Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • I'm Not Much of a Runner, But Bit.Trip Run! Helps Me Out With That

    The Bit.Trip series is a cult classic in the indie gaming scene. Mixing retro style graphics, with a chiptune soundtrack and a brutal difficulty, it was the perfect mixture to create something that was unique and fun to play.

    The one game in the series that really stood out was “*Bit.Trip Runner*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bit.trip-runner/id426568319?mt=12&uo=4&at=11lb7k&ct=kibbles. In this game, you control the protagonist, Commander Video, by sliding, kicking, and jumping over and through any obstacles that blocked your path. The game was so popular that a sequel was made this year, and that’s what Bit.Trip Run! is based on.

    In Bit.Trip Run!, you control Commander Video. You have the ability to jump, slide, kick, and dance. You’ll learn how each one of these moves work as you progress through the game. In each level, you’ll collect stacks of gold, along with “power ups” that act as score multipliers (and also enhance the soundtrack), while avoiding pitfalls, enemies, walls, etc. If you happen to mess up during the level, you’ll be sent back to the beginning and have to run through it again. However, a checkpoint system has now been put in place so once you get to a certain point within the level, you won’t have to play the whole level over again. This is a really nice addition, and makes it more beginner-friendly than the original game.

    Challenge stages, “retro” stages, bonus characters, and unlockable costumes can all be purchased using the gold that you collect in game. At the moment, there are no in-app purchases via the iTunes Store; everything can be purchased just by playing the game. There’s a free update coming that will add 20 more levels, more retro and challenge stages, and more boss battles.

    Bit.Trip Run! is a game that everyone should try, whether you’re a fan of the Bit.Trip series, or a newcomer who has never heard of it before. It’s everything one could ask for in an endless runner — it’s fun, the music is great, and it offers a challenge level that will keep players coming back for just one more try.

  • MAC TREAT #220: Permissions Control

    Over the years here, I have had more than my share of “quirks” with my various computers: font corruption, Mail issues, black magic-type things I can’t explain, etc. Even as I’ve upgraded my workstations, some of the oddities and flat-out problems continued. My theory is that much of it stems from the fact that my first MacBook Pro’s hard drive failed, and thus, corrupted some of the data in the process, so when I migrated my data from a backup each time, I was bringing the baggage with me.

    This Mac Treat is not about the virtues of starting “clean” with each new computer, or even tips that you can use to keep your data fresh and problem-free when migrating — that’s for another time (but I’ll get to it…). I’ve discovered a tip that has come in very handy when moving my data, and the following is a good thing to keep in mind if you’re dealing with *file permissions.*

    You can see what any file’s permissions are by clicking Command-I. In my case, I needed to change the permissions of an entire folder (i.e. all of the enclosed items).

    Here’s how you change more than one at a time:

    * Get Info on the file you need to change
    * Click the ‘lock’ icon in the lower right section of the window (Note: You will need to be an admin or know the admin’s password to have access)
    * Click on the Name of the user or group that needs different permissions
    * Change the Privilege to what you want
    * Click the Gear icon and select “Apply to enclosed items…”

    I used this to give multiple users permission to use the fonts installed on my system — helpful because my font folder included over 200 subfolders that I’d have to change one-by-one otherwise!

    Have you tried this before or have a question about another scenario where this would be useful? “*Email me!*”:mailto:kali@smalldog.com

    *Note:* Back in “*Kibbles & Bytes issue #843*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/kibbles/kb843/, I wrote about the many uses of the Option key, so take a look at that list if you’d like to see what other hidden gems the Option key unlocks!

  • _Dear Friends,_

    Grace and I got to see one of the best basketball games ever last weekend when the Celtics beat the Heat in Miami on a dramatic last-second 3-pointer. After noticing our Celtics jerseys, the bartender at the restaurant where we went after the game bought us a drink, too!

    Things are really coming together at the Key West store, and I am glad I have had the chance to help get the store established here. I can tell it is getting colder back home when Will sends me pictures of my snow-covered back yard from time to time.

    The iPad mini with Retina display is starting to ship, although we have not seen any inventory yet. We feel this will be a highly constrained product throughout the holidays, and our Product Management team is doing their best to get stock for all the stores. We are in a better position with regard to the iPad Air, which is in stock in many configurations at each of our stores.

    One interesting thing we have discovered is that the White/Silver iPad Airs outsell the Space Gray model here in Key West by 3 to 1, but that is not true elsewhere. Nevertheless, the iPad Air has been a huge success; people are impressed by the speed, and love the smaller size that just seems to fit right in your hand. It is one of those products that sells itself. If you haven’t seen one yet, stop in at any of our stores to check it out!

    This is a bit of a mini-soapbox but I’ll leave it in the opening. We were notified by the Mall in NH that the mall was going to be open at 8PM on Thanksgiving Day, and stay open until 10PM on Black Friday. I think this notion of pushing the shopping frenzy of Black Friday into Thanksgiving is ridiculous. While I will probably get in some trouble from the Mall, I refuse to open on Thanksgiving; my employees deserve to enjoy the day off with family just like anyone else.

    We will, however, open a bit early on Friday and will have some great specials for our customers, even though they might have to wait 12 hours or so versus the other stores in the mall. We will be doing some really special things this year with Black Friday including an expansion of our Charitable Giving program that we will let you know more about soon!

  • PRAM and SMC Resets

    PRAM and SMC Resets: What are they? Both are sets of chips that live on a Mac’s main logic board. They hold information that can become corrupted under certain circumstances which can then cause performance issues. Before resetting the PRAM or SMC for troubleshooting, you should be sure to disconnect any peripherals to ensure that nothing interferes.

    But, before explaining how to reset them, I’ll discuss what each does.

    PRAM stands for parameter random-access memory. Today, the actual chips used in Intel-based Macs are really NVRAM (non-volatile RAM), a newer technology (think flash drive) that doesn’t require power to maintain information. The old name ‘PRAM’ carried over in general use from the PowerPC days.

    PRAM chips hold information between boots on previous computer settings such as speaker volume, screen resolution, some RAM configuration information and current startup disk selection, among a few other odd settings. If your computer won’t boot while connected to a known-good MagSafe adapter and the power light is on on the charger where it connects to the machine, or if you’re experiencing problems that may be related to any of the settings that PRAM controls, then a reset may be needed.

    To reset PRAM:

    # Shut down your Mac.
    # Locate the following keys on the keyboard: *Command (⌘)*, *Option*, *P*, and *R.*
    ??You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.??
    # Turn on the computer.
    # Press and hold the *Command-Option-P-R* keys before the gray screen appears.
    # Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
    # Release the keys.

    More information on PRAM and resets can be found on “*Apple’s support page.*”:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

    SMC stands for system management controller and like PRAM is comprised of chips on the Main Logic Board that control several critical systems on a Mac. These include power (including aspects of sleep), fan speed, and communication with peripherals and internal devices such as the AirPort/Bluetooth and I/O cards, the battery and on laptops the topcase (the keyboard, trackpad and power button), among other functions.

    If you are having problems with any of these areas of your computer, an SMC reset may be recommended. However, Apple recommends that the SMC be reset only after all other “*troubleshooting steps*”:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964. If those steps fail to correct the problem you’re having, or if your computer simply isn’t powering on while connected to a known-good charger (plugged into a known-good outlet) — even after a PRAM reset — then an SMC reset would be next.

    On portables there are two possible ways to reset the SMC. If the battery is removable as on some MacBooks and some older MacBook Pros, just disconnect the power supply, remove the battery, turn the machine over, hold down the power button for ten seconds, replace the battery, plug it back in, and try to turn it on. For machines with non-removable batteries try a keyboard reset by powering the machine off (if it’s functioning), leave the MagSafe adapter plugged in, press at the same time the shift-option-control keys on the left side of the keyboard, and the power button, after a second or so let go. Then try to power it back up if it didn’t do so on it’s own.

    On iMacs, Mac minis and Mac Pros, reset the SMC as follows:

    # Shut down the computer.
    # Unplug the computer’s power cord.
    # Wait fifteen seconds.
    # Attach the computer’s power cord.
    # Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.

    ??More information on SMC resets can be found at the link above, including a list of troubleshooting steps to take beforehand, as long as your machine is functional.??

  • The Black Magic of DiskWarrior in the Use of Data Recovery

    “*DiskWarrior*”:http://www.alsoft.com/diskwarrior/ is a software tool that focuses entirely on rebuilding corrupted or destroyed directories on solid state hard drives that have experienced failure. This could mean power failure, RAM failure, OS corruption from failed updates, or anything that could harm the directory structure of data.

    Recently, DiskWarrior’s ability to temporarily create a virtual directory that identifies data on a corrupted drive has allowed us to access and rescue more data. In combination with the programs Data Rescue and DDRescue, DiskWarrior has recovered a lot of data over the past couple of months — and thus, has improved our success rate (and customer satisfaction!).

    We refer to DiskWarrior as ‘Black Magic’ because it’s hard to understand its methods. I have looked for an explanation of exactly what it does, and if I am to understand it correctly, DiskWarrior will access a drive looking for key directories to begin building a temporary listing of all the data on the corrupted disk. When more data is recognized, the directory structure DiskWarrior creates gets more complex to the point of it looking like an actual hard drive created by the apple install image.

    When it’s done scanning the drive, it allows you to replace the corrupted or non-existent directory of the drive and also allows you to preview the new directory structure. If you choose Preview, a new icon will show up on your desktop that looks, feels, and acts like an actual hard drive plugged into the machine you are working on. It’s not though; it’s just a directory that points you to the corrupted drive but makes it look as though the drive itself is fine. You don’t even realize that you are inside the corrupted drive at all, but you can copy and or manipulate the information.

    Commonly, we will copy the information from the virtual directory to a storage device, then attempt to replace the corrupted directory to try and rescue the disk so it doesn’t have to be reformatted.

    When used with another program like DDRescue, DiskWarrior tends to make things easier rather than use Terminal’s commands to try and repair the .dmg file created by DDRescue. DDRescue will essentially copy block-by-block all the information and file structure from a dying hard drive that isn’t able to be read by normal methods and place all the information gathered this way into whatever file type you wish.

    When servicing Apple Computers, most commonly it’s a .dmg file. You can attempt to open the .dmg when DDRescue is done, but most of the time, the corrupted file structure will prevent it from opening because the contents aren’t arranged like a normal hard drive. Using DiskWarrior to work its black magic, the .dmg can often have the directory information replaced in the image taken with DDRescue allowing you to mount and later migrate the data back to the machine once the failed hard drive is either reformatted or replaced and the OS reloaded onto it.

    If you are one of the unfortunate souls who boots up your Apple computer and produces a blank blue screen or a flashing folder with a question mark staring back at you, DiskWarrior may be the tool that gets you back in touch with your data.

    When it comes to Apple Boot disks, DiskWarrior has rescued many worldwide and the reviews online have definitely given the powerful program a good reputation. The only thing that DiskWarrior is unable to repair is a physical failure in a hard drive; that still falls under the expertise and capability of “*DriveSavers,*”:http://www.drivesaversdatarecovery.com the forensics data recovery specialists.

  • Flying With Phones

    For years, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has prevented passengers from using electronics on airplanes, largely during the takeoff and landing procedures. Particularly frustrating have been instances such as Kindle use, where the E-Ink device isn’t using any power or doing anything when a page is loaded, and uses technology comparable to a digital watch to turn the page once a minute. Being told to put devices like this away for ten minutes due to what often appears to be overcautious superstition can be demeaning and incites anger toward airlines.

    Consider this change in policy, taken from a fact sheet released this past Halloween:

    bq. “Last year, Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA) Michael Huerta recognized the increasing consumer interest in the expanded use of personal electronic devices on airplanes and decided to reconsider when passengers can use the latest technologies safely during a flight.” __(FAA.gov)__

    Also on Halloween, the FAA wrote a “*press release*”:http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=15254 that announced new guidelines for airlines regarding what devices passengers can use use during flight.

    bq. “Passengers will eventually be able to read e-books, play games, and watch videos on their devices during all phases of flight, with very limited exceptions. Electronic items, books and magazines, must be held or put in the seat back pocket during the actual takeoff and landing roll. Cell phones should be in airplane mode or with cellular service disabled — i.e., no signal bars displayed — and cannot be used for voice communications based on FCC regulations that prohibit any airborne calls using cell phones. If your air carrier provides Wi-Fi service during flight, you may use those services. You can also continue to use short-range Bluetooth accessories, like wireless keyboards.” (FAA.gov)

    Implementation of these policies will be a great boon in coming months to anyone who travels by air. iPhone and iPad users will soon be permitted to continue reading email or watching films during taxiing and after takeoff. The ‘no cellular usage’ is not a big issue, as not many people get signal at 32,000 feet anyway. However, if the airline offers Wi-Fi, some may soon be able to make internet phone calls during takeoff and landing.

    __(Editor’s Note: Now that’s a treat…no trickery! -KH)__

  • There’s something to be said for positivity. It’s oh so easy to grow angry out of frustration with product failure that we forget how far computing has come in the last few years. Yes, the last few years…not the last five or even the last decade.

    Most of you have no doubt encountered Moore’s Law, a postulation of exponential computing capability as opposed to linear progress. Often times, I find myself cursing at diagnostic tools in my office taking “so long” to load or data transfers taking “forever,” that I completely disregard the reality that a few years ago, working on these systems would have been an inspiration.

    And so, in the weeks since I’ve returned from New York City, I’ve made a concerted effort to change the attitude with which I enter my work. You may find it twisted, but I hope to encounter problems so that I’ll discover new ways of overcoming them. When taking tech support calls, I push myself to be extra positive with my tone of voice and my confidence that a solution can be met. Oddly, my mind seems to process things far quicker this way and I come up with options/ideas that wouldn’t have presented themselves in a negative, frustrated state.

    This week, more than ever, I encourage all of us who run into problems with technology to take it as a learning opportunity as opposed to an opportunity to complain about first world problems. Also, as ever, backing up your files will help you keep a smile on your face in the midst of technological adversity. 🙂

    Chris
    “*christopherb@smalldog.com*”:mailto:christopherb@smalldog.com

  • I am driving up to Miami on Saturday to catch the Miami Heat play my Boston Celtics. Not the rivalry that it used to be with the Celtics in rebuilding mode, but we should have a good time in South Beach at the game. The pups will be hanging out at Pampered Pet in Key West.

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
    _Don, Kali & Stephanie_

  • Order Online for In-store Pickup!

    Did you know that any of the specials or sales that are listed on “*Smalldog.com*”:http://www.smalldog.com are also available in our retail locations?

    We currently have some great specials listed, including the Brenthaven Collins Folio Case for the iPad mini (on sale now for $24.99), the Scosche StrikeDrive, a car charger for iOS devices with the new Lightning connector for just $14.99, and a full set of iPhone App Fridge Magnets at 50% off, making them just $6.99.

    You can check out which products are on sale by looking at our “*Specials page*”:http://www.smalldog.com/specials, or by signing up for our “*RSS Feed.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/rss

    You can even order right online and *select for pick up in any of the Small Dog locations: South Burlington, Waitsfield, or Rutland, VT, Manchester, NH, and even our newest location, sunny Key West, FL!*

  • Hands on: iPad Air

    I’ve seen Don write about the new iPad Air in a few of his Kibbles intros and obviously I’ve read all about it on various Apple sites, but I’m ashamed to say, I didn’t actually touch one until just a few hours ago. Yeah, I know. Fail.

    I decided to venture out of my safety zone that is the fishbowl here at Small Dog HQ and wander downstairs to the retail store so I could inspect one of these for myself. I probably shouldn’t have done so because now I want one.

    I’ve never actually purchased an iPad; however, my 87-year-old grandmother is on her third one. And not because she breaks them — she’s an “early adopter” who wants the latest and greatest model. Needless to say, she has her iPad Air on order and is ready to take on Spider Solitaire and Candy Crush on her new, super light device.

    Like everyone else’s first impression that I’ve heard, I thought, “it’s so light!” and was a little unsure of whether or not I was ??actually?? holding the iPad Air. The Air seems so much smaller than the previous generation because of the new bezel design mimicking that of the mini. It’s an illusion, as it does have the same 9.7-inch display like the rest of the full-sized iPads.

    Bottom line: I’m quite impressed and it’s going to be tough for me not to get one. You might not think they’re that impressive until you actually have one in your hands. If you haven’t checked it out yet, stop by one of our “*retail stores*”:http://www.smalldog.com/retail/visit-us-in-store-at-any-of-our-locations and play around with one on demo — you, too, will want one!

  • MAC TREAT #204: For Reinstalling, 'R' is the New 'C'

    Ever wondered how to reinstall your OS without a restore disc? Every new Mac OS update is available in the App Store, so new Macs haven’t shipped with a restore disc in a few years. In fact, many new Macs have no optical drive whatsoever. I know we’ve been saying this for a while, but the time is rapidly approaching where discs will be completely obsolete.

    I recently had a conversation with Chris B., our handy Waitsfield tech and phone support guru, where I told him that I thought I might need to reinstall Mavericks on my home iMac. To troubleshoot some of the issues I was having, he recommended some other things first — which I plan to try — but he reminded me that although restoring/reinstalling is a different process than I was used to, it is still easy and straightforward.

    So — for those of you who have gotten used to using Command-C to boot from your OS disc, listen up: ‘R’ is the new ‘C’.

    Here’s the drill:
    Hold down Command-R during startup and OS X Recovery will launch. It lets you choose from common utilities, including Disk Utility to check or repair your hard drive, erase your hard drive and reinstall a fresh copy of OS X, or restore your Mac from a Time Machine backup. Additionally, you can use Safari to get help from Apple Support online, but I imagine most users care more about the Disk Utility options that have been familiar since the dawn of the Mac OS.

    Note: As always, before reinstalling your OS, make sure you have a viable backup if possible.