Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • Universal Clipboard Tips

    MacOS 10.12 Sierra on your Mac and iOS 10 on your iPhone or iPad combine with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and your AppleID to bring you Universal Clipboard. How many times have you copied something on your Mac, like a phone number and wish you could paste it into your iPhone? I’ve emailed myself stuff, put it in my iCloud account and other work-arounds but now with Sierra and iOS 10 it is all automatic. But a lot of people were having difficulty getting it to work, including me when I was doing beta testing. Here’s some tips to get Universal Clipboard working on your devices.

    Install macOS 10.12 Sierra on your Macs and iOS 10 on your iOS devices and you’ll get a cool new feature: Universal Clipboard. As you’d expect from the name, Universal Clipboard transfers anything you copy to all your devices so you can paste anywhere. Copy some text on your iMac and a few seconds later you can paste it on your MacBook Air, your iPhone, or your iPad. Or copy an incoming phone number in the Phone app and paste into an email message on your iMac. Universal Clipboard even works with graphics and videos.

    Neither Sierra nor iOS 10 provides any interface for Universal Clipboard at all. You can’t turn it off or configure it in any way. In other words, it should just work. But what if it doesn’t?

    It turns out that six things must be true for Universal Clipboard to work. Miss any of these and Universal Clipboard will fail to copy the clipboard contents from device to device without warning. The requirements are as follows:

    1. Any Macs involved must have been introduced in 2012 or later, or, in the case of the Mac Pro, 2013 or later. Choose “About This Mac” to check your Mac’s age. Since Sierra runs on most Macs introduced since late 2009, Universal Clipboard won’t work on some older but otherwise Sierra-capable Macs.
    1. All Macs must be running macOS 10.12 Sierra or later, and all iOS devices must be running iOS 10 or later.
    1. All the devices must be on the same Wi-Fi network. This requirement can be tricky since devices might join different Wi-Fi networks if several are available. On a Mac, look in the Wi-Fi menu bar menu, and on an iOS device, check Settings > Wi-Fi.
    1. Each device must have Bluetooth enabled and be within Bluetooth range of the other devices. That’s usually about 30 feet, but it’s safest to assume that both devices need to be in the same room. On a Mac, check in System Preferences > Bluetooth. On an iOS device, open Settings > Bluetooth.
    1. All the devices must be signed in to the same iCloud account, and that account must be the primary iCloud account on each device. To see which account is signed in, on a Mac, look in System Preferences > iCloud. On an iOS device, check Settings > iCloud. This one is the one that is usually the culprit as we troubleshoot Universal Clipboard. It MUST be the same Apple ID/iCloud account.

    #Handoff must be enabled. On Macs, turn it on in System Preferences > General. On iOS devices, the necessary switch is in Settings > General > Handoff.

    If you still have trouble after verifying that your setup meets the six requirements above, make sure that your Wi-Fi connection is working well on each device, and that each device can connect to the Internet. If either of those isn’t true, Universal Clipboard may not transfer the clipboard contents.

    When it’s working, Universal Clipboard takes just a few seconds to move the contents of the clipboard from device to device, and the transferred item remains available for pasting for about two minutes. It’s a subtle, but welcome addition to the Apple experience.

  • _Dear Friends,_

    Holy Cow! The Cubbies did it. The Cubs are World Champions. It was perhaps the best game 7 in a World Series ever. Grace and I are hoarse this morning from jumping up and down and screaming. We have been Cubs fans, as you know, for our entire lives and go to at least one game a year. Grace will always buy a scorecard and keep score the old-fashioned way and cheer on the Cubbies. It was 108 years in the making but the victory is sweet. My first Cubs game may have been before I was born as my mom was also a big Cubs fan and would go to Wrigley on Tuesdays for Ladies’ Day. We lived in Wrigleyville so it was an easy walk and when I grew up a bit Wrigley became a sort of daycare center for my brother and I. Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs for a great victory and one dead curse.

    I could go on and on about the Cubs but I guess we will get down to business. We have started to get the new MacBook Pros into our stores, especially those without the Touch Bar. I can’t wait to see the new models with the Touch Bar. We have been discussing how to display the large selection of laptops that Apple offers now. Suffice it to say it is a great line-up. I am probably going to move from my 13″ MacBook Air to the new Touch Bar 13″ unit.

    It has been 108 years since the Cubs won the World Series so this week’s “**Kibbles & Bytes exclusive is $108 off**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002457? of the Apple Factory Refurbished MacBook. This is a configure-to-order version of the MacBook with the larger 512GB SSD storage option, 8GB of RAM and the 1.3 GHz processor. It carries the same 1-year Apple warranty as new MacBooks and can be covered by AppleCare. In fact, if you buy this MacBook (while supplies last – 5 gray and 2 gold currently in stock) we will give you $71 off AppleCare representing the 71 years since the Cubs were even in the World Series. So, to summarize “**Apple MacBook regularly $1385.99 is only $1277.99**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002457? and you can “**add AppleCare**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002458/the-cubs-win-75-off-applecare-for-macbook-macbook-air-macbook-pro-12in? which is normally $249.99 for only “**$178.99.**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002458/the-cubs-win-75-off-applecare-for-macbook-macbook-air-macbook-pro-12in?

  • 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

    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

    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.

  • 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.

    {silence}

    And we’re back!

    The new MacBook Pro offers some pretty remarkable upgrades. They have up to 130% faster graphics processing, 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. These ports share the same physical configuration as USB-C and are compatible with that standard as well.

    **Touch Bar and Touch ID**

    p{text-align: center;}. !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4866.png!

    The all new Touch Bar replaces the function keys on the MacBook Pro 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 function keys once resided and changes depending on the application that you are running. If you’re in Mail you can customize your Touch Bar to be much like the graphical toolbar in the app. You can now file, forward, or delete with the touch of your finger and never have to use your trackpad. 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 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**

    p{text-align: center;}. !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4868.png!

    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 display in the MacBook Pro features 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.

  • _Hello Fellow Technophiles,_

    Halloween has come and gone. As you can see in the picture to the left I dressed up as a Trekkie which, as you faithful readers probably know, was not much of a stretch for me. I genuinely used to have glasses just like those until a -mad scientist- eye surgeon burned part of my cornea off with a laser and I already owned that vintage Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country tee shirt. My kid’s costume was also pretty much the outfit that he wears everyday: a baseball player. His grandmother bought him a Red Sox jersey and pants for his birthday a few weeks ago and we have struggled to get him to wear anything else.

    I am looking forward to trying out the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. I use “*Logic Pro,*”:http://www.apple.com/logic-pro/ Apple’s high-end audio production platform, and as a former sound engineer from the analog era I still like to turn dials and move faders by hand. While there are no actual sliders or knobs, the ability to physically control parameters is a little closer to the “real thing.” See Emily’s article below for more details on this cool new feature.

    I also really love the darker Space Gray finish which will match my iPhone. No word on when the Bondi blue version will be released.

    Thanks as always for reading Tech Tails!

    Mike
    “*michaeld@smalldog.com*”:mailto:michaeld@smalldog.com

  • This is shaping up to be a memorable weekend. The Cubs play the first three games of a World Series at Wrigley Field in 71 years. Try as I might, I did not score tickets and it hurt that a high school classmate of mine posted on Facebook that he was going to the game tonight in the front row! Well, I’ll be cheering the Cubs right here with Grace and we watch history unfold.

    Thanks for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    _Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,_

    Don, Emily, Hadley & Amy