Kibbles & Bytes Blog

Here’s a chance to save. Purchase this 13-inch MacBook Air and add TurboTax Deluxe for only $40.

We’re really excited to announce that we’ve just rolled out a new search engine on “*Smalldog.com!*”:http://www.smalldog.com The result? Your searches will be faster, more accurate and more productive.

Here are some of the new features:

* Spelling tolerance (go ahead, search for __pleather__!)
* Search prediction as you type:

!(image)http://blog.smalldog.com/images/2849.png!

* Improved pagination of search results
* Improved category/manufacturer/condition refinement of search results
* Results are fully sortable
* The search arrow can be clicked to run the search
* You can now use the search to jump right to a specific product by entering a Filemaker ID, part number, UPC number, or wag ID
* Much faster, and more accurate results thanks to improved search algorithms and caching

…and more!

Give it a try and let us know what you think below!

A few weeks ago, Adobe announced a beta release of their up-and-coming version of Photoshop CS6. This comes as little surprise to most since Adobe is constantly coming out with something new; however, I have been looking into some of the new features in depth with this latest release, and I am impressed.

To start, there has been a revival of the technique known as “*Tilt-Shift*”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt-shift_photography in the photography world. For those who don’t know what this is, it is the process of making a real life image appear like it is a modeled miniature by using a special lens to blur the top and bottom of an image. Lately, artists have been using technology in lieu of a lens to create these images. Adobe has catered to this rebirth by adding a few new types of blur techniques, one of which will give you the look and feel of a tilt-shifted photograph. Now, instead of saving your pennies on that fancy lens for your camera, you can achieve the same effect with a few clicks.

The next feature that completely blew my mind was the Content Aware move tool. I am pretty sure that Adobe has started employing more magicians than engineers because this tool works like magic. It gives you the ability to select an area on your flattened image and then move that selection. In previous versions of Photoshop, you would be left with an area of background color where the selection used to be. Well, not anymore! Now, the spot where your selection used to be will be filled with content that very accurately resembles the selection’s surroundings.

Of course, these are just two of the numerous features Adobe is rolling out with their new version of Photoshop. I think many more will be testing out this beta version for the next few months until the final release hits the shelves. To those who might want to hold off on purchasing Photoshop knowing that a newer version is on the horizon, I say go ahead and buy CS5.5–Adobe has said that they will be offering a free upgrade to CS6 for any customers who purchase CS5.5 between March 26th and May 6th, 2012.

Lastly, if you would like to participate in this beta you can download a trial “*here.*”:http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/photoshopcs6.html You can read more about the additional features Adobe Photoshop CS6 “*here.*”:http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/photoshopcs6/

Did you know that you can control your Apple TV with just about any remote? With this tip, you can make it happen.

To set it up, navigate to *Settings > General > Remotes* on your Apple TV , and select “Learn Remote.” Assuming you have the remote you’d like to use in-hand, just follow the instructions from there. It’s really just a matter of pressing the button you wish to control a certain function, so it will be customized to you (and your trusty remote).

Don’t have an Apple TV? “*Grab one here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/80135/

*Apple Shares Hit All-Time High*
Just when you thought they couldn’t get any higher, they did.

“*Read more here.*”:http://macdailynews.com/2012/04/05/apple-shares-hit-new-all-time-intraday-closing-highs-120405/

*”Flashback” Trojan Strikes*
600K Macs were infected with a trojan posing as a Flash installer.

“*Read more here.*”:http://www.extremetech.com/computing/125019-mac-botnet-grows-to-600000-274-of-them-in-cupertino

*FileMaker Pro 12 Released*
Available for Mac and PC, plus a free FileMaker Go 12 app for iPad and iPhone.

“*Read more here.*”:http://macdailynews.com/2012/04/04/filemaker-releases-filemaker-pro-12-for-mac-and-windows-free-filemaker-go-12-for-ipad-and-iphone/

_Dear Friends,_

Some of the trees have leaves as I look out on the Mad River Valley from my window at the office. I like getting to work early as I seem to get a lot of work done in the first hour or two before the semi-organized frenzy of the day begins.

I particularly like this time of the year as we see the white, then brown, and now green fields and the trees reawaken from a winter’s sleep. I took a ride with Dawn down Route 100 yesterday to visit Vermont’s second largest city, Rutland. We will be holding our first (of two) eWaste Recycling Event of 2012 down in Rutland and we were scoping out locations.

I am leaving next week for China, both to attend two major trade shows in Hong Kong, and to visit the factories of companies that make our Hammerhead and Chill Pill products.

We have been receiving our first shipments of iPad (3rd Gen) cases this week. The Hammerhead Capo Case is a brand new case that provides both front and back protection for the iPad in a slim, form-fitting factor. We have also made our Premium Leather Case for the new iPad in two colors: Red and Black. It is the latest incarnation of our successful Verso case for the original iPad and is a simple, high quality leather folio case. We use only top grain leather for this case and it happens to be the case I am currently using for my iPad.

In addition, we have our Bluetooth Keyboard Case and screen protectors for the new iPad arriving this week. This case also has some updated features, and still includes a removable keyboard and silicone tip stylus. And added bonus of all three cases is that they work with the iPad 2 as well!

I started importing products from China over a decade ago when we introduced the Click Case for iPod and the Groove Cube speakers. We have mainly imported products to sell in our own stores; however, we have, over the past few years, created a new wholesale division at Small Dog Electronics to offer the Hammerhead and Chill Pill Audio products. You can now find these products at most of the Apple Specialists across the US.

I will be spending a lot of time on the show floors looking for new products and partners in China. This year, Grace will be accompanying me to China as she is now a key part of the Hammerhead team. I have never really been outside of Hong Kong or the southern manufacturing cities of Shenzhen and Dongguan, but this time we will take some time to see some more of China. Grace will have me hiking up Yellow Mountain on this journey.