Kibbles & Bytes Blog

If you have taken Mikhael’s words of advice and found that your power adapter needs replacing or you’d just like to have a backup, we have what you need.

Don’t be fooled by cheap knock-offs you find other places. These are official Apple power adapters that are built to last.

Be mindful of which adapter you need as the MagSafe and MagSafe2 have different ends that are not interchangeable. But, if you happen to have a healthy MagSafe adapter that needs upgrading to fit a MagSafe2 port, you can always pick up the adapter for just $10.

You can never be too careful with protecting your electronics. Surges of electricity can wreak havoc on your computer if left unchecked.

Your typical surge protector weighs a ton and isn’t the most portable device. This mini surge protector by Belkin gives you protection and portability. Offering 3 outlets and 2 USB ports, you can keep all of your electronics powered and protected while on the go.

While more and more technology becomes wireless, and our workspaces and homes are less cluttered by cabling, one cord remains steadfast. Most devices we own have a power cord. Cords like the iPhone or iPad cables are certainly low-power and pose less threat, but we need to stay aware of the ones powering bigger devices. Particularly laptop adapters.

As laptop adapters are bustled around and thrown through the cycle of unplugging, wrapping, shoving them in bags, untangling them from your headphones, yanking them out of the wall, catching under chair and table legs, and various other abuses, the insulation wears down and the copper inside can kink, break and cross with other wires. These can also kink at points where the wire meets another component, like the adapter block, or that magnetic end which attaches to the computer. Take great care not to bend these at an extreme angle.

These wires have a large amount of power flowing through them when connected to AC, and can pose a fire hazard when the insulation and shielding is worn or damaged. Should wires fray, or insulation become damaged, we highly recommend ceasing use of the cable. Damaged power cables cannot only start house fires, but may also damage the computer or the laptop’s battery over time as inconsistent power is applied and shorts are caused.

If you see cuts, kinks, fraying or otherwise incongruous/damaged insulation, it might be time for a new cable.

In the last year, Apple has announced initiatives to bring some manufacturing jobs back to the US. In a move that is almost as surprising, it seems they may be looking to do some hardware development (gasp!) NOT in Cupertino! Several jobs listings for positions in Orlando, FL for GPU and iOS hardware development have been found on the web by people who watch these kinds of things.

The A6 processor in the iPhone 5 uses a custom-designed core, and it seems Apple is looking to expand its capabilities in this area. Apple also bought a fingerprint recognition company down there in a town called Melbourne. Probably not coincidentally, Apple is hiring for positions in what it’s calling the “Melbourne Design Center”.

While Orlando isn’t usually thought of as a hotbed of technology, AMD has a big design center down there, EA Games Tiburon division is there, and there is a HUGE college with lots on interns probably looking to give anything to work for free at one of these places.

Did I mention this is in America, and not somewhere else?

This week, we have a guest post from the “*developers at Green Mountain Software!*”:mailto:john@greenmountainsoftware.com

*****

Certainly you’ve heard the expression: “There’s an app for that!” but if there __isn’t__ currently an app for that, Green Mountain Software can write one for you.

Now located in the Innovation Center in Burlington, Vermont, Green Mountain Software (GMSW) was founded in 1993 by Lou Krieg and his wife, Ann Pettyjohn after attending the ’93 MacWorld trade show where the Apple “Newton” was first introduced. Lou and Ann realized that mobile technology was going to be a huge part of the future, so Green Mountain Software was formed to fill that need. They were right. Mobile technology is changing the world and how business is done. The number of mobile users is predicted to surpass the number of desktop users by 2014.^1^

It is apparent that simple email access is no longer enough. Mobile technology allows companies to have an unprecedented level of connectivity between employees, vendors, and customers.^2^ In 2012, Gartner Research predicted that sales of mobile tablet devices would top $120 million – double that of 2011. In addition, the number of active smartphones is currently over 1 billion worldwide.^3^

During the past eighteen years, companies such as EcoLab, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Coffee Lab International, Pro-Cut International, United Technologies, Bio Tek Instruments, Leica, the Indy Racing League, and many others have trusted GMSW with their app development. In fact, even other software development companies such as Palm have relied on the expertise of Green Mountain Software to develop their mobile device apps.

Check out the entire article on our “*Blog.*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/index.php?id=7140

If you’re interested in more information, or just want to discuss your idea, Green Mountain software is on the Web at “www.GreenMountainSoftware.com”:www.GreenMountainSoftware.com. We can be reached at 802-865-2728, or email “john@greenmountainsoftware.com”:mailto:john@greenmountainsoftware.com.

^1^ Morgan Stanley Research
^2^ “http://www.strategicgrowthconcepts.com/growth/increase-productivity–profitability.html”:http://www.strategicgrowthconcepts.com/growth/increase-productivity–profitability.html
^3^ “http://mashable.com/2013/01/04/mobile-2013/”:http://mashable.com/2013/01/04/mobile-2013/

Hello readers,

74, 25, 38, 61, 43, 56. Not Powerball numbers, but a range of last week’s temperatures, even with a touch of snow sprinkled in there. My least favorite part if spring is feeling like I need to prepare for anything when I leave the house. I still wear my winter jacket almost every day, and my ice scraper is going to stay in my trunk until June.

Luckily, the sun is warm no matter how cold it is, and the flowers and grass seem to be ignoring the weather, which is motivating me to do the same. I have decided that I need to have the same standards as grass.

Speaking of standards, we all know that at both ends of the country this week people were tested in similar horrible ways and certainly set a high standard of resilience for the rest of us to live up to. That’s all I am going to say about any of it. Others have said everything that can be said and better than I could. I am however, going to try to stop for at least a second when I get angry at someone and ask myself if I’m really that mad.

Thanks for reading,

Liam
“*liam@smalldog.com*”:mailto:liam@smalldog.com