Kibbles & Bytes Blog

We’re clearing out faster than ever before. Though it may not be as big as past years, this summer’s “*Garage Sale*”:http://www.smalldog.com/garagesale still has dozens (upon dozens) of items at fantastic prices.

With top brands including products from Apple, Beats by Dre, LaCie, Samsung and more, there’s an extremely limited quantity of these deals priced to sell out fast. You could potentially outfit your iPod, iPad or iPhone for $5 or less!

Here are some “highlights of the haul,” with the disclaimer that things go __very__ quickly, so we cannot guarantee availability. First come, first served!

*Lot A036 (New) – Apple iPod Shuffle (1st Gen) Dock – $2.00*
*Lot A015 (New) – LaCie FireWire 400 to FireWire 400 data cable (6-pin to 6-pin) – $1.00*
*Lot A102 (New) – Hammerhead 11in Sleeve for MacBook Air – Purple/Charcoal- $1.00*
*Lot L074 (New) – DODOcase Book Cover for iPad 2 & iPad (3rd gen) – Black w/Red Liner – $10.00*
*Lot L158 (New) – Brenthaven Prostyle II Carrying Case (Sleeve) for 15″ MacBookPro – Black/Copper – $4.00*
*Lot P025 (Demo) – Samsung SyncMaster S19B150N 19″ LED LCD Monitor – $50.00*

Of course, there’s a ton more, so check it out at “*Smalldog.com/garagesale*”:http://www.smalldog.com/garagesale! *Remember — The Famous Garage Sale is ONLINE ONLY. No calls please; orders will not be taken over the phone.* Thanks, and happy shopping!

It seems like there are almost countless speaker options today, ranging from portable Bluetooth speakers to high-powered premium speakers. It can be a little overwhelming to pick the right setup, but one fact seems to ring true for everyone: we want speakers that sound good and are easy to use. That’s why I am particularly excited about a new product line we are carrying at Small Dog: the wireless speaker system by **Sonos.**

Sonos utilizes a unique HiFi mesh networking technology to connect one or more speakers together wirelessly. Not only is Sonos convenient to use, but it sounds awesome! We’ve seen a lot of new Bluetooth and AirPlay speakers recently, but Sonos utilizes a different wireless technology.

The **Sonos Bridge** connects to your wireless router and creates a new wireless network for all of your Sonos speakers. Whether you have one speaker in the living room or ten speakers spread throughout the house, they can all unite to play the same music at the same time. Building your Sonos setup is easy; syncing your speakers to the bridge for the first time is as easy as pressing a button, and then they’re connected forever. This is a great solution for customers who don’t want the hassle of running wires all over their house.

One of my favorite features of the Sonos system is the app used to control your music. The “**Sonos Controller App**”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sonos-controller/id293523031?mt=8&uo=4&at=11lb7k&ct=kibbles, available for mobile devices and computers, lets you browse and play your music library right to your Sonos system. You can even access popular streaming services like Pandora and Spotify. Changing the music in another room is as easy as reaching into your pocket for your smartphone.

Sonos has a wide variety of wireless speakers and home theater components available to customize your perfect audio system. The **PLAY:1** is their smallest speaker, designed for portability while still providing crystal clear sound. The **PLAY:3** is the perfect size for the living room or backyard and can even be mounted. Lastly, the **PLAY:5** brings an impressively large sound that’s powerful enough to fill a large room; it’s also the only Sonos speaker with an audio line-in for connecting a wired device easily.

Note: Sonos has authorized us to sell these speakers in __our retail stores only,__ so come check out our in-store demo to see what Sonos is all about!

To reiterate: It’s summer, and time to get outside. My favorite way to get outside in the summer is pedaling — be it mountain biking, road biking, touring, cross biking, or my new favorite, bike camping.

On the last ride I took with my friends across the way, we were hitting some back dirt roads near the office here in Waitsfield on a great sunny day, and my friend asked, “you bringing tunes?” I’ve always debated this, whether skiing or biking, because I enjoy listening to music, but feel it takes away from the social aspect. I was there to ride with some friends and hang out, so if I jammed some ear-buds in, that goes away.

So what to do? Throw a speaker on your bike! I don’t mean bungee-tying a boom box to the rack on the back of your bike; speaker companies are either making specific speakers for bikes or bike mounts for the speaker you already use. Outdoor Tech specifically makes a speaker for this — the Buckshot — which includes the bike mount. As it turned out, my Turtle Shell could also be mounted via the Turtle Claw, and the new Beats Pill 2.0 via the Pill Bike Mount.

I’ve told you about the Turtle Shell before, so I’ll spare you how awesome I think that is. So onto the Buckshot, a small Bluetooth-enabled single speaker design in the same durable construction that the Turtle Shell has. Its bike mount is simple — just strap the speaker on your handlebars, frame, seat post, or any metal bar.

Looking forward, I may want to rock on the chairlift come winter (sorry, too early I know), so the Turtle Claw would be great for that, too. It attaches to the standard camera thread on the Turtle Shell, but will also work with anything else with standard camera thread, like your camera, or action camera (like the iON Air 3). It will clamp on any pipe under a 1.5-inch diameter so most bikes, and lots of other stuff.

Then there’s the ever-so-awesome and great-sounding Beats Pill, for when you really want to make a scene on the bike path this summer. The Beats Pill 2.0 is great, with a four-speaker design, NFC or Bluetooth connectivity, and pairing options to connect to another Pill (so you can really make some noise). This summer, they brought on the bike mount so you can hit the bike path in style. The best part it that it acts as a backup battery. As your phone starts to drain, you can plug in and charge up, even if you’re nowhere near a power source.

Lastly, besides how great it is to have tunes while out riding, it’s also a lot safer than having headphones on while riding around. As always, grab your tunes, grab your bike and get out there and enjoy the sun!

Perhaps I should have written about this last week, during arguably the most patriotic, flag-waving day of the year, but better late than never. I have long used flags as a way to manage and organize my mail, and I’ve rounded up some helpful tips for those who also appreciate a good Mail flag.

*Rename Your Flags*
This was a game-changer for me. It’s so simple, and embarrassingly, I didn’t even think to (or know I could) do this for a long time. I use most of the colors for different purposes, and it’s great to have the colors correspond to the message category. All you need to do is right-click on the name of the flag (“Red” for example) and select “Rename Mailbox…”

*Change the Icon in iOS*
In iOS 7, the Mail app replaced its flag with a circle shape (not sure if this is still the default, but many users noticed this when it was released). If you want the flag shape back, go to *Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars* and click “Flag Style.” There, you can select “Shape” to see the tiny flag icon again.

*Use Rules*
I don’t do this for many messages, but it’s especially helpful for one category I use. Go to *Mail > Preferences* and click on the “Rules” tab. From there, you can flag specific senders, subjects, keywords, and more. For the one rule I use, I add a light green background (in addition to a Green flag) to make the incoming messages extra visible.

Any of you devoted flag users in Mail? “*Let me know your best Mail organization tips!*”:mailto:kali@smalldog.com

_Dear Friends,_

It has been a busy week for me. We had the awesome 4th of July parade in Warren featuring Prickly Mountain’s gigantic dragon, followed by the annual party at our house where I served up countless numbers of strawberry daiquiris. Grace had hip replacement surgery on Monday and someone gave her a stupid bell to ring for me so that I can wait on her, hand (hip) and foot. The good news is that she is recovering well and making progress each day. Many thanks to Dr. Huber, Mansfield Orthopedics, and the great crew at Copley Hospital.

I played iPhone mechanic this week, too. My grandson, Boka, had received an old iPhone 4S for his birthday in January and he chatted me one evening and said, “Gramps, my iPhone is broken…” Well, after scolding him for not taking good care of it, I asked him to bring it to me on the 4th and we played around trying to get it working. I determined that it was a bad battery and I did not want to spend any money fixing it since he would probably break it eventually, so I bought a battery replacement kit at Amazon and decided to tackle it on my own. Long story short, after dropping a couple of the tiny screws (which are harder to find than the big screws I drop when fixing my motorcycle), I was able to replace the battery and get Boka back in business for $8.75. This is not a recommendation by any means and not for the faint of heart…

Apple published their Environmental Responsibility Report on Wednesday that outlined their use of green materials in their products as well as the steps they have taken to reduce their impact on climate change. Apple is aiming for ‘net-zero energy’ by building large-scale solar arrays, purchasing renewable energy, and utilizing biogas. Apple claims that 140 US Apple Stores and all 21 Australian stores are powered by 100% renewable energy. It is great to see Apple using some of their creativity and innovation to minimize their impact on our planet! Attaboys and Attagirls for Apple’s energy efforts!

Small Dog is also working towards reducing our impact upon climate change. Our solar array at our headquarters in Waitsfield supplies 100% of the power for our flagship store in S. Burlington, and about 80% of the power for our headquarters and warehouse.

This week’s Kibbles & Bytes Exclusive is a bundle of the new Hammerhead 4-port USB Charger and two Hammerhead Lightning Flat cables. This charger has four USB ports and can simultaneously charge both iPads and iPhones. With two Lightning cables, you will have one for each — everything for just $49.99!

“*Check it out here!*”: