Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • Does It Smell Like It?

    While we normally try to avoid getting involved in the many patent disputes between Apple and what seems like every other tech company in the world, a judge’s statement in a recent case caught the attention of the Small Dog crew.

    Judge Thomas Pender of the International Trade Commission has said that his decision as to whether Samsung has violated Apple’s patents will hinge on the following conditions: “Does it look like it, feel like it, smell like it?”

    This is of course a reference to Cheech and Chong’s classic routine in which they are trying to determine the nature of a…um…let’s call it “mysterious pile” that they have come upon. After looking at it, feeling it, smelling it, and (this is hard to even write) tasting it, they determine that it is in fact what they thought it was and note that they are glad they didn’t step in it.

    Here at Small Dog HQ we generally just use the first criteria when determining where to step when we walk around the grounds, but I can appreciate a thorough scientific investigation.

  • QuickBooks, Macs and Your Accountant

    bq. “I can’t get a Mac; my accountant told me not to.”

    If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard this statement, I could buy every reader a cup of coffee! There is a general misunderstanding among accountants that QuickBooks and Macs don’t work together, but Small Dog Electronics can prove this statement is false as we still use QuickBooks for a portion of our accounting needs.

    While I was away from Small Dog, I worked for a small, Mac-only business that did all of its accounting in QuickBooks and our accountant was 100% PC-based. There were some workarounds required, but that was mostly due to the vagaries of the PC and not the software itself.

    The first thing that you need to look at are the features that the QuickBooks for Mac has compared to the QuickBooks Pro Windows version has by “*clicking here.*”:http://quickbooks.intuit.com/mac/features/ You’ll notice that they are just about equal as far as features go, though HOW the features interact are different between the versions.

    *QuickBooks for Mac Seminar*
    Our Small Dog Electronics Business guru, Rob Amon, is teaming up with local CPA Geoff Robertson to host a ‘QuickBooks for Mac’ seminar specifically for small business Mac users.

    *What it covers:*
    This free seminar will cover a basic overview of QuickBooks interface, working with your PC accountant and how to decide which version of QuickBooks is required for your type of business.

    *When:*
    The seminar is Thursday, June 14th from 8:00AM until 9:30AM. Rob will be there to answer any of your Mac business questions. Rob is trying to work with Geoff to host additional seminars and for our non-local readers, maybe we can get a copy of the presentation on-line in the future.

    *Where:*
    33 Blair Park Road, Suite 201, Williston, VT 05495.

    *Cost:*
    *FREE!*

    *To register, send an email to* “*anna@dh-cpa.com*”:mailto:anna@dh-cpa.com or call *802-878-1963.*

    “*Purchase QuickBooks for Mac here – $212.99.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/79269/at_blog

  • MAC TREAT #181: Merge Your Data

    In Lion, Finder allows you to do what you’ve never been able to do before. No, not leap tall buildings in a single bound. You can now merge the contents of two folders of the same name without having to sacrifice/overwrite one.

    In previous versions of the OS, your options were either Stop or Replace (or similar, depending on your version). In Lion, you’ll now see a third option in the popup window, Keep Both, and a list of unique files it finds when comparing the two.

    *Important:* This will only work if you use Copy (Command-C) and Paste (Command-V) to merge the folders. I’m not sure why it works this way, but take heed, as the drag ‘n’ drop method will only show the Stop and Replace options of OS versions past…

  • _Dear Readers,_

    Don’s off on a short trip to Lake George, NY, today with our co-worker Tony “Puddin'” Amenta. Tony is our new Sales Manager for Hammerhead and Chill Pill Audio products. We started calling him “Puddin'” when we found out that it was his nickname in grade school. He was the kid in the cafeteria who always ate the other kids’ pudding if they couldn’t finish it. Well, give us a nickname and we run with it.

    Here’s a list of other popular nicknames around the dog pound:

    Dawn = Etta
    Artie = Spreader (for being the guy to bring cow manure and spread on Don’s garden)
    Hapy = Haploid, Tinky Winky, Tiny, Biff
    Rob = Jester
    Don = DP (Donnie Pop)
    Kerry = Carol
    Jaime = J Rico
    Jon – The Farmer
    Jason W = Wu man
    Jamie Mason (our original intern) = Chimpy Nuts
    Grace = Grace
    Nick = Little Nicky

    Since I’m filling in for Don today, I made a joke before writing this that I was just going to use the first piece of spam that came into my inbox, so here’s what might have been:

    “My Dear beloved Friend, Greetings in the name of God, Please let this not sound strange to you for my only surviving lawyer who would have done this died.”

    You just can’t make stuff like that up! Spam can be so much fun! Neil Forsyth has written “*several books*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/why-me/id511309931?mt=11%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30 about his hilarious email responses to spam. You can read some excerpts “*here*”:http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/oct/23/emails-solicit-money-king-arawi for a darn good chuckle!

    We are deep into June and that means our eWaste Recycling Events are right around the corner. Come say “Hi” and drop your old electronics off to be safely recycled. On June 16th, we will be at the Mall of NH (and will be giving away two NASCAR tickets), and on June 30th, we will be at Rutland High School in Rutland, Vermont.

    Enjoy this week’s Kibbles!

  • Make your customers smile like I am!

    Hello all,

    I love my Capo case and, well, as you can see, it does make me smile. (That’s me to the left!) Hammerhead wants to help your customers feel the same. I can help too!

    The following links can give you all the tools you need to help you sell our new Capo Case for iPad (both iPad 2 and 3rd gen). We have been receiving some complimentary press lately from unbiased reviewers–take a look!

    “*__Dr. Mac: Making a case for iPad cases__*”:http://www.chron.com/default/article/Dr-Mac-Making-a-case-for-iPad-cases-3608784.php
    “*__Father’s day gift ideas for techie loving Dads__*”:http://www.examiner.com/review/father-s-day-gift-ideas-for-techie-loving-dads

    We showed you this in our last newsletter, but in case you missed it, check out the video where our Capo Case (with iPad inside) gets run over by a truck:

    “*__Yeah, I Rolled Over an iPad With My Truck!__*”:http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/05/rolled-over-an-ipad-with-my-truck/

    Feel free to give customers these links if they’re on the fence over which case they want. We hope your iPad sales are strong and hope that you are able to add a case to every sale.

    “*View Capo Cases here.*”:https://www.hammerheadcase.com/product/13/capo-case
    “*View the full pricelist here.*”:http://vendor.hammerheadcase.com/pricelists/SS_dealer-pricelist_05.12.pdf (opens a PDF)

    Hope to hear from you soon! Have a great one!

    Tony
    “*tony@hammerheadcase.com*”:mailto:tony@hammerheadcase.com

  • EVENTS: June eWaste Recycling

    June is here, and your overstuffed garage and basements will thank you when you decide to recycle your old electronics at one of our two eWaste Recycling Events.

    If you’re in or around the Manchester, NH area, come out to the Mall of NH on *Saturday, June 16 from 9-3pm.* “*Check out our event page on Facebook here.*”:https://www.facebook.com/events/117215921749620/

    If you’re in or around the Rutland, VT area (new location this year!), come out to Rutland High School on *Saturday, June 30 from 9-3pm.* “*Check out our event page on Facebook here.*”:https://www.facebook.com/events/370407646353422/

    More details are available on our website as well:
    “*http://www.smalldog.com/ewaste2012*”:http://www.smalldog.com/ewaste2012

  • What Does 4G Mean?

    One question that we hear often is, “What exactly does 4G mean?” Well, answering that doesn’t require a big technical background. The “G” in 4G stands for “generation.” Every time a wireless carrier upgrades the equipment on their towers, they refer to it as the next generation of their network. In basic terms, every time they make their internet faster, they give it a new name to add value for their customers.

    This does not mean that all 4G networks are the same. If Verizon’s 3G was as fast as T-mobile’s 2G, then T-mobile’s 4G will be a lot faster than Verizon’s. You will also see terms such as LTE or HSPA+. These are terms for the actual technology–the current generation of the network. LTE stands for “long term expansion.”

    This is currently the fastest technology on the market, and the carriers use it because it can easily be upgraded for years to come. Knowing and recognizing these terms can help you compare different carriers and how fast their networks actually are, not just what “G” stands for.

  • Just Another Expensive Charger?

    Why pay $30 for an Apple iPhone charger? This is a question I’ve asked myself a few times, but in the end, I still dropped the cash for the Apple-branded charger for my iPhone. Considering it’s something that I know will last me a while, and that the Apple name means quality, I don’t have much of an issue paying this much for something that seems to be so simple, and I could get for much cheaper elsewhere.

    While I feel that this is mostly a good justification, techie blogger Ken Shirriff has come up with a much better reason. Recently, he completely tore apart the tiny charger and closely analyzed its components, resulting in quite the unexpected. Apple’s charger is surprisingly more technologically complex than most other third-party chargers.

    He describes each electrical component, in detail, explaining how these components allow Apple’s charger to be efficient and intelligent. One major difference between Apple’s charger and the generic third party charger is Apple’s attention to the reduction EMI interference. This quality allows your iPhone to operate while plugged in exactly the same way as it would while not plugged in. Whereas, while plugged into a third party charger, the iPhone may exhibit touchscreen interference.

    Safety is also a factor in Apple’s charger, with a complex circuit that shuts down the charger if it rises above a safe temperature or voltage. Shirriff states that Apple goes “beyond regulation” with with some of the electrical precautions that were taken.

    Needless to say, the next time I need to buy an iPhone charger, I will not be thinking twice about which manufacturer I’m buying it from.

    Please give Ken Shirriff’s very detailed/complex article a read “*here.*”:http://www.arcfn.com/2012/05/apple-iphone-charger-teardown-quality.html

    These advanced little pieces of technology may be purchased in-store or “*on our website!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/78511/at_tt

  • LaCie Purchased By Seagate

    The pool of mass storage vendors and firms declined by one last week. Seagate announced that they have purchased LaCie for $186 million. In 2006, Seagate purchased drive manufacturer Maxtor. (Maxtor had purchased Quantum Corporation in 2000.)

    The latest acquisition by Seagate seems to indicate that they want to offer a wider range of storage options. LaCie, one of the first manufacturers to adopt the Thunderbolt port, has long been a company supporting the Mac community. Thoughts? How many of you either own a Seagate drive or LaCie external hard drive?