros except for the base model. For those users who still aren’t ready to let go of the physical function buttons Apple still leaves these keys on their $1499 model and by pressing the function key the Touch Bar will digitally display function keys. The Touch Bar is a small digital screen where the traditional functional keys once resided and changes depending on the application that you are running. If you’re in mail you can customize your Touch Bar much like the graphical tool bar in mail. You can now file, forward or delete with the touch of your finger and never have to use your track pad. For users who edit photos you can now relocate many drop down menu options to the Touch Bar allowing for full screen editing with ease. You can accept an incoming call, text someone your favorite emoji and now even Apple Pay all from your Touch Bar. Touch ID allows you to now unlock your computer with the touch of your finger and even use Apple Pay on your favorite sites.

    **Second Generation Butterfly and Larger Touch Pad**

    The butterfly switch mechanism was first introduced in the MacBook and it’s what helps to give the keyboard on the MacBook an even lower profile and faster response time. The keys are now even more stable allowing for a more comfortable typing experience and more responsive keys. The Touch Pad is now 2x larger than previous generation models giving users more space and flexibility to work and manipulate graphics.

    **Faster Graphics and a Brighter Display**

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    The 15in MacBook Pro now has up to 130% faster graphics performance than previous models while the 13in is up to 103% faster. The new displays in the MacBook Pros feature a 67% brighter contract ratio and 25% more colors. The new LED display delivers deeper blacks, brighter whites and more vibrant greens and reds. Just when you thought that the display couldn’t get much better Apple managed to make it even more impressive.

  • Going, Going, Gone!

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    Starting Friday, October 21st find **savings of 40% – 60% off** in our retail stores and online on a huge selection of products. **Beats Solo2 HD headphones** wired and wireless. **Otterbox Symmetry and Defender cases** for iPhone 6/6s/Plus. **Speck CandyShell** for iPhone 6/6s/Plus, **STM Bags** and more! If you have an iPhone 6/6s/Plus, a 13in MacBook Air or an office that needs some new speakers this is the sale for you! All items are new but hurry because once these items are gone they are gone for good!

    Renovations are underway in our Waitsfield store. We’ll be renovating our South Burlington store soon and making some revisions in our Rutland location. This means that we have got to make some room in our stores and we’re launching our **going, going, gone sale** as we make room for new accessories and organize our refreshed spaces.

    Don’t forget about our “**FREE SEMINAR**”:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tech-talk-20-tickets-27133478966 on Saturday, November 5th at the South Burlington Middle School from 9am to 12pm with Technology for Tomorrow. Our own “Nate Poirier”:http://blog.smalldog.com/authors/nathanpoirier will lead a short seminar on understanding and using iCloud. There will also be presentations from **Technology for Tomorrow** on password management, **AT&T Wireless** on finding the right smartphone for you, and **AARP Vermont** on internet safety and fraud watch. We are very excited to be a part of this event and we hope you will join us.

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  • Revert to iOS 9 Home Button Behavior

    Ever since upgrading to iOS 10 and getting my iPhone 7 Plus I have been amazed with how fast the fingerprint recognition works. I must admit, however, that I was a little thrown off with having to press the Home button before unlocking my phone.

    iOS 10 changes how you use the Home button to unlock your iOS device from the lock screen. Previously, you could unlock it by merely resting your finger on the Home button when the lock screen is showing. In iOS 10, however, you must press the Home button and then use Touch ID to unlock the device. With newer iPad and iPhone models, Touch ID reads your fingerprint so quickly that you can usually press the Home Button instead of just resting your finger on it.

    If you’re like me and find this to be more of a hassle than convenience and prefer to skip the requirement to press the Home button I’ve got good news for you. You can change it! To revert to the previous, and one could argue faster, behavior go to Settings>General>Accessibility>Home Button and enable “Rest Finger to Open.”

  • New GoPro Is Here!

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    The all-new GoPro HERO5 Session and HERO5 Black are here and in stock just in time to capture the last few moments of fall and get ready for some great wintertime shots. Featuring 10MP and 12MP cameras, 4K video, Waterproof to 33ft without a housing, voice control, video stabilization and more! These “new cameras from GoPro”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgRIOcIZI1w allow your creativity to shine. The best part? You don’t have to travel far to get them!

    Small Dog Electronics is very excited to announce we are partnering with Technology for Tomorrow again and are offering another “**FREE SEMINAR**”:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tech-talk-20-tickets-27133478966 on Saturday November 5th at the South Burlington Middle School from 9am to 12pm. Our own “Nate Poirier”:http://blog.smalldog.com/authors/nathanpoirier will lead a short seminar on understanding and using iCloud. There will also be presentations from **Technology for Tomorrow** on password management, **AT&T Wireless** on finding the right smartphone for you, and **AARP Vermont** on internet safety and fraud watch. We are very excited to be a part of this event and we hope you will join us.

    p{text-align: center;}. “!http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4850.png!”:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tech-talk-20-tickets-27133478966

  • iPhone 7 Plus

    I was fortunate enough to get my hands on and receive the new iPhone 7 Plus on release day. I skipped the iPhone 6s when it came around so when the 7 was announced I jumped at the chance to upgrade and I haven’t regretted it once. Despite the suggestions from my co-workers I’ve yet to drop my phone into a glass of water…perhaps that review will come in a future issue. For now, I’ll still be playing it a bit safe!

    Like many of you, I’ve read some of the reviews out there and some reviewers are less than impressed with the phone, especially the camera. Coming from an iPhone 6, and after a few blunders with my first few photos, I can say it’s clear that there are significant improvements in the quality of the photos. I am not a professional photographer by any means but I enjoy taking photos and I take a lot of them. For the first few photos that I took with the phone it appeared that the phone was struggling to focus on the object I was trying to take a photo of. Once the camera focused, there hasn’t been a single hiccup with my photos, but briefly, I did wondered if I’d gotten a defective phone. This past weekend I took my phone to the local fair and became truly impressed with the camera. In showing the photos to friends and co-workers we can clearly see the difference in the quality. I’m most impressed with the fact that it seems no matter the lighting, the pictures come out clear and crisp. Inside, outside, the photos are just as great. My biggest surprise has been that I’ve had little need to use my flash, even when taking nighttime photos.

    I’ve noticed a significant increase in speed with with 7, especially with the fingerprint recognition. The speed is so fast when I put my thumb on my phone I actually thought I forgot to set the passcode protection. There is almost no delay when I go to unlock my phone and I’m instantly at my home screen. The larger screen of the plus now also means that I can utilize landscape mode in multiple applications. This isn’t new to the 7 but is a feature of the plus that I’ve been missing out on! I love that I can look at my e-mail in landscape and easily toggle through my inbox. The dual speakers have also made for a much clearer listening experience. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the same experience as with the iPad Pro but it’s a significant improvement.

    Lastly I’ve not missed the lack of of a headphone jack. Early rumors and reports had me wondering, but with most speakers systems and headphones running wirelessly it’s far less of a obstacle than originally feared.

  • Revert to iOS 9 Home Button Behavior

    Ever since upgrading to iOS 10 and getting my iPhone 7 Plus I have been amazed with how fast the fingerprint recognition works. I must admit, however, that I was a little thrown off with having to press the Home button before unlocking my phone.

    iOS 10 changes how you use the Home button to unlock your iOS device from the lock screen. Previously, you could unlock it by merely resting your finger on the Home button when the lock screen is showing. In iOS 10, however, you must press the Home button and then use Touch ID to unlock the device. With newer iPad and iPhone models, Touch ID reads your fingerprint so quickly that you can usually press the Home Button instead of just resting your finger on it.

    If you’re like me and find this to be more of a hassle than convenience and prefer to skip the requirement to press the Home button I’ve got good news for you. You can change it! To revert to the previous, and one could argue faster, behavior go to **Settings>General>Accessibility>Home Button** and enable “Rest Finger to Open.”

  • Revert to iOS 9 Home Button Behavior

    Ever since upgrading to iOS 10 and getting my iPhone 7 Plus I have been amazed with how fast the fingerprint recognition works. I must admit, however, that I was a little thrown off with having to press the Home button before unlocking my phone.

    iOS 10 changes how you use the Home button to unlock your iOS device from the lock screen. Previously, you could unlock it by merely resting your finger on the Home button when the lock screen is showing. In iOS 10, however, you must press the Home button and then use Touch ID to unlock the device. With newer iPad and iPhone models, Touch ID reads your fingerprint so quickly that you can usually press the Home Button instead of just resting your finger on it.

    If you’re like me and find this to be more of a hassle than convenience and prefer to skip the requirement to press the Home button I’ve got good news for you: you can change it! To revert to the previous, and one could argue faster, behavior go to **Settings>General>Accessibility>Home Button** and enable “Rest Finger to Open.”

  • Drift off to Music or Books

    Ever want to drift off to your latest audio book or maybe even some music that’s on your iOS device? There’s a somewhat hidden feature in iOS that allows you to use a sleep timer, perfect for those who might not have a docking station or speaker system with a built in sleep timer or while traveling.

    iBooks in iOS has a built-in sleep timer that can automatically pause playback after a specified amount of time, perfect for listening to an audiobook as you drift off to sleep, just tap the Moon button below the volume slider. What if you prefer listening to content that’s not in iBooks? No problem! To set a sleep timer that works for Music, iTunes or any other audio app, open the Clock app and tap the Timer button. Next, tap ‘when timer ends’ (iPhone) or the selected sound (iPad), scroll to the end of the list of sounds, and select ‘stop’ playing. When your ready to listen as you drift off to sleep, start the timer just before or immediately after you press play.

    Now, no matter where you are, you can easily set a timer at any time to listen to your favorite audio bytes!

  • Lastly

    A few pictures demonstrating the new portrait mode and the picture quality of the iPhone 7 Plus.

  • Some Great Training Videos

    Lutron is a brand new product line for Small Dog, and for some of our staff, could be a new introduction into Home Automation. Please take the time to review the videos linked below as they are some of the best training materials we have at this time. Our rep will be visiting the South Burlington store, but for other locations we might have to be more creative on training.

    Replacing a single pole switch

    How to Replace a 3-way Switch

  • A New Phone System Is Coming!

    First things first, I’d like to apologize for the poor quality of the phones over the past several months. Even when Morgan was still here, we were working on this and trying to resolve it with the tools we had. Unfortunately, it became unworkable and we had to seek out an alternative solution.

    Enter HBPX (Hosted PBX). We will be migrating the entire company to a new phone system in the next week. The actual cut date (when the old system will cease working and the new system will come online) is scheduled for Thursday, October 6th in the evening after 7pm when Burlington closes. Leading up to that, you will start to see new physical phones on your desks soon, if you don’t already have them. You probably saw us doing wiring over the past few weeks, as these phones are on a separate switch and network. They connect directly to the internet without passing through any of our routers.

    IT will continue to be your primary contact for support of the phones, though we may have to pass off certain issues to the telecom that is hosting the system.

    Training on how to use the new phones will be happening over the next few weeks, but I want to assure everyone that these phones are very easy to use, and if you’re mostly dialing, receiving, and logging in and out of queues, training will be very simple. I’ll likely be creating wikis for that over the next several days and will share that information with everyone as soon as it becomes available.

    Once again, I want to thank everyone for their patience with the current phone issues. I know it’s made customer service very difficult. Please extend that patience and understanding while we transition to the new system.

    -Hadley