Kibbles & Bytes Blog

We are taking the gas engine out of my motorcycle tonight. I enlisted Hapy, Art and Tony to help me with this project, which will have the frame all ready for the new electric motor. It is sort of sad taking apart my beloved motorcycle, but it will be reborn as an all-electric gem so it is bittersweet.

Thanks for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes! Enjoy the last weekend of spring!

Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
_Don, Kali & Ben_

I’ve just personally added some awesome new items, so check out all of the new listings since last week. (Some new lots begin with FF, AA and CC…)

As of right now (act fast, because as with all Garage Sale items, they go fast), we have new items from Apple, Skullcandy, Harman Kardon, Logitech and more. My favorites so far are the various speakers, along with an Apple TV just listed:

*Lot FF59: Opened/Demo – Apple TV (2010) – $89.* Stream TV, Movies, Music and more. Usually sells for $99.99!

*Lot FF17: New Harman Kardon SoundSticks II Plug-and-Play Multimedia Speaker System – $99.* The box is damaged, but these usually sell for $169.99!

*Lot AA-65: DEMO Chill Pill mobile speakers – $12.* They come in their original packaging and are all set to go. These portable, battery powered speakers are a huge seller, and here are 30% ($28!) off their regular selling price!

So check out all of them… there’s lots more to choose from. Current iPad 2 and iPhone 4 stuff, hard drives and much more! Plus, see some “Blast from the Past” products such as the iPod nano 4G, 5G and original iPad.

Have fun!
“*Shop Garage Sale here!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/garagesale

You may wonder, “what iPad 2 case does ‘Top Dog’ Don Mayer use?” Well, there are a lot of choices out there, and finding the perfect case for your brand new iPad 2 can be a tricky thing.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed when searching for the best case for your needs, but at Small Dog, there is pretty much a unanimous decision about our favorite: the “*Hammerhead Hard Shell Case for iPad 2*”:http://www.smalldog.com/search/?find=Hammerhead+Hard+Shell+Case+for+iPad+2, which is available in 10 different colors.

One person who is a huge advocate of the Hard Shell Case is Small Dog CEO and ‘Top Dog’ Don Mayer. We’ve had many inquires about case he uses, so we tracked down the details. When asked about the case, Don shared:

bq. “I love the slim design and total protection that the case provides. The versatile typing and video viewing modes make it the most versatile iPad 2 case available.”

Since Don had such great things to say about this case, I went ahead and bought one. Of course, I *had* to buy the “*pink color.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/78185/at_kb (Not to mention I added some stickers and bedazzled my name on it–too much?) I’m extremely happy with the case because it doesn’t make the iPad 2 bulky, and as Don said, it’s extremely versatile which makes it easy to integrate into every day life.

Grab Don’s Orange Hard Shell Case or Katie’s Pink Hard Shell Case with free shipping as an exclusive for Kibbles & Bytes readers!

I use my 13-inch MacBook Air for everything. I bring it to work every day and put it onto a “*Rain Designs mStand,*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/43576/rain-design-mstand-laptop-stand/at_kb plug in my Apple display, my USB Hub and my keyboard and I have a great desktop Mac.

I have a back-up drive attached to the USB Hub and my Mac is always and automatically backed up with Time Machine. At the end of the day, I simply unplug everything, put the MacBook Air into one of our “*premium leather sleeves*”:http://www.smalldog.com/search/?find=leather+envelope and take it home. There I use it on the couch when I talk to our suppliers late into the night.

It is no wonder that Apple is having such great sales of the MacBook Air.

Exclusively, for Kibbles & Bytes readers, here is a MacBook Air Accessory bundle that consists of:

* Apple AC Adapter
* Hammerhead Premium Leather Sleeve
* Hammerhead Microfiber cleaning cloth
* LaCie 4-port USB Hub Core4 – Blue

All this for only $125!

This Tuesday, Apple quietly updated its online store to reflect availability of unlocked models of iPhone 4 (GSM only). The unsubsidized version of the smartphone relies on the same micro-SIM technology found in its AT&T counterpart–enabling it for use with supported GSM carriers worldwide.

Of course, the one major trade-off of an unlocked phone is that buyers are required to pay the full price of the handset up front. Typically subsidized by U.S. carriers to attractive $199 (16GB) and $299 (32GB) price points, the unlocked variants of the phone range as high as $749 for the 32GB model and $649 for the 16GB model. Due to significantly higher prices, unlocked iPhone customers typically travel extensively or are unable to, or wary of signing a two year contract.

The unlocked version of the phone ships without a SIM card, therefore requiring one from a compatible carrier prior to activation and use. Primarily benefitting international travelers, the unlocked iPhone 4 is not dependent on a single carrier–enabling users to switch their SIM card as they travel. It is worth noting that while the phone does not require a contract in the U.S., international carriers may require a additional contractual agreement before supplying users with a compatible SIM card.

Although Apple has previously sold unlocked versions of iPhone 4 in other countries, this marks its first availability in the U.S. To learn more about the Unlocked iPhone 4 click “*here.*”:http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC603LL/A?mco=MjI4NTM2NTM

While last week marked the advent of Apple’s groundbreaking iCloud service, it simultaneously sealed the fate of another. As of Monday, June 6, the company’s previous cloud based offering, MobileMe, “ceased to exist” as succinctly put by Steve Jobs. For many, this wasn’t of great concern until the wave of post Stevenote euphoria began to settle.

As iCloud contains several–but not all–of the services previously offered by MobileMe, many subscribers began to panic over what was to become of the service and consequently, their data. Sensing the brewing turmoil, Apple was quick to release a detailed set of documents thoroughly describing MobileMe’s future, and what is in store for current subscribers.

The most reassuring of these announcements is that current MobileMe services will continue as usual through June 30, 2012–several months past iCloud’s tentative fall 2011 release date __(so will it survive the Rapture? -KH).__ Though the service is no longer accepting new subscribers, current subscribers–regardless of their sign-up date–will receive a complimentary extension into next year. This information was posted almost immediately following Monday’s keynote on Apple’s official MobileMe “*info page.*”:http://www.apple.com/mobileme/

Supplementing this announcement, the company released a “*support document*”:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4597 covering the transition in greater depth, and acknowledging some anticipated points of concern. This document confirms current me.com and mac.com email addresses, as well as MobileMe contacts, calendars and bookmarks will easily transition to iCloud when it debuts later this year.

The document also states that no new MobileMe accounts or 60-day trials can be created, though users with a Family Pack subscription can still create additional family member accounts with any remaining licenses. Though this news is likely appreciated by those with unused family accounts, the release also states individual accounts can no longer be upgraded to Family Packs, and that all accounts are no longer eligible to purchase additional iDisk storage space.

Though MobileMe was intentionally made hard to acquire building up to iCloud’s WWDC announcement, Apple will refund users who managed to purchase a boxed copy and haven’t yet used the activation code. Full details and a refund request can be found “*here.*”:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4445

This Monday, an email exchange between a MobileMe subscriber and Steve Jobs was reported by a variety of Mac news sites, supposedly shedding insight on the future of MobileMe domain hosting and iWeb. According to the exchange, iWeb will cease to receive updates, and domain hosting will be discontinued in June of next year. Users will then need to seek external domain hosting services. While unconfirmed, this claim falls in line with Apple’s “*actions*”:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2049?viewlocale=en_US regarding .Mac Homepages last December. It is likely more details will be disclosed in the near future.

The Dock is among the most iconic features of OS X–having appeared in every release since the Kodiak public beta in 2000. Though it provides quick access to a user customizable set of applications and adds to OS X’s visual charm, it isn’t the most usable feature for all Mac owners.

For many creative professionals–especially those who spend the majority of their time in palette-heavy Adobe apps–the Dock can be a serious nuisance.

Like many elements of OS X, the Dock can be tweaked to suit an individual’s taste. This can occur from a variety of places, but most notably the “Dock” preference pane under System Preferences. Here, users can adjust the size, magnification and position of the Dock, or automatically hide and show the Dock by clicking the applicable checkbox.

However, what if you’re a fan of the Dock at all times except when it’s getting in the way of editing in Photoshop? You guessed it, there’s a quick shortcut enabling you to drop out the Dock with just a few keystrokes.

From anywhere in OS X, simply press *Command-Option-D* to hide it. To make the Dock pop back up just hover the pointer towards the bottom–or left or right if you’ve put it there–of your screen. If you’d like to make even more tweaks without opening System Preferences, check out the abridged version of the Dock preference pane by clicking the Apple logo in the top left, and selecting “Dock.”

_Dear Friends,_

After all the rain and flooding it was good to get at least a couple of days this week where the sun was out and the birds singing. I’ve been getting up early as the sun rises and I love walking out on the porch to let the dogs out and listening to the sounds of life in the morning. The local farmers have really taken advantage of this sunny spell and as I rode into work this morning, I could see our neighbors cutting their first cut of hay to make those huge marshmallow hay balls!

The iPad supply continues to be tight and no matter how many Apple makes, it seems that it is not enough. We get shipments into our stores every day and are gradually catching up to our backorders but we have hundreds to go. We held an __iPad in Business__ seminar in Burlington this week and had over 120 attendees, which for Burlington, Vermont was very good! We will be having more seminars at each of our stores to introduce you to this great innovative tool.

Hapy and Art and I went out in the rain showers on Saturday for Art’s annual review on the golf course. We had a very long list of incentives and penalties for his golf game, but we had to resort to baseball trivia at the bar on the way home to equalize things. Art, our designated driver, had the upper hand in his sobriety and clear head and made up some ground with the baseball part of the adventure. We had a great time (as usual) on the course, and although I ended up with the snake (as the last to 3-putt), I did put some hurt on the young guys and took the match.