Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • _Dear Friends,_

    We are into stick season now, and while we in Vermont missed the big freak snowstorm that hit those south of us hard, it is only a matter of time before we have snow here in the North Country. As soon as the apple trees lose their leaves, I am going to prune the big apple tree by our office that we planted when we first moved here in 1999. I haven’t quite gotten apple growing down yet, even though I have been trying for a few decades, but we did get a pie, some applesauce and some cider from the trees at home.

    Small Dog Electronics is a socially responsible business. We measure our success by the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit. Often as I interview new employees, I ask them what they think being a socially responsible business means. To me, I go back to the four years of Latin in high school and tear apart the word “incorporate.” When a business incorporates, it literally means that it creates a “body” in society. Without getting too much into the politics of the recent Supreme Court decision, I definitely do not think that a “body” has the same rights as a citizen in terms of voting and participation, but I do think that a business has a greater responsibility than any individual.

    This is because a business has such a greater footprint than any one person. We build buildings, we create waste, we use energy resources, we have an enormous impact upon people whether they are our employees, customers or vendors, and with that greater footprint comes a greater responsibility to the community wherein we reside. We take this responsibility very seriously and teach our employees about it every day–it is a part of the DNA of Small Dog Electronics. Whether you are a customer, a vendor or an employee, I want to leave the intersection of our lives with both of us better for the interaction.

  • App Review: The Last Rocket

    For those of you who don’t know, I am a gamer of the old-school variety. Every now and again I’ll hook up my…

  • The Unsung Server

    If you haven’t noticed, the most recent update to the Mac mini (July 2011) was quite a huge one. It’s a great injustice…

  • November 2011 Special In-Store Offer

    We’ve featured Edifier products quite a bit in this issue, so we’re offering $10 off the entire Edifier line in-stores only during the month of November!

    Stop in to any of our “**three retail locations**”:http://www.smalldog.com/retail soon to take advantage of this great offer!

  • New Products!

    **Edifier Aurora Speaker System in Stormy Black or Original Red–$99.99**

    **Edifier iF200 w/Retro Styled Double Alarm Clock in Pink, White or Black–$59.99**

    **LaCie CloudBox External Hard Drive, 100GB–$179.99**

    **Griffin Survivor Military-Duty Case with Stand for iPad 2–$49.99**

    **Buy 1 PDO iPhone 4/4S or iPod touch (4G) case and Get the PDO Uno Mobile Power Pack Free!–Available in a variety of colors for $24.99 while supplies last!**

  • November '11 | Classes

    **Mac Basics**
    _South Burlington Store_

    Sunday 11/13/11
    5:15pm to 7:00pm

    Sunday 11/27/11
    5:15pm to 7:00pm

    “**Click here to register**”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Classes, or come into the store for more details about the classes we offer in South Burlington.

  • Halloween 2011

    Small Dog staff and pups celebrated Halloween in style again this year. Swing by our “**Flickr**”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/smalldog/sets/72157627895580417/ page to see all the great costumes–and unfortunate photoshopping of those who didn’t dress up!

    Congratulations to BJ (pictured above as a “grown-up Lost Boy”) and “**Ziggy**”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/smalldog/6298602379/in/photostream, the winners of this year’s customer-juried costume contest!

  • Update on the Fake Adobe Flash Malware

    I reported that there is malware floating around that claims to be an update to the Adobe Flash Player. The variant initially discovered (OSX/Flashback.A) would install a backdoor on your system, allowing someone to access your files without your knowledge. A new variant has been found that not only installs the backdoor but also removes the ability to automatically detect it.

    Back during the great MacDefender scare, Apple added the ability for OS X to detect malware and prevent it from being installed. Flashback.C will disable this feature, preventing your system from downloading updates to detect and remove it. It can be removed via malware scanners like Sophos and F-Secure.

    Right away, people may question the security of an operating system that would permit this to happen. As I stated in the last article, these scams are targeting the user, not the OS. The OS is secure, but it still has to allow the user to maintain some level of control. If a user enters his or her password to install a rogue application, OS X will install it. It falls to the person using the system to decide what is and is not safe.

  • App Review: The Last Rocket

    For those of you who don’t know, I am a gamer of the old-school variety. Every now and again I’ll hook up my Nintendo to remind me of how much simpler gaming used to be. I hadn’t found many games of that nature on the iTunes App Store, until I stumbled upon The Last Rocket by accident.

    “**The Last Rocket**”: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/the-last-rocket/id429747672?mt=8%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 has 64 levels full of spikes, fans, mines and other hazards that need to be avoided. The goal is to help AMI escape the space craft before it collides with a star. The Last Rocket features a chiptune soundtrack, 8-bit graphics and Game Center achievements and is a universal app that works on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

    The Last Rocket is available for $2.99 in the “**iTunes 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/the-last-rocket/id429747672?mt=8%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30.

  • iPhone 4S: Siri-ously Cool

    I finally joined the cool kids.

    I bought an iPhone 4S. I have wanted an iPhone for some time, but two things kept me from taking the plunge. First, I have been a Verizon customer for about 13 years and was a bit nervous about switching to AT&T. My last experience with them in 2004 was not a good one due to their lack of coverage in most of Southern NH. Sure, Verizon has their version of the iPhone, but due to the way their network is set up, you can’t talk to someone and use an Internet app at the same time (you can if you are on a wireless network, but not on Verizon’s CDMA network). Second, there were so many rumors that a new iPhone was coming, and I didn’t want to lock into a two-year contract only to have the next version arrive shortly thereafter. After using the 4S for a week, I am glad I waited.

    My main reason for using a 4S, other than the obvious “it’s an iPhone,” is Siri. Siri is like a built-in assistant who is always at your beck and call. Simply hold the Home button (or the button on your earpiece) until the microphone pops up, ask a question, and Siri will give you an answer. Or, you can tell it to do something, and it will do it. If you wanted a weather forecast for the weekend, you could click on the Weather app, or you could ask Siri “what’s the weather like this weekend?” I just did that now, and Siri popped up a weekly forecast and told me “maybe not so nice this weekend.” We’re actually expecting snow tomorrow in some areas.

    This morning I realized I was overdue for a haircut (something people around me have known for weeks), so I tried to make an appointment for a trim. Siri can be used for voice dialing, but when I tried to call the woman who cuts my hair, Siri told me I had no such contact. I guess I forgot to move that one when I changed phones, but not to worry–Siri offered to search local businesses for the number. Neat! I said yes, and within a few seconds Siri had the number and asked if I wanted to dial it. Once I made the appointment, I then told Siri to “Remind me I have a haircut at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.” Siri added a note to the built-in Reminders app (which syncs with iCloud).

    I was driving and listening to a podcast on my iPhone, which was playing through my truck’s radio using an iTrip. Someone called me, the podcast paused, and the ringer came through my truck speakers. I use a Bluetooth earpiece, so I hit the button to answer the call. When the call was done, I hit the earpiece button to tell Siri to make a note of the call, then said “Play.” Siri started playing the podcast again. All this was done without taking my eyes off the road or fumbling with the iPhone to hit the correct buttons.

    So far, I only have run into two issues. First, I talk too fast. This sometimes causes Siri to tell me that she can’t make any sense out of what I am saying. Second, I was inside a building where there was no 3G access, and I was unable to use Siri for voice dialing. Instead, I kept getting “Siri unavailable, connect to the Internet.” I understand that Siri needs Internet access in order to look things up, but to call someone in my contacts list? That should work regardless of my data connection.

    If you already have an iPhone 4S, here are some funny things to ask Siri:

    “What do you think of Windows?”
    “What’s the meaning of life?”
    “Open the pod bay doors.”