Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • Bringing it Back to America

    This past week, at Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference, many new exciting products were introduced. Among them, the long-awaited Mac Pro.

    The new cylindrical design looks very different from previous incarnations of Mac Pro (and Power Mac before it). Along with a completely new form factor, Apple has brought the production back to United States. Rumors are saying that this will mainly be with a company out of Fort Worth, Texas called Flextronics, which if true, will bring many more jobs to the area.

    Mac Pro will debut “later this year” according to Apple, so in the meantime, check out more information “*on our blog*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/wwdc-2013-recap/ or at their website “*here.*”:http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/

  • _Greetings from Small Dog!_

    Well, the dust has cleared from the crazy week that was WWDC and E3. For any tech fan, it turned out to be a thrilling week with tons of announcements and showcases. Apple made some big splashes announcing iOS 7, OS X (“Mavericks”), a new MacBook Air line and the completely redone Mac Pro.

    It was exciting to find out that both the mobile OS and OS X were available in beta form as they were speaking. Several of us here have been able to get our hands on them, and they sure are promising. I have been using both and it’s going to be exciting to watch the betas develop as we move closer to their release dates.

    We have a more in-depth look of WWDC in today’s issue. Shawn outlines how Apple not only made a distinct change in the design of the Mac Pro, but also in its manufacturing. Kyle speaks about his personal experience so far with the iOS 7 developers’ beta release, and last but not least, Jason has a detailed article on SMB2 and how OS X Mavericks now integrates it into its sharing protocols.

    We’re also excited to announce that our annual eWaste Recycling Events for 2013 have been announced — see below for dates and details. Hope you enjoyed the tech feed for the week. We have much more to come, so stay tuned!

    _Barry_
    “*barry@smalldog.com*”:mailto:barry@smalldog.com

  • The savings keep piling up with this bundle. Purchase this refurbished 15-inch MacBook Pro with AppleCare and take $100 off the final price…

  • Free iPad at Work Seminar Series

    With the online iPad at Work Series, you can learn how iPad can transform the way your business works. Join Apple business experts…

  • iTunes Radio

    Move on over Pandora here comes iTunes Radio. Now some of you may be like wait, didn’t iTunes already have a radio. Well,…

  • I found a guy down in Southern Vermont who specializes in British sports cars who said he would spend a couple hours going over my new toy and give me a punch list of all the stuff I can do to the car over the winter. Hopefully, the rain will let up a bit so I can drive it down there.

    Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there!

    Thanks for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes team,
    _Don, Kali, Stephanie and Mike_

  • SPECIAL | A Modern Day Boombox

    Whoever said boomboxes went out of style was dead wrong. iHome’s iBT4 Boombox lets you bring the music with you to share with everyone around you. Stream wireless digital audio via Bluetooth from your iPhone, iPad and other Bluetooth-enabled devices.

    The iBT4 also has FM radio, a line-in jack, as well as a line-out jack for an expandable audio experience.

  • SPECIAL | A Dock With A Clock

    The iDL45 is a dual alarm clock radio for iPad, iPhone and iPod that lets you charge your iPad, iPhone or iPod and lets you wake and sleep to either one, to a custom playlist, or to FM radio. Charge and play via flexible Lightning dock for iPad, iPhone and iPod or USB port for iPod and iPhone (cable not provided).

  • SPECIAL | Small Package, Big Sound

    By far one of the cutest speakers we carry, the iBT16 by iHome packs a punch in a small size. It allows you to stream wireless digital audio via Bluetooth or plug in directly with an aux cable.

    The iBT16 also comes with a long-lasting rechargeable battery to provide the utmost in portability!

  • iPad at Work Seminar Series

    Join Apple business experts for a seminar series with a Q&A, and find out how iPad can change the way your business works. They’re free, and they start next week!

    *iPad at Work: General Productivity*
    *Tuesday, June 18: 10:00AM PT, 1:00PM ET*

    With iPad, you can perform the most common productivity business tasks without being tied to your desk. In this session, see a demo on getting right to work with built-in iOS productivity apps. Learn how to access and work with common business documents, attend and host online meetings, and collaborate with colleagues or customers.

    *iPad at Work: Sales and Field Service*
    *Thursday, June 20: 10:00AM PT, 1:00PM ET*

    In this session, we’ll demonstrate how to analyze business intelligence reporting, track and update your company’s CRM, as well as create invoices and process sales transactions — all on iPad. See for yourself how you can manage your business from anywhere.

    *iPad at Work: Integrate and Deploy*
    *Wednesday, June 26: 10:00AM, 1:00PM ET*
    During this in-depth session, we’ll discuss specific product features of iPad and how it integrates into corporate environments. Learn about the layered approach to secure data access and discover best practices for deploying iPad to your users.

    Learn more here: “*Smalldog.com/seminars*”:http://www.smalldog.com/seminars

  • Garage Sale Reductions

    Our Famous Garage Sale has been added to over the past week, and much of what’s listed has been reduced — *up to 50% off their already low prices!*

    Be sure to check out everything that we still have in stock — prices on great items start at just $1.

    There are still some deals to be had!

    “*Check it out here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/garagesale?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=kb

  • The All-New AirPort Extreme & AirPort Time Capsule

    In yesterday’s Keynote presentation at WWDC 2013, Apple announced a few new products and a bunch of new features for both iOS and OS X. Two products that I feel weren’t given their fair share of the limelight were the new base stations — the AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule.

    Apple is keeping consistent with the naming convention of AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule, but that is about it. The new base stations have a radically new design. Apple’s engineers wanted to increase the performance and as such, put the antennae at the top of the tower.

    Now, the base station stands 6.6″ tall with a 4″x4″ footprint, giving you more space on your desk for more TPS reports. Not only did they move the antennae, but they added more of them! With a total of six antennae — three for the 2.4GHz band and the remaining three for 5GHz — you will certainly notice the boost in speed.

    The changes to the shape have certainly had an impact on speed and efficiency. The new AirPorts are now up to three times faster utilizing the newest 802.11ac technology. This new protocol can theoretically reach data rates of up to 1.3Gbps. However, there is no need to worry if you don’t have any devices that are using 802.11ac — Apple has ensured their backwards compatibility to work with 802.11a/b/g/n as well.

    They also support simultaneous dual-band 802.11ac. That means no matter which frequency you are on (2.4GHz or 5GHz) your device will automatically connect to whichever band will give you the fastest speeds. The last performance upgrade is some crazy thing called “Beamforming”. Most base stations emit a constant signal that decreases in strength as you get further away. Beamforming creates a tractor beam (not really but it sounds cool) between your device and the base station, but instead of pulling you in it just gives you the strongest, clearest and fastest signal possible.

    Most other features have remained the same. Just like before connecting is as easy as ever. Using either your Mac or compatible iOS device you can set up your home network in three easy steps. Once you have the whole kit-n-caboodle up and running, you can manage the network once again from either your Mac or iOS device. If you opt for the iOS version you will want to download the AirPort Utility App found “*here.*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/airport-utility/id427276530?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30.

    If you choose the Time Capsule over the Extreme, you will once again be left with the decision between 2TB or 3TB; easy right? And regardless of which model you go with, you still have the ability to print without wires with Apple’s AirPrint technology.

    My one gripe is with the ports in the back. Sadly, the AirPort Extreme still has a USB 2 port and not a USB 3. I suppose the engineers at Apple figure the bottleneck will be your network speed and not the USB’s speed but come on, Apple — you’ve already got the tech there, so just use it! Besides that, I simply love this revamp to the AirPort line. I know that I will be getting an Extreme as soon as I can.

    If you are interested in the “*AirPort Extreme*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Apple/AirPort_and_Wireless or “*AirPort Time Capsule*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Apple/Time_Capsule, we have them on our website available for pre-order.