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Keep your cords clean and concealed with Plug Hub, an under-desk cord management station that hides your power strip and cords in one discrete unit.
Try not to get caught up in your cables and instead get caught up with your savings on this special.
Size isn’t everything when it comes to the LaCie Rikiki. This little box packs an impressive 1TB drive with a USB 3.0 connection. So you get capacity, speed and savings with this week’s deal.
To give a little background before launching into this article: I am a junior technician compared to some here at Small Dog Electronics. I have spent more time diagnosing and fixing PCs than Apple Products, so the conversion was a complete one-eighty degree turn for me. I have never attempted to install Windows alongside OS X before, but because of needs here at the ‘office’ and data backup/transfer options, having every tool available is a benefit. That is why I attempted to install Windows alongside my OS X installation. The problem is my personal machine only supports Windows 7, whereas I was trying to install Windows 8 which is the copy I owned.
I discussed the installation with the other techs here in South Burlington, and the common recommended jump off point was to resize the main partition using Disk Utility, and create a new partition in a FAT32 or free space format then boot from the Windows install medium. All seemed to work well until I attempted to install the Boot Camp support files into the Windows installation so that I could set up my Mac hardware to work properly. The support files installed successfully, the Windows OS requested to restart the machine, and I pressed the “OK” button. The machine restarted and began to boot into the Windows partition. Then the screen flashed white briefly, went black and stayed that way.
Uh oh…
I rebooted the machine a couple more times only to see the same thing. I tried to use the built in Windows recovery options but none worked. I then booted to my Mac OS partition, erased and recreated the partition for my Windows installation and began the process again. This time I tried to install all the drivers manually, but they didn’t make my touchpad work properly because there wasn’t the Boot Camp interface for me to set up my preferences. I went online, downloaded a different set of Boot Camp support files and installed them. I rebooted the machine and got the flash with the black screen again.
Frustration began to set in at this point. I restarted the whole process again. By this time I had noticed that the EFI section of option booting began to increase the amount of Windows installation options and I couldn’t keep track of which one was the correct one after I installed the third or fourth time. I had retried to create the installation media, and I can only use flash drives for installing Windows because my optical drive is nonfunctional and I don’t feel like spending money on something I’m potentially going to replace soon. The EFI had too many Windows installations and after the fourth or fifth time (each time trying different methods in creating the media, performing a different install, using multiple images and install discs, essentially trying everything I could in order get the install to work the way its supposed too) I decided to wipe and restore the machine. Using Time Machine and an external hard drive, I backed up my computer, wiped everything clean and started the process over again.
I must make note that some of the problems and irritations I was having with my machine seem to have been taken care of with the wipe and restore (things like not waking up when it’s supposed to or freezing on login). That did cheer me up a bit once I realized that I was no longer experiencing those little trifles. I do know there is something wrong with my machine because it was dropped during its lifetime and I expect that it’s only a matter of time before the problems start up again. I tried to install Windows one more time and got the same result, the infamous “Black Boot”. I then decided to hold off on my installation, wiped it one more time, reinstalled OS X, remigrated my data back onto my machine and called it quits. I spent four days trying to get this to work and am not all that happy to have lost the battle. More research needs to be done because I have not given up on the war. I believe that it is my machine that is causing the problem (I fear that it needs a new logic board because of the drop) but I am grateful it’s at least holding on for dear life until the time it finally gives its last and my hand is forced to purchase the latest and greatest.
The iPad 2 and newer models contain 30 magnets used to affix the Smart Cover to the iPad. This allows you to attach your Smart Cover, or other aftermarket covers, in a variety of positions. Apple has recently been incorporating magnets in a number of their products including the MagSafe adapters and sleep switches in their portables. The glass of some of the newer, but not newest, iMacs is also held on with magnets.
Recently, a 14 year old girl from Stockton, California named Gianna Chien completed a school science fair project with help from her father (her father is a Cardiac Electrophysiologist and was able to arrange some patient testing for this project). In her presentation, she showed how the magnets in the iPad 2 can inadvertently turn off implanted defibrillators for about 1/3 of patients as these devices are designed to be turned on and off via magnets.
Normally this wouldn’t be making the rounds as “big news” in the Mac community, as heart patients who have these devices implanted are warned about magnets when these are installed. Apple’s documentation also warns of the risks associated with these devices (they recommend keeping it at least 6 inches from your chest). The reason this story has become so popular, though, is that despite the warnings provided, many iPad users do not know their device contains 30 individual magnets with no purpose but to attach a cover.
As more of these “intimate” gadgets find their way into consistent daily use, we need to ensure that we are conscious of how they interact with our surrounding environment and bodies, and the risks/benefits of these effects. I’m not saying we need to wear tinfoil hats and keep cell phones on the opposite side of the house, but merely to remain aware of small and proven issues, such as the one Gianna Chien brought to light at her science fair.
Amazon is in the process of developing their own smartphones. The coolest thing about one of the high-end models is that it will reportedly integrate a new glasses-free 3D screen. The way that it would work is that there is a front facing camera that uses eye tracking software to create an image that moves in such a way that it appears to protrude from the screen. Think Star Wars style holograms that are only visible to the user of the phone. Unfortunately for us users, this is all still in the rumor stage at this point.
Amazon has long been a purveyor of every imaginable product, but in the past 3-5 years there have been a bunch of rumors that the company is moving into making their own products. I think if they are going to manufacture smartphones this would be a great way to start out on their venture.
I need to send a message to a certain Jedi requesting his aid and it won’t look the same in 2D. Help me Amazon, you are my only hope.
The article referenced in this is available at:
“http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/09/amazon-developing-smartphone-with-3d-display/”:http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/09/amazon-developing-smartphone-with-3d-display/
_Hello Readers,_
Well, after a week of summer we are backsliding into April temperatures again and we may even have frost tonight. That’s not a bad thing if you ask me. I like gradual season changes, and skipping a step like spring is a bit jarring for me, so I’m happy for a second chance. Maybe this time I will get some grass seed down before it gets hot again!
Anyway, this week you’ll get to join Kyle on an interesting journey through Apple’s Boot Camp process. I’m sure many of you will have fond recollections as you read along. Taylor brings word of a potential new thing in smartphones and Mike has this week’s cautionary tale. Have your tin foil hats ready folks.
Thanks for reading,
Liam
“*liam@smalldog.com*”:mailto:liam@smalldog.com
Show off your iPad mini in a case that’s both simple and elegant. The Hammerhead Folio case for iPad mini protects your iPad…
It’s Mother’s Day this Sunday, so if you have a mom who made things great, take a moment and do something nice for her. She’s worth it!
Thanks for reading. Don’s back next week!
Your Kibbles & Bytes team,
_Kali, Steph, Mike B. & Mike D._
Apple, Universal Music, and other record labels are getting closer to reaching a deal for Apple to roll out its free Internet radio service. Apple began talking with record labels about getting rights for a music-streaming service and came in with an offer to pay 6 cents per 100 songs streamed (as a comparison Pandora pays 12 cents, iHeart pays 22 cents and Spotify pays 35 cents). After negotiations, the labels and Apple have apparently finally settled on a per-stream rate that will be the same as Pandora or higher.
Why the big fight for Apple to pay a higher per-stream rate? Labels are afraid that Apple might roll out it’s iRadio with little to no advertising, which would mean that the per-stream revenue is the only money that the labels receive. If Apple builds in audio ads, however, rights holders would also get about 50 percent of the ad revenue. This fear may be justified as Apple has not yet built an iAd infrastructure, and thanks to their enormous pile of cash (around $137 billion) this revenue stream may not be an integral part of their initial roll out of this service.
iRadio would be tied to iTunes and designed for mobile devices. It is rumored to contain features that allow you to rewind a song as well as the ability to purchase a song, which might be appealing to the labels who would collect about 70 percent of every dollar from an iTunes purchase.
Currently there are 500 million iTunes accounts (compared to “only” 70 million Pandora accounts), which puts Apple in a position to gain a large customer base very quickly. There is increasing competition in this growing market, though. Google is aiming to launch its own radio-type product that will work on desktops and mobile devices this summer.
We could potentially hear some more information about this during “WWDC”:https://developer.apple.com/wwdc/ in June. What do you think? Would you give up listening to Pandora, Spotify and other Internet based radio services and use Apple’s version instead?
Every now and again Apple approaches a milestone at one of their online stores and they usually like to celebrate it with a giveaway. This time it happens to be The App Store’s 50 billionth download. That number is just staggering to me. My measly 16GB iPhone can only hold a handful of apps along with my photos and music. I probably have 50 apps on it, including the ones that come standard. So when Apple hits that mark I will be responsible for only 0.0000001% of the total.
It isn’t just about being a part of Apple history, though. Everyone who downloads an app has the chance to be the winner of a spectacular grand prize. If you end up being the lucky one to download the 50 billionth app you will get an App Store Gift Card worth $10,000! Since Apple isn’t like the Highlander movies where “there can be only one” winner the next 50 people to download an app will win a $500 App Store Gift Card. Gosh, isn’t Apple nice!
Because Apple is so nice (and compliant with the law) they give everyone an option to enter the contest without purchasing or downloading apps. All you have to do is fill out a form on Apple’s website and you are in. Keep in mind that when you hit submit it is the equivalent of buying an app, so dust off your clicking skills and time that entry right.
“Enter the contest here.”:http://www.apple.com/itunes/50-billion-app-countdown/entry-form/
I for one cannot imagine what I would do with $10,000 in App Store money. If I had to venture a guess, I would probably buy every single song and movie I have ever wanted and convert all of my free version of apps to their paid counterparts. However, I doubt that doing this would even put a dent in that big chuck of App Store bucks. It would probably last me for years.
I’m interested to hear what our readers would do if they won the grand prize. So I ask, how would you spend $10,000 in App Store money?
From time to time I stumble across features on my iPhone that I never knew existed. The other day just happened to be one of those times and I was so excited I have been telling everyone!
I was simply browsing some website in Safari, when my thumb unintentionally happened to rest on the back navigation arrow for a few seconds longer than normal. All of sudden, a menu popped up from the bottom of the screen. To my amazement, it contained a list of the last few sites I had been to. Of course this type of navigation feature is present in Safari on your Mac, but due to Safari being “mobilized” for the iPhone I never expected this feature to be there. I was pleasantly surprised.
To recap, this is what I did:
* Open Safari on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad
* Start browsing the web. Go to a few of your favorite sites (like smalldog.com):http://www.smalldog.com
* When the back arrow in the bottom left corner turns white press and hold it until a menu pops up
* Select whichever site you’d like to go back to from the list
_Dear Friends,_
Don is in California this week, so I’m coming to you from good ol’ Vermont before I, too, take to the skies. I’m headed south to see family, to celebrate my brother’s completion of grad school, and for a little break after our Rutland store’s grand opening (and everything that went into it!).
By all accounts, our Rutland store opening was a tremendous success! We saw hundreds of enthusiastic people come through the doors, and we were pleased to find a mix of current and new customers. For many, it was the first time they had set foot in a Small Dog store, and they wanted to find out what we were all about. For others, having a local Small Dog store in Rutland meant they no longer had to travel an hour+ to get their Apple fix, and we even met a few long-time readers of our newsletters (thank you!) who came out to mark the occasion. The entire Small Dog team came together to put our collective ‘all’ into it, and I couldn’t be more pleased about our newest location.
Spring has sprung in Vermont, and with it, comes warmer weather (at last) and a chance to formally celebrate the mom, dad, or recent grad in your life. I’m thankful I have all three this year — having had a child myself, I can appreciate my parents that much more, and I’m especially proud of my little brother for graduating from one of the best grad schools in the country while holding down a high-pressure job in DC. Of course, I’m happy to be spending time with them, but since they’re also gadget lovers like I am, I’ll be bringing some treats!
Check out our tech gifts, large and small at “*Smalldog.com/grads*”:http://www.smalldog.com/grads or “*Smalldog.com/dads.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/dads Plus, if you’re in the market for a new Mac, you could save up to $100 off a new Mac! (Soon, mom, soon…)