Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • It's What's On the Inside That Counts

    External hard drives come in many shapes and sizes. From desktop behemoths to rugged portable drives, there are as many different hard drives as there are different people.

    A fact that would surprise most is that on the inside of the fancy casings, there are only three possible options. Over two hundred companies have at one point made hard drives, but that number has been boiled down over time. Now only Seagate, Western Digital and Toshiba are left in the race to hold all the world’s data.

    Seagate and Western Digital are neck-in-neck in sales at about 40% each with Toshiba holding the rest. This changes the probability of what you will get when you buy a external hard drive. Two out of five drives will either have a Seagate or Western Digital drive, which begs the question of which is better. If you are a faithful fan of certain companies, you might be biased towards a particular drive.

    Toshiba just has the experience of Fujitsu in its belt, compared to Western Digital, who can find its roots among IBM and Hitachi. Seagate, in this regard, might look like the better choice, pulling from eight different companies from DEC and Maxtor to Seagate.

    According to the market at large, Seagate is the most reliable; personally, I prefer Western Digital. Truthfully, both brands are about equal. One could measure reliability company-wide, but whether or not the hard drive you buy will last all boils down to how well that particular drive was put together. So the choice of what matters on the inside is really up to the eye of the beholder. ‘

    All that said, remember to back up your data!

  • Enabling Siri on iPad (3rd Gen)

    iOS 6 is here and that means that those of us who are on the latest version of Apple’s iPad now have access to Siri. When you update your device, you should be prompted at setup to activate Siri. However, if not, here’s how you turn it (her?) on.

    In *Settings,* select *General. *Scroll down till you find the section for Siri and move the slider from off to on. If you’re already on then you can stop reading. Alter the feedback, language and self-identification settings however you see fit. Then close out of the Settings app and you’re good to go.

    To use Siri on the device, just hold your Home button down for a couple of seconds, and this will activate Siri. (This may not be a very high-tech article but probably half of the support calls we get in Service are simple things like this that can have people pulling their hair out in frustration!)

    I’ve been using the new Siri and have to say it’s a pretty big improvement over Siri 1. Now Apple just needs to figure out a way to get Majel Barrett’s voice in there and I’ll be a very happy geek!

  • PPTX to .Mov

    An interesting question was posed this week in our support email box at “*support@smalldog.com.*”:mailto:support@smalldog.com The customer had, with previous versions of Office, been able to export PowerPoint presentations with sound track. Since moving to Office 2011, the *Save as Movie* option now stripped the audio from the .mov file.

    So, what to do? After doing some research, I think I found a solution to their problem as explained below.

    So as to not alter/damage the PowerPoint file in question, I suggest first making a copy of the file. The second step is to append the file extension on the copy to .zip. Double clicking on the new file opens it with the Archive Utility, which would show the audio package as a distinct file. Then, you can copy the audio file to the desktop from the new folder.

    Once the audio is a separate file, we can use the functionality of the application that Microsoft had already built in. Under File in the menu bar, there is an option to *Save as Movie.* In the box that pops up, we can choose a Background soundtrack for the movie file we are creating. With that drop down we would select the extracted audio file that we saved from the Zip.

    Many may suggest using Keynote instead. While this is definitely an option, I have found that Keynote also has issues with audio when exported to .mov. Your opinions are always welcome, and of course your milage may vary. Do you have a better solution? We would be happy to hear it and share with the other Tech Tails readers! (Click on the email above to let me know!)

  • Hello all,

    As crisp, cool, and short days become the norm, leaves start to pile up, and runny noses are more and more common, the conclusion that another year has almost passed is inescapable. Aside from a couple of big holidays, 2012 is basically over. It was a big year for Apple.

    Lots of new products…well, lots of the same products with welcome upgrades, but let’s not split hairs. A huge legal case which pitted an Apple (that still somehow markets itself as a small underdog) against acknowledged corporate giant Samsung. Apple won the first round, but the appeal went against them, and I’m sure the battle will go on for years.

    This month actually marks the first year since the passing of the man who embodied Apple, Steve Jobs, which must have had an impact on some of the decisions they have made this past year. And even with these challenges, Apple’s mobile products continue to be the standard by which all others are measured, whether the company making the competing product admits it or not.

    I’m hoping that with the rumored iPad mini and new iMacs, Apple will enter another phase of innovation and some exciting new directions in the coming years.

    Thanks for reading, and best wishes.

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

  • Save $40 off original pricing on an open-box, like-new condition Hammerhead Bluetooth Keyboard Case made to perfectly fit your iPad 2 or iPad…

  • Grace is off learning Spanish in Costa Rica, so it is just me and the three dogs at home. When I got home, as I listened to the messages on my voicemail, I glanced over at the sugar bowl and saw a chubby mouse in the bowl chowing down. It is that time of the year when the mice want to come inside, but this one was brazen and I found myself wishing I had a cat!

    I am hoping that the weather cooperates a little bit this weekend so I can get some fall riding in before it snows. We are into one of Vermont’s “shoulder” seasons — stick season. The leaf peepers have pretty much gone home and things get pretty slow here in the ski areas until the snow and holidays come.

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
    _Don, Kali, Mike & Steph_

  • Heeeeeeere's Jonny!

    This week, our “Meet the Small Dogger” segment goes out to lucky contestant and “young gun” Jonny Wanser. Jonny came on as a Small Dog sales associate back in July. So why are we featuring him now?

    Jonny was recently promoted to Assistant Manger in our South Burlington location because of his stellar performance and superior customer service skills! That may sound like a quick jump up the corporate ladder, but it doesn’t come without some serious retail experience.

    Before coming to Small Dog he spent about three years at American Apparel, Forever 21 and Ace Hardware (there’s some diversity).

    And now for the best part — here are some things you might not know about Jonny:

    When Jonny is not rockin’ the Small Dog floor, he’s busy working full time on a rock opera. Yes, that’s right — a Rock. Opera. For a few years, he kept busy moving from Seattle to San Francisco trying to make connections to help him craft his rock opera, before he found himself settling back in his hometown of Burlington, Vermont. Since he’s been back, he’s been focusing most of his down time on recording and organizing it with some of his closest friends.

    He also runs an internet-famous blog and does audio engineering for himself and others who need it. This mostly entails sitting in on recording sessions or making songs/beats for others.

    Jonny might sound like a busy guy, but when he’s not focusing on his beats he can most likely be found in his basement in his own personal studio writing sad songs and eating chips.

    If any of you Kibbles readers are visiting our South Burlington location and need advice on anything related to audio engineering (or anything technology-related, really), seek out Jonny. He’ll be your guy!

  • iPhone 5 Case Options

    If you are one of the lucky few who have received your fancy new iPhone 5, then you’re probably bouncing around with excitement. Hopefully, you aren’t bouncing so much that you’ve already dropped your piece of Apple gold. Yep, that’s right — the iPhone 5 is just as susceptible to gravity as its predecessors were.

    Luckily for you, cases for the iPhone 5 are coming out fast. We carry a wide variety of cases, from the streamlined slider style to robust protection. And of course, I can’t forget my favorite case — the CandyShell by Speck.

    I want to take this opportunity to have a little heart-to-heart with you. I am in love with the way Apple designs their iPhone look. It is absolutely gorgeous and if I weren’t Mr.Butterfingers, I would roll with my iPhone 4S case-less. Alas, after breaking my 1st Gen. iPhone, I haven’t had the courage to use my iPhone without some type of protection on it. Currently, I use a Speck CandyShell Card case and it works great.

    So to highlight a few options that you have “*PDO*”:http://www.smalldog.com/mfg/?MfrName=PDO,%20LLC&page=1&refinecat=iPhone_Accessories|Cases_|iPhone_5 continues to make their “*Slider Case.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/81835/pdo-silk-slider-case-for-iphone-5-black/at_kb This lil’ guy gives you some scratch protection and a moderate amount impact protection. Unfortunately, we are still waiting to get these in our stores but you can pre-order them on our website for $24.99 and we will get it to you as soon as we get them. Next up would be my favorite the “*Speck CandyShell*”:http://www.smalldog.com/mfg/?MfrName=Speck&page=1&refinecat=iPhone_Accessories|Cases_|iPhone_5. Hard plastic outside, soft rubber inside and it won’t melt in your hand or your mouth (Just to be clear I advise against eating you iPhone). The Speck CandyShell will set you back $34.99 and give you the best balance of protection and streamlined design I’ve seen in a case yet. The final case I want to mention is the “*OtterBox Defender.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/81580/otterbox-defender-series-case-for-iphone-5-glacier/at_kb Now “*OtterBox*”:http://www.smalldog.com/mfg/?MfrName=OtterBox&page=1&refinecat=iPhone_Accessories|Cases_|iPhone_5 has been protecting electronics for some time now, and they are darn good at it. Wanna show your friends how far you can throw your iPhone? I suggest putting it in an OtterBox Defender before letting it rip. The drawback of the Defender is that it adds so much bulk onto the device that it doesn’t look as nice as a bare iPhone and getting it in and out of pockets can be tricky.

    Whether you like your iPhone with a small, medium, or large amount of protection, Small Dog has a variety of options for you to choose from. I highly recommend stopping by one of our three locations or checking out what we carry on our website. Here’s to a cracked glass-free two years for all of you with the iPhone 5!

  • MAC TREAT #191: Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Audio Setup

    Here at Small Dog, we sell a sweet little cable that will connect your MacBook Pro to your HDTV. It’s called the “*Hammerhead Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Cable.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/76263/hammerhead-mini-displayport-to-hdmi-cable-6ft/at_kb I purchased one of these as soon as I got my Mac, brought it home and plugged it into my computer and TV. It was as simple as that to get video from my Mac to my TV.

    The problem came up when I tried to play a movie — sound was coming out of my Mac, but not my TV. Luckily, it is rather easy, and makes logical sense as to why it wasn’t working. Macs are so powerful that they let __you__ determine how you want you sound to be played — whether it be through the computer speakers or through external ones.

    All you have to do is go to *System Preferences* and click on the *Sound* category. This changes the window to the Sound menu. Along the top of the window you should see three tabs labeled *Sound Effects*, *Output*, and *Input*. Select *Output* and then from the list below select the Output with the *type* of *HDMI*. This will tell your computer to send the audio data through the Mini DisplayPort to your TV. That is it — From here, you should be listening to audio from your TV’s speakers instead of your Mac’s.

    Of course, these instructions have a few caveats. First, my machine is a 2011 MacBook Pro running OS 10.7. Your setup might be different and the Mini DisplayPort only started supporting audio out on the 2010 (and later) machines. The next important thing to ask is: Does your TV have an HDMI port in it? It’s also handy if your TV has speakers either built-in or connected to it.

  • _Dear Friends,_

    I got back from China on Wednesday night and my body is still quite confused about which time zone it is in. Even though the seats recline to a bed, I have never been able to sleep on airplanes, so I read a few books, answered email and watched a movie on the long 15-hour flight. It was over 24 hours of traveling from my hotel in Hong Kong to my home, so I got my sleep patterns totally confused.

    You would have thought that the iPad mini that is rumored had already been released with all of the accessories that were being shown. I even got a sample of an iPad mini case that had a very realistic mock-up of the iPad mini with it. I attended two trade shows in Hong Kong and then traveled to Dongguan and Shenzhen to visit our manufacturing partners and to talk about new products.

    There were a few companies showing Lightning connectors but when I asked, none of them had acquired Apple licenses for the products (although they were all hopeful). It is my understanding that Apple will not actually license the design, but will require these manufacturers to purchase the connector from Apple suppliers. For this reason — aside from the few companies that had the pirated cables — there were no Lightning accessories at the show.

    There was a huge selection of iPhone cases, iPad cases, speakers and other peripherals. It is a little like finding a needle in a haystack, however, because many companies have the same products and it takes some time to determine whether the company is a manufacturer or a trading agent. Nevertheless, I came back with a bag full of brochures and samples that may lay the groundwork for new Hammerhead and Chill Pill products.

    I noted that while I was gone we were able to acquire a bunch more of the “*Apple Certified Refurbished 17-inch MacBook Pros.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Apple/MacBook_Pro/17in These all carry the standard Apple 1-year warranty and are eligible for “*AppleCare Protection Plan,*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/78291/applecare-protection-plan-macbook-pro-15in-and-17in/at_kb too. This is the last of the 17-inch MacBook Pros so if you are looking for a laptop with a big screen, this could be the best opportunity to get one at a highly discounted price (they start at $1349.99!).

  • Passbook and MLB

    As many of you know, I am a huge Orioles fan, have and try to make it to games whenever possible. I have…