Kibbles & Bytes Blog

Apple recently posted the official dates for the Worldwide Developers Conference. And those dates are…dun-dun-dun: June 2-6 in San Francisco, CA! If you haven’t heard of Apple’s famous event, WWDC, you might consider tuning in this year as they normally announce some new products one of the days!

For the past six years, about a thousand Apple engineers and five thousand developers come together for the ultimate Apple nerd-fest! There are over 100 different “*sessions*”:https://developer.apple.com/wwdc/sessions/ to attend on Design, App Frameworks, Services, Location and Motion, Graphics and Games, Media, Core OS and Tools and Performance.

Apple is selling tickets a little differently this year; for the first time, instead of selling first-come, first-serve, they are using a lottery system. Over the years, tickets have sold faster and faster since there are new iOS developers popping up all the time. The old way resulted in some tragic service traffic. The new system means that developer will have four days to enter into a lottery for tickets. No more jumping online in hopes you get lucky before they sell out in 2 minutes (??no joke??).

Be sure to tune into Kibbles & Bytes in June when we have the full recap of the event!

For those of you out there storing files in iCloud, this is a handy tip to know. Apple’s iWork suite defaults to this option, and all three apps (Numbers, Keynote, and Pages) provide access to your iCloud storage within the apps themselves.

But, if you’ve ever wanted easier access to these without having to open each individual app, you can view what’s stored via the Finder.

* Go to the [User] > Library > Mobile Documents folder (to show your User Library, go to the Go menu in the Finder, and hold down the Option key to make it available to select)
* Type something in the search field in your Finder window (can be anything) Note: Make sure that Mobile Documents is selected in the Search bar, not “This Mac”)
* Next, click on the + icon, and choose “Kind is Document”
* Go back to the search field and erase what you typed; you should now see all of your own iCloud docs
* Click Save, and check “Add to Sidebar” to add this search to your Finder window sidebars

This past week Amazon joined the club and released the “*Fire TV streaming media box.*”:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CX5P8FC/ref=amb_link_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=gateway-center-column&pf_rd_r=14B4RTCF3MYZG765886B&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1770741782&pf_rd_i=507846 With its release, it joined competitors such as “*Apple TV*”:http://www.apple.com/appletv/, “*Roku*”:http://www.roku.com and “*Chromecast.*”:https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromecast/ Some people might think premium cable or satellite TV is on its way out, and streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant are the cheaper way of the future.

Amazon’s Fire TV highlights:

* A massive selection of over 200,000 TV episodes and movies
* Works with Prime
* Offers a voice search feature so you can simply say what you’d like to watch
* Quad-core processor with 2GB of memory, 1080p HD video and Dolby Digital Plus surround sound
* Offers free and paid games

Amazon Fire TV matches the Apple TV in price at $99. The one standout feature of Amazon Fire is that you have the option to purchase a game controller ($40) so you can use it as a gaming system. It also contains voice search that works through a built-in mic on the remote.

If you aren’t familiar with Chromecast or Roku, these devices are also sticks (Roku offers non-stick versions as well) that plug into your TV and offer various streaming services like Netflix, YouTube, Showtime Anytime, HBO Go and more. There aren’t any recurring fees with either, however you might need to pay a monthly subscription for certain content providers.

I love me some TV, but cable is expensive, especially in a place like Vermont where there aren’t a lot of options. With more devices entering the market, like the ones mentioned above, I’m wondering if major cable companies will change their ways at all by either lowering fees, or offering more bang for your buck.

Since there are now many options for streaming content to your TV, I’m thinking it’s Apple’s turn to beef up the Apple TV with features and capabilities that will blow everything else out of the water. Because that’s what Apple does.

Do you currently use one of these devices to watch TV? “*Tell me about it!*”:mailto:steph@smalldog.com

_Dear Friends,_

I just got back from Cupertino where it was sort of cool and rainy. I had meetings with Apple and a quick trip out and back. I took the “red-eye” back but got to have dinner with some dear old friends before I got on the very crowded plane. It used to be that traveling the red eye meant that the plane would not be crowded, upgrades to First Class were frequent, and never was there someone in the middle seat. However, my flight to Miami was very crowded, and the guy next to me was so fidgety that he kept elbowing me in the ribs…not that I sleep on planes, anyway. Even when I have flown to China in luxury using points on Cathay Pacific (where they literally have a bed and jammies for you), I could not sleep during the 22-hour flight. So, I get a lot of reading done — my specialty this trip was post-apocalyptic science fiction.

My overall impression out at Apple’s headquarters is that there are sure a lot of people working really hard and late. There is a buzz in the air, and I am fairly confident that we will see some new exciting stuff coming up this year. I do think, however, that Apple’s growth in numbers in terms of people, revenue, and just physical side has made the company less able to move quickly and adapt. As we discuss potential changes to our sales channel, it seems that there are a lot more studies and sign-offs necessary for even the smallest change. I guess when you are a big boat like Apple, you tend to turn slower.

I have some disappointing news to pass along. We have made the decision to close our Manchester, NH store. The mall life was just not for Small Dog, and that store, while beautiful and staffed by some amazing and energetic employees, could not keep up with the high overhead that a mall environment demands. Aside from the very high rents in the Mall (almost 10 times what we pay in our smallest location), the long hours that the mall demands meant we needed more staff than the store sales could justify.

We will continue our business-to-business efforts in New Hampshire, and over the next several months will scout out potential new locations with a better fit for the Small Dog way of doing business (like allowing us to bring our dogs to work!). I do not think I will ever open a store in a mall again, but never say never, I guess. Thank you to all of the Small Dog customers in New Hampshire who supported our store in Manchester — we sincerely appreciate it. If you’re up for a scenic drive, our Rutland store is about two hours from Manchester, and of course, we’re always available to serve your needs 24/7 at “*Smalldog.com.*”:http://www.smalldog.com

My special for this week is something many of us need. We have just introduced our line of MFI (Apple licensed “made for iPhone, iPad”) Lightning cables. These “*cables*”:http://www.smalldog.com/search?search=hammerhead+lightning are available now in black, white, and red and feature a high-quality aluminum end and a flat, no-tangle cable. I think you will love these as much as I do, especially when you have them in the bottom of your pack and they’re not all tangled up. I am bundling these cables with Hammerhead’s 12 watt Dual-Port USB charger that allows you to charge two devices at once.

This week for Kibbles & Bytes readers only, you can get this bundle for only $28.99, which is $5 off our regular price!

“*Purchase it here!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001346