Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • Keeping Up with the Jobs'

    Quick–without looking at “About this Mac”–what version of MacOS X are you running?A lot of people have no idea what they have installed, or more importantly, they don’t know that the base operating system can be upgraded. Unfortunately, they often don’t find out until it’s too late.

    A brief recent history of Mac OS X: Version 10.4 “Tiger” came out in April 2005 and was refreshed in January 2006 to support the new line of Intel-based systems. Version 10.5 “Leopard” was released in October 2007. Then in August 2009, 10.6 “Snow Leopard” was released. Originally, Snow Leopard was made available as a $29.99 upgrade to Leopard, offering many improvements such as better 64-bit support and a new printing subsystem. Life was good.

    Each release of OS X drew a line in the sand, leaving some older systems behind. The Intel version of Tiger did not support the Classic Environment. Leopard did not support the G3 processor and required 512MB of RAM. Snow Leopard dropped support for PowerPC Macs entirely, so if you’re not running an Intel-based Mac, you can’t install Snow Leopard.

    Problems can arise when you don’t follow the upgrade path. Based on the number of support calls and e-mails we receive, apparently a lot of people are still running 10.4. Now they are buying iPads and iPod touches that require iTunes 10, but iTunes 10 requires 10.5 or higher. They have a shiny new iOS device they can’t use, and they come to us for help.

    On one side, you have the owners of Intel-based systems. The Snow Leopard “upgrade” disc requires that you already have Leopard installed, however Leopard is no longer sold by Apple. For these people, Apple released the Mac Box Set for $129.99, which includes a “full” version of Snow Leopard that can be used to upgrade Tiger. It also includes iLife ’11 and iWork ’09. I’ve heard several people saying that’s too expensive, when the original Snow Leopard release was only $29.99. Bear in mind that past OS X upgrade discs were always $129.99, and the “upgrade” version of Snow Leopard was a “special” for people who had just bought Leopard; you’re also getting iWork (which normally costs $79) for free. So, as long as you have at least 1GB of RAM and an Intel processor, you can use the Box Set to bring your system up to date.

    The second group isn’t quite so lucky. They have a PowerPC-based computer running Tiger, but the Box Set only works on an Intel system. The highest release they could install is Leopard, but Apple isn’t selling Leopard anymore. It’s possible to find copies online, but you may end up paying upwards of $180 for a used (illegal or counterfeit) copy. You may also be able to find copies of the Leopard Box Set (Amazon lists used copies starting at $190). I’ve been sending people to eBay or Craigslist, but there’s no guarantee you’ll get a working (or even legal) copy of Leopard.

    I’ve heard a suggestion that Apple make OS upgrades available via their new App Store. Good idea, but there are two major flaws in that: First, the App Store is only available if you already have 10.6 installed. Second, the download would require that you burn it to a dual-layer DVD in order to use it, and most of the systems still running Tiger don’t have dual-layer DVD burners installed.

    Mac OS X 10.7 “Lion” is supposed to be released later this year. Don’t get caught out in the cold–upgrade early, and upgrade often!

  • MacBook Hard Drive REP Ends

    Over the years “we’ve written a lot about Apple’s repair extension programs (REPs)”:http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22repair+extension+program%22+site:blog.smalldog.com&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8. When a particular part failure becomes statistically relevant, Apple will own up to that failure and cover the cost of repair or replacement of that part, generally for three years from the computer’s purchase date regardless of warranty status. It became clear some time ago that a specific set of first-generation style MacBooks (non-unibody) had abnormally high hard drive failure rates. Apple responded by covering the hard drives in these MacBooks.

    That repair extension program expired last week. We did so many of these repairs that it seems any qualifying machine has likely been repaired already, so it’s not much of a loss to see the program expire. Apple has five active programs at the moment, and you can read about them “here”:http://www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/.

    The iBook and PowerBook G4 battery program will likely remain in effect indefinitely, as there was a true safety risk with those batteries and there are still plenty of those older machines in active use. There’s also a program to cover specific graphics card issues in some MacBook Pros.

    On the accessories side, the very first run of ultracompact USB power adapters can be exchanged for a revised model. You can tell if your adapter qualifies if it does NOT have a chartreuse dot near the prongs and submit your exchange request “here”:http://www.apple.com/support/usbadapter/exchangeprogram/. Finally, some Apple headphones (the kind with the remote right on the wire) can be replaced if the volume changes unexpectedly, controls stop working intermittently, or voice feedback randomly turns on.

    It should be noted that many customers believe these programs to be recalls. They are not. The vast majority of products that qualify for these programs do not show symptoms.

  • Happy Tuesday,

    This week it’s Ben writing for Matt while he’s away. Burlington got hit with back-to-back snowstorms this past week, which rivaled those of February ’07. While the snow put a damper on driving, it didn’t stop residents of the Queen City from making the most of it. Cross country skiers slid along sidewalks, and more ambitious snowboarders attempted to carve turns down Maple Street. A few spontaneous block-wide snowball fights even started up among total strangers. Personally, I worked into the early hours of Sunday morning building a 12-person igloo with several friends. To celebrate its completion, we ordered a pizza to it–the delivery guy was quite confused. Even though the igloo didn’t make it through the rest of the night intact, it was still a fun trip to my snow-fort-building childhood.

    Here at Small Dog, we’re accustomed to the harsh winter weather and frequent storms that come as part of living in VT. If you ever have Mac or iOS device questions but the roads give you grief, slap on a pair of skis or snowshoes and trek over to one of our three retail locations. We’ll be glad to help you out.

    Thanks for reading this issue of Tech Tails.

    Ben
    “benb@smalldog.com”:mailto:benb@smalldog.com

  • Find My iPhone to the Rescue!

    Though this tale is not as impressive as that of an iPhone owner embarking on a city-wide manhunt tracking the perp. in an…

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  • I Want a Bluetooth iSight!

    I am asked about the iPad 2 about a dozen times a day. The still unannounced product is reaching hype levels that rival…

  • Grace got me tickets for the Celtics/Magic game on Sunday for my birthday so we will be heading down to Boston to watch the boys in green. I’ll have to make new paths for the pups again as the fresh snow has filled them. Fantail Shrimp likes the snow and will dive into the snow banks until her little face is all white from the snow. Hammerhead, on the other hand, is a bit like me–he could do just fine without that cold, wet stuff.

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
    _Don, Kali, Ed & Ben_

  • FEATURED SPECIAL | $20 Off Verso Cases

    Remember when iPad was first introduced? Many people thought Apple would release a traditional tablet–something like a MacBook without a keyboard. Instead, Apple thought different and produced a device that is truly “magical and revolutionary.” We believed in iPad from day one. We also knew that iPad owners would want to protect their iPad from daily wear and tear.

    …so we decided to design our own iPad case. Cut to the result–the Verso case: a simple, premium quality, easy-access case that protects iPad in style. It can go from coffee shop to boardroom to bedroom. It looks great and feels great in the hand. It’s a case that your iPad can live in.

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    “Click here to read the entire Verso concept and design story!”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/how-we-designed-the-verso-ipad-case/

  • Black History Month

    We celebrate the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln this month, and we also celebrate Black History Month. Carter Woodson founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History in 1915, and initiated Black History week in February of 1926 to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

    For many years, the second week in February was Black History week and in 1976, as part of the the USA’s Bicentennial, it was expanded and became Black History Month.

    Each week during February, I will highlight a notable figure in Black History. This week we feature Harriet Tubman, a black American who escaped from slavery in the South to become a leading abolitionist before the Civil War. She came to be known as the “Moses of her people” by leading hundreds to freedom in the North along the route of the Underground Railroad. Estimates of the number of black people who reached freedom in this way vary greatly, from 40,000 to 100,000.

    In 1849, Tubman escaped from a plantation on the eastern shore of Maryland and made her way north. In 1850, she returned to Maryland to guide members of her family north to freedom. She was the Railroad’s most active “conductor,” making frequent trips into the South to bring out escaping slaves. Despite huge rewards offered for her capture, she helped more than 300 slaves to escape. She maintained military discipline among her followers, often forcing the weary or the fainthearted ahead by threatening them with a loaded revolver.

    “Click here for one of the only photographs of Harriet Tubman.”:http://search.eb.com/blackhistory/art/otubman001p1.jpg

    During the Civil War, Tubman served as a nurse, laundress, and spy with the Federal forces along the coast of South Carolina. After the war, she made her home in Auburn, New York, and, despite numerous honors, spent her last years in poverty. Not until 30 years after the war was she granted a government pension in recognition of her work for the Federal Army.

    Harriet Tubman posthumously received many honors, including the naming of the Liberty ship Harriet Tubman, christened in 1944 by Eleanor Roosevelt. On June 14, 1914, a large bronze plaque was placed at the Cayuga County Courthouse, and a civic holiday declared in her honor. Freedom Park, a tribute to the memory of Harriet Tubman, opened in the summer of 1994 at 17 North Street in Auburn. In 1995, Harriet Tubman was honored by the federal government with a commemorative postage stamp bearing her name and likeness.