Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • Hey, back when I was 20 and Neil Armstrong was landing on the moon, I could not even imagine being in the same job for 20 years. But as we launch Small Dog Electronics’ 20th Anniversary I could not be prouder of all the Small Dog team for making it happen over the years and to our awesome loyal customers, some of whom bought their first Mac up on Prickly Mountain in my living room, our friends at Apple for their support, and all of our vendors over the years. It has been an awesome ride!

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    _Don, Rachel, Dean & Mike_

  • MARCH MAYHEM

    *St. Patrick’s Day*
    *Lots of basketball*
    *SPRING* ….*finally!*

    The second half of our March Mayhem is coming to an end. But before time runs out we are highlighting a few items that are perfect to ring in the new season, a favorite here in VT: Mud Season. The sale ends Tuesday, so be sure to check out all the specials at: “*smalldog.com/marchmayhem*”:http://www.smalldog.com/marchmayhem/march-mayhem-2015

    *Trade-In and Trade-Up*
    !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4336.png!
    This rechargeable case provides you with twice the battery life of your iPhone 5S/5 for twice the adventure this spring. The Space Pack is the worlds first battery case with built-in storage which allows you to carry up to 8,000 more photos, 7 hours of video, or 4000 more songs with you…wherever the adventure takes you.

    “*Guide 10 Solar Recharging Kit with Nomad 7*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001785/march-mayhem-save-20-on-guide-10-solar-recharging-kit-with-nomad-7
    !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4337.jpg!
    Sure spring cleaning is just around the corner, but do you find yourself losing valuable items like your car keys, handbag, and camera on a regular basis? With the App Proximo and these two accessories you’ll be able to track your valuables. Proximo will alert you with a customizable alarm the moment you move a pre-set distance away to let you know you’ve left something valuable behind.

    “*View all the specials here*”:http://www.smalldog.com/marchmayhem/march-mayhem-2015

  • LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt & USB 3.0 Mobile Review

    A most sensible and useful gift idea for any occasion is the LaCie 1TB Rugged v2 Thunderbolt & USB 3.0 Hard Drive.

    With its robust and proven rubberized case design, this LaCie storage device has the larger capacity you need for backups, along with the excellent support of a trusted name brand in the computer industry. The Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 interfaces on this hard drive mean the access to your data is quick and uploads complete faster than you can say, “Bob’s your uncle!”. This hard drive is bus powered, so there is no external power supply required; one less cable cluttering your desk area, and one less AC outlet you will have to free up. With up to 385MB/s, this model is one of the fastest bus powered storage products on the market right now.

    Small Dog Electronics’ price is just $189.99. “*Shop here!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/85863/lacie-rugged-hard-disk-thunderbolt-usb-3-0-drive-1tb

  • What's the Deal with Spotify Premium?

    I have always been somewhat of an audiophile and have been a Spotify user for several years now. For those who are unfamiliar with Spotify, it is a commercial music streaming service allowing the user to browse or search music by artist, album, genre, mood, playlist, or record label. Besides the extensive library of music Spotify offers (over 15 million songs) and its clean interface, the thing that I love about Spotify is all of the great features it has. I am able to build playlists, read artist bio’s, browse tons of pre-made playlists, and see what other members are listening to. I have also been able to discover more music than ever through Spotify’s integration of Facebook, Twitter, and third-party apps.

    Spotify offers three tiers of membership: Free, Unlimited ($4.99 per month), and Premium ($9.99 per month), however Unlimited is no longer offered to new members. I have recently upgraded to Premium which understandably offers more capabilities than the free version. With Premium, I am able to do all of the aforementioned but without the annoying advertisements that the free version is riddled with. Premium also offers a higher sound quality and the ability to download music to listen to offline which was truly the selling point for me. With the ability to download and store music via the cloud, I am able to take my music with me wherever I go. As an avid snowboarder, I love the ability to take the playlists that I have created with me to the mountain and listen without worrying about using up my data.

    Another benefit of Spotify Premium is its relatively new Connect feature. This enables you to play music from Spotify’s catalog but through Wi-Fi-connected speakers, TVs, laptops and other devices as long as they are on the same wireless network. Additionally, you can use the Spotify app on your mobile device as a remote, allowing you to adjust volume and switch tracks from afar. Once again, Spotify Connect is only available with a Premium membership.

    To use Spotify, you will need to install a local client. PC (Windows 7, Vista, XP) and Mac versions are available. You can install Spotify by visiting “*www.spotify.com.*”:https://www.spotify.com/us/

    Happy listening!

  • Apple TV – Some Hints and Tips

    If you are like me you are using your “*Apple TV*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/80135/apple-tv-3rd-gen to access more and more content. You might also be a little annoyed at the not-particularly-intuititive interface. Well, there are a number of ways to enhance your experience and make your Apple TV a bit easier. As Apple adds more and more content, you might find some of these helpful.

    *Remote*

    You can control your Apple TV with your iPhone using “*Apple’s Remote App.*”:https://www.apple.com/apps/remote/ I find navigation a bit easier using this app but let’s go over some interesting things you can do with your remote.

    *Subtitles*

    Watching a video and want to access subtitles, closed captioning, or speaker settings? Hold down the *select* button (the round one in the middle) for about *3 seconds* and you will have that menu. This also works when listening to audio if you want to access stuff like Genius, Up Next, browse artist, etc.

    *Organize*

    With more and more content, your Apple TV home page is getting a bit crowded. Just like on your iPhone you can get the icons to jiggle and then you can move them around. Just hold the select button until the icon wiggles and then use the remote to move it up/down or side to side. Press select again and it stops wiggling. But there are some of those icons that you are probably never going to use and it would be nice to just get them out of the way. Easy to do! Select the icon you want to hide and *hold the select button* down for a couple of seconds, then press *Play/Pause* to hide. If you are going to hide a bunch of them it might be easier to go to *Settings* > *Main Menu* > *Toggle Show to Hide*.

    *Getting Home Faster*

    How many times have you had to hit the Menu button multiple times to get back to the Home screen Particularly annoying if you are waiting for stuff to load as you back up through the menus. Well there is an easier way. If you hold down the *Menu* button for a few seconds it will take you Home.

    *Use a Keyboard*

    Using the remote to enter letters can get tiring. If you have a Bluetooth keyboard you can pair it with your Apple TV. Make sure your keyboard is discoverable and then using your remote navigate to *Settings* > *General* > *Bluetooth*. You should see your keyboard listed then and you can select it. The Apple TV will give you a 4-digit pairing code which you can then enter on the keyboard.

    Got any tricks or tips you use with your Apple TV? Drop me an email and I’ll include them in a future issue of Kibbles & Bytes.

  • _Dear Friends,_

    March is winding down but there still is a bunch of snow up at my home on Prickly Mountain where Small Dog Electronics got its start 20 years ago. Next week, we kick off the celebration of our 20th year. I started the company literally in my garage on Prickly. I would go to public auctions around the country, max out my credit cards and have Macs delivered up there. I have to give a big shout-out to the intrepid UPS drivers who came up my steep road in ice, snow, and mud lugging boxes in and out. We could not have done this without them. I clearly recall them putting on chains to get up my road, sliding off and having to get Hap’s garage to tow them out, and walking up my treacherous driveway carrying boxes. There have been a lot of people that went out of their way to help Small Dog Electronics along the way but the guys and girls in brown were a huge part of our success.

    In addition to kicking off our 20th anniversary celebration, April brings us Apple’s 41st Anniversary, the launch of the Apple Watch, and the release of the new MacBook. It is going to be a busy month for sure! We do not have a Twentieth Anniversary Mac to release on our 20th but all month long we will have some special values as we celebrate the end of our 2nd decade.

    As many of you know, we got our start with Apple Refurbished Macs and we are pleased to once again have some limited availability of Apple Certified Refurbished Macs. You can buy a lot of refurbished or used Macs out there but only the Apple Certified Refurbished Macintosh has the Apple 1-year warranty, has undergone Apple’s stringent refurbishment process, and qualifies for AppleCare, too. It is a great way to save some money, have a Mac that is fully tested (including full burn-in testing), and still have the protection of Apple’s warranty and AppleCare.

    This week’s Kibbles & Bytes special features one of these Apple Refurbished Macs: the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. This unit has a 2.4GHz i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB Solid State drive. We are bundling it this week with AppleCare to extend your 1-year Apple warranty to 3 years and perhaps more importantly, extend the 90 days of free Apple technical support to 3 years as well. This bundle is normally $1179 (which is hundreds less than a comparable new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro) but for Kibbles & Bytes readers this week you can get this bundle of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display and AppleCare for only $1129.

    “*Check it out here!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001811

  • MARCH MAYHEM

    *St. Patrick’s Day*
    *Lots of basketball*
    *SPRING* ….*finally!*

    We are embracing the mayhem all month long with specials on monitors, speakers, fitness trackers, backup batteries, cases, headphones and much more! The second half is now underway so it is time to welcome spring with open arms, grab some wireless headphones and your backup drive, and head outdoors.

    *Trade-In and Trade-Up*
    !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4329.png!
    Set your fitness goals and track your progress. Use points to easily measure all your activities, such as walking, running, swimming, and cycling. This device tracks everything from steps to sleep, and will even keep a daily photo food journal. This small device is completely waterproof right out of the box. This is not something you have to carry on your wrist. You can simply clip it to an article of clothing, wear it as a necklace or even attach it to your sneaker during a run.

    “*Goal Zero Torch 250 Flashlight Backup Battery Solar Recharging*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001783/march-mayhem-save-20-on-goal-zero-torch-250-flashlight-backup-battery-solar-recharging
    !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4327.png!
    This fun colored speaker comes in a small package but produces a BIG sound! Great companion for a day outside in the sun. Bring it with you while you plant your seeds or mount it to your handlebar on your bicycle for a ride around town. This speaker wirelessly connects with your phone, tablet, or any other Bluetooth-enabled device.

    Check out all the specials at: “*smalldog.com/marchmayhem*”:http://www.smalldog.com/marchmayhem/march-mayhem-2015

  • Oh No! My HDD (or SSD) is Full!

    Is your HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive) full? Is your system giving you a warning about how you are running out of space? This is a problem I have very regularly due to my constant downloading. But there is the more relevant question…is my drive actually getting full?

    Find out how full your HDD really is because there is no sense in fretting over needing more free space if you actually have plenty enough. How much is plenty enough? That really depends on the individual and what your needs are.

    You can find how much space is being used on your HDD by right clicking the *HDD icon* on your desktop (if you do not have this icon, you can make it appear by going to Finder > Preferences > General and checking the Hard discs box) by pressing *Control* on your keyboard when you click. This will give you a pop-up menu where you can select “Get Info”. Another option is to use the “Get Info” shortcut: *Command-I* when the HDD icon is highlighted.

    A window should pop up with the name of your HDD followed by “Info”. In that window you should see “Capacity” in the “General” section. That’s the overall size of the drive. Below that is “Available.” That is how much space you have left. If there are hundreds or even dozens of gigabytes left, you have nothing to fear. If you have just a couple there is reason for concern, as you do not have much wiggle room. If you have just a few hundreds of megabytes left you need to start looking for stuff you can get rid of. Emptying your trash is a good place to start, just make sure to verify that there is nothing worth keeping before you hit delete.

  • 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.

    “*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.

  • Nintendo is Going Mobile

    Nintendo made a big announcement this week: They will be making Nintendo games for the mobile market, and they were not talking about the Game Boy. Nintendo is teaming up with a Japanese Company named DeNA with all of Nintendo’s intellectual property on the table for development of mobile apps as well as the possibility of online content. No word yet on whether it will be coming to iOS devices but, with the popularity of Nintendo’s games, I’m hoping to see some Mario Kart action on the iPad. After the announcement Nintendo stock spiked, but it looks like nothing is going to be released until fall of this year.

    “*Read more here.*”:http://dena.com/intl/press/2015/03/nintendo-and-dena-form-business-and-capital-alliance.html

  • _Greetings Friends,_

    Spring is here! The snow is melting and the amount of cyclists and pedestrians is steadily increasing. I can officially start wearing just my hoodie outside instead of 17 layers.

    This morning I was crossing the UVM green while commuting to work and saw a college student yank his iPhone out of his back pocket by the EarPod cable and swing it to his front to start using the device. I must say, I was surprised to see this, and it explains why we see many plugs broken off in jacks. I’d highly suggest never suspending an iOS device by the cable. It was not designed for this, and needless to say, could easily result in the device hitting the ground hard.

    I hope you enjoy the articles we have for you this week!

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