Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • Wi-Fi Menu Trick

    By default, the Wi-Fi menu in OS X’s menu bar provides a list of available Wi-Fi networks and a couple of other things like a link to open Network Preferences. That’s okay, but for the real scoop on what’s going on behind the scenes, press the Option key as you click the Wi-Fi menu. In addition to several commands to run diagnostics, the menu provides tons of details about the current Wi-Fi network. You’ll find info on your Mac’s IP address, your router’s IP address, whether or not your Mac is reachable from the Internet, what form of security is in play, the router’s BSSID identifier (helpful if you’re not sure what you’re connected to in a complex network), which channel you’re using, how strong the signal strength is (RSSI–the closer to zero, the better), and the transmit rate of the network. This information is most useful when troubleshooting problems, so take a look if something isn’t working right with your connectivity. You can also run a diagnostic of your network and generate a diagnostics report that you can send to someone helping you with your network.

  • _Dear Friends_,

    People down here are putting on their down coats as the temperatures slip into the 50s while a few people up north in Vermont decide that long pants might be a good idea this weekend with below 0 temperatures forecast for the first time this winter.

    I enjoyed a good birthday on Sunday, watching the Celtics beat the Kings and then sort of watching the Super Bowl but mainly watching the commercials. Birthdays have become a bit different now with Facebook. Facebook lets everyone know it is your birthday and friends, family and people you haven’t heard from in years post birthday wishes. My high school class even posted. It is interesting to me how much Facebook and social media in general have changed how we do some simple things.

    Small Dog Electronics is looking for some new members to join our team for our Rutland store, marketing, bookkeeping and IT. Check out our current openings at “**smalldog.com/jobs**”:http://www.smalldog.com/jobs. If you know of someone in the area looking for a rewarding career have them send their resumé to “**jobs@smalldog.com**”:mailto:jobs@smalldog.com.

    This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive is a perfect little gift for Valentine’s Day. The “**Chill Pill Mobile Speaker**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002154/valentines-day-kibbles-exclusive-buy-two-get-one-free in bright red is much better than that lame box of chocolates. This week’s special is not one but 3 Chill Pills in red just in case you have more than one valentine. Normally $9.99 each this week you can get 3 for only “**$19.99**!”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002154/valentines-day-kibbles-exclusive-buy-two-get-one-free

  • Great February Savings and Last Minute Gifts for Your Valentine

    Is your old Mac feeling the winter blues? Are you sitting at your desk and finding yourself reminiscing about when you first got your Mac and it zipped along from one application to the next? Eventually no matter how great your Mac was when you first brought it home, it comes to the end of its life expectancy. Now is a great time to take advantage of our “**trade in program**.”:http://www.smalldog.com/tradein/small-dog-trade-in-program You can use your store credit toward a new computer or anything else in our store!

    “!http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4660.jpg!”:http://www.smalldog.com/presidentsday/presidents-day-sales

    Weren’t planning on buying a new computer? Did you know that Small Dog Electronics also offers financing? “**Special financing offers**”:http://www.smalldog.com/finance/affordable-financing-options are available everyday in our retail stores. On your next visit to our retail stores ask about our different financing options!

    “!http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4662.jpg!”:http://www.smalldog.com/finance/affordable-financing-options

    **Valentines Day** is only a few short days away and Small Dog has you covered! **$100 off** all Apple Factory refurbished computers while supplies last! We have in stock the “**11 inch MacBook Air**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002150 as well as the “**13 inch Macbook Air**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002152. Not sure a portable is the right solution for you or looking to make your dollar go as far as you can? The “**21 inch iMac**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002151 is perfect. And for anyone who has been wanting a new iMac for video editing check out the “**27 inch iMac**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002153. It’s an incredible machine and because it’s refurbished you save BIG verses buying it new. Don’t forget that all Apple Factory refurbished computers have 90 days of Apple phone support and a one year warranty on parts and labor. PLUS you can add Applecare to any of these computers to give you a total of three years of phone support and warranty coverage.

  • Small Dog is Hiring!

    Want to work with an amazing team AND get to work with Apple products all day? We have positions open in Rutland and in Waitsfield! See what “**jobs**”:http://www.smalldog.com/jobs/small-dog-job-openings we have open, we are eager to grow our team!

  • February Specials

    **Save $70** on the AudioEngine B2 Bluetooth Speaker

    **Save $20** on Outdoor Tech Buckshot Pro, a speaker, a powerbank and flashlight all in one

    **Save $25** on Outdoor Tech Orca wireless headphones

  • Life Expectancy

    It is well known that computers have a life expectancy. When I refer to the life expectancy of a computer I’m not referring to how long it will work, I’m referring to how long you can keep it up to date with supported software and get it serviced. Many machines will work for years past their life expectancy. If you are reading this on the model pictured on the right, your machine is definitely past its normal life expectancy.

    There are two terms that Apple uses for machine that they no longer have hardware support: Vintage and Obsolete. Apple usually classifies a machine as vintage once it reaches 5 to 7 years past its initial release and obsolete models are those that are 7 or more years old. Apple doesn’t provide hardware support for vintage and obsolete models, however most models that are vintage can support the latest software and receive updates.

    Once a machine becomes obsolete, however, it usually will no longer will be able to support the newest OS X and security updates. Once a machine has unsupported software the machine starts to be become more susceptible to security breaches. A common security breach comes from exploiting older software that has a known issue. Once your computer can’t accept a supported OS X (which is currently 10.10 Yosemite and 10.11 El Capitan) it reaches the end of its life expectancy because the machine is no longer is repairable by Apple and the machine cannot receive software updates.

  • Trade in and Trade up!

    Is your old Mac starting to get a case of the winter blues? Is it just not as fast as it was four years ago when you bought it? Did you think you would dabble only a little in video editing with iMovie when you got your Mac a few years ago but now find your working in “Final Cut Pro X?”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/App_Store/Apple?page=2 Take advantage of our trade in program! We will give you a store credit for any iPad or Mac that we accept through our trade in program.

    Our “**trade in**”:http://www.smalldog.com/tradein/small-dog-trade-in-program program is a great way to save some money on a new Mac. You can use your store credit to go towards the purchase of a new Mac or iPad. Don’t want a new iPad or Mac, no problem! Our store credit through the trade in program that can used for anything we sell in our stores.

  • Now is a great time to think about a new Mac, especially if your thinking about trading in an older machine! We have “**special financing**”:http://www.smalldog.com/finance/affordable-financing-options available everyday in our stores!

  • Best in Showroom is Back!

    A lot has been going on around Small Dog Electronics the last few months and during that time we felt it was best to put on hold our monthly retail newsletter while we sent out shorter email communications during the holidays. We don’t want to crowd your inbox too much! With the new year finally underway we’re back at it with the same great Best in Showroom newsletter content you love. Did you know we also have several other great newsletters? If you are not signed up for our “**Deal Retriever**”:http://www.smalldog.com/newsletters/subscribe-to-our-fun-informative-newsletters e-mail, we encourage you to do so so that you don’t miss what’s going in our stores no matter the time of year or event we might be promoting.

    Get too much email but want to make sure you don’t miss out on the very best of our special announcements, sales and events? If you subscribe to our General Communications newsletter we’ll make sure you get all that info. Subscribing to this newsletter also allows us to send infrequent, customized information to you based on your orders. We don’t spam and we’ll never sell or trade your email address. Ever.

    Throughout February we have great deals going on in honor of “**Presidents’ Day**”:http://www.smalldog.com/presidentsday/presidents-day-sales so visit any of our retail stores or shop online!

    Emily Dolloff
    “emily@smalldog.com”:mailto:emily@smalldog.com
    General Manager

  • I hear they are having a big football game on my birthday this year. I might catch some of it just for the commercials but will probably just go out to dinner with Grace to toast another year on this blue planet. Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team

    Don, Dean, Emily & Scott

  • Black History Month – Thurgood Marshall

    Way before Barack Obama broke the color barrier to become president of the USA, Thurgood Marshall broke that barrier for another of the most powerful and important positions in the country, that of Supreme Court Justice. After graduating from high school with honors he applied to the University of Maryland law school where he was not accepted because he was black. Instead, he went to Howard University and received his law degree in 1933.

    Before being appointed Supreme Court Justice, he had a stellar career from 1934 to 1961 as a lawyer for the NAACP where he won landmark civil rights cases. Beginning in 1940, Marshall won 29 of 323 US Supreme Court cases. One of his first big cases was Smith vs. Allwrite in 1944 which overthrew the South’s “White Primary”. The White Primary was a practice of excluding African Americans from the Democratic Party. It was most common in a state where that party controlled the state government.

    In 1954 Marshall achieved a landmark victory with the case of Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. This Supreme Court decision demolished the legal basis for segregation in the USA. It also made state-enforced racial segregation in public schools invalid.

    In 1961 he was appointed the the US Court of Appeals by President Kennedy. He was the first African American on the Court of Appeals and went on to be appointed to the Second Court of Appeals. President Johnson made him the Solicitor General in 1965 and later in 1967 President Johnson nominated him for the Supreme Court.

    On the Supreme Court he was a steadfast supporter of positive gender and racial action policies and in his 24 years on the court he became a vocal liberal on a conservative-dominated court. He was an ardent supporter of Constitutional protection of individual rights, in particular the rights of criminal suspect versus the government. Marshall’s backing of Affirmative Action led to his strong dissent in the Regents of the University of California vs. Blake in 1978. Justice William Brennan was Marshall’s most reliable confederate who voted with him against the death penalty.

    Citing poor health, Thurgood Marshall stepped down from the court in 1991 and remained a vocal critic of the court until his death in 1993 at the age of 84.