Kibbles & Bytes Blog

Apple news, tech tips, and more…

KB Dog

  • Cars and Computers

    I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it in any of my other Kibbles and Bytes articles, but I’m pretty interested in cars and car technology. Sometimes it’s funny how we keep old habits we have based on older car technology that don’t apply with modern cars. One habit that’s fortunately going away is pumping the brakes when stopping on snow or slick conditions. ABS (anti-lock brake systems) make pumping the brakes completely unnecessary. The system effectively pulsates the braking action faster than you could ever pump the pedal.

    It’s actually amazing how much technology is present in cars these days, and that’s before you even consider the gizmos inside the cabin like backup cameras, GPS navigation systems and bluetooth enabled stereo controls. Modern engines are extremely efficient and robust. They’re able to get more power from less physical space, operate more cleanly and safely than engines of the past. This is all thanks in large part to the computer controls that manage everything from air-fuel mixture to individual cylinder management. Most modern cars don’t even use a physical wire cable connecting the gas pedal to the throttle. It’s all done electronically. A smaller number of cars (mostly only higher-end luxury vehicles at this point) even use electronic steering. That means there’s no direct mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the wheels!

    Then of course you have vehicle stability control systems. These systems consist of g-force sensors and wheel slip sensors all over the car. A computer can interpret these signals to determine what your car is doing every instant. Are the back wheels slipping and beginning to slide out? The computer is able to sense that motion (probably even before you do) and apply precision braking force to individual wheels in an attempt to correct the problem. You might feel it a little bit, but it’s usually very good at correcting the problem and all you’ll see is a little light turn on in the instrument cluster. (I like having a little fun with my car in the winter time, so I call that light the “anti-fun light”)

    Even common problems that used to plague engines like knocking and pinging are virtually eliminated by computer control. My IT partner in crime, Morgan, and I were discussing this earlier in the week. I made the claim that running premium grade fuel in a normal un-boosted engine wouldn’t do anything except empty your wallet faster. I also made the claim that you couldn’t do the opposite of putting regular fuel into a boosted (turbocharged, supercharged, etc) engine. Well, it turns out with modern controlled engines, neither of those assertions are necessarily true. Because the timing and fuel-air mixture is all controlled by computer, if you put premium fuel in an un-boosted engine, it may actually be able to delay the timing enough to get a few extra horsepower. This isn’t always the case, and the marginal gain probably doesn’t justify the additional fuel cost, but my assertion that nothing would be different wasn’t quite correct.

    Perhaps more surprisingly, many modern engines that are boosted are able to compensate for things like lower grade regular fuel. They can advance the timing to avoid pre-detonation and in some cases regulate and reduce boost pressure as well. Of course, that will mean you won’t get the power for which the engine is rated, but it will still run smoothly without knocking or pinging.

    All these things have changed so rapidly over the past few decades. The computers involved aren’t even that smart, but it’s amazing that we can do all of these great things with them. Who knows what they’ll be able to do in another 10 years?

  • Shining the Spotlight

    How many of you have used Spotlight (that little magnifying glass up in the right hand corner of your screen) to find files? You can use Spotlight to search for things like applications, documents, images, mail, or other files. If you are using Yosemite (and you all should be!) you have additional results from Wikipedia, news sites, Maps, movie listings, and more.

    You can also use it to make simple conversions. Type in 45 pounds, for example, and you get the result: 20.41 kilograms, 720 ounces or 0.02 long tons. To open Spotlight, click on the magnifying glass icon or use the keyboard command of command-space. Spotlight will pop open right in front of you. To search for anything, just type words related to it like a file name, a person’s name, etc.

    Spotlight also includes a dictionary, currency conversions, and other quick calculations like the unit conversions I mentioned. You can limit where Spotlight searches in the Spotlight System Preferences. There you can turn on or off results such as PDF documents, Bing Web Searches, Spreadsheets, etc. In the Privacy tab of this System Preference, you can also prevent Spotlight from searched in specific locations, i.e. folders or disks. One thing that I have found handy is that unless I want to search all my thousands of emails is to turn off mail in Spotlight so it doesn’t clutter up the results with every email that has your search term in it.

    How do you use Spotlight? “*Drop me an email*”:mailto:don@smalldog.com and I’ll include some of the suggestions in a future Kibbles!

    !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4378.jpg!

  • Say Hello to Emily

    We are fortunate to have a bunch of “veteran” Small Dog Employees who have been with the company for some time. This week I want to call out Emily Dolloff (pictured on the right). Art, Rob, and Tony have been here longer but Emily is quietly the heart of Small Dog, pumping up the team to give their best every day. A lifelong Vermonter, Emily first came to Small Dog as a shipper. She would lug heavy Apple eMacs up and down the warehouse stairs, sometimes carrying them to the store to deliver to a customer. She was a great shipper but we recognized that perhaps she had some other talents. We brought her up the the office to handle telephone sales back when the company’s sales were primarily on the internet. Again, Emily excelled and soon had customers requesting her to handle their orders because they knew she would do it right.

    Emily became the Waitsfield store manager and then took what she and I call her sabbatical. Basically, she quit and went to work for someone else for a couple years. She must have missed us though because we were fortunate enough to bring her back on board. She is now managing our retail, service and marketing efforts and has a bunch of other responsibilities, too. We never have come up with an appropriate title for Emily but she is definitely my partner and someone I can count on for brutal honesty, responsibility, focus, and hard work.

    Every company needs people that think and fret about the details and the everyday issues of running a company. Emily and I spend a lot of time on the phone or texting about little details and emerging issues. She does it without drama and always with a professional approach. When I needed someone to take the reins of our weekly radio show (Thursdays at 1PM on WDEV) it was obvious that Emily was the one. She is now a radio personality with people stopping her in the grocery store to tell her they listened to “*Small Dog Speaks.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/sdspeaks I can’t wait to join her on the show again when I get back to Vermont.

    Emily does all this and has a family too! Olivia and Anna look and act like their mom although Olivia seems to be Emily’s husband Luke’s shadow. Oh yeah, she has some horses, too, and drives a big truck! It is simply amazing that she works as hard as she does at Small Dog and still knows to have that important separation of work and family that is essential. So hats off to Emily! I am sure many of you have talked to Emily over the years and if you are on the Small Dog team, you probably talk to her daily!

  • _Dear Friends,_

    I still see snow in Vermont on my webcam but folks up there are thinking camping and gardens as the buds turn to leaves and the grass starts to green. This week some people will be getting their Apple Watch if they were up at 3 AM on the East Coast to place an early order. We should start to get feedback soon from some folks that are not the press or celebrities. It will be interesting to watch the blogs for the raw feedback.

    The new MacBook is out and I am impressed! It is so small and packs a lot of power for such a tiny Mac. With a 9-hour battery life and the Force Touch trackpad, this new MacBook is truly innovative. One thing that I particularly like is that it is fan-less. Apple has designed the MacBook to operate all day without overheating and is whisper quiet. Even the new keyboard minimizes the clicking sound of the keyboard. I know that the single USB-C port will be something to get used to, but I know that there are lots of USB-C adapters on the way. As I look at my setup and envision a MacBook, I would need an adapter that would give me a standard USB port, a Mini DisplayPort and, of course, power.

    While Apple certainly has a ways to go to reduce their carbon footprint, Apple is leading in terms of taking action to mitigate their impact upon climate change. While some down here in Florida want to ban the term climate change, Apple embraces the proven science and says: “We don’t want to debate climate change. We want to stop it.” To that end, in a recent report it was noted that 100% of Apple’s US operations, including their huge data centers, operate on renewable energy and 87% of their global operations also run on renewables. To learn more about Apple’s commitment to the environment surf over to their “*Environmental Responsibility page.*”:http://www.apple.com/environment/

    This week’s Kibbles & Bytes special is our 20th Anniversary Mac mini bundle. This $779 bundle gives you a powerful Mac at a very affordable price. We start with the Mac mini with a 1.4 GHz i5 Intel Dual Core processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. We add AppleCare to the bundle to give you three years of Apple warranty and technical support. We add a Viewsonic VX2252mh LED 22-inch display with HDMI cable and a Kensington SureTrack wireless mouse. To top it all off, we add the very versatile Kanex Wireless Bluetooh Multi-Sync keyboard. All of this is yours for only $779!

    “*See this fantastic bundle here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001805/anniversary-special-save-100-mac-mini-bundle

  • Phishing, Hacking, and Other Online Nastiness

    It’s Saturday afternoon. You’re sitting in the big easy chair with a nice cold glass of lemonade watching the Red Sox pound the Yankees into submission. Suddenly the door bell rings and when you answer, there is a fellow there who claims he’s from Ford and he needs you keys to your car so he can take it back to the Service Department for some mandatory upgrades. You don’t know this man from Adam.

    Do you:

    *A.* Hand over your keys and continue to watch A-Rod drop ground balls?

    *B.* Ask for his ID and when he hands you his fake one, hand him your keys?

    *C.* Tell him to go take a long walk on a short pier, and drive yourself down to Ford on Monday?

    The answer is C of course. You wouldn’t give anyone the keys to your only means of transportation without having some sort of proof of who he says he is. Similarly you shouldn’t give out personal or financial information to anyone online without some kind of indication that it is safe to do so. I touched on online safety a few articles back, but thought it important enough to revisit due to some “fake alerts” some of my customers have experienced recently.

    There are a lot of scammers out there, so its always a good idea to “look before you leap.” Before going to ANY website, you of course want to make certain the website is safe to visit. If your firewall or anti-virus software gives you any kind of warning before visiting a website, its probably a good idea to think twice and even three times before continuing on to the site. Your anti-virus software has lists of websites that have been reported as “attack sites” which can potentially damage your computer. Its always safe to stay away from these sites.

    You may come across a site and get a warning that flashes across your screen that says something along the lines of “WARNING, WARNING – You’re computer may be infected!!! Please call this number RIGHT AWAY to remove viruses from your device.” If you call the number and give them access to your computer you may end up with more trouble that with what you started with. DO NOT CALL these people. Just like the Ford guy you don’t know these people from a hole in the wall.

    Once again, be safe on social media. Make certain your privacy settings are set as high as possible. Do not accept friend requests from people you don’t know. Do not accept app or game invites if you don’t know who they are coming from or what the game is all about. Remember that once you post on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr it is there forever. Forget about the NSA looking at your Snapchat messages. They really don’t care about how many Instagram followers you have. What you should be worrying about is who is trying to get into your information by utilizing social media.

    A good rule of thumb for posting on social media: Don’t post it if you wouldn’t want your boss or worse yet, your mom, reading what you posted. Because they can, and do (Hi, Mom!), and will. Don’t put your vacation plans on Facebook or any of the social media sites. You never know who is poking around looking to see whose house is going to be empty during spring break. Post your pictures from Cancun AFTER you get back.

    As always, DO NOT give out your PIN, passwords, routing number or checking/savings/credit card information to just anyone. Nobody at Apple, your bank, or credit card company can see your password or PIN. Your bank already knows what your routing and account numbers are.

    You also may receive an email with an official looking logo from your bank or other financial institution asking you to verify your Social Security number, your PIN, or other sensitive information. This is known as “phishing.” Unlike the great band Phish from right here in Vermont, these “phishers” will not give you music. Remember your financial institution ALREADY knows this information.

    Go on the Chase, Wells Fargo or Bank of America websites, “right-click” (AKA control-click) on any one of their logos and witness just how easy it would be for anyone to insert their logos into an email. Remember this when you get an e-mail that purports to be from your bank.

    Ask questions, verify and take a moment before you give any of this information away, it could save you a world of trouble down the road.

    Woof, woof (Be careful out there!)

  • Q&A: Then and Now

    Let us take a look back at the world of Apple since Small Dog’s inception…

    In 1995 Michael Spindler was CEO of Apple and Steve Jobs was nursing his dying company named NeXT (The NeXT OS eventually was purchased by Apple and used as the basis of OS X). The Apple brand was becoming thinned by a myriad of models and devices, thus losing its central focus on a basic product offering. Apple was about to start licensing “Mac clones,” third-party machines running the Macintosh software, in an attempt to bolster income and spread the Apple brand further (Jobs ended these contracts when he returned).

    Regardless of the turmoil at Apple in the mid-90s, there were still loving Mac users who relied on their machines day-to-day for their most important work. There had already been many generations of Apple computers, peripherals, and software. This meant there were questions asked to service departments, and service departments to answer and assist Mac users. Usually these service departments were also Apple resellers (there were no “Apple Stores” until May 19th, 2001, when the first opened in Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Virginia).

    For your enjoyment, I’ve put together some tech questions we answer regularly now, and tried to compile some questions that would have been relevant in 1995, when Small Dog started selling Apple computers, and providing customer support wherever we could.

    *Tech questions we answer now:*

    Yosemite failed to install, and now my computer won’t boot. How do I fix it?

    Answer: Many Yosemite installs require the hard disk to be erased and a fresh install attempted. As always, make sure you have a backup before attempting any OS upgrade!

    What keyboards and mice can I use with my Mac?

    Answer: Any USB keyboard or mouse will work with your Apple computer.

    How much RAM will my Late-2013 Mac Pro take?

    Answer: While Apple officially states 64GB, this model has been found to function normally with 128GB of RAM.

    Can my MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010) run Yosemite?

    Answer: Yes, but we caution that it should have at least 8GB of RAM and a solid-state drive for the best user experience.

    I upgraded my MacBook Pro from 10.6.8 to 10.10.2, and now MS Office won’t launch. What happened?

    Answer: 10.6.8 is the last instance of Mac OS that supported Rosetta, a tool that allows software originally made to run on PowerPC processors to function. After 10.7 and above, any software running on Mac OS must have been programmed to run on the Intel CPU architecture. You likely have Office 2004 (or earlier) which was written for PowerPC.

    *Tech questions that could have been asked in 1995:*

    How much RAM will my Performa 275 take?

    Answer: 36MB

    What’s the maximum OS my PowerBook 165c will take?

    Answer: Mac OS 7.5.1 (the answer would be 7.6.1, but that didn’t come out until 1997).

    Can I use a DOS-formatted floppy disk in my Mac?

    Answer: Be careful. Not all DOS-formatted floppy disks are the same, and depending on the version of Mac OS you have, you could corrupt the disk just by inserting the disk and/or viewing it.

    Why did my startup screen change on my Mac?

    Answer: The System 7.5.1 update saw a new startup screen added to prepare for Macintosh clones.

    Can I use an Apple Adjustable Keyboard on my Macintosh Plus?

    Answer: The Macintosh Plus does not have an ADB connection, and is limited to the keyboard and mouse that shipped with the Macintosh Plus.

    *First Question from Us (Then and Now):*

    Did you try turning it off and back on?

  • _Hello readers!_

    This month sees the celebration of Small Dog Electronics’ 20th Anniversary! Taking a look back, the Apple landscape has changed significantly in many ways over the years, and not just linearly. Apple went from a niche product to a staple of the industry with devices reaching the hands of almost every first-world citizen. The first “Apple Stores” were Apple Specialists, like Small Dog Electronics. These independent stores were tasked with learning to work with and repair these products, without the years of experience and bountiful resources we have now.

    I took an opportunity this week to approach repairing my ailing car exhaust system, to which the winter, in its last death throes, delivered a finishing blow. It’s been a while since I’ve worked on something so large and basic rather than delicate electronics. As I lay under my Subaru in my Dickies jumpsuit and struggled to fit the hacksaw where I needed it, I felt the usual impatience and pressure for time, and a frustration that my desired solution had not been compatible with the problem.

    I continued trying to determine how to modify the existing pipe to fit my solution, with some frustration. At this point, I had a cognitive shift where I determined the best course would be working to modify my solution, not to modify the problem. I left the dark undercarriage where rust was falling into my eyes, and modified the pipe I was installing to better fit the existing system. This led to a relatively easy solution for me to carry out.

    Sometimes in repair (as well as life in general), making one or more shifts in thinking is the most important part of finding a solution. More often than not, it is easy to become so focused on the problem that it becomes difficult to step back and analyze the available options from a different perspective. I always recommend taking time to be careful and spend time reading up on service methods, analyzing potential solutions, and being certain before moving forward. Too many times we have seen expensive components unnecessarily damaged by well-intended attempts to repair unrelated parts.

    With that said, we always wish the best of luck in repair, whether in our shop or DIY. We’ve prepared some articles today to help you along, keep you safe online, and spark some interest in the past.

    Warm regards,
    -Mikhael
    “mikhael@smalldog.com”:mailto:mikhael@smalldog.com

  • I sort of promised that I wouldn’t talk about that weather down here but we had planted a “cocktail” citrus tree last fall. This tree was grafted to have oranges, tangerines, grapefruits and limes on it. The tangerines and limes didn’t set but we have some awesome navel oranges that we are eating before we head north and the grapefruit is getting bigger and bigger. Only a couple more weeks here and I can be sure mud season is over so Grace and I (with the three dogs, of course!) will start our trek back to home in Vermont.

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    Don, Dean, & Mike

  • Celebrating 20 Years

    We’re celebrating 20 years! Woohoo! We will be offering YOU some pretty big deals, including 20% off all Beats by Dr. Dre headphones and speakers, $20 off Otterbox cases, a Mac mini bundle that is hard to resist, and much more both in-store and online!

    Stop in during the month of April and wish us a very Happy Birthday! Check out all the specials at: “*smalldog.com/20years*”:http://www.smalldog.com/20years

    “*Mac mini bundle*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001805
    !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4361.jpg!
    If you have been looking for a mobile companion that is as mobile as you are (other than your iPhone) look no further. We just added the Seagate Wireless Mobile Storage 500GB to our inventory and couldn’t be more excited. This small but powerful device will allow you to bring along hundreds of movies and thousands of songs, photos, and files anywhere you go. You can wirelessly stream them to your tablet or smartphone without wires or web anytime, and with 6 hours of battery life you’ll never be left bored or without the ability to store the next precious moment captured on camera.

    “*View all specials for the month of April here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/20years

  • Apps for the Outdoors

    I moved up to Vermont from my hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania about a year and a half ago. It was one of the biggest and best decisions that I have ever made. I originally came for the winter and had not intended to stay for the summer, but as the lakes thawed and the vibrant green leaves consumed the mountains I found that I just couldn’t leave. As that time of the year returns again, I am looking forward to why I fell in love with Vermont.

    Before joining the Small Dog team, I really did not utilize the full capabilities of my iPhone, many of which are demonstrated through the use of all of the amazing apps out there. I am looking forward to putting some recently discovered apps to the test and making the most of the outdoors this year. Here are 5 apps for the outdoors that I just can’t wait to use.

    As an avid hiker, I am excited about recently discovering the app “*AllTrails (free).*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/alltrails-hiking-mountain/id405075943?mt=8&at=11lb7k The AllTrails app has more than 50,000 trail guides for hiking, biking and more. Still being relatively new to the area, I find AllTrails’ ability to find trails near me and read reviews on those trails especially helpful. Once I find the trail that I want to hike, I can actually take this app with me as it allows the user to save trail maps offline for on-the-trail use. GPS integration that tracks your path and the ability to share your own photos and reviews allows for a personalized experience.

    One of the first things that I noticed when moving to Vermont was the amazing night sky. I have never seen more stars in my entire life! An app that has recently come to my attention was the stargazing app “*Sky Guide ($1.99).*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sky-guide-view-stars-night/id576588894?mt=8&at=11lb7k This app allows the user to find stars, constellations, planets, satellites, and more by simply holding your iPhone to the sky. If you’re doing more than just browsing, Sky Guide allows you to search thousands of celestial sights and be guided exactly where to see them simply by following an arrow. With the ability to function without WiFi, data, or GPS signal, Sky Guide can go with you wherever you may roam.

    One of the first signs of spring is not only the return of the warmer temperatures, but also the return of migratory birds. This spring, I am looking forward to being out on the trail and easily identifying them using my “*Audubon Birds Pro ($9.99) app.*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/audubon-birds-pro/id333227386?mt=8 This app not only allows you to identify them but also gives you an in-depth description including information on appearance, habitat, behavior and more.

    You can never be too prepared. With the “*SAS Survival Guide app ($5.99),*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sas-survival-guide/id357811968?mt=8&at=11lb7k I can feel more comfortable taking those overnight camping trips. Based on the training techniques of Britain’s toughest fighting force, the SAS Survival Guide App gives you an in-depth knowledge about the most extreme survival situations in any climate. With the ability to browse through photo galleries and videos based on subjects such as animal tracks, knots and medicinal and poisonous plants this survival guide has you covered in most any life-or-death situation you might find yourself in.

    After first moving to Vermont, I was astonished by all of the mountains that surrounded me. What I found even more amazing was the fact that they all had a name. Though I enjoy finding out their names from Vermonters themselves, I find it much more accurate and effective with the use of my newly discovered app, “*PeakFinder ($3.99).*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/peakfinder-earth/id357421934?mt=8&at=11lb7k PeakFinder does exactly what it sounds like: it identifies peaks as you hold your iPhone up to them. The great thing about this app is its vast library of peaks (more than 250,000) and the ability to select non-prominent ones using its digital binoculars feature.

    I hope this list helps you enjoy the outdoors to the fullest this year!

  • It's Earth Day Every Day at Small Dog

    We measure our success by the triple bottom line of People, Planet and Profit and one of the most significant initiatives that was part of our commitment to Planet was our eWaste recycling program. As part of our series on the history of Small Dog Electronics, I want to give you the story of how that started and evolved. We were not always so conscious of the dangers of electronic waste. In fact, we purchased truckloads of discontinued electronics and accessories and would sort through them to find the products we could sell and those that were obsolete, damaged or otherwise waste. Back then we would simply take those products and put them into the dumpster. We were working with our friends at Marketing Partners in Burlington and the question was asked: “Do you know the dangers of this electronic waste?”

    We quickly educated ourselves and found problems. Lead, mercury, and other dangerous materials were in these products that were ending up at the dump and properly recycling these products involved vetting recyclers to ensure these products were not simply shipped off to another country where more dangers were apparent. We learned of the e-Stewards pledge for electronic waste recycling and determined to offer our customers a way to make sure their obsolete products were properly recycled. In the beginning, we offered this service for a small per pound fee and had scales at each location to weight the goods.

    On Earth Day almost a decade ago, we decided to offer free e-Waste recycling at a 4-hour event at our South Burlington store. We felt that we might get 5 tons of material and carefully budgeted the $5000 for this event. When I arrived an hour early for the 9am start of the event, cars were lined up around the block and down the street. We quickly outstripped our carefully organized plans to load the material into trucks and soon had a gigantic mountain of e-Waste in the parking lot. Instead of the 5 tons that we anticipated we got over *50 tons!!!* Instead of $5000 it cost us $25,000 but it was an incredibly uplifting event for us, for our customers, and for the planet. Over the next several years we held similar events, each one growing larger until our final event (held down the road at the high school) netted us over 150 tons and we had cars backed up all the way onto Interstate 89.

    We do not do events now, but still offer free recycling at our stores. We had worked with Vermont’s legislature and Vermont passed one of the most comprehensive e-Waste bills in the nation. This made e-Waste recycling free and easy for all Vermonters. Our successful e-Waste initiative also caught the eye of Apple and other independent Apple resellers and our later events were fully supported by Apple and we feel we made at least a small contribution to addressing this very serious problem!

    We have continued our commitment to protecting the planet with conversion to LED lighting in our offices and warehouse and the construction of a solar array at our Waitsfield headquarters that provides 100% of the electricity needs of the South Burlington store and about 80% of the Waitsfield load.

    Happy Earth Day!

  • iPhoto vs. Photos: What's New?

    Photos for OS X is now available as part of the OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 update. Photos is intended to replace both iPhoto and Aperture. It does the former well but falls a bit short as the replacement for Aperture. Photos for OS X attempts to address three important photo library needs. It is used to organize your photos so you can find that one photo you want to show easily and it contains tools to edit photos to make corrections to their appearance. Of course, it also allows you to share photos, make photo albums, slideshows, and prints. Photos also integrates with the Photos app on all your devices with the goal of connecting your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Apple Watch all to the same photo library.

    Photos for OS X now mostly follows the organizational pattern of the Photos app on your iOS devices. The app opens with your photos grouped into Moments and Collections. Moments organizes the photos by age and location whereas Collections is at a bit higher level. Let’s say you took a trip to China. Collections might be all of the photos from that trip while Moments would be photos from your time on Yellow Mountain.

    The editing tools in Photos are not as good as Aperture but far better than iPhoto. You can take a marginal shot and improve it by adjusting exposure, cropping, straightening, etc. You have some detailed adjustments you can make such as sharpen, noise reduction, white balance, and levels as well as the standard brightness and contrast.

    Perhaps the biggest change is iCloud Photo Library. You can have your entire Photo library stored in iCloud for effective syncing and access from any of your devices. One word of warning, however: if you have a big Photo library you may reach the limit of your free 5GB of iCloud storage but Apple is happy to provide you more for a few dollars a month. If you do not need or want all of your Photos on all your devices you can toggle iCloud Photo Library off.

    Performance-wise, I find Photos to be considerably faster than iPhoto and the interface seems more intuitive.

    “*See more details here.*”:https://www.apple.com/osx/photos/