Kibbles & Bytes Blog

Next week is the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Don, Hapy and Jason will attend to check out what’s coming up electronics-wise for the new year. CES features more than 3,200 exhibitors with as many as 20,000 new products launching during the show.

Marissa Mayer was announced as the keynote speaker for the show. For those who don’t know her, she’s the CEO of Yahoo and one powerful lady. Microsoft is said to return to the show after taking a year off and is planning on having a large presence at the show. Should be interesting to see what they have in store.

The theme of the show this year seems to be TVs, cameras and fancy cars. Here are a few highlights of the show that one might find intriguing:

* Toyota is using CES to showcase their latest concept for a “*Fuel Cell Vehicle*”:http://ces.cnet.com/8301-35289_1-57616506/toyota-makes-fuel-cell-vehicle-star-of-ces-2014/ that will combine pure hydrogen with air to create water.

* LG will have a “*77-inch curved OLED*”:http://ces.cnet.com/8301-35303_1-57616443/lg-oled-tvs-come-to-ces-in-multiple-sizes-curvatures-and-resolutions/ (Organic Light Emitting Diode) TV on display. These curved OLED TVs usually have a price tag of around $8,000 but are the next generation of television viewing!

* Samsung has a “*few cameras*”:http://ces.cnet.com/2300-35292_1-10019230.html they will be showing off at CES. Using mobile-broadband-connected and running Android 4.3 Jellybean, Samsung seems to really be pushing these cameras.

I’m sure when Don gets back, he’ll have a few things to comment on as far as what his favorites were, etc. Sounds like it should be a great show!

…OK, so that’s a little hokey. I’m of the belief that a few resolutions are a good thing, but that they shouldn’t be so grand that they’re wildly out-of-reach. For me, details always help, but the more detailed they are, the fewer I should commit to. Example: __I will make the time to hike Camel’s Hump this year.__ It’s not too realistic with my schedule to also plan to do Mt. Mansfield, Mt. Abe, and Mt. Elmore since there are only about 12 days of summer in Vermont anyway, am I right?

Anyway, I also believe that technology can aid in one’s resolve to be better in the new year. (Case in point: I was surprised to find out that my mom had a FitBit Wristband; she still uses a flip phone that’s about 10 years old and has no desire to upgrade. However, when the time comes, I think she’d love the integration with the app…just sayin’.) I’ve compiled a list of five apps that just might help you get things started right in 2014.

“*LiveStrong MyQuit Coach – Dare to Quit Smoking*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/livestrong-myquit-coach-dare/id383122255?mt=8&utm_medium=email&utm_source=kibbles&utm_campaign=New-Years – Free ($.99 ad-free)
If you’re still a smoker, this should be goal #1. I can’t say I’ve tried this myself, but it gets high ratings from users, and I’ve polled some ex-smokers about the interface and what their biggest obstacles were to quitting. MyQuit Coach is physician approved, and it helps you set attainable goals to finally quit the habit.

“*Smoke Free*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smoke-free-stop-smoking-now./id577767592?mt=8&utm_medium=email&utm_source=kibbles&utm_campaign=New-Years – Free (It’s worth including a second one since it’s such a good resolution!)
Smoke Free’s interface is also very clean, and its approach includes a monetary angle — it’s pretty sobering to see how much you’ve been spending on cigarettes, and gives you “total $ saved” data along with positive statistics to help you stay on track.

“*Lose It!*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lose-it!-weight-loss-program/id297368629?mt=8&utm_medium=email&utm_source=kibbles&utm_campaign=New-Years – Free ($39.99/yr for premium features)
There are a lot of calorie counting and weight-loss apps out there, and I’m partial to Lose It. I’ve always liked the interface, and I find it easy to navigate and add custom foods and meals. It’s a great way to really see just how good/dysfunctional your daily habits might be when it comes to food and exercise. I’ve had this app for several years, and I’m planning to accelerate my goals in 2014 to get back to a pre-baby, pre-mid-thirties weight.

“*Simply Being*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simply-being-guided-meditation/id347418999?mt=8&utm_medium=email&utm_source=kibbles&utm_campaign=New-Years – $.99
Maybe it’s the Vermont getting to me, but I’ve found that it’s nice to slow down a bit to keep relaxed and centered. The biggest challenge for me is to turn my brain off, and get away from distraction, including feeling tethered to my phone. Ironically, I’m turning to Simply Being to do that. You can choose from four meditation times, and has the option to listen to guided meditation with or without music or nature sounds. Bonus: It’s been recommended by The New York Times, Huffington Post, Yoga Journal and others. Mmmmm…I’m relaxed already.

“*iHome+Sleep*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ihome+sleep-alarm-clock-app/id346249053?mt=8&utm_medium=email&utm_source=kibbles&utm_campaign=New-Years – Free
Keeping with the relaxation theme, iHome+Sleep is a great app to track your sleep habits and ultimately, reap the health benefits of a good night’s sleep. It’s a fully-featured alarm with multiple settings and options. I’m not a morning person…at all…and I’m a firm believer that waking gently keeps you better prepared for the day. iHome+Sleep also allows you to log your sleep times, giving you a better sense of how much time you actually spend in quality slumber.

Try ’em out. You can’t lose (except maybe a few pounds).

OK, that’s about 50% right, so here we go for 2014:

* Apple stock will exceed $700 by year’s end
* Apple will introduce “wearable” technology that will have some features that surprise Hapy
* The Apple TV will become more than a “hobby”
* There really will be confirmation of extraterrestrial (intelligent) life
* The Cubs will really climb out of the cellar this season and the Washington Nationals will win the World Series
* The Celtics will make the playoffs, lose in the first round and the Indiana Pacers will upset the Miami Heat and go on to win the NBA Championship
* The Democrats will not lose the US Senate and will pick up seats in the House
* The Patriots will not win the Super Bowl
* Norway will win the most medals at the Winter Olympics with the USA not doing better than 4th place in the medal count
* The will be at least one significant event tied undisputedly to climate change
* The polls will show that a majority of Americans have favorable opinions of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) by the end of the year

Yes, it is that time of the year again where I take a look at my predictions for 2013 and see how I did and go out on a limb for 2014. I think my crystal ball is working this year, so let’s see how we did to set the bar for 2014.

*2013 Predictions*

*WEATHER*

??”Another mild winter and early spring for Vermont — I will have my motorcycle out in March”?? — Yup, it was pretty mild and I did have the bike out early.
??”There will be more snow in 2013 than in any of the previous three years.”?? — Artie, who starts changing his chat status in June at the solstice to: “the days are getting shorter and I hope is snows soon…” is my expert here, and he says I got it right!

*SPORTS*

??”The Cubs will not be in last place this year and the LA Angels will take the World Series”?? — Oops; wrong on both counts.
??”The Celtics will not make the playoffs; the Thunder will win the NBA Championship”?? — Wrong again.
??”There will not be an NHL season”?? — Do we notice a trend on my sports predictions?
??”The Patriots will not win the Super Bowl.”?? — Oh yeah, one sports prediction right!
??”Hapy will not lift more than 1055 pounds at one time.”?? — I got that one right – his max this year was over 750, but in 2004 he did over 1000.

*APPLE*

??”Apple stock will hit a low of $425 but will reach a high of over $750″?? — I am giving myself 50% on this one since it hit the low but didn’t hit the high.
??”Apple will not release an actual TV set (and no rabbit ears, either!)”?? — Right; No TV.
??”Apple will introduce a product we never thought we needed but will find essential by the end of the year”?? — Hmm…a Mac Pro? I have to give myself a no here, too.

*SMALL DOG ELECTRONICS*

??”Small Dog Electronics will have at least 5 retail locations”?? — Yup we have 5 with our newest stores in Rutland, VT and Key West, FL.
??”Small Dog Speaks (our radio show on WDEV) will be carried live by at least one more radio station”?? — Nope, we are not in syndication (yet).

*MISC*

??”There will be confirmed evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life”?? — Have you met my little alien friend? Okay, wrong again.

A couple of weeks ago, I was troubleshooting an app that wouldn’t open on my Mac, and I tried to download a version of it from the developer’s website to replace it. I downloaded it with no problem, but when I tried to open the .dmg, I got the message: “[App I tried to open] can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer.”

Well, that’s a bummer. I figured there must be a way around this, and there is. (I’m running 10.9 on my home computer, by the way, but this should be applicable from at least 10.8 on.)

# Open System Preferences
# Click on *Security & Privacy*
# Select *General*
# Click the lock to make changes (if applicable; you’ll need to type an admin’s username and password)
# Under “Allow applications downloaded from:” select *Anywhere*

That option is not checked by default, so by changing it, you’ll be able to open apps you’ve downloaded going forward. Just make sure they’re from a trusted source!

_Dear Friends,_

Happy 2014! We have got sub-zero temperatures and snow to start off the year here in the Green (er..white) Mountains. I had to remind Taylor to take down the snowflakes from the windows down in our Key West store, since it would not occur to us normally because we just have to look out the window to see a lot of snow. Thank you for keeping my team busy during the holidays! We posted some good numbers for this season and more importantly this drove our 1% gifting to the “*Vermont Foodbank*”:http://www.vtfoodbank.org, “*Manchester Animal Shelter*”:http://www.manchesteranimalshelter.org and “*Key West SPCA*”:http://www.fkspca.org. We all feel very good about the opportunity to help these worthy organizations this year.

I saw an interesting comparison today of the new “*Mac Pro*”:http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/ versus the HP Z420 and the Lenovo S30. These are all high-end professional machines using the same Intel Xeon E5-1620 v2 processor and similar configurations. While most people consider Apple the BMW of computers, this analysis showed that a similarly equipped professional machine was considerably less expensive from Apple while having some significant advantages. The most obvious is the extraordinary futuristic design of the Mac Pro versus that same-old, same old big box design of the PCs.

Other advantages to the Mac Pro are the 6 Thunderbolt 2 ports and support for 802.11AC and, oh yeah, did I say design? The Mac Pro occupies just over 744 cubic inches while both of the PCs are well over 2150 cubic inches. Then, when you look at the prices for entry-level models of each, the Mac Pro has nearly a $1000 advantage coming in at $3248 with AppleCare with the HP and Lenovo each at around $4300. That analysis does not even get into the other advantages of the Mac Pro, namely the fact that it runs Mac OS X with all of its security and performance advantages.

We haven’t gotten our hands on a Mac Pro, yet, but Hapy is over at his desk using the configurator, trying to figure out which Mac Pro will adorn his desk once they are available.