Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • Wi-Fi Diagnostic Tool Update

    Since writing the article on the hidden Wi-Fi diagnostic tool in Lion and Mountain Lion, I’ve gotten a few emails from people who haven’t been able to find the CoreServices folder in Lion.

    Here’s a trick on how to get to folders that are hidden: Within Finder, go to the *Go* menu and choose *Go to Folder.* In the window that opens up, enter the following: /system/library/CoreServices

    This should get you to the right folder. You can also use this trick to get to your hidden personal Library folder. Just enter: ~/Library

  • Hello All,

    So…now that the heat has abated a bit, we can concentrate on hurricane season again. We are at ‘I’ (for Isaac), which means we have seen quite a few tropical storms and hurricanes already. I’m really hoping we avoid any direct hits this year–many places in Vermont are still struggling to rebuild from Irene, which hit last year, and there are many areas where the geography has been completely rewritten. I think I would find it difficult to endure hurricanes and hurricane damage every year. People adapt to the most amazing things!

    The big tech news this week is Apple’s victory over Samsung in the courts. It was decided that Samsung stole patented ideas from Apple for interfacing with phones and tablets, including the ‘pinching’ and ‘opening’ gestures which zoom images in and out. All the buzz is about whether this decision will hamper innovation or inspire other companies to seek their own solutions to make their touch interfaces work. There are plenty of persuasive arguments for both sides, really, including one that argues that certain gestures are like the steering wheel, where form follows function so closely that changing it could render the device almost useless.

    Imagine if Henry Ford had received a patent for the round steering wheel and anyone who wanted a Chrysler needed to use a square or triangle. Or two levers. The argument could be made that this would have spurred innovation in other car makers and therefore driven competition in the market. But it could also be argued that the round steering wheel (like pinching) is such an integral part of car design itself that exclusively granting its use to one company would kill competition and innovation. In any case, I’m sure the appeals will drag on for years. And I will still be reading on and pinching my iPad, unless someone makes something better.

    Thanks for reading!

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

  • The 11-inch 1.6GHz i5 MacBook Air (circa 7/2011) is now an extra $20 off our previous low price of $949.99. Get yours now,…

  • I won’t say that I have OD’ed on sweet corn yet, but we are down to every __other__ night now as the seasons winds down. As the days get shorter and Artie starts wishing for snow, I just have to take every opportunity I can to get out on the bike, and this weekend looks promising!

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
    _Don, Kali, Dawn & Mike_

  • Adobe Photoshop Elements v10.0 | 50% off today only!

    Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 — the newest version of the #1 consumer photo editing software — helps you turn everyday memories into sensational photos you’ll cherish forever. Easily edit photos and make photo creations using automated options, share photos with your social network, and view photos virtually anywhere you are.

    *Today only: (August 25, 2012) 50% off!* __Purchase by 11:59PM Eastern.__

  • Famous Garage Sale: New Adds

    One good thing about our Famous Garage Sale? It’s never the same twice. Another good thing? You’ll find the best prices around, and there are a bunch of diamonds in the rough (you just may have to scour for ’em!).

    We just keep adding products over here, so be sure to check out what’s new. As always, orders will be taken *ONLINE ONLY* via our website, and there are *NO PHONE ORDERS PERMITTED.*

    Additionally, be sure to note that shipping times are a bit longer than standard due to demand.

    “*Read all rules and view the Famous Garage Sale here!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/garagesale/

  • SOFTWARE UPDATE: OS 10.8.1

    Mountain Lion users, the first update has been released. Apple has released OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.1, available in the Mac App Store under the Updates tab. As always, Apple (and we) recommend backing up your data before you start — just in case. You’ll need to restart your machine once it’s finished, so make sure you’re at a good stopping point.

    Per Apple’s update notes, they state that 10.8.1 will include the following:

    * Addresses an issue playing audio through a Thunderbolt display
    * Improves 802.1X authentication with Active Directory credentials
    * Improves compatibility between Microsoft Exchange and Apple Mail
    * Resolves various issues in Migration Assistant, iMessage and Safari
    * Resolves an issue when connecting to SMB servers with long names

    Additionally, it’s reported that battery life is addressed — some users have complained that they’re receiving less than half of the ideal run time, and that this update may get battery drainage back to normal levels. We will see. If this has affected you, let us know if your laptop now fares better!

    The Mountain Lion 10.8.1 is about 7MB via the Mac App Store or 24.2MB via direct download from Apple’s website, “*found here.*”:http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1571?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

  • He Sold His Share For What?!?

    We have all made mistakes in our lives, but for most of us the consequences are relatively minor. Maybe you forgot to pay a bill and it accrues some interest (such as when I forgot to pay my $5 dental co-pay and they tacked 50 cents onto the bill…price gouging!!).

    Maybe you didn’t get an oil change and your engine seizes up and now you are out several thousand dollars (I always get my oil changed on time, so I have no idea why my engine failed). Or perhaps you sold your 10% share in what would go on to become the most valuable company of all time and now you are out over 60 billion dollars.

    Unfortunately for Ronald Wayne, the last example is not a hypothetical scenario. In 1976 Mr. Wayne, who worked at Atari with Steve Jobs, helped found Apple Computers. He drew the first Apple logo, wrote the original partnership agreement, and wrote the Apple I manual. For his assistance, he was awarded a 10% stake in the company. Less than two weeks later, he sold his share back to Jobs and Steve Wozniak for $800 as he was worried that the new company would go into debt and he had assets that creditors could potentially seize.

    This week, Apple became the most valuable company of all time (not adjusting for inflation because if you do Microsoft is still the winner and no one wants that) hitting a total market capitalization of around 624 billion dollars. This would make Wayne’s share 62.4 billion dollars, which is 78 million times as much as he was paid for it.

    For all of you out there who rue not buying Apple stock when it was under $10, take some comfort in the fact that you only lost out on multiplying your investment 100 times or so. That is nothing compared to a 62.4 billion dollar error in judgment.

  • Organizing Your Documents in iCloud

    I’ve been using iCloud for several weeks now, and there are still some things that I’m discovering and getting used to. For one, when I save a document to the cloud, I’ve wondered how to make a folder to better organize what’s there.

    My ‘ah-ha’ moment came when I just tried good ol’ drag-and-drop. Pair that with the knowledge that Apple is consciously streamlining features and gestures between all of their apps — from iOS to OS to iCloud — and there it was: by dragging a file over another, it creates a folder. Just like your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, files can be arranged separately or within a single-level folder (that you can custom-name).

    For further options, note that you can right-click on a file to duplicate, move or open it.

    What’s your take on iCloud so far? Have you used other cloud applications? If so, what’s your app of choice?

  • MAC TREAT #187: To-Do's and Reminders in 10.8

    I found this really cool trick on “*OSXDaily.com*”:http://osxdaily.com/2012/08/16/update-to-do-list-reminders-mac-os-x-desktop-from-ios/ that I just have to share.

    First, you need a Mac with OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) installed. You’ll also need an iOS device and iCloud enabled on both.

    On your Mac, create a to-do list in Reminders. Double click the to-do list that you created and it will open in a new window, which you can put anywhere on your desktop. You can then close the main Reminders window. You can hide this list by hiding Reminders but since the list window is smaller and cleaner, it’s a bit out of the way.

    Now go to your iPhone or iPad, open Reminders and make a change to the same list that is on your Mac’s desktop. As long as both Mac and iOS device are online, the list will automatically update.

    It’s one of those cool things you can do to impress your friends.

  • Dear Friends,

    Beats are in! After a long wait, we have finally received our supply of the very popular “*Beats by Dr. Dre headphones,*”:http://beatsbydre.com/ available in our retail locations only. We now have a very comprehensive selection of headphones in all of our stores with Beats, Monster, House of Marley, Sennheiser and Urbanears. Come on in and check them out — of course, you might want to grab an iPod to go with them!

    Hammerhead had to have a little surgery on his eyelids because they were beginning to irritate his eyes. So now he looks a bit like a drunk bulldog who has been up all night, but thankfully, they’re clearing up. I love my Bulldog but he sure is high maintenance! He turned eight last week, so I gave him some extra chicken to celebrate.

    -Back to school- Mac to School is in full swing with many schools set to start next week. The iPad or MacBook question has come up countless times and while both seem to sell very well, there are definitely those who see the iPad as the ultimate portable computing solution. We get questions each week about this on our radio show on WDEV radio Thursdays at 1PM. (“*Read more about it here!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/sdspeaks) An iPad/Hammerhead Bluetooth Keyboard Case combo can be a very reasonable solution for many students. However, for those who do more than email, web surfing and word processing, the MacBook Pro 13-inch seems to be the Mac of choice due to its high-power/compact size ratio.