Kibbles & Bytes Blog

I will be out in Minneapolis (or somewhere in-between) next week, so Dawn and Kali will keep you up-to-date with Kibbles news.

I have been making progress on my electric motorcycle project and we are still shooting for the 4th of July for the first roll-out. I was fascinated by the number of electric scooters and bicycles in China!

Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
_Don, Kali & Dawn_

MacBook Pro 13-inch with Magic Mouse

Grab your favorite mom a techy gift this year. Many of our gifts and specials are under $20, but of course, we’re sure she wouldn’t say no to an iPod touch or iPad.

“*Visit Smalldog.com/mom*”:http://www.smalldog.com/mom for more Mobile Mom specials!

First of all, thank you for all of the emails regarding iCloud…it’s by far the topic that has generated the most response in my time here! From iDisk to .mac queries, it looks as though you have thoughts on it all!

So, due to the vast number of emails (over 65 and counting) and subsequently, a large range of questions, I’m still sorting through your emails and will break the answers up into multiple articles. Plus, I’ll keep responding to your emails personally very shortly!

In the meantime, “*click here for a helpful list of all of Apple’s iCloud support articles and solutions,*”:http://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=search&src=support_site.home.search&locale=en_US&q=icloud and I’ll be back to you with individual solutions.

This year, we’re focusing on the “Mobile Mom”–you know, the one who, instead of hanging around the house and letting her husband fix anything technical, is constantly on-the-go and uses technology to help get things done.

The modern Mobile Mom may still cook, but she uses “*Epicurious*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/epicurious-recipes-shopping/id312101965?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30 to do it. She keeps track of the kids, but now she might even consider “*Family Tracker*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/family-tracker-for-ipad/id367740596?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30 to do it.

Here are my Top 5 apps for a Mobile Mom:

“*Pinterest,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pinterest/id429047995?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30 free
Admittedly, I’m a bit obsessed with this myself. From design inspiration to DIY projects, I “pin” the web to make bookmarks easier to find–visually.

“*Marble Jar,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/marble-jar/id444902155?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30 $1.99
Little G isn’t old enough for this yet, but many of my friends rave about this app and its ability to help raise “responsible, competent kids.” Listed among the top 10 apps by Parents.com and voted among the top 50 by Babble in 2011.

“*TellMeLater,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tellmelater/id395924713?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30 $0.99
I love this app for its simplicity. The interface is clean and it does what it says–simply enter a to-do with a time and it will tell you later (when you need it). Perfect for basic reminders like “Call the Doctor” and “Wish Beth Happy Birthday!”

“*Magic Hour,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/magic-hour-camera-unlimited/id434159268?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30 $1.99
It’s similar to Instagram, but with custom options. It has built-in and user-created filters, plus you can make your own. Capture those memories, moms!

“*Grocery iQ,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grocery-iq/id290591617?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30 free
Save money on the thing you need most: food. Grocery iQ is integrated with coupons as well, so you can see what’s on sale. A must for the Mobile Mom who wants to make grocery shopping quick and painless.

__Dear Friends,__

Back in the Green Mountains for at least a few days after a great trip to China. I am heading out to Minneapolis for the Apple Specialist Marketing Coop Conference today. Jason L. and I will be riding our motorcycles to the conference and taking the Lake Express high speed ferry across Lake Michigan on the way out.

Kali and Dawn did not cover the Apple quarterly financial results last week but after a lot of doom and gloom predictions prior to the release of the results, Apple once again posted record sales and record earnings and that is an understatement by itself. Their success was driven to a large part by sales in China, with Apple making significant market penetration for iPhone and iPad in that market.

My trip to China certainly confirmed that as I saw maybe 50% of the people in Hong Kong with iPhones and iPhones present in even the remote parts of China that I visited. My guide in Hangzhou had an iPad that he used to show us pictures of his family, play some of his original music and entertain us while on a boat ride on the West Lake.

When we got to Shanghai, again the iPhone was everywhere and when we visited the Apple store there, it was as jammed packed as any store in the USA–maybe even more so. We spent one week working, attending shows in Hong Kong and visiting the factories of the companies where our Hammerhead products are produced. When we visited our man in China, Simon Liao, we had a grand welcome complete with fireworks and a great lunch with his family.

Since Grace was with me on this trip, we decided to spend some of Hapy’s inheritance and booked a great tour of China through “*Wild China,*”:http://www.wildchina.com which included some amazing adventures such as a climb up Yellow Mountain __(and its 1.2 bijllion stairs)__ and a night in a 600-year-old house in Xidi. I met a lot of very friendly and interesting Chinese people and really fell in love with the people and the culture. It was funny that many of the young women would ask to have their pictures taken with me or Grace either because of our tattoos or that we were some of the only westerners they have seen. I had my brief moment of rock star-ism.

After 21 hours of traveling, it was sure good to be back home and get our dogs from our friends who were watching them and then stop at the store to get a steak for dinner. Five days on, I am just now getting over jet lag from being on the other side of the world. I am giving a talk on the future of technology to another tech company in Vermont in a couple of weeks and the topic I chose was, “How Science Fiction Becomes Science Reality.” Certainly hopping on an airplane on one side of the planet and 15 hours later, getting off on the other side of the planet is one of those examples!