Classes | 04.12
*Absolute Mac Basics*
Sunday, April 15th and Sunday, April 29th.
Classes are held in our South Burlington store from 5:15-6:45, and are $39.99. Call, come in or “*register online!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Classes/
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Product of the Month | 04.12
Hammerhead Premium Leather Case
In stock now (it literally just arrived this morning) in our Waitsfield location.Come in today and grab one (or we’ll get it to you quickly if you’re in S. Burlington, VT or Manchester, NH)!
Mention this newsletter and save $5!
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Back Up!
Back up, Back up, Back up. You might feel like we are a broken record on this topic, but we just can’t say enough about how important this crucial step is with your data. Sadly, all too often customers forget about this step, and just like a car, they break down at least opportune times.
Over the years we have had the unfortunate job of telling more than one parent their children’s photos are lost or a student their last six months of work is gone.
Drive failures can’t be prevented, but what you can prevent is the loss of your data; Apple makes it incredibly simple to get do. Time Machine is Apple’s built-in backup software, and it’s saved my data twice over the years! Many customers still don’t utilize this software and I believe it’s because so many assume it’s complicated.
Time Machine truly takes about 5 minutes to set up, and once it’s running, will continuously back up all your files and programs (without doing a thing on your part). Should tragedy strike and your drive fails, you just have to plug the backup drive into the new computer or your old computer with the new internal hard drive installed.
In no time, you’re back up and running like nothing ever happened!
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iPhoto for iOS
On March 7th, Apple released iPhoto for iOS. As a heavy iPad user, I wanted to check it out, and right away I was able to see some big improvements over the built-in photo app. The new design seems to flow a lot more intuitively, and the tools that it gives you are great–you’re now able to access all of your existing albums (including PhotoStream) in one place!
The user interface (UI) is awesome–it allows you to move a lot better through your photos. The tools allow for very focused editing, whether you need to clean up the color because your photo is oversaturated or you need to crop it.
There are some sliders available for making more custom upgrades. The sliders allow for great customization of your photos. Just like in iPhoto for the Mac, there are some auto-adjust tools. These are good for those who aren’t very comfortable with photo editing can make proper adjustments with little effort. They range from Auto Enhance to Desaturate to Sharpen.
By bringing iPhoto to iOS, Apple has really brought iPad to a new level, as it now allows for better amateur editing. Before this release, the best way to edit your photos was to import them onto your computer and then work with them there; now you can do some real work to them without all of the extra steps and with the ease of your iOS device!
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Happy Spring!
OK, so many of us might argue that winter never really happened to begin with and Mother nature has been teasing us with spring for months now. My older daughter was looking forward to snowshoeing all fall, but we only managed to get in two good days all winter and now it’s time to start planning for spring and summer fun! I do hope that the mild winter turns into a warm summer and more time outside, and the feeling that summer is never going to end!
Hey, have you had a chance to check out the latest iPad? Think there is no way you will get your hands on one? Well, wait no longer–we have inventory! All of our retail stores have stock of the latest iPad (3rd Gen) and demos for customers to see and feel the differences and improvements over the iPad 2. For those of you who have been putting off the purchase of an iPad or are waiting for a great deal, ask about the 16GB iPad 2–we have these models in stock for just $399.99.
We hope you visit our stores soon!
Emily and the Waitsfield retail team
“*emily@smalldog.com*”:mailto:emily@smalldog.com -
Buy Adobe CS5.5, Get Adobe CS6 Free!
Purchase a Creative Suite 5.5 full license or upgrade between March 26th and May 6th, 2012 and receive an upgrade to CS6 at…
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My granddaughter extraordinaire, became a teenager this week as we celebrated her 13th birthday. I got her one of the used MacBooks so she can continue her straight-A school work. This weekend she is starring as Betty Rizzo in her school’s presentation of Grease, so Grace and I will be beaming proudly as we watch her act and sing.
On Sunday, we hold our Apple Sales Pro dinner. This is an annual event where any of the Small Dog employees who achieve the highest level of Apple Sale training are treated to a dinner and event. I started this tradition about six years ago and we had four Apple Sales Pros. It has grown every year and this year, there are over 60 who have achieved that distinction!
The logistics have become more complex with so many stars and disperse locations, but we will be having dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, “*The Silver Palace,*”:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Silver-Palace-Vermont/176277686635 and we bought tickets for Trevor Hall at the Higher Ground right next door. I’m looking forward to toasting all of the Small Dog team for putting in the extra effort to achieve the highest level of Apple Sales Training!
Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!
Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
_Don, Kali & Dawn_ -
SPECIAL: Wacom + Stylus = Way Cool
If you want to have a more art-like experience with any drawing or paint program, I highly recommend using a Wacom tablet with your Mac or a stylus with your iPad.
*Get free shipping on Wacom Bamboo Connect Graphics Tablet and save $5 on Hammerhead Retractable Stylus!*
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SPECIAL: Marveling at S. Burlington
We love our S. Burlington crew, and often marvel at their ability to juggle the sheer number of customers they see in the store. They do the best they can to provide great service to everyone who comes in.
Check out these specials, exclusively for Kibbles & Bytes readers through the next week:
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CAMEX Prize Winners
Announcing the winners of our daily iPod nano giveaway and our Grand Prize iPod touch drawing. Thanks to everyone who entered, and congratulations to the winners!
*iPod touch grand prize winner:*
Randy Ponchek, Duquesne University*iPod nano winners:*
Patty McCray-Roberts, Peninsula College (Sunday)
Darryl Norton, Mars Hill College (Monday)
Cory Reinhard, Bowling Green State University (Tuesday) -
What about MacDraw Pro?
When I mentioned how much I loved Keynote in last week’s Kibbles, a reader (shout out to Steve!) wrote to ask about a decent replacement for MacDraw. I thought that might be a good starting point for an article. I’ll preface this by saying, “I do not have one iota of artistic talent no matter how many times I watch Bob Ross.” So please take my recommendations with a grain of salt. But I have taught kids using several drawing programs, so I have a decent idea of what makes a good piece of software (mainly intuitive use).
The big problem with drawing programs is that they become too complicated to just pick up and start using.
*iDraw* is a true vector drawing app but its price and interface is nowhere as intimidating as Adobe Illustrator!* It is a piece of software that a new user can pick up and start using. There is a Mac version that sells for $24.99 on the “*App Store.*”: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/idraw/id404705039?mt=12%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30
I was introduced to *SketchBook Pro* by first using Autodesk’s free version (SketchBook Express) on my iPad when I was looking for something cool to add to my iPad. SketchBook Pro is produced by Autodesk and is recommended for anything you would use a pen and paper for such as storyboarding and illustrating. It combines both painting with drawing. There is a free trial, as well as a free version for Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPad SketchBook Pro sells for $59.99 from the “*App Store.*”: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/sketchbook-pro/id404243548?mt=12%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30
*Paintbrush* is similar to the long lost Mac Paint (and MS Paint). It is available at no charge “*here.*”:http://paintbrush.sourceforge.net/downloads/
*ArtRage 2 and ArtRage Studio Pro* are more paint programs, but are easy to use and the only limitation is the limitation of the artist. I used ArtRage with the kids at The Warren School, and it is VERY easy to start using. ArtRage 2 has a free starter edition that is free to check out and will give you an idea of what the full version will be like. ArtRage Studio Pro sells for $59.99 (there are other less expensive versions as well). There are versions that don’t have all the features available for less “*here.*”:http://www.artrage.com/index.html
Check out a Kibbles exclusive special with a Wacom tablet and Hammerhead stylus below.
*For some up-to-date Adobe news about CS6, “*click here to read our blog, Barkings!*”:http://blog.smalldog.com
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Great April Fool's Pranks
__Here’s an oldie but goodie by one of our favorite former Small Doggers, Ben B., with some great tips for how you can fool someone this Sunday…originally featured in__ “*Kibbles & Bytes issue #717.*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/kibbles/kb717/
Today is April Fool’s Day, and pranksters everywhere are most likely messing with their friends, family, and co-workers. While classics such as the toothpaste Oreo, rubber-banded dishes sprayer, and decaf switch out–seriously evil–consistently get the job done, this year we thought it would be fun to compile a short list of (mostly) harmless Mac-themed pranks.
*Misbehaving Mice*
Quickly becoming a classic itself, this prank has officially replaced unplugging the peripherals from your victim’s desktop Mac. As more mice become wireless, it’s the only way to ensure chaos. Simply place a small piece of tape, the more opaque the better, over the optical “eye” on the underside of your victim’s mouse. While most users will figure this prank out within a few moments, less tech-savvy users will take considerably longer.
*Curse the Cursor*
Though intended to make OS X accessible to everyone, the Universal Access preference pane in System Preferences can be a prankster’s paradise. A harmless prank that will bewilder many unsuspecting users is the super-sized cursor. Navigate to System Preferences > Universal Access > Mouse and drag the slider next to “Cursor Size” all the way to the right. Your target will have no idea what to do with his or her jumbo cursor.
*A Negative View*
Here’s a quick but powerful prank that requires only momentary access to your victim’s keyboard. To invert the colors of any Mac’s screen, simply press the following combination of keys: Control + Option + Command + 8. Suddenly things will get very negative–especially your target’s attitude–unless you eventually fill them in on the secret key combo, which can also be used to revert the screen’s appearance.
*A New Home*
Although it’s among the more basic pranks on the list, never underestimate the comedic value of changing an unsuspecting co-worker’s homepage to something silly. While the process of reassigning a homepage varies slightly among browsers, it can be accomplished by visiting “General” in the preference menus of Safari, Firefox, and Chrome. As “*Rickrolling*”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0 has been a bit played out, may we suggest surprising your victim with a hearty dose of “*Billy Ocean?*”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvarxGzIU3M&t=1m15s Remember to crank the speakers!