Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • 90 Second Samples Appear in iTunes

    This past Wednesday, Apple began deploying extended song samples in iTunes. As indicated by a letter sent to various music labels last month, this marks a storewide transition for all songs over two minutes and 30 seconds. Previously 30 seconds long, the newly extended previews will allow buyers to get a better sense of the song or album they are buying–especially if it’s new. Any song shorter than the aforementioned length will retain its original 30 second preview.

    Though much of the music in the iTunes store has already transitioned to the new sample length, some artists and albums are still awaiting the change. As these new terms are mandated by Apple, any label seeking to keep their music for sale in the store will have to comply eventually. With lengths up threefold, these samples are better than the ones at Trader Joes!

  • MAC TREAT #141: Easily Import from the Title Bar

    This is a useful tip that I recently picked up from the Apple Pro site. It often happens that you have a file open in a program such as Photoshop or Word, but don’t know where that file is saved on your hard drive. For example, you may have double-clicked on a file inside your email client and found yourself editing an image in Photoshop or an RTF document in Word.

    But what if you now want to import that image or text file into Adobe InDesign? No problem: After you save any edits in your document, move your cursor over the little icon to the left of the file’s name in the title bar. Now hold down the mouse button and begin to drag the icon. You can drag that “proxy” icon into any other open window, including an InDesign document.

    If you can’t see the window you’re aiming for, keep the mouse button held down and press Command-Tab (the Mac OS X application switcher) to switch applications or use Expose to find the window you want. This drag-and-drop technique is only available on Mac OS X, and only after you have saved a file.

  • Katie's Gift-Giving Guide

    What do people want over the holidays? For me, this is always a tough question because I believe that there are _two_ different categories when it comes to gift-giving. So this year, I am going to present you with two lists: the “Must-Haves” (the latest and greatest) and the “Practical Stuff” (items people _need_ but want other people to buy for them)!

    **The Must-Haves:**

    “**AppleTV**”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/76960/apple-tv-2010/at_bis

    Without a doubt, the Apple TV is the gift of the season. The all new tiny–yet powerful–design will easily find a place to live in your home! Hook up your Apple TV to your television and watch HD shows and movies (including Netflix), stream your photos and music from your Mac to you TV!

    **Just $99.99.**

    _(**Side Note:** Throw in “AppleCare”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/75033/applecare-protection-plan-apple-tv/at_bis to upgrade your warranty from one year to two, and get unlimited Tech Support from Apple. Consumer Reports #1 vote for Customer Service: AppleCare for $24.99! You can click “here”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag20451/at_bis for an Apple TV, HDMI and AppleCare bundle to really save!)_

    “**Chill Pill Helmet Speakers**”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/75131/chill-pill-helmet-speakers/at_bis

    A common complaint we hear during the skiing and snowboarding season is “My earbuds hurt my ears when I wear my helmet!”

    Well, ladies and gents, that issue has been solved with the “Chill Pill Helmet Speakers!”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/75131/chill-pill-helmet-speakers/at_bis

    These are adhesive “headphones” that stick to the inside of your helmet so you don’t have to worry about earbuds getting pushed in your ear by your headphones. For $19.99, these are a must-have with any ski/snowboard pass this season!

    “**Hammerhead Verso iPad case**”:http://www.smalldog.com/search/?find=Hammerhead+Verso+iPad+case

    Sleek, stylish, and slim, the Verso case offers protection that most other cases don’t. Your iPad slides into this case (the screen, buttons and all ports are still useable), and then has a folding cover to make your iPad safe. This is ideal if you’re carrying around your iPad in your hand or in a bag; the screen is always protected. The Verso is also made out of premium leather!

    **The Practical Stuff:**

    “**LaCie Rikiki Back-Up Drive**”:http://www.smalldog.com/search/?find=LaCie+Rikiki+USB+2.0+Portable+Drive

    Thousands of dollars of music, priceless photos and movies, work and school documents… if anyone were to lose these things they would be LOST! Don’t let this happen to your family or friends this holiday season. Give them an external back up drive to protect their data!

    This Rikiki drive by LaCie is tiny and can fit in any bag on the go, or sit on your desk. Rikiki drives start at just $59.99 for 320GB!

    “**RAM upgrade**”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/RAM

    Everyone wants a fast computer, a RAM (or memory) upgrade will keep anyone’s machine running fast! All we need to know to help with a RAM upgrade is the type of machine, or better yet, bring the machine in to us (or we can put the amount on a gift card!).

    What’s better than the gift of a fast machine? RAM prices start at $24.99 per chip. Give us a call at 1-800-511-MACS if you need assistance finding the right RAM!

    “**MagSafe Adapter**”:http://www.smalldog.com/search/?find=Apple+MagSafe+AC+Adapter&refinecat=Notebook_Gear|Batteries_and_Chargers

    One thing people always need (but don’t want to have to pay for) is an extra MagSafe Power Adapter for their Mac notebook. We all bring our laptops on the go–but sometimes we forget our charger! Oh no! Keep one at the office or in your school bag and leave the other one at home–you will never be without a charge.

    Whether you need help from looking on the web, calling in, or browsing in our stores, let a Small Dog Electronics Apple Sales Professional help you out! We want to help **you** pick the right gift this Holiday!

  • _Dear Friends,_

    The Green Mountains are white once again as we have had light but steady snow fall for the past few days. Some areas have received over a foot of snow but at my house, which is known a snow heavy micro-climate, we have only gotten a couple of inches. It is enough to send cars without snow tires off the sides of the roads and to get the plows out. I’ll have to start making trails for the dogs in my yard or the deck will become their bathroom. I got up early this morning and there was a flock of wild turkeys pecking away in the lower garden. When I opened the door to let Hammerhead out, they all flew into the trees. That’s a big bird to take flight!

    We lost power in our S. Burlington store last Saturday for most of the morning. Apparently a squirrel decided to commit suicide at a substation on Dorset Street and took down the power to the busiest commercial district in the state for 4 hours including our store and the mall, too. To try to make up for that outage, Small Dog Electronics’ South Burlington store on Dorset street will open at 6AM this Saturday with some special values on Macs, iPads, iPods and accessories.

    We have good stock on most of the latest Apple products including iPads, iPods and the new amazing Apple TV. The Apple TV has been a big seller at the stores. I love mine and find that I am using it much more that the original Apple TV. We also have some used Macs that have made it to our price list and our website, including G4 Mac minis for $299 and closeout 27-inch iMacs. Find them at “Smalldog.com!”:http://www.smalldog.com

  • *Greetings, All!*

    Wondering why Small Dog’s _Best in Showroom_ newsletter has graced you with its presence halfway through the month? We wanted to assist you with ideas for gifts this holiday season! It’s that time of year when everyone wants to know, “What are the MUST have items of the Holiday?” or “What should I get for my friend who loves her Mac?

    We decided that we needed to send out a special edition of Best in Showroom to make sure we could offer our suggestions and make sure our faithful readers know what we have in-stock for your holiday shopping! Read on for my Gift-Giving Guide and more.

    **Happy Holidays!**

    Katie + the Retail Staff
    “katie@smalldog.com”:mailto:katie@smalldog.com

  • Get it There in Time!

    If you tend to procrastinate on your holiday shopping, you’re probably familiar with the anxiety that accompanies a last minute online order. As…

  • Be Careful

    We’re headed into the fourth spill season of the year, the winter holidays. The other three are the end of the spring semester,…

  • Replace Your Apple TV's Remote

    The new Apple TV is one of the hottest gifts of the holiday season. I own one and simply love it. Perhaps more tellingly, the entire household loves it. Apple TV is the best way to stream Netflix movies and TV shows to our main television, the iTunes store has enough new movies to save trips to the video store, and Apple TV is the easiest way to stream media from my computer, iPad and iPhone to the central television and household AV system. It’s simply fantastic to have instant access to ninety years of movies in one central location.

    Plus (and this is my own conjecture based on nothing but speculation), I think eventually some form of app store will come to Apple TV–potentially making it possible to stream media from more sources, as well as play games, show weather and news, etc.

    Enough accolades for the Apple TV. This Mac treat concerns the small aluminum remote control that comes with Apple TV. Compared to the massive remotes that most AV systems ship with, the Apple remote is refreshingly simple and easy to use device. However, it *is* just one more remote to manage amongst a pile of other remotes that many people have in they’re living rooms. Fortunately, it is possible to pair other remote controls that you’re already using for your TV or DVD player to control Apple TV. That’s because most of those remotes have an AUX function that can be used to control third party devices. Here is a support article that explains how to do this:

    “Support.apple.com/kb/HT3296”:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3296

    A few people have already written in because they’ve lost the remote that shipped with their Apple TV. You can buy a new one for $19 “by clicking here”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/38600/apple-remote-control/at_tt and then use this Support article to pair the new remote with your Apple TV:

    “Support.apple.com/kb/HT1555”:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1555

    Own an iPad, iPod touch or iPhone? The best replacement remote control/addition to Apple TV (by far) is the free Remote app from Apple. It turns your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch into a remote control. Wherever you are in your house, you can control your computer’s iTunes library and your Apple TV with a tap or flick of a finger. Click here to read about this and download it for free:

    “Apple.com/itunes/remote”:http://www.apple.com/itunes/remote

    Apple says:

    bq. __Remote lets you control the iTunes library on your Mac the same way you play music or video on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Fast-forward, pause, and rewind. Choose a song, shuffle an album, or skip to the next track. Even create Genius playlists. Album art looks amazing on the large iPad display and stunning on the vibrant iPhone 4 and iPod touch Retina displays. And if your Mac is sleeping, Remote wakes it up so you can access all your digital media on iTunes.__

    So just remember–if you ever lose the Apple remote that came with Apple TV, just use the Remote App control on iPad, iPod touch or iPhone until you can replace it.

  • Let It Sleep

    It’s true that notebook hard drives tend to fail before desktop hard drives (unless your desktop computer uses a laptop hard drive, as is the case with the Mac mini). This is simply because notebooks tend to be moved around much more than desktops.

    I see customers close their laptops to make them sleep–which is fine–but they then pick up the computer immediately and begin walking with it. The problem with this is that modern laptops take the contents of memory and write it to the hard drive. This is what makes “safe sleep” possible, and it can take up to a minute.

    A hard drive is like a record player. There are platters inside that spin anywhere from 4,200 revolutions per minute to 15,000 revolutions per minute. If you’ve ever bumped into your record player or otherwise jarred it while it was playing music, you know that it doesn’t sound very good, can damage your stylus, and can damage the vinyl. The same holds true in hard drives.

    Perhaps the easiest and most effective thing you can do to protect your laptop hard drive is to wait after closing the lid. When the sleep light begins “breathing,” your computer is truly asleep. If the light is solid or off entirely, your hard drive is still spinning. Take a deep breath and wait until the hard drive spins down; your data will thank you, and so will your wallet.