Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • The Internet is Running Out of Addresses

    I’ve written in past Tech Tails about IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, and how every single device connected to the Internet needs to have its own IP address. Under the current system, known as IPv4, the addresses are formed as four groups of up to three digits. Each group of digits can go from 1 to 255, but no higher than 255. For example, Google’s IP address is currently 74.125.226.148. When you type in a web address in your browser, it’s actually translated into an IP address by DNS servers.

    The problem with IPv4 is that the four groups of up to three digits only allows so many unique addresses. It must’ve been hard to imagine in the early days of the Internet that so many billions of addresses would be needed, but here we are and some experts claim that we have less than a year before the last address is taken.

    I’m not sure I’m ready to fill my basement with canned goods and iodine tablets quite yet. But just in case we find ourselves in an era of an overpopulated Internet, there is another protocol called IPv6 that will replace IPv4 over time. The new protocol boasts an address allocation (number of possible addresses) with so many zeroes after it that I can’t even think how to pronounce the number.

    Needless to say, this transition will take time, and in some cases users may see some speed issues. The IPv4 and IPv6 networks will essentially be two different Internets, and there will have to be “translating” services, or gateways, to bridge between the two networks. These gateways will certainly be bottlenecks.

    The whole protocol and the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 is going to take some time and there will likely be bumps along the way. But there’s really no need to panic as some have suggested. There’s a wealth of information out there about the transition and the protocol itself. Wikipedia, as is so often the case, is a great place to start.

  • Happy Tuesday,

    Yesterday was the first real thaw of the season. Foot-thick sheets of ice slid off rooftops, including the one right over my head, and the river is rising. Roads are still flanked by massive, dense snowbanks, and all the meltwater doesn’t have anywhere to go. With temperature expected to fall to the lower teens tonight and tomorrow, we might have some very interesting driving in the coming days. It’s never fun when your road turns to mud, and tire tracks freeze in place only to be removed by snowpack or snowplow.

    Owen is enjoying the weather, though. He’s spent a good chunk of the morning outside, mostly laying down on top of the highest snowbank in the parking lot, staring across the field at the still-frozen river. Soon enough I’ll have to go fetch him from the river, in warm Spring weather.

    We still have a good number of “used MacBooks”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/73536/macbook-2-16ghz-1gb-120-sd-ap-bt-white-used/at_tt that were tested and cleaned up by Small Dog technicians. They’re an excellent value at only $599, and they come with MacOS X Snow Leopard and iLife ’11 (the very latest software from Apple).

    As always, thanks for reading, and keep in touch.

    Matt
    “matt@smalldog.com”:mailto:matt@smalldog.com

  • Researchers Expose iOS Security Flaw

    Last week, TUAW reported a group of researchers had cracked the passcode system implemented in iOS 4, across Apple’s range of portable devices….

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    *$100 off Mac mini G4/1.25GHz 512/40/combo – Used* Regularly $299.99, now only $199.99–click above to see details!

    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.

  • Staying Ahead in the Info Game

    Here at Small Dog Manchester, we are especially nerdy when it comes to Apple products. We always want to know what is coming…

  • Hapy turns the big 4-0 this weekend and he has the grey hair to prove it. Hard to believe I have a 40 year old son. Happy Birthday, Hapy!

    I write a daily report to the Small Dog staff and solicit “ask the Top Dog” questions. Jaime asked me this week “Who do you think is the best 3-point shooter in the history of the NBA?” Now, there is a softball if I have ever seen one! Of course, it is Ray Allen, who on Thursday set the NBA record for the most 3-point field goals ever, in the game against the Lakers. Jaime was just pulling my leg because he has been a fan of Ray Allen since he was a college player at UConn. I have watched Ray come out hours before everyone and shoot hundreds of shots and he does that EVERY game. I think Ray Allen is the best pure shooter in the history of the NBA and a lock for the hall of fame!

    Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your (lonely) Kibbles & Bytes Team,
    _Don & Ben_

  • FEATURED SPECIAL | Valentine's Day Bundle

    Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and we’ve put together the perfect package for your special someone. Featuring the perpetually popular iPod shuffle, an upgraded set of sonically sweet A4 Tech Headphones, and our brand new Pink Chill Pill, this bundle is guaranteed to please. Get all 3 for only $89.99! Plus, did you know one dollar of every Pink Chill Pill sale goes towards breast cancer research? This deal beats a stale Whitman’s Sampler for sure!

    “Click here to view the bundle.”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag20568/at_kb

  • Flash Player 10.2 – The Fastest Plugin Alive!

    This Tuesday, Adobe released an updated version of Flash Player 10, featuring the highly anticipated ‘Stage Video’ hardware acceleration. As the controversy surrounding the aging web standard is now universally known, Adobe has reworked Flash 10.2 in an attempt to quell some of the negative feelings towards the plugin. Bashed in the past for its rampant CPU usage and an insatiable appetite for notebook batteries, Flash Player 10.2–while not fully resolving them–improves both of these issues.

    Through its implementation of Stage Video, Adobe reports Flash videos will support smoother playback with considerably less CPU usage. On the Flash Team’s blog, developer Tom Nguyen writes:

    bq. “Stage Video lets websites take advantage of full hardware acceleration of the entire video pipeline. This builds on the H.264 hardware accelerated decoding in Flash Player 10.1. Stage Video hardware acceleration means that Flash Player can play even higher quality video while using dramatically less processing power, giving users a better experience, greater performance, and longer battery life. In our testing across supported systems, we’ve found it’s up to 34 times more efficient.”

    Nguyen expands on Stage Video claiming it can support 1080p HD video playback using a mere 1-15% of the CPU on a current Mac or PC. While this is an impressive performance leap for the picked on plugin, Nguyen is quick to add the performance boost may not be immediately apparent. While the player is capable of processing HD video at the reported stats, websites and content providers, such as YouTube, will first need to rework their players around the new standard.

    Though the Flash Player is still far from perfect, the release of 10.2 demonstrates that Adobe is actively responding to the critiques voiced by Steve Jobs and others on its aging infrastructure and less than desirable performance. For all intents and purposes, Flash Player 10.2 is a sizable leap in terms of streaming HD video playback technology. Though it may not be around forever, until HTML5 receives more widespread support, Flash will have to do.

    It is worth noting that Adobe has dropped support for Power PC Macs in version 10.2. The update mandates at least an Intel Core Duo 1.33GHz processor or faster. In addition, the update requires at least 256MB of RAM and Mac OS X 10.4-10.6. For a full list of system requirements click “*here.*”:http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/systemreqs/

    To download Flash 10.2 click “*here.*”:http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

  • The iPad is Ready for Business and the Statehouse!

    I was at the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility’s legislative reception the other day and nearly every one of the senators and representatives I spoke with had questions about the iPad. I have talked before about our project to outfit one of the committees with iPads, well the rest of the legislators are jealous and many are just buying their own iPads. Vermont has a citizen legislator and except for the Governor, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate, none of the legislators have offices. The committee rooms are always cramped, tiny and crowded, so using a laptop computer is nearly impossible. The iPad makes a much better “meeting” computer because it is much more unobtrusive than a laptop – it looks like a piece of paper on the desk.

    The real secret story of the iPad though is its acceptance in business. There are literally thousands of useful applications and everyone from lawyers to bakers and bankers are using the iPad now in their work. My attorney, Brian Dunkiel, gave all the lawyers in his firm iPads a few months ago and called me from the road a few days later to tell me that his firm was the first to use an iPad during a trial in Vermont.

    Apple has recognized the business acceptance of the iPad and has made a lot of resources available for those considering the iPad in their work. We will be putting on some seminars at our retail stores about how to use the iPad in business, and there are on-line resources as well.

    A good place to start is the iPad in Business “*site*”:http://www.apple.com/ipad/business/ that Apple has created. Here you will find a bunch of information on how to integrate the iPad into your work life, including apps that make your work life easier, tips for seamless integration into your work flow and profiles of businesses that are using the iPad right now in their work. The other resource to discover what you can do on the iPad for your work is to check out the wide range of business apps on the iTunes App Store. Search the Business, Finance, Productivity and Reference section to get an idea of the myriad of options available to you. Once you have taken a look there, the next step is to completely ignore Apple’s pleas to “buy now from Apple,” and come over to Small Dog to get that iPad!

  • MAC TREAT #146: Turn Your Mac's Volume Up a "Notch"

    We’ve all been there. You arrive at the office intent on listening to your tunes, only to discover you’ve left your headphones at home. At Small Dog, a quick trip to the warehouse to browse our “*inventory*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Audio|Headphones for a replacement set is all that’s required, but many are without that luxury. So lets say you’re sitting at your desk in complete silence, and decide that ‘Pyromania’ simply needs to happen now! How can you pull it off without disturbing your co-workers? Easy.

    Though all Macs feature 16 steps of volume adjustment at first glance, there are actually 64. Each time you adjust the volume from the keyboard (F11 and F12 on current gen. Macs) The level jumps by a box with an accompanying “pwipt” noise. However, holding down a series of keys prior to adjusting the volume enables you to fine tune your level further.

    By holding: Option + Shift, and pressing: Volume Up or Volume Down, you can adjust your Mac’s volume in 64 increments instead of the usual 16. You’ll notice that each box divides into four precise slices while using this method, allowing you to set your volume as low as 1/64 if you have picky co-workers.