Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • Tech Tails TV: Live Edition

    Greetings, Tech Tails readers! A few months ago we dabbled with broadcasting live streams of our Tech Tails TV program. Our last broadcast was on “Justin.tv”:http://www.justin.tv/ and it was a demonstration on how we perform invasive diagnostics on a MacBook with liquid damage. If you’re curious to check out the process and see some nasty liquid damage, check out the links below!

    Justin.tv offers support to send videos from its site to YouTube. This seemed like a great option for us until we ran into the problem that it’s unable to split the video up into parts. Since YouTube only accepts up to 10 minutes of video at a time (unless one has a paid account) and the Justin.tv stream was 30 minutes, it was impossible to send to YouTube as a whole. Also, since we were using a free account with Justin.tv, we were unable to download the video directly and it was set to be automatically deleted after a certain date. Now, how the heck could we get our video?

    Using “Download Helper,”:http://www.downloadhelper.net/ a Firefox extension, I was able to download the .flv file from Justin.tv. This easy-to-use extension is able to download video from many popular sites. The next step was to get the file into iMovie, which doesn’t read .flv files, so it could be split up into smaller segments for YouTube. Luckily, my favorite open-source solution for video conversion, “Handbrake,”:http://handbrake.fr/ was able to efficiently convert from a .flv to an .mp4 using one of the built-in Apple workflows. From there, I imported it into iMovie, split it up, added some title screens and, voila, I was good to go!

    Want to see the finished product? Check it out:
    “Tech Tails TV: Live Edition Part 1 of 3”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEpsYaE_Hn8
    “Tech Tails TV: Live Edition Part 2 of 3”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1i3nB1ZVS8
    “Tech Tails TV: Live Edition Part 3 of 3 “:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTGiQ5Am31s

  • Happy Tuesday,

    Well, I’m finally in Manchester, NH at our “new store”:http://www.smalldog.com/nh to make final preparations for our grand opening this Saturday. There’s still a ton of work to get done, but I know that the group we assembled will have everything finished on time and done properly.

    I interviewed another candidate for the last open position, and made my choice. I sure am looking forward to having the whole team together! Over the past few months I’ve done dozens of interviews, and turned away plenty of candidates who weren’t the perfect match.

    Working as many hours as we have been over the past several months, I just couldn’t leave Owen at home for these long work days. In fact, he’s come to work almost every single day since he was nine weeks old. My mother deserves huge thanks for watching Owen with her own two golden retrievers Grace and Hamilton. Thanks, mom!

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

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

  • !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/1932.jpg!:http://www.smalldog.com/wag20332/at_dr

    *Save $365 on the high-end closeout 2.8GHz MacBook Pro 15-inch and FREE neoprene Hammerhead Sleeve!*

    Introduced in 6/09, the 2.8GHz 15-inch MacBook Pro has 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive and is an amazing deal at over $350 original pricing: *$1649.99 for both, with $4.99 flat-rate shipping. Plus, you get a free reversible Hammerhead sleeve to protect it! ($15 value)*

    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. $4.99 shipping applies to shipments within the contiguous US.

  • Hey, how about dem Chicago Bears? As the end of baseball season approaches, the NFL is in full swing and the NBA starts pre-season games next week. I am going to a Celtics vs. 76ers game that is being played in Manchester, NH next week. It will be interesting to see the big shamrock, Shaq, in Celtics green.

    Come on down next weekend for the grand opening celebration if you are in the area!

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

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

  • October Coupon

    **Save $10 on the purchase of any LaCie back up drive when you buy a new computer or AppleCare!**

  • Enter to Win an iPod nano Before + During Our NH Grand Opening!

    You probably know that when you RSVP on Facebook to the Grand Opening of our “new store”:http://www.smalldog.com/nh/at_kb at the Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester NH on October 9th, you’ll also be entered to win one of five iPod nanos.

    What you probably __didn’t__ know is that we’re also giving away a new touchscreen iPod nano every other hour at the new store on Grand Opening weekend! That’s *14 chances to win a brand new iPod nano!* All you have to do is visit the store during Saturday and Sunday of Grand Opening weekend to enter your name in person for your chance to win.

    “Click here to RSVP on Facebook.”:http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147158478653069&ref=ts

    “Click here to learn about the new store!”:http://www.smalldog.com/nh/at_kb

    Good luck, and we hope to see you at the Grand Opening celebration!

  • October Specials

    **$5 off AppleCare for any iPod with purchase of new iPod**

    **$5 off an in-store 20 minute lesson with purchase of new Mac**

    **Closeout savings on a 15-inch MacBook Pro 2.8GHz machine: $1679.99**

    “Click here for details and specs on this MacBook Pro offer!”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/73881/macbook-pro-15in-2-8ghz-4gb-500gb/at_bis

    Be sure to mention Best in Showroom when you purchase any of these specials!

  • Free In-Store Seminars: October 2010

    Every Saturday, we hold free seminars in our S. Burlington store. Come in for more details!

    **10/09**
    2pm: Pages
    4pm: iPad

    **10/16**
    2pm: Mail
    4pm: iPad

    **10/23**
    2pm: iChat
    4pm: iPad

    **10/30**
    2pm: iTunes + App Store
    4pm: iPad