Kibbles & Bytes Blog

Just four weeks after Grace had her hip replaced, she has thrown her leg over her motorcycle and seems to be ready to try a ride. Pretty amazing stuff. It is all about festivals, farmer’s markets and of course, sweet corn this time of year, so there are plenty of destinations for a ride.

Thanks for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

Your Kibbles & Bytes team,
_Don, Kali & Stephanie_

As I listened to the pitches this week from entrepreneurs across the state, one of the questions I asked was, “how will you measure your success?” The answers were interesting both because I never heard the answer “I want to get rich” and because many of these entrepreneurs had “multiple bottom lines.”

When Hapy and I started Small Dog Electronics, it was both because we had discovered that we could not work for anyone else (so we had to roll our own jobs), and that we wanted to demonstrate that a business can be more than simply a money machine.

We have described before how we measure success by using the triple bottom line of socially responsible businesses — People, Planet and Profit — in equal measures. Early in my business career, I learned that profit was the key to being able to make meaningful change and achieve our goals for People and Planet, however, even in the hardest times, we have maintained the commitment to be a different kind of business.

As you know, we speak out on issues that are important to us and our Charitable Contribution Program includes donation matching, where we match customer’s contributions to featured, diverse non-profit groups. We concentrate our efforts and funds in the following areas:

* Women’s rights
* Human rights
* Relieving Hunger
* Protecting the Environment
* Gay & Lesbian Rights
* Dog Welfare

We have also been leaders in recognizing the important task of keeping electronic waste out of our landfills. We have held numerous eWaste collection events and I am pretty sure we are still the only electronics retailer that can claim to have recycled more electronics than we have sold (is that a good thing?). Our solar array at our headquarters here in Waitsfield, Vermont provides 100% of the electricity for our S. Burlington store and about 80% for our offices and warehouse here. We have an electric truck to ferry goods from warehouse-to-store and have regular discussions on how we can further reduce our carbon footprint.

There is so much more that we would like to do both for the world we live in and for our employees, vendors and community. We are very proud to measure our success not solely on the number of dollar bills on the table but also upon who we are, what we do, and of course, how much fun we have!

As the September/October months approach, everyone starts to get the Apple announcement inch. More specifically: Will there be a new iPhone? We’ve seen a fair amount of rumors floating around the internet these days about what the new iPhone 6 will feature. I’ve gathered some of the most persistent rumors and compiled them for you folks who are interested.

*Power Boost*

I feel like every time a new iPhone is released, they claim the battery will be better than before. However, this time analysts are claiming that the iPhone 6 could be released with a 2,100mAh capacity battery which is a big bump up from the 1,560mAh battery on the iPhone 5s. Bigger batteries generally have a greater capacity, which equals better battery life.

*Two Larger Screen Size*

The new iPhone is said to feature a 4.7-inch screen version as well as a 5.5-inch screen — the latter being released at a later time. There have been some photos floating around the web showcasing a super thin iPhone with a screen that extends to the edge of the phone.

*Updated Features*

Updated features of the phone include a super slim frame, an A8 chip, 13mp camera, health monitors and apps, 4.7-inch screen (like I mentioned above) and apparently, there are mixed reports as to whether or not the new phone will contain sapphire glass.

*Release Date*

Reports are leaning towards a September release date — more specifically, around September 9th. October 14th is also said to be an immense day — however whether that is an iPhone or iPad launch is unknown.

We all get just as excited as many of you do for these dates, as Apple honestly tells us nothing about what is going to be released. When we do get word of an event or release, the day generally consists of all of us Small Doggers gathering in the conference room to watch the Keynote on the overhead projector and take bets on what the latest and greatest is going to be.

We’re excited and hope you are as well. As always, upon official word of an announcement or event, we’ll keep you posted in Kibbles & Bytes!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over seven years since I came to Vermont to take a job at Small Dog. I had been working at another Apple Specialist in New Hampshire in the three years prior, and was excited to immerse myself in the Vermont community and culture. And immerse myself, I did.

From the “*competitive bocce tournaments*”:https://www.flickr.com/photos/smalldog/sets/72157622474907880/ and the “*Annual Halloween Costume Contests*”:https://www.flickr.com/photos/smalldog/sets/ to the “*eWaste Recycling Events*”:https://www.flickr.com/photos/smalldog/sets/72157617001479815/ and of course, the innumerable customer-focused materials and content we provide via the website, our newsletters and retail stores, I have thoroughly enjoyed the fun, community-minded way of life that Small Dog affords.

I was hired as the ‘Marketing & Design Dog’ in 2007, later created a more social media-centric position as a Web, Social Media & Publications Manager, and for the last two years, was the Director of Marketing. I am grateful for the opportunity to grow and learn in such a fast-paced, creative environment, and will certainly miss my days here in the “fishbowl” (read: large, open office, often subjected to Don’s “Reggae Thursdays”).

Perhaps most notably, I will miss contributing to Kibbles & Bytes, Small Dog’s longest-running weekly e-newsletter (shout out to all of our readers who have been subscribing since ’96!), both as a writer and editor. In the last few years, I’ve actually wished that I could write more, but it’s been really cool to be behind-the-scenes for (just about) every issue we’ve published since July ’07!

Overall, Kibbles readers are thoroughly engaged, and you often take the time to email us and let us know what you’re thinking, whether it’s because of a particularly divisive Soapbox or a Mac Treat that has you thinking. Keep ’em coming.

Thanks for the memories — and as always, thanks for reading!

__Note: On my very last day here, my trusty computer crashed, taking my almost-completed article with it. Because of course. Hope you enjoyed the rewrite; best wishes to all of our loyal readers out there — I’ll miss you!__

Small Dog veteran, marketing maven, co-writer and editor of Kibbles & Bytes for many years is leaving Small Dog Electronics today. She will be sorely missed and has made significant contributions to the company, not only by the work she does but also by her unwavering commitment to the company’s social mission.

Always with a smile, a laugh and high energy, Kali has been great to work with and I know you will join me in wishing her the very best in her next adventure.

_Dear Friends_,

I spent some time this week with the enviable combination of motorcycling in the Green Mountains and listening to business pitches from entrepreneurs with businesses that ranged from bridal wear, to carved bears, to solar furnaces. It was a great experience both to meet and listen to the pitches and to ride with some of the most influential business leaders and investors. Even the Lt. Governor, Phil Scott, joined us for a ride to St. Johnsbury.

Apple released new beta versions of Mac OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 to developers this week. Each version seems to add a bit more stability and some new features. This latest version of iOS 8 seems to have disabled some apps that will launch and then quit, but either later versions will fix this or the app developers will update their apps when the final version is released. I really think you are going to love some of the new features that are working well now, especially Continuity and Handoff; Apple is spending a lot of time fine-tuning HealthKit and HomeKit so that they may become just as valuable.

Our Dog Days of Summer, Back-to-Class promotion is in full swing with some of the best deals we have ever offered on Macs and iPads. Be sure to check out the savings! The weather hasn’t exactly been typical (or tropical) with night time temperatures in the low 50s and highs during the day staying comfortably in the 70s. While most of my garden is doing great, vegetables that like heat, such as eggplants, are not doing so well up on Prickly Mountain.

For this week’s Kibbles & Bytes special I am going “old school” and offering the 160GB iPod classic in silver so that you can carry your entire music collection with you wherever you go. And because you listen to a LOT of music, I think you need a good set of over-the-ear headphones, and what better combination than a set of original Beats Studio Headphones with active noise cancellation in bright red?! This combination normally sells for $500, but exclusively, while current supply lasts, you can get this music bundle for $75 off at $425!

“*Make sure to get his deal here!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001564/don-s-ipod-beats-combo