Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • Top Features of iOS 12

    Feeling left behind because you don’t have the latest iPhone or iPad? Don’t, because Apple has a present for you in the form of iOS 12. The new operating system promises to increase performance, particularly for older devices as far back as the iPhone 5s and iPad Air.

    But iOS12 offers more than just a speed boost. Apart from adding fripperies like new animoji, text efforts, and camera efforts in Messages and FAceTime, iOS 12 helps you use your device less. That’s important, as it becomes increasingly obvious that many people spend more time than they’d like on addictive social media apps, games, and cat videos.

    Screen Time

    The marquee feature for helping you control device usage is Screen Time. Found in the Settings app, Screen Time reports on how much time you spend using different apps, how often you pick up your device, and how many notifications interrupt you. You can check it anytime and get weekly reports, and use this information to help you reduce undesirable usage.

    Screen Time has two helpful options, Downtime and App Limits. With Downtime, you can specify a time period when you can only receive phone calls and use specific apps you set in Always Allowed. App Limits let you set how long you may use certain categories of apps. You can ignore that limit, extending it for 15 minutes or for the rest of the day, but that’s cheating, right? Even better, you can set Downtime and App Limits for a child’s iPhone or iPad, ensuring that they can’t play games after bedtime or text their friends during dinner.

    Notification Management

    It’s easy to become overwhelmed with notifications, especially if you have chatty friends in messaging apps. iOS 12 can reduce the impact of non-stop notifications. On the Lock screen, iOS 12 now groups message threads and multiple notifications from the same app. Tapping a group expands it so you can see the details. Plus, with a feature called Instant Tuning, you can change notifications settings for an app right from a notification. Swipe left on a notification and tap Manage. Instant Tuning also lets you send notifications to Notification Center silently so they don’t interrupt you but are available later.

    Do not Disturb

    In the “it’s about time” department, iOS 12 beefs up Do Not Disturb so it works more the way people do. When you bring up Control Center and force-touch the Do Not Disturb button, it expands to let you turn on Do Not Disturb button, it expands to let you turn on Do Not Disturb for 1 hour, for the rest of the day, or until you leave your current location. The beauty of these new options is that they disable Do Not Disturb automatically so you don’t have to remember-and potentially miss important notifications. Plus, a new Bedtime option in Settings > Do Not Disturb dims the display and silences overnight notifications until you unlock your device in the morning.

    Siri Shortcuts

    Another new feature, Siri Shortcuts, aims to help you use your device more effectively. As Siri learns your routines, it will start suggesting shortcuts for common actions, either on the Lock screen or when you pull down on the Home screen to search. You can see its suggestions in Settings > Siri & Search > All Shortcuts, and for those that seem useful, record a custom phrase that will invoke the shortcuts. Plus, a new Shortcuts app lets you create more complex shortcuts that can run multiple steps at once.

    Smaller Change

    Those may be the most significant changes in iOS 12, but they’re far from the only ones. Here’s a sampling of other refinements you’ll notice:

    • Apple has redesigned the iBooks app and renames it Books
    • The News, Stocks, and Voice Memos apps also received redesigns, Stocks and Voice Memos are now available on the iPad, and all three have made the jump to the Mac in Mojave, with their data synced via iCloud.
    • A new Measure app uses augmented reality to help you measure objects in the real world.
    • In Settings > Battery, iOS 12 shows graphs of battery usage and activity for the last 24 hours or the last 10 days.

    iOS 12 has even more minor improvements that we’ll be sharing in the coming months, so watch this space!

  • Dear Friends, The temperature got up to 100° on Wednesday. Then I looked at the Weather app and it tells me it is…

  • It is getting to be Apple picking season again. We started doing “Apples to iPods” with the State of Vermont and the Apple Growers years ago. Each year, to encourage people to get out and pick apples, a wooden apple is hidden in each participating orchard. One lucky apple picker gets the prize when they find that apple. In the past, it was iPods but now it is Apples to iPads as the winners will receive an iPad mini when they find the wooden apple. The state of Vermont dropped out of the promotion but this year we are working with the Vermont Fruit Growers Association to keep the tradition alive.

    I hope that you have an awesome Labor Day weekend. I have some brutal relaxation planned!

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    Don & Emily

  • Notes!

    I have been a fan of Notes for years! I started out using the sticky note program on my mac and used it for everything, and sadly, I mean everything including usernames and passwords. Thankfully I learned many years ago safer means of account login storage and abandoned my sticky note ways on my Mac.

    What I missed most about my sticky notes was a quick and all in one location for things I needed to jot down; hello and welcome Notes! Notes has been out for many years and it’s certainly nothing new on iOS or macOS. Notes is an incredibly versatile program and one that I rely on heavily as another tool for keeping me organized and in order. I’ve written in the past about reminders, but I admit, try as I might I just can’t get away from Notes and I find its versatility in features to be something that reminders just can’t compete with. There are several features within the Notes program that go beyond just taking a simple note, and I want to share some of my favorite features.

    Syncing

    I think the ability to sync my notes across all of my devices is hands down the number one reason I use and just can’t break away from this handy little app. I can write a note on my computer and it automatically sends the note to my iPad and iPhone. With iCloud turned on and note syncing, your notes update across all devices that are logged into your iCloud account. There is one catch to the auto syncing that is new in the last year or so. In order for your iOS devices and your Mac to get your notes you do need to make sure that in addition to to iCloud being turned on, all of your devices need to be running the latest OS. Last week I had an issue where my notes were syncing from my iOS devices to my Mac, but not from my Mac to my iOS devices. A quick look at my devices revealed I hadn’t run my most recent software updates.

    Drawing

    Did you know that you can draw within the Notes program? Notes allows you to actually write a note in your own handwriting, and also allows you to draw. There is even a handy ruler so you can draw straight lines. There are a variety of colors to choose from to add a pop of color, and you have a choice of a pencil or two marker options. The details aren’t as responsive or detailed as that of, say, the iPad Pro, but this little feature allows for handy on-the-go creations. You can easily and quickly sketch out an idea via e-mail, text and even social media. This feature only really works on the iOS but you can do some similar actions on the Mac via Mark Up.

    Mark Up

    Within Notes you can insert a pictures from your photo library (on the Mac you can just drag and drop the image into your note) and then you can mark it up! You can draw over the image, add text, shapes and more. I recently used this feature specifically when I was working to re-model and paint a room in my house. We took pictures of the room and used the mark up feature to finalize what colors and changes we were going to make in the room.

    Locking Notes

    Another cool feature with the Notes program is that you can lock the notes. The only information that is viewable in the note is the title. A passcode must be entered on the computer or iOS device in order to see what is in the note. This is a great way to keep things just a little bit more secure on your devices. While you should keep things like passwords and account information securely stored in your keychain, this is another option. Admittedly if you’re given a code or access to something and need the information temporarily, it’s more practical to jot it in Notes and lock it. Likewise if you’re a busy person and you find yourself making notes about a special event or gifts, it’s nice to know you can keep wondering eyes away from your information and keep the surprise.

    Notes, the little app that does so much!

  • Can You Hear Me Now?

    I have written about Apple’s commitment to accessibility in their products and, in particular, their MFI Hearing Aid program. Apple has worked with top manufacturers to create hearing aids and sound processors designed specifically for iPhone and iPad. These advanced hearing devices provide outstanding sound quality, offer many helpful features, and are as easy to set up and use as any other Bluetooth device. You can quickly access the features and settings of your paired hearing device by triple-clicking the Home button. Glance at the battery status or change the left and right volume, together or separately. And quickly apply your audiologist’s environmental presets as you go outdoors or enter noisy locations, like restaurants, without having to rely on additional remotes.

    I first corrected my hearing with MFI hearing aids four years ago. I discovered that I was not understanding voices, especially British female voices on TV and Grace kept having to repeat herself (not that she is British). As I went to get my hearing checked I discovered that it is not so much the sounds I didn’t hear but the fact that my brain was not interpreting the sounds I heard because they were not clear enough. Hearing aids are actually aids to your brain to interpret the sounds you hear.

    I went to an audiologist and was told I needed $7500 hearing aids. Well, that sticker shock turned to annoyance when I discovered that high prices at audiologists were just an insurance scam. I say this because I went to Costco, got the exact same hearing exam and ended up buying Costco hearing aids for $1799. When I confronted my audiologist she basically admitted that she kept prices high so she could charge that higher price to those that have insurance.

    This is going to sound like a commercial for Costco and I guess it is but I cannot be happier with my experience with the Costco Hearing Center. The first hearing aids I got back then were made by Resound and were basically identical to those $7500 ones the audiologist wanted to charge me. Costco does the exam, the fittings and all the programming, but their excellence doesn’t stop there. They provide an annual hearing exam and will replace domes, sport loops and clean them any time you want. Their warranty cannot be beat and the best place to buy hearing aid batteries, bar none, is Costco. But they really exceeded my expectations when I asked them if I could give my old hearing aids to a friend that could not afford them. Not only did they encourage that but they told me that they would re-program them for him and treat him like a new customer for free. They even let me leave them with them so he could pick them up at his appointment at Costco.

    Long ago, they made me a customer for life. That is why I returned for new Hearing Aids since I wanted the updated technology. I found that Costco’s price dropped a couple hundred to $1599 and now their HAs were made by another Apple MFI supplier, Rexton. You can see all the Apple MFI Hearing Aid suppliers here.

    I bought the new Kirkland Signature 8 and I am very happy with the new hearing aids. The Rexton Smart Direct app is easy to use; they paired immediately with my iPhone. One of the great benefits of the MFI hearing aids is that they stream phone calls, messages and music right to your hearing aids. I was having trouble with my older hearing aids not streaming immediately; when someone called me I would have to ask the caller to wait while the streaming got its act together. These newer models stream immediately. Even better, I played some music and, while the older HAs sounded sorta tinny and were not good for listening to music, the KS8s sound like a good quality ear bud. I guess I will be going through batteries faster as I secretly listen to Maria Brink and In This Moment in my ears and know one will be the wiser!

    Live Listen is another great Apple hearing enhancement. Let’s say you are in a crowded hall listening to the new Democratic candidate for Governor in Florida, Andrew Gillum and can’t hear too well. You can activate Live Listen on your iPhone and place your iPhone on the podium or near the speaker and it will act as a microphone for your hearing aids. Pretty cool.

    How to Pair and Connect your Hearing Aids

    When you pair a Made for iPhone hearing aid to your iOS device, audio from your iOS device goes to your hearing aid. To pair your hearing aid, follow these steps:

    • Open your hearing aid’s battery doors.
    • On your iOS device, tap Settings > General > Accessibility > Hearing > MFi Hearing Aids.
    • If Bluetooth is off, turn it on under Devices.
    • Close your hearing aid’s battery doors. Your iOS device will search for your hearing aid.
    • Under Devices, tap the name of your hearing aid.
    • Tap Pair when you see the pairing request on the screen. If you have two hearing aids, you’ll get two requests. Pairing could take up to a minute.

    Controlling Your Hearing Aids

    The Rexton Smart Direct app is very full featured and allows you to control volume, bass and treble, as well as a host of other features such as a remote microphone (live listen), alert tones, switching between program, presets and much more. My Costco fitter set me up with 4 of the available 6 programs. I have found that I only use two, one is “automatic” which seems to cover 90% of the situations and the other was “restaurant” which basically makes the microphones more directional in noisy situations. I now have automatic, Noise/party, Live Music and Outdoor/Traffic. There are also settings for Cafe, Cinema and Group Conversation.

    The Apple iPhone hearing app in the accessibility system preference will also allow you to control many of the features of your hearing aid. You can use a shortcut to get to that screen by triple-clicking the home button or on the iPhone X the side button. You can use your iOS device to see your hearing aid’s battery life, adjust the volume, turn on Live Listen, and more. To control your hearing aid, use Settings or the Accessibility Shortcut.

    Set preferences for features that you control with your iOS device by going to Settings > General > Accessibility > Hearing. Then tap MFi Hearing Aids.

    Play Ringtones
    You can play ringtones through connected hearing devices.

    Audio Routing
    Choose the default device for audio playback.

    Control Nearby Devices
    Use your iOS device to adjust the settings of hearing aids that are on the same WiFi network and connected to your iCloud account.

    Audio Handoff
    Continue listening to media through your hearing aid when you switch between your iOS devices. For example, if your hearing aid is connected to your iPhone but you start watching a movie on your iPad, the hearing aid automatically switches to the iPad.

    Control on Lock Screen
    Quickly make preset and volume adjustments on your hearing aid right from the Lock Screen on your iOS device.

    You can also tap your hearing aid’s name in Settings to:

    • View battery life
    • Adjust volume levels for either or both hearing aids
    • Choose an audio preset
    • Turn on Live Listen
    • Unpair your hearing aid

    Between these two apps, Apple’s MFI hearing aids and Rexton Smart Direct you have a lot of control over your hearing. In real life, while I do use these from time to time, I can also change programs and volume by the little rocker buttons on the hearing aid itself.

    Apple has made a real contribution with MFI hearing aid compatibility and it has come a long way in the few years that it has been available. As you know I am a beta tester for the new iOS and some versions have broken MFI hearing aid compatibility in the past. A real testament to Apple’s commitment to accessibility is just how quickly Apple engineers jumped on the problem and solved it after my bug reports.

    Are you saying “what?” a lot? Are you pretending to hear and just nodding? Don’t put off getting your hearing checked. There are great solutions, especially at Costco that will stimulate your brain and let it interpret those sounds coming into your ears. One of my greatest memories from when I first got my hearing aids was suddenly hearing the beautiful sound of the birds singing and the creek bubbling that I had all but forgotten existed.

  • Dear Friends,

    Don’t like the weather, here hold my beer. It was nearly 100 degrees yesterday with very high humidity and now tonight temps supposed to drop down to the 40s. I can see some tinges of red on the maples and now that school has started it sure seems like summer is over. Well it is NOT! Labor Day weekend is upon us and then we can put a stick in it.

    All of Small Dog Electronics stores and offices will be closed on Monday to celebrate Labor Day.

    No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

    Of course, our website will be working and orders will ship again when we re-open on Tuesday.

    This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive is my HomePod/AirPod bundle. Take your choice of a White or Space Gray HomePod along with a set of Apple AirPods. Both of these “pods” are some of Apple’s best creations. The AirPod has been incredibly popular and a sorta status symbol these days. The HomePod has been a bit slower to gain popularity but I have to say that I love my HomePod! I also have Amazon devices but our go-to source in my home is Siri on HomePod. HomePod can be your HomeKit hub and Siri will answer your trivia questions, but it really excels at cranking out the tunes. You will be amazed at the sound quality and how it adjusts to fit your room. This week only take $20 off the combo at only $489.98

  • It is sweet corn season. Artie and I used to have a contest to see who could eat the most cobs at a single sitting, but in my old age I am pretty much down to just 2 or 3. I like jumping on my motorcycle and just riding until I find an interesting farm stand to buy freshly picked corn. I gave up growing corn years ago. I would grow great sweet corn, and, with just one more day to pick it so it was at its peak, the raccoons would come and eat it all! And then have my chickens for dessert! It just wasn’t worth all that labor to be so disappointed.

    Our garden has suffered a bit this year with Grace’s broken hand. There is still some great food hiding out there in the weeds but not our best year for veggies. Lucky for us there is a plethora of organic vegetable stands here in Vermont so we are not suffering at all!

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    Don & Emily

  • When iOS devices run slow

    Over the past week, I have had several interactions with iOS users complaining of poor battery performance or overall slow performance with their iOS device. In many cases, these issues can be easily resolved by either adjusting how you might be using the device, running software updates, or by updating forgotten settings.

    Battery Health

    Apple introduced new features in iOS 11.3 with battery health, a quick glance can let you see a snapshot of what apps are most frequently used. You can find the battery information by simply tapping on Settings where you can easily see which apps are using your battery the most. In some cases, you might realize it’s a specific app. Perhaps you haven’t realized your child or grandchild grabbing your phone and you discover they’ve been watching YouTube. This was the case with my brother. His son was using YouTube (with permission), but what my brother did not realize is that YouTube was refreshing the content in the background, accounting for even more drain on the battery. I have several news apps which I have set to notify me of breaking news. Depending on the news day, I can have a significant amount of battery life going to my home screen lock being overrun with notifications. With my iPad, my notetaking program clearly dominates my battery usage. Because I use my iPad primarily for notes, there isn’t much I can do to reduce the battery drain and I know I need to charge my iPad every night during heavy usage. In the case of my phone, turning off my news notifications when I need to extend my battery life can provide significant improvements.

    Background Refresh

    Background refresh, the secret battery killer. I say this because this is a setting that I recommend checking often. In the case of just about every app you might download, the default refresh setting is to automatically refresh in the background. You can check this setting by going to Setting> General > Background Refresh, and consider turning off any or all apps. You can tell that an app is set to automatically refresh if the button to the right of the app is switched to green. Social media apps and streaming apps will use the most battery power with background app refresh, so I do make sure those are turned off. Another note, these settings don’t migrate over automatically to new devices so you might find, to your surprise, all your apps are set to refresh in the background.

    Web pages or e-mail open slow

    I spoke to a customer the other day who indicated that when she refreshed her e-mail the “dotted circle” just spins for a minute or so and then her e-mails download. This is something that you just might not be able to control and might not even be a problem with your iOS device. How fast your iPad or iPhone refreshes, downloads and browses is related to your internet speed and the wireless router you are connecting to. If you are finding your iPad is slow to refresh mail, or when browsing the internet or refreshing an app when you are away from your home or office, there is really nothing you can do. It does not mean you have a slow device, it just means your network access is likely slow. When it comes to your home or office, you might just need to update your wireless router. If you have not updated your wireless router in several years, this could be the motivation to upgrade that equipment. Manufacturers such as eero and Linksys have added features of dual and tri-band systems. These dual and tri-band systems allow all users to connect and browse at the fastest speed their device and network can provide, giving everyone equal enjoyment of the network.

    Update the iOS and apps

    Many users might find apps quitting unexpectedly or perhaps getting a slow response time when tapping on an app or general navigation. Often times this could be related to the iOS, and, in many cases keeping the device up to date, just like your computer, can help with performance. Generally speaking, you do not have to worry if those updates will have the opposite effect and slow down the device significantly for the next few years.

    Updating the different apps on your device is also important. Like iOS, the app developers also release updates to fix bugs within their apps and can help with performance. I do recommend automatic updates when it comes to apps, unlike your computer’s software, these rarely have any effect on usage or worry about compatibility. After all, the apps are mini versions of the software.

    I recommend checking settings often on your devices as a variety of instances can cause settings to change or perhaps you missed the release of an update. In the end, however, our devices have their limits. You can only charge the batteries so many times and even with the best practices reduced battery life will inevitably occur. Eventually, you will reach the limits of software updates and the time will come when your hardware simply needs to be updated. However, until then, these simple steps can help you to ensure you have minimal performance issues or at least properly identify if you do have an issue with your device.

  • Let Your Fingers Do the Tracking

    I used to prefer trackballs over using a mouse but when Apple came out with useful trackpads I was hooked. I use a Magic Trackpad 2 on my home office set-ups and also at the office.

    A trackpad is not a mouse. In some ways, that’s obvious—you swipe your fingers on it, rather than dragging it around. Less obvious, however, are the many gestures that make using a trackpad on your Mac faster and, I think, more fun. These gestures aren’t limited to laptop users thanks to Apple’s Magic Trackpad 2, which brings gesturing goodness to any desktop Mac. Emily talked a bit a few weeks ago about the trackpad, but I think she omitted some important features beyond the traditional two and four finger swipes.

    Three Fingers on the Trackpad

    What if you swipe vertically with three fingers? Swipe up to enter the All Windows view of Mission Control, which shows all open windows as thumbnails, plus desktop spaces in the top bar. Click any thumbnail to switch to it, or jump to any space by clicking it. You can also click the plus button at the upper right or drag any window into the top bar to create a new space. To move a space’s apps back to the current space, hover over a space on the top bar and click the close button that appears. To exit All Windows view, swipe down with three fingers.

    If you haven’t invoked All Windows view, swiping down with three fingers instead invokes App Exposé view, which displays thumbnails of all open windows in the current app. Click any one to switch to it. Swipe right or left with three fingers while in App Exposé to switch between apps.

    Here’s another one that I use every day – three-finger drag. Here’s how to turn on three finger drag if your Mac has a Force Touch trackpad or you are using the Apple Magic Trackpad 2:

    #From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
    #Click the Accessibility icon.
    #Choose Mouse & Trackpad from the options on the left.
    #Click Trackpad Options.
    #Place a checkmark next to “Enable dragging.”
    #From the related pop-up menu, choose “three finger drag” so there’s a checkmark next to it.
    #Click OK.

    Finally, on older MacBooks that don’t have Force Touch-capable trackpads, tap with three fingers on words to look them up, on files to preview them with Quick Look, and more. With newer MacBooks, if you have “Force Click and haptic feedback” enabled in System Preferences > Trackpad > Point & Click, you can instead “force click” with one finger for these features. That involves clicking on something and then pressing firmly without letting up.

    Two Fingers on the Trackpad

    The two-fingered gestures are easy to get your head around. You might be surprised what else you can do with two finger swipes.

    In Safari, swipe left on a page to go back in that tab’s page history or right to go forward. Also in Safari, tap two fingers on the trackpad to zoom in on the content. Another two-fingered tap zooms back out.

    In Photos, and some graphics apps, zoom in and out by pinching with two fingers, and rotate selected objects by putting two fingers on the trackpad and turning them. A two-finger pinch also zooms the page in Safari.

    To open Notification Center quickly, swipe left from off the right-hand edge of your trackpad. Swipe back to the right to close Notification Center.

    Changing Your Preferences

    If you need a refresher on all these gestures, open System Preferences > Trackpad. Look in the Point & Click, Scroll & Zoom, and More Gestures panes to see a handy video for each gesture. You can also adjust which ones are active and how many fingers they require.

    With so many gestures on offer, it’s worth your time to explore everything you can do with your trackpad. You are likely to discover something you didn’t know about, even if you have been a user for years.