SPECIAL: Wi-Drive? Because You Gotta!
Wi-Drives are pretty cool, especially if you have an iPod touch, iPhone or iPad. *For a limited time, the 16GB Wi-Drive is $60 off and the 32GB Wi-Drive is $40 off regular pricing.*
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Kingston Wi-Drive Review
Kingston’s Wi-Drive is a new portable (and affordable) storage and sharing solution for iPod touch, iPhone and iPad. The Wi-Drive is roughly the size of an iPhone and comes in 16GB and 32GB storage capacities. It creates a small Wi-Fi network that you can access through their “*free Wi-Drive app*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fwi-drive%2Fid440013905%3Fmt%3D8%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 (opens iTunes Store), allowing you to view and share anything that you have stored on your iOS device.
The app also has a built-in media player that streams the music, movies and more that you have stored, so you don’t have to worry that it will take up valuable storage space on the device itself. It supports a wide variety of video, audio and file formats as well.
My one complaint about the app is the fact that you can’t load content __to__ the Wi-Drive from your iOS device directly. All content needs to be loaded via USB from a computer and then streamed to your device. For now, that works well enough for me, but I would like to see that functionality added in the future.
Overall, it’s an ideal solution for people like me who like to have access to all of my media, but have limited available storage on my iPhone. It’s way more affordable to just buy one of these when you need extra space than to upgrade your whole device. I would highly recommend this for any heavy iOS user.
Fore more details, view the “*16GB Wi-Drive*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/79678/at_kb and the “*32GB Wi-Drive here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/79679/at_kb
*For a limited time, you can save up to $60–check them out below!*
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Essential Apps for Your Mac
My mind is in Spring Cleaning mode right now (maybe because this weather is ridiculously unseasonable?). In between scrubbing the wet paw prints from my entryway due to an early onset of the dreaded Mud Season, I figured I’d do an audit of all of the apps on my Mac to find the ones I’d classify as truly “essential.”
The following excerpt, originally featured in “*Kibbles & Bytes issue #623,*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/kibbles/kb623/ was a perfect starting point for multiple reasons: the apps mentioned are free, it includes two of my favorite “de-clutter” apps and finally, because it’s fitting that it was written by Ed since we’re watching Spy (and her mud tracks) while he’s out of town.
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“*OnyX*”:http://www.titanium.free.fr/ is a multifunction maintenance, optimization, and personalization utility for Mac OS X. I use it about once a month or so to keep all my Macs running smoothly.
OnyX allows you to verify your Mac’s Startup Disk and the structure of its System files, run miscellaneous tasks of system maintenance, configure some hidden parameters of the Finder, Dock, Safari and some of Apple’s own applications, delete caches, remove cumbersome files and folders and more.
“*VLC*”:http://www.videolan.org/ media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, more) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.
In other words, VLC will play back many file formats that the QuickTime Player, Windows Media Player, etc. can’t handle. Best of all, VLC doesn’t need any external codecs or programs to work.
“*Bean*”:http://www.bean-osx.com/Bean.html is a small, easy-to-use word processor (or more precisely, a rich text editor), designed to make writing convenient and efficient. Bean is Open Source, fully Cocoa, and is available free of charge!
Bean includes many writing essentials including a live word count, a Get Info panel for in-depth statistics, a zoom-slider to easily change the view scale,
an Inspector panel with lots of sliders, date-stamped backups, auto-saving, page layout mode and more.I combine Bean with “*Think*”:http://www.freeverse.com/apps/app/?id=7013 for efficient, clutter-free writing.
“*NetNewsWire*”:http://netnewswireapp.com/ is an easy-to-use RSS and Atom reader for your Mac. It allows you to browse, subscribe, read, and save hundreds of thousands of website feeds. It is a true desktop Mac application, with integration with Spotlight, Address Book, iCal, iPhoto, Growl, Twitterific and more. Best of all, it effortlessly syncs with NetNewsWire’s web-based RSS reader for free, allowing you to manage all your RSS feeds from any Internet-connected computer (Mac or PC).
“*Handbrake*”:http://handbrake.fr/ is an open-source, multithreaded video transcoder available for Mac OS X, Linux and Windows. It will convert just about any video file you can play on your Mac into a variety of other, easier to play, more portable video formats. Most people use HandBrake to back up their DVDs, or convert a DVD into a file that can be played back on their iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, PS3, etc. Use it as you will. HandBrake has been updated substantially over the past several years since its initial release
I admit, since Time Machine debuted, I don’t use this app as much as I used to. However, for simple, successful backups, “*Carbon Copy Cloner*”:http://www.bombich.com/software/index.html can’t be beat. You can also use CCC3 for backing up across network, backup to disk images, and backup of selected files only. CCC 3 features an interface designed to make the cloning and backup procedure very intuitive. In addition to general backup, CCC can also clone one hard drive to another, copying every single block or file to create an exact replica of your source hard drive.
Forget the other commercial unarchiving apps (like the free version of StuffIt)–the “*Unarchiver*”:http://wakaba.c3.cx/s/apps/unarchiver.html is all you need. Uncompress RAR, 7zip, tar, and bz2 files on your Mac. The developer notes the “many new Mac users will be puzzled the first time they download a RAR file. Do them a favor and download UnRarX for them!”
“*Google SketchUp*”:http://sketchup.google.com/ is used to create, modify and share 3D models of anything you like. I know a few people who used SketchUp extensively to plan and pre-visualize house renovations. I’ve used it to create a virtual set for planning camera placement. There are dozens of video tutorials, an extensive Help Center and a worldwide user community for SketchUp, making it relatively easy to learn.
Want to remove some of the apps you’ve downloaded here, or downloaded in the past? Try “*AppCleaner.*”:http://www.freemacsoft.net/ It’s a small application which allows you to thoroughly uninstall unwanted apps. Installing an application distributes many files throughout your System, using space of your Hard Drive unnecessarily. AppCleaner finds all these small files and safely deletes them.
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Want more? If you’re looking to add or replace some of what you’re using now, “*check out this list of Top 100 Essential Apps.*”:http://www.mactricksandtips.com/2008/01/top-100-essential-mac-applications.html
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Weekly Apple News Recap | 2/13-2/17
Apple had some notable news this week (but no, the iPad 3 isn’t out yet):
*Apple Releases Mountain Lion Developer Preview*
Apple announced the ninth major release of OS X, 10.8, this week, and made a preview available to registered developers immediately. A public release is scheduled for late 2012. Taking a cue from iOS once again, Mountain Lion will add Notification Center, Messages, Notes, Reminders and Game Center to the Mac, among other features.“*Read more on this story here.*”:http://macdailynews.com/2012/02/16/apple-releases-os-x-mountain-lion-developer-preview/
“*Read about the preview Tim Cook gave to the Wall Street Journal.*”:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204880404577226864202052768.html
“*Get a sneak peak here.*”:http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/*Software Update Goes To the App Store*
With the release of Mountain Lion, Software Update is relocating (movin’ on up?) to the App Store, thus streamlining users’ app update experience.“*Read more here.*”:http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/44410/apple-software-updates-move-to-mac-app-store
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_Dear Friends,_
It’s Kali writing for Don this week, as he and Grace become one with Rastafarianism while on vacation in Jamaica. As Don’s mentioned many times, he’s not a big fan of winter (I don’t second that, clearly), so we like to imagine that he’s blissfully soaking up the sun and sand with a good book, unplugged from the outside world.
Around here, we try to take vacations just as seriously as our work–as much as we love it, the more one can retreat from the constantly connected, fast-paced nature of our business and re-energize, the better. (Don, you better not be reading this…if so, shut that iPad and relax!)
The big news this week was that Governor Shumlin and representatives from All Earth Renewables and Freeaire were on hand to “cut the cord” and dedicate our new solar array, designed to convert sunlight directly into electricity and located on the grounds of our Waitsfield, VT headquarters. Currently, they are powering 100% our S. Burlington location’s electricity and a percentage of Waitsfield’s usage; we hope to improve upon that in the future! “*Check out the photos on our Flickr page here.*”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/smalldog/
Small Dog Electronics, along with the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing and Woodchuck Cider, was recognized yesterday by the Vermont Growers Association regarding our partnership in the annual Apples to iPods event. Each fall, wooden apples are hidden within the trees of participating Vermont apple orchards, and the lucky scavengers who find them are rewarded with an iPod or iPad! We’re happy to be involved in a promotion that supports local farmers, and though apple-picking season seems far off at the moment, we look forward to another successful event.
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Last-Minute Valentine's Day Apps
Fresh off of the arguably most masculine day of the year (Super Bowl), we have Valentine’s Day to maintain balance in the world. If you’re hoping to celebrate today with the one you love (and haven’t done anything yet), check out these three apps to get prepared.
1. “*Candy Valentine Hearts,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fcandy-valentine-hearts%2Fid295778759%3Fmt%3D8%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 $.99
What’s Valentine’s Day without some tiny candy hearts with hilariously bad/cutesy sayings? Relive the nostalgia, but digitize them instead–fewer cavities that way.2. “*Red Stamp,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fred-stamp%2Fid414561551%3Fmt%3D8%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 free
Email, text or mail personalized cards and notes to your one and only!3. “*Valentine’s Day Recipes*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fvalentines-day-recipes%2Fid349094513%3Fmt%3D8%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 $.99
Nothing beats a homemade meal…Check out more apps “*here,*”:http://www.maclife.com/article/gallery/10_apps_extra_special_valentines_day and for fun, revisit our “*Valentine’s Day iMix compilation on iTunes!*”:http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewIMix?id=305467955
“_Image Source_”:http://bostonherald.com/business/general/view/20100119candy_hearts_turn_to_tweet_me_and_text_me
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Synchronization 101
Ever since the portable device became mainstream, there has been the need to somehow make sure that the data on the device was backed up. iOS devices can be backed up through iTunes, but that isn’t convenient for sharing data–just guarding against disaster. There are now applications that have Mac OS X and iOS versions that can use the same data. If you want to make sure you are always working with the most recent data across all platforms, there has to be a way to synchronize the data.
Apple is pushing developers to use iCloud for their synchronization services. Anyone who has an Apple ID has free access to iCloud. In addition to synchronizing your mail, contacts, and calendar data, any app can take advantage of storing data in the cloud. iWork already takes advantage of this, and other apps are following suit. However, one limitation of iCloud is that you must have iOS 5 and OS X 10.7.2 to take advantage of it. Anyone running Snow Leopard or earlier can’t use iCloud, so any apps that rely on syncing through iCloud won’t work. (While Windows can use iCloud for Outlook synchronizing, it does not appear likely that Windows applications will be able to use iCloud for other data storage.)
Some programs require you to synchronize via a Wi-Fi connection. While it does work, it means that you have to sync before leaving your network. If you take off for a business trip and forgot to sync, you are out of luck. It also means that you have to set up a one-to-one relationship between your device and your computer, so you can’t sync your iPhone at work, take it home, then sync that same data with your home computer.
Programs like “*DropBox*”:https://www.dropbox.com/home and “*SugarSync*”:https://www.sugarsync.com/ are valuable for passing data back and forth between systems. They have the advantage of being cross-platform, but you have to manually tell them what files to synchronize. If you’re playing Angry Birds on your iPhone and you want to make sure your iPad sees your game save, DropBox won’t do this; you have to use iCloud. If an application is written to use DropBox, however, then it works just fine. Up until last year, 1Password required Wi-Fi to sync between your Mac and your iPhone, but now it uses DropBox.
Other developers have chosen to use their own servers for synchronization. Things, a great to-do list application, is currently limited to Wi-Fi sync, but has been beta-testing their own cloud solution for about a year now. Another example is “*Evernote,*”:http://www.evernote.com/ a free program where you can create notes and lists. Evernote uses their own servers for storage, which means yet one more login and password you have to remember, but it releases them from the iCloud limitation. You can use their app on just about any platform and OS out there. The downside of this is that you need a server capable of handling everyone’s data all at once. Companies like Mozilla are large enough to support a server farm, or hire out a data center, to store their customer data, but your average lone developer isn’t going to have that kind of cash lying around.
Regardless of the app or the method, make sure there is some sort of sync service available. It will make your life easier!
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Lion Sleep Issues
Ever since I began using computers running OS X Lion, I’ve been having a minor– but frustrating–issue. About one third of the time I put either my Mac mini or MacBook Pro to sleep, they will not actually go to sleep. I have never been able to pinpoint what it is that’s preventing my computers from sleeping…until now.
I did some Apple forum research, and discovered that quite a few other Lion users are having this same issue. There were all sorts of suggested solutions, none of which worked for me. I finally came across a Lion user who combined a nice little GUI to a helpful Terminal command, creating an application called Sleep Check.
Sleep Check essentially makes use of the Terminal command “pmset -g assertions” and the command shows certain power assertions that, when active, will prevent system with Lion from sleeping. One example of these power assertions is Internet Sharing, which allows you to share the internet connection on one computer with another computer or device.
While the coding in Terminal can be incomprehensible to the average user, Sleep Check adds a very simple, but pleasant interface to the power assertions command, informing you exactly what is preventing your system from sleeping, and how to disable it. When these conditions have been disabled, Sleep Check will finally put your Mac to sleep.
Sleep Check is a very small, unobtrusive application that takes up about 211KB of hard drive space, can be “*downloaded here.*”:http://blog.graceabundant.com/archives/2011/08/mac-osx-lion-not-sleeping/
As always, I’m anticipating a software update from Apple at some point that will resolve this issue.
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Another sunny week in Manchester! Sure, it’s been cold, but it’s definitely not normal February weather. Last weekend’s prediction of snow turned out to be a false alarm, to the disappointment of many within Small Dog who look forward to skiing and snowboarding.
Over the weekend, we started our Trade In, Trade Up special in Manchester, where we offered up to $100 in credit toward the purchase of a new Mac if you brought in your old Mac or PC. (Note: the special ends today, 2/14, if you’re in the area and still want to take advantage!) Several customers brought in their old computers, and left happy with brand new machines. We are also running a special on 2010 MacBook Airs, and we still have stock on refurbished MacBooks. If you ever wanted to switch to a Mac, now’s the time!
The rumor mill is in full swing as we get closer to the “iPad 3 announcement.” The main basis for the rumor is that the iPad 2 was released on March 11th, 2011, so naturally they will release the iPad 3 around the same time this year. We continue to receive calls from customers asking us to confirm the rumors, which we simply can’t do–we don’t have the answer either. Apple does not comment on unreleased products, so the best we can say is that you will all know as soon as we do!
Thanks for your continued support!
Glenn
“*glenn@smalldog.com*”:mailto:glenn@smalldog.com -
Valentine's Day Apps
Fresh off of the arguably most masculine day of the year (Super Bowl), we have Valentine’s Day to maintain balance in the world….
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!http://blog.smalldog.com/images/2791.gif!:http://www.smalldog.com/wag21104/at_dr
Get your death metal playlists ready, because it’s Hapy’s birthday and he’s putting his favorite white iPod touch (64GBs of music, or roughly 16,000 Killdozer, Black Sabbath and Megadeth songs) and white Chill Pill mobile speakers on sale.*This week, save $65 on the 64GB iPod touch and white Chill Pills–only $379.99 plus free shipping!*
Because we want to give you the best deals AND stay in business, Deal Retriever deals are valid for one week only. Quantities are limited; offers good while supplies last.