Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • macOS Sierra

    I used to live in the foothills of the Sierras in a little town called Challenge. We rented what was an old stage coach stop right in the hills that were part of the gold rush of the nineteenth century. Did you know that the nickname for Californians – the 49ers – came from the huge influx of gold miners in 1849?

    Apple hopes that macOS Sierra will bring in a rush to the Mac, too. First off, we should note that the name has changed (to protect the innocent?) from OS X 10.12 to macOS Sierra. I like the name change but it certainly pales next to the improvements in the operating system for Mac.

    If you have a Mac that is older than 2009 you might want to turn out, or better yet come in for an upgrade because macOS Sierra will only run on late 2009 Macs or newer. It will be free when it comes out this fall and there will be a public beta program in July that you can sign up for at beta.apple.com.

    Hello Siri!

    What’s new? Let’s start with Siri. Siri finally comes to the Mac! Ask Siri to send messages, search the web, find files, adjust settings, and more. You can also drag and drop, copy, or pin Siri results. Siri will even turn down your Mac’s fan when activated to minimize microphone interference. I have just started to play with Siri on the Mac but it is a little weird talking to my Mac in the middle of our open office. I feel a little bit like Scotty in Star Trek talking to the mouse of a Mac Plus.

    Universal Clipboard

    Have you ever found an interesting article or picture on your iPad and wanted to include it in something you are working on your Mac? Well, that just got a lot easier with Universal Clipboard. Copy and paste now works across your devices when they’re near each other. There are no special instructions, just copy images, video, or text from an app on one device. Then paste into another app on a different device.

    Optimized Storage

    Are you reaching the limits of your storage? With all the rich media, apps, pictures and music this is a pretty common issue. We recommend that you leave 10-20% of your storage space clear but finding what to delete is always a challenge. Apple has now addressed that with Optimized Storage. Optimized Storage helps you make more room on your Mac. When space is low, it automatically stores old files, photos, movies, and email attachments in the cloud and makes them available on demand. Files you recently created and optimized photos stay on your Mac so they’re there when you need them. You can also easily find and remove files or apps. I am running the beta of macOS Sierra and my free space went up from about 25GB to over 150GB once my storage was optimized

    Auto Unlock

    How many times have you found yourself logging into your Mac and accidentally had the caps lock on and had to re-enter your password? Well, if you have an Apple Watch you will never have THAT problem again. When you walk up to your Mac while wearing your Apple Watch, you’ll be automatically logged in to your desktop. Because you authenticate your Apple Watch when you put it on, there’s no need to type in a password if you’re nearby.

    Shop with Apple Pay

    Apple Pay gives you an easier and more secure way to pay when shopping online in Safari. When you see the Apple Pay button on participating websites, simply click it at checkout on your Mac, then securely complete your purchase using your iPhone or Apple Watch.

    Keep Tabs

    I know that not everyone uses tabs in Safari or Chrome but most of you do. It is a great way to have multiple web sites open at once without cluttering your desktop. macOS Sierra brings tabs to other apps now. It works in Pages and a few other apps now but should be pretty universal by the time macOS Sierra comes out in the fall. I was a bit baffled at how to access it but then I noticed a new command under the “Window” menu item – Merge All Windows.

    Picture-in-Picture

    This time of the year I like to watch the Cubs day games while I am working. That’s the thing about watching baseball, you don’t have to pay too close attention. At any rate, with macOS Sierra I can now have a floating PIP window with the game while I work on spreadsheets or in our K9 database. You can float a video window from Safari or iTunes over your desktop or a full-screen app. Play the video in any corner of your desktop, and resize the window to see more or less of what’s behind it. It currently only works with some video sources (and unfortunately not with MLB Team Pass) but more will certainly be added.

    iCloud Drive

    Ever been in a meeting and needed that document from your Mac but you just have your iPad with you? With the new enhancements to iCloud Drive in macOS Sierra it will be no problem. Now you can store your Documents folder and Desktop in iCloud Drive and access all your files from your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC and on iCloud.com. So you can save files where you normally do and they’re automatically uploaded, with no need to drag them into iCloud Drive first.

    And MORE!

    Photos has been upgraded with new organization and search capabilities, iTunes has been upgraded including lyrics in the mini player, new Emojis and fun stuff in Messages and much more that we will talk about in Kibbles as we discover more of the features.

  • My granddaughter, Khadija, is bringing some of her friends over for a sleep-out tonight. There have been a lot of reports of bears in the neighborhood (but I won’t mention that…or will I?) and the other night I was driving home and a huge moose meandered across the road. Some nights I like to sit on the porch and listen to the coyotes and foxes making noise. Lots of wildlife in the Green Mountains!

    I’ll have to work on my strawberry daiquiri recipe in anticipation of my big 4th of July party. I watched the movie Independence Day last night with Grace and she asked me when it first came out. I was surprised to see it was 20 years ago! Yikes, time flies when you are having fun. I think the new Independence Day movie is in my plans sometime this weekend.

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    _Don, Emily, Hadley, Mike & Amy_

  • Dreaming of Tablets

    I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed there were no new hardware announcements at or around WWDC. I didn’t really expect any at the actual conference itself, but I was hoping the MacBook Pro would get their expected refresh in the month of June. As much as I love it, I’m looking to get a little bit more horsepower for video editing than my 2014 MacBook Air can provide. I’m sure we’ll see the MacBook Pro refresh at some point over the next few months, so I guess I can wait.

    Just for giggles, I did think a little bit this morning about whether or not I could feasibly replace my laptop with a tablet. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro is very impressive. The screen is about the same size as my 13-inch Air, but with Retina, the resolution is much higher. Combine a quality keyboard (either Apple’s own or one of the many 3rd-party options) with the Apple Pencil, and I almost think I could do it.

    On my laptop, I’m always multitasking. I’ve got Safari open with dozens of tabs. I have a few terminal windows open. I probably have a few instances of Skype running. Messages, Photos, and any number of other apps are all available for me in an instant. This would’ve been the deal breaker for a tablet previously, but with the split screen and Picture-in-Picture options in the latest versions of iOS, I think I might be able to deal. Switching between running apps that aren’t in split-view is pretty smooth too.

    Another big annoyance I have with tablets is the lack of trackpad and keyboard. A few months ago I put a keyboard case on my trusty iPad Air and I don’t know how I lived without it for so long. I do a lot of writing so a keyboard that’s functional massively increases the usefulness of a device for me. I tend to use my iPad a lot more now, and the small size means I can carry it all over the place and be much more productive wherever I end up with it. The lack of a trackpad mostly affects how I select, drag, etc. I think iOS has gotten a lot better at those types of actions, and with the addition of an Apple Pencil, there are further options even beyond what a trackpad can do. Might I find myself doing more handwritten diagrams and writing on an iPad Pro?

    Sadly, I think I’ll still be holding out for the new MacBook Pro, but I was very surprised how close a tablet was to working for me. I guess if the new MacBook Pro live up to some rumors I’m not crazy about, like the new butterfly-hinge keyboards found on the Macbook line, I might have a really tough decision to make. Sure I could always get the previous generation MacBook Pro, but if I’m getting new hardware, I like to future-proof as much as possible. We shall see. Would a tablet really work for me and my work style?

  • tvOS

    Last week at WWDC a new version of tvOS was announced which is set to come out sometime this fall. Apple has been promoting the app experience heavily since the latest Apple TV hit the shelves last fall and many of the upgrades to tvOS make it even easier to enjoy those apps. Here are some of the updates to look forward to in the Fall.

    **Siri** will now specifically look for content in a specific app. You have been able to search content generically using Siri and it automatically does a general search. I will say my one complaint is that it does seem to prefer pulling content from the iTunes store. I was excited to see that you can now specify, for example, Netflix or YouTube when you’re looking for content with Siri. I’ll be excited to see how well Siri will be able to search specific apps for the content that I am looking for. Overall I have found that the Siri function on the Apple TV works extremely well.

    **App badging** is finally coming to Apple TV, but what is it? Those little red dots that appear next to your apps on your iPad or iPhone letting you know there is something is new about the app will now appear next to the app. Additionally **automatic app downloads** are also going to be available with the new tvOS. When you download a universal app or game on your iPhone or iPad, it will automatically send it to your Apple TV.

    **Single sign-on** is another new feature in the upcoming tvOS. For those with supported cable or satellite providers you’ll now just need to enter your provider’s information once and you’ll have automatic access to any supported apps. Currently you have to enter your information for each individual app you wish to use, so this feature is going to save users a lot of time and allow for faster access to content. As a bonus, this feature will also be available in iOS 10 so you’ll only have to sign on once for each of your devices.

    **Light or dark** will be a new feature to tvOS and one that I admit I think I need to see and use to gain an appreciation for it. Similar to features you can turn on in iBooks and Night Shift in iOS, you’ll be able to set your Apple TV background to light or dark depending on your viewing environment. This will allow you to optimize your view of different apps within Apple TV. This flexibility is great when using my iOS devices but I admit I can’t just yet wrap my head around the advantages when I am watching TV.

    **HomeKit** makes its Apple TV debut in the new tvOS and continues to make it even easier to access and control HomeKit compatible devices like your lights, the temperature in your house or lock the downstairs door before heading off to bed. Other improvements were also announced in Apple Music and in Photos allowing users to access their favorite media in new ways and faster than before.

    Now if only fall was here so we can all try this out! OK, I won’t rush summer; it never lasts long enough as it is.

  • Watch This

    I am really surprised that I have taken to the Apple Watch so completely. It is not that I use it as a fitness device although I DO have goals…that I seldom meet. But, I wear it every day even though it was over 50 years since I regularly wore a watch.

    Q: So, what do I use it for?

    A: ApplePay, sports scores, texts, answering my iPhone Dick Tracy-style, weather and a lot of other stuff like checking the time. 🙂

    I was very interested in the latest version of *watchOS* that was introduced by Apple at WWDC; *watchOS 3* has some pretty dramatic changes in store for your *Apple Watch*. The first, and most noticeable for me, is that the little scribbles that you can send to your friends when you press the side button is gone. Okay, I used that like 4 times to send little drawings to Grace or my hearbeat but pretty useless for that important button. Now, pressing that button will give you a *Dock* which you can configure with your favorite apps, which I find a lot more convenient than trying to get my big fat finger on that tiny little icon.

    Something you will get used to pretty quickly, but is a huge improvement, is that it is easier and faster to perform common tasks including replying to a message, starting a workout, or skipping a track. Apps launch much faster. Swipe up from the bottom of the watch face to access your important settings in *Control Center*.

    Apple added new watch faces, too, including Minnie Mouse (I don’t get the fascination with Mickey and Minnie), Activity, or Numerals, and you can customize them with more complications like Music and Workout. Switch faces with just a swipe, so you can have the Activity face for the gym and the Modular face for work. And easily configure your faces in the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. Configuring your watch faces on your iPhone is much easier than on the tiny watch face.

    There are some improvements to the *Activity app* including some for the more competitive folks. You can share and compete with activity sharing. Send and receive real-time progress updates when friends finish workouts or earn achievements, and reply with encouragement or smack talk. Activity rings are optimized for wheelchair users, there are two wheelchair-specific workouts, and there’s a new *Time to Roll* notification.

    There was a lot of time spent on the new *Breathe app* and while I like it and have tried it out a few times it is not as groundbreaking as Apple made it out to be. It must have been someone’s pet idea. The new Breathe app encourages you to take moments in your day to do short, deep-breathing sessions. The beautiful, calming visualization and haptic cues guide you through deep, full breaths in sessions lasting from one to five minutes. And when you’re done, you’ll receive a helpful heart-rate summary. I ended up turning of Breathe notifications after a few sessions.

    You know those squiggly drawings we talked about that were eliminated? Well, they were actually just moved where they belong: into *Messages*. Set off fireworks or stick a sticker. Share a secret with invisible ink or reply in your own handwriting. You can even draw letters on the display and Apple Watch turns it into text. All your options including larger emoji, sketches, taps, and your heartbeat are in the same place, so you can send and respond to messages faster than ever.

    The new *SOS* feature is a handy safety item to complement your *Medical ID* that we talked about a couple weeks ago. Quickly and easily call for help if you’re in a critical situation. Press and hold the side button and your Apple Watch will automatically initiate a call with 911 or other emergency services numbers in other countries. SOS can also send a message to the people you’ve chosen as your emergency contacts, so your family and friends are alerted as quickly as possible.

    The *Timer app* which I use all the time is revamped and makes it easier to start timing, but best of all is *Auto Unlock*. While it is not yet implemented in the current betas, Auto Unlock will unlock your Mac when you are wearing your watch. Very, very handy!

  • _Dear Friends_,

    Hey, guess what? I am a Cubs fan and I have been for my entire life. When I was a very young child my family lived in Wrigleyville near the Cubs stadium. My mom would take my brother and I to games, especially on “Ladies’ Day” and we would wander around the field and got to know many of the players. My favorite player at the time was Hank Sauer who won the NL MVP but Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks was there, too. I once won tickets to a Cubs play-off game with my statement that “my Mom used Wrigley Field as a daycare center”. Okay, so that is all a lead-in to say that this might actually be THE YEAR! Go Cubbies! Grace and I are going to take a little tour of the midwest this year for a motorcycle trip with, of course, a stop at Wrigley!

    I have my annual golf outing with old friends, Larz Barber, Melinda Moulton and Dave Sellers. Dave and I usually manage to squeak out a victory but who knows this year. Sometimes it is hard to hit the ball since we are laughing so hard.

    Emily is going to talk about tvOS this week and I’ll be reviewing watchOS 3. I am using the beta of watchOS but haven’t taken the leap yet with my Apple TV. I’d hate to see that it was not compatible with MLB Team Pass.

    This week’s Kibbles & Bytes Exclusive features an Apple Factory Refurbished MacBook that hasn’t even landed yet. We have a few of the “*gold MacBook*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002271/gold-macbook-with-applecare-for-only-1089-99? with 1.1 GHz processor 8GB Ram and 256GB drive coming in next week. These are refurbished by Apple and carry the same 1-year Apple warranty as new Macs. This week we are bundling this MacBook with AppleCare which extends that warranty from 1 year to 3 years and extends Apple’s toll-free technical support from 90 days to 3 years. This is a great opportunity to snag a MacBook for the lowest price we can find. Gold MacBook with AppleCare for only “**$1089.99!**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002271/gold-macbook-with-applecare-for-only-1089-99?

  • I am heading over to Laconia, NH to check out bike week and with excellent weather in store, I think we may just have to do a little exploring on motorcycles. Strawberries are about to come in season with pick your own places crawling with stooped over folks picking the delicious early summer berries.

    I’ve been driving the little Austin Healey Sprite to work since it is not raining this week. It is so fun to drive the little British sports car but I know I have some preventive maintenance to do soon as it is not much more than a glorified go-cart. At least I am not collecting golf carts like Emily!

    Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes and Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes team,

    Don, Emily, Hadley & Amy

  • iOS 10

    Earlier this week at WWDC Apple announced the latest edition of iOS for iPhone and iPad. As is typical with these announcements, the changes to iOS are one of the more exciting software announcements to many users. iPads and iPhones are often the sole device for many users. Some improvements to iOS 10 greatly improve productivity and others give us another excuse to do less. There is a huge list of improvements to iOS 10 and here are some highlights of what’s to come.

    Messages got more expressive and makes it even easier to use less words in your text messages. When sending a text in iOS 10 you will now find suggestions for autofilling emojis rather than words. That’s right, autofill for emojis! If you’re never exactly sure what that emoji is, don’t fret, emojis can be sent bigger as well as your text messages with bubbles. Do you feel that emojis just aren’t your thing and prefer a more personal approach to messages? The ability to handwrite a message has now been added to iOS 10, and offers a really cool way to add a personal touch to any message! I guess I’ll forgive Apple for making it easier to send messages without words with the added handwriting feature and lastly celebrations. Celebrations? That’s right, you’ll be able to celebrate a special moment even from afar by sending a full screen affect like balloons or fireworks, pretty cool!

    Maps received some pretty cool upgrades this time around. Now when you’re traveling around and utilizing maps you can quickly find and book a cab or even a reservation at a nearby restaurant all without leaving the Maps app. One other slightly hidden feature is the ability to instantly mark where you parked your car. Maps can automatically recognize that you have gotten off the highway and parked your car. It will automatically drop a pin for you in Maps ensuring you will never again forget where you parked your car!

    QuickType is getting some pretty incredible upgrades in iOS 10. Using Siri intelligence, your phone or iPad can predict what you might want to say to someone, suggest adding an event to your calendar or change the language with which you respond. Now if you’re having a conversation with someone about dinner reservations, QuickType will pick up on patterns found in your conversation. Easily add a dinner reservation or location right from your conversation.

    The Phone feature of your iPhone also is getting some pretty significant improvements which even include the ability to recognize a potential spam call. No longer will you have to be interrupted by a call from a number you don’t recognize only to find out it was a spam call. Your phone will now tell you if it thinks an incoming call is spam. Your phone will now also be able to better work with third-party VoIP calls such as Skype reducing the number of missed calls through apps on your phone.

    At WWDC only a small portion of the total improvements to iOS 10 can be talked about, and even this article is missing some, but I wanted to take a moment to talk about some of the improvements they didn’t highlight. In iOS 10 you will now be able to remove stock apps, yes it finally happened! Tired of seeing the Apple Watch app because you still don’t have the watch, just delete it and any other apps that come standard on the phone that have been in your way all this time. If you’re someone who says you wish and need to get on a better sleeping pattern but find each night you once again sat up too late? A bedtime tab can now be found in the alarm App, it can help you to get on a regular sleeping schedule by alerting you it’s time to go to sleep. For those who find that space is an issue on their phone with large music libraries you can now optimize your storage. Your phone can be set to hold an ideal amount of songs and will help you keep your storage in check by automatically removing songs you listen to least often. Lastly one of my favorite finds is that there is now a magnifier built into the accessibility features. It sounds silly, but it’s just made finding that tiny screw or lost pin on the floor easier!

    iOS 10 is set to be released sometime in the fall. Unfortunately this means most users still have several months until they can try it out. However, thanks to beta testers already using iOS 10 and the public beta testers in July, you should feel confident that when iOS 10 comes out for public download in the fall it should have only minimal, if any, problems.

  • macOS Sierra

    I used to live in the foothills of the Sierras in a little town called Challenge. We rented what was an old stage coach stop right in the hills that were part of the gold rush of the nineteenth century. Did you know that the nickname for Californians – the 49ers – came from the huge influx of gold miners in 1849?

    Apple hopes that macOS Sierra will bring in a rush to the Mac, too. First off, we should note that the name has changed (to protect the innocent?) from OS X 10.12 to macOS Sierra. I like the name change but it certainly pales next to the improvements in the operating system for Mac.

    If you have a Mac that is older than 2009 you might want to turn out, or better yet come in for an upgrade because macOS Sierra will only run on late 2009 Macs or newer. It will be free when it comes out this fall and there will be a public beta program in July that you can sign up for at beta.apple.com.

    Hello Siri!

    What’s new? Let’s start with Siri. Siri finally comes to the Mac! Ask Siri to send messages, search the web, find files, adjust settings, and more. You can also drag and drop, copy, or pin Siri results. Siri will even turn down your Mac’s fan when activated to minimize microphone interference. I have just started to play with Siri on the Mac but it is a little weird talking to my Mac in the middle of our open office. I feel a little bit like Scotty in Star Trek talking to the mouse of a Mac Plus.

    Universal Clipboard

    Have you ever found an interesting article or picture on your iPad and wanted to include it in something you are working on your Mac? Well, that just got a lot easier with Universal Clipboard. Copy and paste now works across your devices when they’re near each other. There are no special instructions, just copy images, video, or text from an app on one device. Then paste into another app on a different device.

    Optimized Storage

    Are you reaching the limits of your storage? With all the rich media, apps, pictures and music this is a pretty common issue. We recommend that you leave 10-20% of your storage space clear but finding what to delete is always a challenge. Apple has now addressed that with Optimized Storage. Optimized Storage helps you make more room on your Mac. When space is low, it automatically stores old files, photos, movies, and email attachments in the cloud and makes them available on demand. Files you recently created and optimized photos stay on your Mac so they’re there when you need them. You can also easily find and remove files or apps. I am running the beta of macOS Sierra and my free space went up from about 25GB to over 150GB once my storage was optimized

    Auto Unlock

    How many times have you found yourself logging into your Mac and accidentally had the caps lock on and had to re-enter your password? Well, if you have an Apple Watch you will never have THAT problem again. When you walk up to your Mac while wearing your Apple Watch, you’ll be automatically logged in to your desktop. Because you authenticate your Apple Watch when you put it on, there’s no need to type in a password if you’re nearby.

    Shop with Apple Pay

    Apple Pay gives you an easier and more secure way to pay when shopping online in Safari. When you see the Apple Pay button on participating websites, simply click it at checkout on your Mac, then securely complete your purchase using your iPhone or Apple Watch.

    Keep Tabs

    I know that not everyone uses tabs in Safari or Chrome but most of you do. It is a great way to have multiple web sites open at once without cluttering your desktop. macOS Sierra brings tabs to other apps now. It works in Pages and a few other apps now but should be pretty universal by the time macOS Sierra comes out in the fall. I was a bit baffled at how to access it but then I noticed a new command under the “Window” menu item – Merge All Windows.

    Picture-in-Picture

    This time of the year I like to watch the Cubs day games while I am working. That’s the thing about watching baseball, you don’t have to pay too close attention. At any rate, with macOS Sierra I can now have a floating PIP window with the game while I work on spreadsheets or in our K9 database. You can float a video window from Safari or iTunes over your desktop or a full-screen app. Play the video in any corner of your desktop, and resize the window to see more or less of what’s behind it. It currently only works with some video sources (and unfortunately not with MLB Team Pass) but more will certainly be added.

    iCloud Drive

    Ever been in a meeting and needed that document from your Mac but you just have your iPad with you? With the new enhancements to iCloud Drive in macOS Sierra it will be no problem. Now you can store your Documents folder and Desktop in iCloud Drive and access all your files from your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC and on iCloud.com. So you can save files where you normally do and they’re automatically uploaded, with no need to drag them into iCloud Drive first.

    And MORE!

    Photos has been upgraded with new organization and search capabilities, iTunes has been upgraded including lyrics in the mini player, new Emojis and fun stuff in Messages and much more that we will talk about in Kibbles as we discover more of the features.

  • Dear Friends,

    Our hearts and souls mourn with the families of the victims of the senseless tragedy at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Hate crimes always make me concerned about the future of the human race. Whether it is madmen slaughtering innocents with assault rifles, the genocide of the Yizidis at the hands of ISIL, or the endless wars fought in the name of religion or resources it is hard to call ourselves a civilization when there is so much uncivilized violence.

    I see so much of what is happening now being depicted in science fiction of the past, whether it is the Bezerkers of Fred Saberhagen or terrorism as normalcy in the movie Brazil the dark side of the future sometimes overshadows what could be a world free of violence, bigotry and war.

    Apple is committed to making products and software that enriches our lives and while I sometimes get frustrated with Apple as a huge company, I believe Tim Cook and Apple’s commitment. This week at WWDC they introduced improvements to their four operating systems, macOS Sierra, iOS 10, WatchOS 3 and tvOS. Improvements included the Breathe app on the Watch and hidden new accessibility features such as Magnifier in iOS 10 which turns your iPhone into a magnifying glass. In addition to the new wheelchair optimizations for Apple Watch — “time to stand” settings become “time to roll”, two wheelchair-specific workouts, and optimized activity rings for wheelchair pushes — users can now discretely check time with a voiceover feature that uses haptic feedback to tell you the time. Apple continues to enhance the Health app and their ResearchKit, too.

    Emily and I will talk about macOS Sierra and iOS 10 this week and follow up next week with a discussion of tvOS. This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive features the Apple Airport Express Base Station. This is an Apple Factory Reconditioned unit with the same 1-year warranty as new. This is a great way to set up your wireless network or extend an existing network. Normally, this is $99 new but this week for Kibbles & Bytes Readers you can buy the Apple Refurbished Airport Express for only $59!