Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • Quibbles & Bytes

    Storage capacity is one of the more confusing topics in the technology world. I have had many frustrated people ask me why their new 500-gigabyte external hard drive is actually only stores 465 gigabytes. It can be confusing, but there are actually different definitions of digital storage units depending on who you are asking. There also other factors, such as firmware and operating system data, that serve to obfuscate digital storage terminology.

    The smallest unit of digital storage is called a bit. A bit is a single 0 or 1, represented usually as a stored magnetic or electric charge, depending on the storage medium. There are 8 bits in one byte. It is after this point that the numbers start to change depending on whether the terminology is used with its decimal definition or its binary definition.

    The prefixes for large quantities of bytes are assigned by the International System of Units. In the decimal definitions, a kilobyte is made up of 1,000 bytes, a megabyte of 1,000 kilobytes, a gigabyte of 1,000 megabytes, and so on. The decimal definition is commonly used by storage device manufacturers to measure capacity, along with data throughput and various other performance specifications. Since computer software uses the base-2 numeral system, each level of the binary definition is made up of 1,024 of the previous level. This is because 1,024 is the closest power of 2 to 1,000. Computer software expects one gigabyte to be made up of 1,073,741,824 bytes, instead of 1,000,000,000. This is why computers will usually display the storage of a device as less than was advertised for the device, even though the advertised storage was technically correct according to the decimal definition.

    If an operating system is stored on a device, the usable capacity will be further limited. For instance, on a 128-gigabyte MacBook, after binary conversions and system software, about 120 gigabytes is typically available for the user. For these reasons, it is always a good idea to budget a little more storage than you think you will use.

  • Are You Being Throttled?

    Whether you watch Netflix on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or *gasp* a Windows PC, the quality of the video, how long it takes to load, and whether it stutters or skips is primarily determined by the bandwidth of your Internet connection. Netflix recommends 25 megabits per second (Mbps) of download speed for Ultra HD quality, 5 Mbps for HD, and 3 Mbps for SD. Netflix says that 1.5 Mbps is the lowest recommendation for a broadband connection, and notes that 0.5 Mbps is the minimum required, though I have generally found that it doesn’t really work on anything less than 1 Mbps.

    So how do you tell what your real-world download speed is? Up to now, I would have recommended “*speedtest.net*”:http://www.speedtest.net and for general testing of your speed, this is still a good option. It does require Flash, so please make sure that your player is up-to-date by checking *System Preferences > Flash Player > Updates > Check Now* or by going to “*adobe.com*”:https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ for a first time install on your Mac. If you are checking from a mobile device, you can get the “*SpeedTest.net app here.*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/speedtest.net-speed-test/id300704847?mt=8&at=11lb7k

    The problem is that allegedly certain ISPs, despite the supposed protections of net neutrality, throttle Netflix traffic because it is the number one user of the internet in the US. In 2015, Netflix accounted for 37% of all internet traffic. If you want to find out if your ISP is throttling, check Netflix’s new “*fast.com*”:https://fast.com Web site, which is a quick and easy way to determine how much bandwidth you get. This test uses Netflix servers as it source, so if your ISP is throttling Netflix, it will show up here. And if what you see doesn’t match with what you think you’re paying your Internet service provider for, call the ISP and make sure your connection is working properly. In my test, I got 8.1 Mbps at fast.com and 13.99 Mbps at speedtest.net, so there is a possibility that my Netflix is being throttled. I will be running additional tests and contacting my ISP if the speeds continue to diverge this much.

  • Other Space in OS X: Part 2

    Welcome to part 2 of last issue’s exploration of *Other space* from the *Storage tab* in *About This Mac*. If you followed all the directions from last time, and are still seeing lots and lots of Other space, there are a few more things you can do.

    One of the things I do on a semi-regular basis on my own Mac is to use a third party app called DaisyDisk. DaisyDisk is a very elegant-looking app that helps you explore the Hierarchical File System that OS X uses. It does cost $9.99, but if you end up using it a fair amount, it is totally worth it. There is also a free trial, so you can download it and try it out! “*Get DaisyDisk from the Mac App Store here.*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/daisydisk/id411643860?mt=12&at=11lb7k

    Recently, on my Mac at home, I used DaisyDisk and found out that I had about 1.5GB of Mail data. After navigating to the location of said data, I was able to remove it and free up a decent amount of storage, all of which was in the Other section of the storage snapshot.

    Another really nice app, that also happens to be free, is called Disk Inventory X. This app is similar to Daisy Disk in that it lays out all of the data on your hard drive in a nice, easy to see format. Disk Inventory X gives you a colorful grid-like format, with data organized by type, instead of hierarchically like Daisy Disk. Another advantage to Disk Inventory X (as well as the cost) is that it will work on any Mac that has OS X 10.3 or later installed. If you have an older Mac with an older version of OS X, then this may be the better option. “*You can download Disk Inventory X here.*”:http://www.derlien.com

    Now for some final thoughts. My go-to app for eliminating Other space (and also just for cleaning up a full hard drive in general) is DaisyDisk. Really the only thing to worry about is that DaisyDisk will report any and all data on your disk, and so one needs to be careful on what they delete. If in doubt, leave it out! As in, don’t delete it from your Mac. It can be tempting to free up lots and lots of space using this app, but make sure you are not deleting any important system files or apps.

    As always, before you make any changes to your system, BACK UP!

  • _Hello Fellow Technophiles,_

    As expected, Apple unveiled their new operating systems at this week’s Apple World Wide Developer Conference. There were also rumors that we would see hardware announcements, but this was not the case. The biggest change is that Apple will no longer be referring to the OS on the Mac as OS X. It will now be called *macOS*. This makes it conform with the other operating systems in the Apple family: iOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

    The version of macOS that will be released in the the fall, 10.12, is nicknamed Sierra. The major change is that Siri, Apple’s voice activated assistant, is coming to the Mac for the first time. Siri will be able to find files, search the web, add items to your calendar and much more.

    The next most interesting feature to me is the ability for the OS to automatically optimize your storage by automatically moving rarely used files to your iCloud drive. You will also have the option of setting your Desktop and Documents folders to automatically sync with iCloud. Additionally, it will remind you to delete installer files once a program is installed and will automatically remove “duplicate downloads, caches, logs, and other unnecessary stuff.” If you do upgrade to Sierra when it is first released, be sure to make local backups often. I am worried that something on my machine that Sierra decides is “unnecessary” is actually something that I will need. We will see how this goes in the fall.

    “*See more details about all of the new features in Sierra here.*”:http://www.apple.com/macos/sierra-preview/

    Apple also announced iOS 10, as well as updates to watchOS and tvOS, which we will cover in more detail in this Friday’s “*Kibbles & Bytes.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/newsletters/subscribe-to-our-fun-informative-newsletters If you just can’t wait, you can see all of the details at “*apple.com.*”:http://www.apple.com

    Thanks for reading!

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

  • The weather for this weekend is sort of iffy but we plan to ride our motorcycles over to Lake George, NY to attend the annual Americade rally. What originally started out as a Honda Goldwing rally is now a motorcycle touring rally. All the major manufacturers offer test rides and the expo has some great vendors for everything from tires to custom paint jobs. As usual, for us it is not so much the event but the great ride through the Adirondacks to get there.

    The pressure is on Apple to show some great stuff at WWDC and we will be reporting on just what Tim Cook and his team reveals on Monday next week in Kibbles & Bytes.

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    Don, Emily, Hadley & Amy

  • iOS Pop-Ups

    Earlier this week while waiting for a video to load on Facebook I had my phone taken over by a ransomware popup. Rather than an adorable puppy video, youtube locked up because a popup was telling me that I could be a big winner! The message promised that if I just hit OK I would be entered to win a free iPhone 6s.

    I did a little research on the message that displayed on my phone. This is just another scam to get what ends up being large amounts of money out of the user. If I had selected OK I could have experienced anything from unknown charges on my cell phone bill to having my information sold to third party companies, potentially leaving me inundated with phone calls trying to sell me something. Thankfully I immediately closed out of the app I was using and when the message still appeared when I re-launched I simply powered down my phone. Upon restart of my phone and re-launch of the app my phone was back to normal.

    While I do wish I could really just win a new Phone, it’s important to always remember that your computer or iOS device will not tell you your a big winner, nor will it tell you that there is suddenly something wrong that requires you call a phone number right away. These are just different forms of ransomware designed to trick you into spending money in some form. Probably the most common is a message to indicate your device has some sort of a virus on it. In some cases just disabling pop-up ads will result in these going away, but not always. The design by nature of this kind of pop-up is that it gives the illusion that your device is locked up and completely unusable until you call a phone number. However, in the majority of cases simply force quitting the browser or application will cause the threat to go away and you have little worry that anything happened to your device provided you did not call the phone number or tap on the message to acknowledge that you saw it.

    The proper way to handle these should you find yourself in the situation of seeing one of these message on your iOS device first try to force quit the app by simply double tapping on the home button and then swiping up to shut the app down. If the force quit does not work then you can go to settings and then Safari. From here you can easily clear your browser history and website data and that should take care of things. I did mention earlier in my article that I just shut my phone down. This is also an option but is not the preferred method as there is always a slight chance you could lose data.

    Your best defense if you see a pop-up or even get an e-mail from someone you know that seems out of character, whether you’re using an iOS device or a Mac, is do not click on any links that might be within the message. Nine times out of ten if you just force quit the application or delete the e-mail with the suspicious link or instructions you will be just fine and have nothing to worry about. Your best defense is to contact Apple directly or a trusted local repair shop and talk to them directly about helping to solve the problem you may or may not be happening.

  • Dear Friends,

    WWDC is just around the corner (Monday the 13th) and while the rumors are always fun to consider, I am going to wait for the real thing. The World Wide Developers Conference usually concentrates on software but there have been hardware announcements at the event such as the PowerMac G5, Mac Pro (twice), iPhone 3G & 4 and the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. I’ll be watching from my AppleTV on the special WWDC channel.

    One thing that I do expect from WWDC is some more development for HomeKit, HealthKit and Siri. I think that with the Amazon Echo and recently announced Google device that Apple will likely introduce the handy home assistant that will be better in many ways. There is so much potential with HealthKit and I think we will see more about that and Siri might get a bit smarter and more versatile.

    In typical Vermont weather we are experiencing a week of pretty cool temperatures and some rain this week. When the forecast said lows in the 30s, I almost gave Grace the green light to pack up for Key West. But as they say around here “don’t like the weather? Wait a minute…”

    This week’s Kibbles & Bytes Exclusive features the Apple Factory Refurbished iMac 27-inch 5K Retina 3.5GHz i5 8GB/1TB fusion/M290X. This fully loaded 27-inch 5k Retina iMac would be a great desktop for your home or office or for the dorm. You have to see this crisp display to really appreciate it, but take it from me it is stunning. This Apple Factory Refurbished unit carries the same 1-year Apple warranty as a new iMac and we are bundling it with AppleCare that not only extends that 1-year to 3-years but also extends the 90-days of free Apple technical support to 3-years, too, and for you our loyal readers we are making AppleCare FREE. Kibbles & Bytes readers, this week, while supplies last (we have only 3) can pick up this iMac with AppleCare for only $1769.99

  • Ben Ryan

    Hobbies/Interests: Running, skiing, hiking Favorite TV: The Wire, Breaking Bad Favorite Movies: The Thing, Goodfellas, The Silence of the Lambs, Drive, There Will…

  • I love summer in Vermont. There is so much to do. Whether you are hiking in the Green Mountains, motorcycling the curvy roads, working in the garden or sitting on the deck sipping a Heady Topper there is no place better in the summertime.

    I bought a Sonos Play 5 so I could do some testing of some new Smart Home gear but it will serve me well this summer as I can just move it outside on the deck to listen to some music while I swat black flies and watch the dogs play in the yard. If you haven’t checked out Sonos, you owe it to yourself to come into one of our stores for a listen! You might just leave with a Sonos setup!

    Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    Don, Emily, Hadley & Amy