Kibbles & Bytes Blog

Apple news, tech tips, and more…

KB Dog

  • Tech Talk 101 Series: Cyber Security – Keeping Yourself Safe Online

    Join us *Wednesday, April 22nd from 7 to 8pm for “Cyber Security – Keeping Yourself Safe Online”* the next installment in our *_free_* Tech Talk 101 Series. Held in our South Burlington, VT store, these easy-to-follow courses will cover a variety of topics and are designed to help you make the most of your Mac and other devices!

    Michael Duplessis (Macintosh Consultant, Apple Certified Support Professional, and Apple Certified Technical Coordinator) will present an overview of how to protect your devices, your identity, and in general keep yourself safe online with ample time for questions at the end.

  • Tech Talk in South Burlington

  • 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/4362.png!
    Been struggling to keep your phone charged? Always running out of cables because your friend “borrowed” it again, and maybe there just aren’t enough charging ports? Well Hammerhead’s Charging Bundle is just what you need. This bundle includes a 2-Port USB Auto Car Charger for the long road trip ahead, a 4-Port USB Wall Charger, when the whole family gets stuck in the same hotel room, as well as a USB-to-Lightning 1 Meter Braided Cable to set your cable apart from the rest so next time your friend “borrows” it you’ll be able to reclaim it again.

    “*Outdoor Tech Wireless Privates*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001802
    !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

  • The Current State of Solid State Drives

    Apple has really cranked up the speed on their current line of MacBook Pro in recent years, thanks to PCIe solid state hard drives. Most computer companies install traditional mechanical drives, while some other companies install SATA solid state drives, but Apple has taken storage to another level. SATA SSDs top out around 550MB/s, while PCIe solid states allow for a whopping 1,250MB/s!

    There is also a significant physical size difference between both. The new PCIe SSDs are a lot smaller than their SATA-based counterparts which means faster, thiner laptops. Now drive manufacturers are discussing storage capacities on these drives going up to 10 Terabytes thanks to 3D NAND technology currently in the works from Intel.

  • How to Keep Your Computer Happy and Healthy

    Spring is in the air (we hope) and as thoughts turn to Easter Eggs, the Red Sox, and April showers, let us help you with a little “spring cleaning” of your Mac…

    “My computer is running slow!!” How many times have you uttered that in front of your device? Nobody likes to see the “pinwheel of death” spinning on your desktop, making you wonder if it is ever going to stop. Before you bring your computer in for service here are some simple tips you can do at home to keep your computer at optimal performance.

    *Make sure you give it a good night’s rest.*

    The “brain” in your computer (whether it be an iPhone, iPad, or Mac) gets tired just like you do. It is always a good idea to shut down your computer before you go to sleep. This allows systems to reset, memory to re-organize, trash and temporary files to be completely removed. It is always a good idea to completely power down other electronic devices in your house including your television, VHS/DVD/Blu-Ray player, and stereo. You would not leave your car running all night? The same applies to other electronic devices in your household.

    *Keep your Operating System up to date.*

    Software updates are critical for the smooth and steady performance of your computer. Do NOT ignore them, despite what your Facebook friends tell you. A software update bug is far easier to fix than a computer running old and out dated software.

    *Location, location, location.*

    Use and store your computer in a clean, well lit, well ventilated room. Do not use it, your iPhone or your iPad in the bathroom. The mist from your steamy hot shower in the morning can potentially damage your device. Keep food and drinks as far away as possible. A liquid spill immediately voids any warranty. Don’t use Wite-Out on your screen either…;)

    We love our pets, yet pet hair can get into the cooling fans and really muck up the works so to speak. (woof, meow, moo???) Cigarette smoke is not only bad for your lungs but bad for your Mac as well. Smoke of any kind whether it be from a candle, incense burner, cigar, or “other” (wink, wink) can get into every crack and crevice in your device. Even the surface you rest your device on can potentially be troublesome. Stone, marble and the like conduct heat better than you would think.

    *Empty the trash and delete the cache.*

    Or was it the other way around? Either way, it’s always a good idea to remove unwanted and unnecessary files and folders. You would be amazed at how much disk space this junk takes up.

    Empty your browser. Your browser stores information about websites you go to so they load faster the next time you visit. Over time these files build and do nothing but take up space. Get rid of ’em! In Safari: *Safari > Reset Safari*. You will have the option to NOT delete certain items such as saved passwords and auto-fill forms.

    Click on *Finder* and select *Applications*. Scroll through the list and if you have not used it in some time, it may be time to do some spring cleaning of your programs. Click, hold and drag to the trash can. You can always download Skype again if needed.

    Open iPhoto and empty the trash there as well. At this point, empty the trash can then restart your computer.

    After your computer restarts, take a peek at your Login Items. They are the programs that start when you boot up your computer. Go to your *System Preferences*, select *Users and Groups* Click on the *Login Items* tab and uncheck programs that you do not need immediately upon start up. Remember they can always be started at a later time.

    *External Storage.*

    If you have a lot of media on your hard drive such as movies or songs, you may want to consider an external drive. Movie files can be especially large. A full length high-def movie can be as large as 3 GB! Move them from your hard drive to an external drive. This not only frees up space on your drive, but saves it from searching through movie and music files to get to last weekends baby shower photos. Make sure that you are backing these files up, though, as Time Machine does not back up external drives by default but can be configured to do so.

    A stitch in time saves nine, that’s what my mother always told me. These “stitches” we’ve given you can not only save you from costly repair down the road, but also ease the wear and tear on you, your computer, and us lowly techs here at Small Dog!

    Woof, woof! (Happy Spring!)

  • What To Do With A Vintage Computer?

    While I would never recommend hacking apart an Apple computer that still has functional value to it, some older machines, or MUCH older machines, have aesthetic value.

    The Mac SE, for example, is a wonderful platform with an iconic appearance, that offers the facade of a classic Mac. With some internal mounting and hardware work, it could be updated with a LCD panel or (rare to find and CRT displays, even the original, can be very dangerous to work with) color CRT display. Internals that could be used range from an intel Micro-ATX motherboard with a new PSU and SSD, or a Raspberry Pi, or even the borrowed internals of a MacBook Pro or Mac mini (probably the easiest unit to use for this concept technical-skill-wise). Just a forewarning, the rear will have to have some cutting and fabrication work done for ports to look nice and be functional.

    One favorite of the PC enclosure hacking community is the chassis of the Blue & White G3, and the G4 towers. This wonderful design allows the mounting of a PC main board with PCI slots on the inside of the enclosure’s door, and has standard mounting locations for hard disks, a power supply, and two 5.25″ optical bays. I would suggest these units offer the easiest hardware hack allowing an up-to-date computer in a Mac enclosure.

    A final idea: A few days ago I sold an original GameBoy of mine to a young man on Craigslist who is going to be installing a Raspberry Pi and an LCD in its enclosure, to create his own portable game system.

    Projects like these for technically minded people can be very fulfilling and fairly straightforward (with good research) and offer a unique and incredibly personal piece of computer hardware to own and use for years to come. It also offers the opportunity to recycle old components rather than buying off the shelf.

  • _Greetings Friends,_

    I hope you all had a pleasant weekend with friends and family.

    As usual, April Fools’ Day gave us some wonderful little gags on the internet. One that was particularly tech-related was iFixIt’s teardown of the Apple Watch “*See that here.*”:https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Apple+Watch+Teardown/38659

    This weekend was full of planning some technical projects of my own, one of which is hinted at below. When doing so many replacements of standard parts, it can be quite enjoyable to use these skills to build something more unique once in a while.

    Below are some articles to whet your appetite for tinkering and maintaining!

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

  • I want to thank all of you for allowing us to serve you for the past couple of decades. We know very clearly that it is you, our loyal customers, that have made this possible. We vow to continue to make customers for life and provide you with the very best in Apple products and accessories. Our old slogan may again seem appropriate: High Technology, for Low Prices! But we do pledge to live up to our current slogan which clearly captures our commitment to you: Always by your Side!

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    _Don, Rachel, 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/4362.png!
    Been struggling to keep your phone charged? Always running out of cables because your friend “borrowed” it again, and maybe there just aren’t enough charging ports? Well Hammerhead’s Charging Bundle is just what you need. This bundle includes a 2-Port USB Auto Car Charger for the long road trip ahead, a 4-Port USB Wall Charger, when the whole family gets stuck in the same hotel room, as well as a USB-to-Lightning 1 Meter Braided Cable to set your cable apart from the rest so next time your friend “borrows” it you’ll be able to reclaim it again.

    “*Outdoor Tech Wireless Privates*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001802
    !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

  • 1995 Time Capsule

    During one of our meetings last week, Rachel and Dean informed me that the month of April was going to be spent celebrating 20 years of Small Dog Electronics. Rachel suggested I write something about it in Kibbles and Bytes. I asked if I could write about what little ol’ me was doing back in 1995, but she seemed to think it would be more relevant to write about something technology related. Fair enough. I was only 7 in 1995. Generally speaking, 7 year olds don’t do too many interesting things. In 1995, my biggest concerns were probably whether or not I’d be able to use the swings at recess.

    Okay, well if I wasn’t doing anything noteworthy in 1995, was anything else interesting happening? Actually, quite a bit happened that year. I’m really into cars and 1995 holds a special meaning in the car world. If you look back, you might notice that almost all manufacturers refreshed their offerings in 1996 and pushed through lots of model redesigns. This is because 1995 was the last year before the OBD II (On-Board Diagnostic) protocol was mandated in all new cars produced or sold in the U.S. Before OBD II, cars relied on primitive and widely varying computer control and diagnostics. Sometimes this was referred to as OBD I, but it wasn’t really standardized across the board, and many manufacturers had their own methods for reading the computer information. Nowadays with OBD II you can take any car to just about any garage and they can plug in a simple device to read the diagnostic information from the onboard computer system.

    Sammy Hagar was probably pretty happy in 1995. Bill Clinton signed the National Highway Designation Act which officially ended the federal 55 mph speed limit.

    One thing I definitely remember from 1995 was the release of Toy Story. At the time, it was the very first fully computer animated film. Aside from just being a really fun movie, I remember it was also so different. I’d never really seen anything animated like that before.

    Another technological achievement from that year was the DVD format was announced. Considering the complete present day collapse of the video store in favor of streaming media, I think this may mean I’ve lived through the birth and death of an entire media format.

    One thing from 1995 that even I didn’t know about was the official end of the NSFNET (National Science Foundation Network). This action basically changed the major backbone of the Internet from a government-funded and overseen education and research network to a completely privatized system.

    A random smattering of other interesting things that happened in 1995 includes things like:

    * Mississippi ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment thereby becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery.
    * Windows 95 is released.
    * The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City is bombed by Timothy McVeigh.
    * eBay is founded.
    * O.J. Simpson is found not guilty of the double murder of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
    * NASA lost contact with Pioneer 11.

    Oh…and of course, Small Dog Electronics was formed in 1995!

  • The Importance Of Backing Up Your Information

    Whenever we here at Small Dog accept a device in for repair, one of the first questions we ask our customers is how their personal information is backed up. It is critical for us technicians to know this as there is alway the chance your data may be compromised in some way, which is possibly how your computer got to our Service Department in the first place.

    Data recovery can be costly, time consuming, and it is not a perfect science. There is always a chance your data can either be unrecoverable or ultimately lost forever. If a photo is worth a thousand words, there aren’t many words that can be said (in mixed company) when your memories are lost. Fortunately, there are a multitude of ways you can save your pictures of first steps, precious wedding songs, or important documents.

    *External Drives*

    An external drive gives you multiple ways and multiple options to back up your memories. A “Flash Drive” (sometimes known as a “Zip Drive” or “Thumb Drive”) is a portable and inexpensive way to store duplicates of your important files. Flash Drives come with a standard USB connection so you may transfer your files between multiple computers at multiple locations. A Flash Drive is as portable as you are.

    An external drive can be wired or wirelessly connected to your Mac. It can be an optical drive where you can burn data to a CD or DVD, a traditional hard drive with a spinning internal disc, or a newer solid state drive with no moving parts to safely store your data.

    “*Click here for many more alternatives to saving and backing up your important data.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Storage_and_Backup

    *iTunes Match*

    If music makes the world go around, iTunes will keep your songs spinning like a record baby, right round baby…round round. It is built in to every Mac and is also available as a download for (gasp!) a PC! All your music is in one place, easy to organize and with iTunes Match you can even store songs you’ve imported from your own CDs, thus backing them up.

    “*Click here for more information on iTunes Match*”:https://www.apple.com/itunes/itunes-match/

    *iCloud*

    You will not need an umbrella for this feature! The iCloud safely and securely saves your most important things like documents, notes, and contacts. It helps you easily share photos, locations, and calendars. It will even help you find your device if you lose it. iCloud Drive lets you store presentations, PDFs, images, and other documents. You can also back up photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch automatically as long as your device is plugged in a connected to Wi-Fi. You can even restore your iOS device from the cloud or set up a new one. Did you lose your iPhone? Find My iPhone can help find a lost iPhone, iPad or Macbook Air. If you cannot get to it in time, Find My Phone can make it impossible for anyone to get ahold of your information.

    “*Click here for more information on iCloud.*”:https://www.apple.com/icloud/

    *Time Machine*

    No, it doesn’t come in blue nor do you need 1.21 gigawatts of power to use yet another way to back up and store your important documents. Time Machine is a program built in to every Mac backs up ALL your data including system files, apps, photos, and documents. Your data is backed up to an external drive or to a Time Capsule.

    “*Click here for more information on Time Machine.*”:http://support.apple.com/kb/PH18835

    *Time Capsule*

    This does not come in blue either. The Time Capsule is a Wi-Fi base station and a backup device all in one. The Time Capsule provides not only super fast Wi-Fi when connected to your modem, but it also backs up your Mac exactly like the Time Machine does without the need for another external hard drive. The Time Capsule has up to 3 Terabytes of storage available so you can back up multiple Macs. “*Shop here*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Apple/Time_Capsule

    “*Click here for more information on Time Capsule.*”:http://www.apple.com/airport-time-capsule/

    If a “stitch in time saves nine,” a timely back up will save you not only your important data and memories but also time, money, hassles and headaches.

  • _Dear Friends,_

    Hey we are 20! This month we kick off the celebration of Small Dog Electronics’ 20 years in business. When I first started the company up at my home on Prickly Mountain I had no idea of the amazing adventure that Small Dog Electronics would become. I went to public auctions and bought Macs by maxing out my credit cards and took them home to sell on online services, such as AOL, and to my friends and neighbors. Some of you probably bought your first Mac up there in Warren. In the early days, every time I came back with a load of Macs I would fax out a list to folks with my current inventory. Soon, however, we decided that email was the better way to go and in October of 1996 we launched Kibbles & Bytes.

    We launched our website (originally www.smalldoggy.com) a few months later and eventually traded a broken PowerBook Duo and some other gear to gain the “*www.smalldog.com*”:http://www.smalldog.com URL. You might say that we were one of the first bloggers because I would come in early every morning and post my thoughts or a special value on the web site. This section eventually evolved and became “*Barkings*”:http://blog.smalldog.com, our blog.

    We got our start selling Apple refurbished and discontinued products, later became authorized to sell new Macs, expanded into offering Mac clones, and then launched our “clicks to bricks” strategy as customer demand led us to open retail stores. We are pleased to be, once again, offering a great selection of Apple Certified Refurbished products that are a direct line to our roots!

    !>http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4358.png!
    Many people have asked me where the name Small Dog Electronics came from. It was well before the company started that a former employee, Wendy Cohen, jokingly suggested that name as we were searching for a name for a different company. I immediately pooh-poohed the idea and forgot about it. That is until one summer day when I was sitting on the hill in my yard and watching my small dogs play and realized that it might not be a bad name. I really didn’t want to name my company Mac-this, Data-that and after all, Apple doesn’t really relate to the products they sell, so it seemed a natural. It was also a reminder to keep that small company feel, no matter how big we got. We knew that we wanted to measure our success by the triple bottom line of People, Planet, and Profit so Small Dog Electronics became our moniker.

    As I shipped out Macs from Prickly Mountain with the help of our UPS drivers who came rain, snow, mud, or shine, I wanted to give a gift with each Mac. I ran across “*Archie McPhee*”:http://mcphee.com/shop/ and bought some small plastic dogs and rubber brains. Each order got a couple plastic dogs and the bigger orders got a rubber brain. That was until I got a call from a customer that had put their rubber brain on their monitor and it melted all over it. So brains were out but to this day we send small dogs with every order!

    This week’s Kibbles & Bytes special is a home-and-away MacBook Air bundle. I use a MacBook Air as my main computer but at my office I have a full size ergonomic keyboard, mouse, and large display to convert it to a desktop Mac. This bundle is sort of in memory of the “*PowerBook Duo*”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerBook_Duo which was Apple’s first stab at the versatile laptop that could be used on your lap or at your desk with the Duodock. This bundle includes the Apple Certified Refurbished MacBook Air 13-inch 1.3GHz i5 processor with 4GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD storage. It comes with a 1-year Apple factory warranty. We are bundling it with and Apple Magic Mouse, Apple Bluetooth wireless keyboard and a 27-inch Samsung display. We are also including AppleCare which will extend your 1-year warranty to 3 years and also extend your 90 days of free technical support to 3 years. With this bundle you have the best of both worlds: a lightweight, yet powerful laptop and a desktop setup for those huge spreadsheets, too. This is normally $1599 but exclusively this week only for Kibbles & Bytes readers you can get this bundle for only $1449!

    “*Check it out here!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001814