Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • Macbooks and Macbook Air Upgraded

    Apple announced some changes to the 12-inch MacBook and 13-inch MacBook Air this week. Let’s talk about the MacBook Air first. Apple discontinued the 13-inch MacBook Air models that had 4GB of RAM and made them sport 8GB. There were no other changes to this model but the additional RAM comes at no additional cost as Apple doubled the RAM but kept the price the same at $999 for the 128GB SSD unit and $1299 for the 256GB SSD.

    With just this minor update to the MacBook Air we can speculate that perhaps this unit is on its way out within the next year. The MacBook Air does not have the Retina display nor does it support the latest in Intel mobile processors. On the other hand, it is Apple’s best selling laptop.

    The changes to the MacBook were more significant. They added a Rose Gold (er…pink) color which might actually be a nice option for some. More importantly, Apple went to the new sixth-generation dual-core Intel Core M processors which run at clock speeds up to 1.3 gigahertz, with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 gigahertz. The revamped notebooks also feature faster 1866 megahertz memory.

    This new processor yields increases in performance from 15-20% in initial testing. With the Intel HD Graphics 515, the new MacBook has about 25 percent faster graphics performance. Speed has also been enhance with new, faster PCIe-based flash storage.

    The lower power requirements and a slightly larger battery has also improved battery life, with the Apple claiming the new MacBook offers up to 10 hours of wireless surfing and up to 11 hours of movie watching.

    While some were expecting additional ports or an improved FaceTime camera, these features did not make the cut.

    We should have all the models in stock next week as well as some great deals on the newly discontinued models.

  • Hey Dora, Follow Orders!

    Last week we talked about how to activate and use dictation to write emails and documents but there is a lot more that you can do. I keep thinking about Scotty from Star Trek when he went back in time and was “**confronted with a Mac Plus**”:https://youtu.be/LkqiDu1BQXY?t=1m8s. He picked up the mouse as natural as can be and said “computer…”. That time is coming and Dictation Commands are already built into your operating system.

    Once you have dictation activated you can activate dictation commands by going to the Accessibility system preference.

    * Choose Accessibility from System Preferences.

    * Choose Dictation from the list on the left side of the Accessibility pane.

    * Click the Dictation Commands button. You can see a list of available commands in the Dictation Commands sheet.

    * A starting set of commands are enabled by default. Additional speakable items like “Open document” and “Click item” are available by enabling advanced commands using these next steps:

    * Select (check) the option to “Enable advanced commands” in the Dictation Commands sheet that appears.

    * Click Done.

    p{text-align: center;}. !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4710.png!

    After you have enabled advanced commands, you can also create your own commands by clicking the Add Command (+) button. This lets you link a spoken phrase to an app, a menu item, a keyboard shortcut, or an Automator workflow.

    You have enabled Dictation Commands and now you can speak any of the items in this list to perform the related action. Press the Fn key twice, then say a command to make it happen, such as “Search Spotlight for the Cubs score” or “select sentence” or “new document”. Give it a try and pretty soon you will be just like Scotty and the Mac Plus.

    As a shortcut, you can speak the command “Show commands” to see a list of the commands you can say.

  • _Dear Friends,_

    It is raining today here in Key West but as with most tropical showers it will likely pass over soon and the sun will come back. My neighbor, Glenn Thomas, posted a picture of the first daffodil at our Prickly Mountain location so I guess it is safe for me to head back north. Grace and I will be packing up and driving up I-95 next week.

    Apple quietly made some changes to the 12-inch Macbooks and 13-inch Macbook Airs this week that I will review below and as promised we will talk some more about dictation. Apple did not hold a big event for these laptop upgrades but they are welcome changes that should be a precursor to updates to the rest of the laptops in Apple’s lineup. We will have these new Macbooks and Macbook Airs in stock this week and have some great deals on the newly discontinued models with up to $200 off.

    This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive features the Hammerhead Jacket case for the iPhone 5, 5s or the new 5se. This case offers exceptional corner protection with a double injection molded design featuring strong polycarbonate and flexible TPU. Anti-slip sides keep the phone securely in your hand when in use. Of course, all the ports and buttons are easily accessible through this protective case. We have ten designs for this case: Watermelon Red, Hubcap, Pride, Snake Skin, Helmet, Hammerhead Purple, Lemon Yellow, Black, Sky Blue and Hammerhead Orange. I know you can decide which to use so for this week we are offering a 10-pack featuring one of each case. Change as your mood sees fit or give one to a friend. Normally, these cases are $14.99 each but “**exclusively for Kibbles & Bytes readers you can get all ten for only $49.95!**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002206

  • !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4705.png!

    Chocolates and flowers are great gifts for mom, but as tasty and beautiful as those gifts are, in a few days they will be gone! Finding mom the perfect gift is never easy. You want it to be something that she will truly enjoy, you want it to be thoughtful and you want it to be something that says how much mom means to you. Technology is a great gift for moms of any age. The new “iPad Pro 9.7-inch”:http://www.smalldog.com/iPads/ipad/iPad_Pro or a new “Rose Gold MacBook”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Apple/MacBook/12-in make perfect gifts that mom is sure to thank you for! Not sure of the right gift? A **Small Dog gift card** is a great gift idea and the value of the card never expires.

    “!http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4708.png!”:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/commyounity-tech-talk-tickets-22079709004

    Just in time for Mother’s Day, help mom to get more comfortable with technology! Small Dog Electronics is thrilled to have teamed up with Technology for Tomorrow who will be putting on a FREE seminar on “Saturday May 7th”:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/commyounity-tech-talk-tickets-22079709004 from 9am to 12pm at the South Burlington Middle School. This is a free event open to anyone and everyone, plus all attendees are entered to win a free iPad mini 2! “Sign up”:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/commyounity-tech-talk-tickets-22079709004 now for this wonderful community event!

    Graduation season is also just around the corner! We have great gift ideas for the graduate on your list including speakers from **Sonos** and **Beats** as well as tons of great gift ideas **under $100**! Visit any of our “retail stores”:http://www.smalldog.com/retail/ for great gifts for the moms and grads on your list!

  • New Price and FREE shipping on the Seagate Wireless Mobile Storage 500GB

    Enjoy your media and access your files without wires or the Internet. Seagate Wireless broadcasts its own Wi-Fi network, so you can wirelessly stream your media and files to up to three mobile devices. With 500GB of storage at your fingertips, choosing which files to sync to your mobile device before a long trip is a thing of the past. Seagate Wireless lets you carry hundreds of movies and thousands of photos, songs and documents. Seagate Wireless streams your media and documents to all your popular tablets, smartphones, computers and connected devices.

  • TRIM support for SSDs

    TRIM (not actually an acronym) is a technology exclusive to SSDs that helps the drive erase data that is no longer in use. Traditional spinning disk HDDs do not actually erase all the data when you delete something. HDDs merely delete the file header(s) when you empty the trash. The file header is the information that points to the places where the actual data is stored. To save time (and wear and tear), a HDD will leave the real data on the drive to be simply overwritten in the future for something else.

    SSDs, on the other hand, cannot overwrite existing data. The data first has to be deleted (written over with zeroes) before new data can be stored in the same location. This is fine for a while, but as the SSD fills up, it will eventually be stuck erasing lots of data before it can save new data. This will affect the performance of a SSD over time.

    The way TRIM works is that it every time you delete something, the SSD zeroes out all of the data blocks that are associated with the files. This not only can make SSDs more secure out of the box, it also keeps the read and write speeds high over time!

    Apple now includes a *Terminal* command that enables TRIM for third party SSDs. It’s called *trimforce*, and it works on OS X 10.10.4 Yosemite and higher and all versions of OS X El Capitan. It also is fully compatible with every Crucial SSD that Small Dog sells! After installing an SSD in your 10.10.4 or newer Mac, enable TRIM support with the following steps:

    * Open *Terminal* (can be found in the *Utilities folder*)
    * Type “*sudo trimforce enable*” (without the quotes)
    * Type “*y*” (sans quotes) to agree with the warning
    * Type your admin password (no letters will show up while typing)
    * Wait for your Mac to restart

    To check that TRIM is successfully enabled, click the Apple in the upper left-hand corner, click *About This Mac > System Report.* Choose *SATA/SATA Express* from the sidebar. You should see *Crucial* (or your brand of SSD) written somewhere there, and under that it should say *TRIM Support* with a *Yes* across from it. You have now unlocked the full potential of your new SSD!

  • On Firewalls

    Firewalls can be tricky to understand. I have met many people who do not know what the purpose of a firewall is. Since the firewall included in Mac OS X is also disabled by default, most people are alarmed when they discover it. However, in most cases, this is nothing to worry about.

    The purpose of the software firewall in consumer-grade computers is to block incoming virtual connections from the network the computer is connected to. Depending on the situation, this can be a good or a bad thing. Allowing unknown entities to connect to your computer is never a good thing, but a connection to your computer can only be established if there is an application already waiting to receive it. By default, Mac OS X has far fewer applications running in the background of the operating system that can accept virtual connections than Windows does. This is why the firewall is disabled by default in Mac OS X, and not in Windows. It is also part of the reason why Macs have a reputation as “more secure” than Windows computers.

    If a firewall is activated on a computer, it can cause issues for the user that would not occur without it. Some legitimate applications may not work correctly from behind a firewall, because they rely on input from remote servers. Typically, the firewall will prompt the user to allow or deny the connection if such a connection is detected, but this can be irritating for the user and will not increase security in many cases because most users will blindly allow every connection.

    Most Mac users will never encounter a situation where it will be necessary to enable the firewall. In most situations, the firewall should only be enabled if the user is trying to run an application which is known to communicate freely with the Internet, and the user wants to disable this functionality. If you do want to turn on the firewall, this can be done in the *Security & Privacy* panel of System Preferences.

  • Cleaning Up & Speeding Up Your Mac

    bq. _My Mac used to be fast, but now it’s running so slow._

    I’ve heard many versions of this complaint, and they’re usually factually true, not just opinions: Macs can become sluggish over time, even if all of their chips and hard drives are working like new. Even diehard Apple fans will admit that Macs typically run new OS X versions better (faster, and with fewer bugs) if you start with a clean slate: completely wipe your hard drive, do a fresh install of the latest OS X release, and restore only the files you need. That’s not as hard as it sounds, but it’s a radical and fairly time-consuming solution.

    There are many things you can do to clear the cobwebs in your Apple device and keep it running as fast as it was from day one. First, find and delete enough files to leave your Mac at least 50GB of free storage capacity – enough room for the Mac to work without pausing to manage its hard drive space. Regular maintenance is must. Like a car, watch, or bicycle, anything regularly serviced and taken care of can extend the lifetime.

    Deleting apps you no longer use from your *Applications folder* is a great spot to start your cleaning adventure. It may sound obvious, but clearing out the trash regularly will help your computer run smoother. Always keep in mind that anything emptied from the trash is permanently deleted. You may need to restart or shutdown your computer for the space you’ve reclaimed to properly show on your hard drive.

    Compressing and archiving your old files is another way of cleaning up your Mac. Compressing your files will make them dramatically smaller, freeing up extra space on your hard drive. Once your files are compressed, move them to an external hard drive, USB thumbdrive or CD for storage. Also, keeping files you don’t regularly use on your hard drive can slow it down. Regularly check your *~/Movies/*, *~/Music/*, and *~/Downloads/* folders for unused files. Drag unneeded files to the *Trash*. Apps like to save here by default, and this can result in used hard drive space, so be vigilant about what gets put in here.

    Lastly, if you are running 10.10 Yosemite or earlier, run *Disk Utility* to verify and repair permissions to speed up your Mac. Installing and uninstalling of programs on Macs over time can lead to changes in permissions for programs. Sometimes this gets obsolete and causes unnecessary processing. This unnecessary processing won’t affect the size of space taken on your hard drive, but it will increase efficiency, which equates to increased speed.

  • _Hello Fellow Technophiles,_

    People often ask “Where is the manual?” when purchasing a new Mac. Apple has not included very much paper in their boxes for some time, but nevertheless, your Mac has a manual. When you are in the *Finder* you will see a menu option in the top bar that says *Help.* Click this and select *Mac Help.* This is the manual. There are categories on the left and you can click on the little triangle next to each category to reveal all of the topics in that category. Each topic generally includes detailed descriptions, how-tos, pictures, and links to further information.

    These links usually go to “*support.apple.com*”:https://www.apple.com/support/ where there is massive amounts of information on every product, OS, and app that Apple has released. It can be daunting to sort through if you are not sure where to start, but rest assured that all of the information you need is there somewhere. If you need help sorting through this, you can call AppleCare phone support (if you have AppleCare) or you can reach out to us at “*consulting@smalldog.com*”:mailto:consulting@smalldog.com and one of our Apple-certified experts can point you in the right direction, or if it makes sense, book a one-on-one lesson to get you up and running.

    And for you bibliophiles out there, there are actual physical books available as well. You can see Small Dog’s selection “*here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Books Make sure to get yours while paper books still exist!

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

  • My daughter Autumn and her husband Ismael are coming to visit next week which should be fun. Then we pack up and head back to Vermont. Hopefully the weather will cooperate but it seems like warmer weather is in the forecast for the Green Mountains.

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

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    _Don, Emily, Hadley & Amy_

  • Get yourself some Dux

    What is a Dux you ask? Dux is a really great product line from STM and one that we are really excited to begin carrying here at Small Dog. This product line up has cases for your iPad and your computer and for the last week or so I have been testing out the Dux case for Macbook Air.

    My first impression is that it gives my computer a sharp new look. I feel as though my computer is highlighted more in this case. It features a primarily clear case and then a border that comes in an assortment of colors. The one I am using is black and it really looks sharp and sleek on the computer.

    I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge fan of hardshell cases for computers. They do add weight to your computer and they can be hard to put on and take off. However, this case did stand out to me as soon as I saw it and I immediately asked for a sample so that I could test it out. It’s the reinforced border that caught my eye. The plastic is slightly different from that of the clear case and really gives you a feeling of protection for your computer.

    Customers ask me all the time why someone might want a hard shell case, it’s a combination of accessorizing and protection. Hard shell cases are great for those who might like to sticker their computers. You can sticker all you want on a removable case and not damage your computer. For people who bring their computers everywhere it’s a great way to protect them from the dings and scratches that can happen just by pulling your computer in and out, especially those whom might fly a lot. One piece of advice I will give users of hardshell cases is that you still need to remove them! The idea and concept of hard shell cases is to provide added protection to your computer, to keep it looking like new under the case. However, if you don’t remove the case from time to time and clean the case and computer from dust and debris your computer will still get scratches. I have seen countless computers get just as scratched up with these kinds of cases than those without and the cause is always the same: dirt build up. This particular case comes on and off much easier than some others on the market making my recommended occasional cleanings much easier to perform. After all you’ve probably purchased a hard shell case to keep your computer looking new.

    Overall I am very happy with this case, but the biggest test is yet to come. I am flying to Arizona next week for an event with one of our vendors, and I’ll be keeping this case on my computer for my travels. The real test will be if I notice the added weight while making my way through airports, so far I haven’t really noticed the increased weight in my daily travels.

    P.S. Hadley, even if it means burpees and laps in an airport terminal I plan to maintain my lead in our competition. It’s ON!

  • It's On!

    With nice warm weather finally on the way, and a pretty early spring overall, we’re getting pretty geared up for outdoor activities here at the Small Dog HQ. I don’t remember which of us suggested it initially, but Emily and I have kicked off an April fitness challenge/competition.

    We’re both trying to get more active and we thought having a challenge would be a good fun way to keep us both motivated. Emily’s main method of attack is running and other exercises like burpees, pushups, and the occasional jumping jacks (to intimidate me while I’m sitting at my desk). I never liked running, so my main method of attack is riding my bike. The weather has been marginally cooperative for that. The roads are mostly clear of salt, and the sun shines enough, but the days have still been on the colder side. I don’t like to ride in less than 40 degrees because I have to put on too many layers and I find it really uncomfortable.

    We needed to figure out a way to track our individual progress so we could compare results. Emily has an “**Apple Watch**”:http://www.apple.com/watch/ and I have a “**Misfit Shine**”:http://www.smalldog.com/mfg/?MfrName=Misfit. At the beginning of the month, we did a few test days to see how the Misfit would track my bike riding and how the results would compare with Emily’s Apple Watch tracking her running. As it turns out, the two are pretty comparable. When I’m riding, I have the Misfit on my shoe to record the pedaling motion. It ends up recording this in a kind of “step equivalent” that we’ve found is actually comparable to the steps counted by Emily’s Apple Watch when she runs. Obviously running 5 miles takes more energy and effort than riding 5 miles (thanks, bearings!) but we found that Emily’s standard run (about 3-4 miles) was roughly equivalent to a 10-15 mile ride for me depending on terrain.

    So the challenge is fully on now. On a daily basis, I don’t get that many steps. My ace in the hole here is that I still haven’t been able to do my standard full 18-20 mile training ride yet. The weather hasn’t cooperated enough. I’m hoping that’ll change this weekend. Two days of over 60 degree weather and nice and sunny!

    The coolest thing about this challenge is that it shows how completely different fitness trackers are pretty close to each other in tracking general activity. The Apple Watch can do additional things like better tracking of calories and workouts, because it can measure heart rate. The Misfit cannot do that. We found that my Misfit’s calorie reading includes basal metabolic rate. So even if I just walk around all day and never get my heart rate up, it’ll record that I burned something like 2200 calories (which basically translates to, “hey, you were alive all day today!”). If I get it to record an actual workout (like a bike ride) the calorie information for that specific activity will be pretty close, but on average, it’s not a good metric for our challenge. We’re sticking to steps.

    At the end of the month, I’ll be back here to report our results to Kibbles readers! (Bad news though, after writing this, I did a check of my month-to-date total and it’s about half of where Emily is. I’m still confident I can stay in it. I’ve only had like 2-3 half decent rides so far. I’m itching to get out on the road!)