Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • Transferring Pictures into iPhoto

    Last week I talked about moving music from a Windows PC to a Mac. The next most popular item to transfer is photos! As with iTunes, transferring photos to your new Mac is a simple process and all you need is an external hard drive to do it!

    The majority of Windows users keep their photos within the ‘My Pictures’ folder that lives inside of ‘My Documents’. Depending on what version of Windows you’re running and how you’ve personally set up your PC, your pictures might be in a different place or could even live in multiple folders. The first task is to figure out where you keep your pictures on the PC. Once you’ve determined that, simply copy your picture folder(s) to the external hard drive (right click > ‘move to’ > select your external hard drive).

    Once all of your pictures are on the external hard drive, safely remove the external drive from your Windows PC and plug into your Mac. Here comes the fun part! Look for the iPhoto application in your dock (it lives there by default, unless you moved it). Now, drag the picture folder(s) to the iPhoto icon in your dock. iPhoto will automatically launch and you’ll actually be able to see each picture as it’s importing. Note: if you have embarrassing pictures in your library you might want to make sure there’s no one else in the room with you.

    iPhoto automatically categorizes your pictures by “Event”, which is determined by the date the pictures were taken. Events can then be combined or split up to your liking. If you took the picture with a cell phone or a device that supports GPS, iPhoto can even show you on a map where you took the picture! To learn about all of the awesome features of iPhoto, and for helpful video tutorials, check out “The iPhoto Support Page.”:http://www.apple.com/support/iphoto/

  • Happy Tuesday,

    Considering the frequency of broken screen and cracked glass incidents on unibody machines in Burlington, VT–a college town–we will offer screen and glass replacements for all Intel-based Apple laptops both in our retail stores and through the web after the new year. While it’s never a good thing to have a physically damaged screen or cracked glass on your MacBook, we were able to source OEM-quality tempered glass panels, special adhesives, and replacement display panels. When you choose to have this repair done through Small Dog, you’ll pay less than half of Apple’s costs on identical repairs. I’ll lay out the details in next week’s Tech Tails.

    We are able to do this because Apple elected to not provide its service providers the individual parts of the screen module. If a panel were to fail, we’d replace the whole assembly. That includes the camera, glass, display, cabling, housing, clutch cover, hinges, and a few other components. It’s not efficient or environmentally-friendly to make such a signifiant part disposable, and is a curious decision by an Apple touting its greening efforts. Replacing individual components instead of the whole module is a much less costly proposition and reduces “ewaste.”:http://www.smalldog.com/ewaste

    As the holiday season winds down and a new year approaches, I can’t quite believe how quickly the 2009 went by. I wish you and yours all the best for the end of 2009 and beyond. Don’t forget our “Charitable Giving Program”:http://www.smalldog.com/charity, through which Small Dog will match up to $200 of your donation to one of our pet charities.

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

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

  • Welcome back to Deal Retriever! In this week’s deal, you save over $400 on the EOL MacBook Air with solid state drive and…

  • The Apple Year in Review

    2009 was a great year for Apple. Apple experienced record growth in revenue and profit regardless of the most serious downturn in the…

  • Kibbles & Bytes will be back with our last issue of the year on New Year’s eve. I’ll review my 2009 predictions and…

  • FEATURED SPECIAL | 12/19/09 – 12/24

    Christmas shipping deadlines are fast approaching. At Smalldog.com, you can save $20 when you upgrade your shipping to 2-day or next day air on any order over $200. This offer is good until 12/23. Simply add your selected items to your cart, select either 2-day or next day air and use coupon code merrychristmas09.

    Here are this year’s shipping deadlines:

    • Next Day Air: Last day to ship: 12/21; Receive Date: 12/24
    • Two Day Air: Last day to ship: 12/18; Receive date: 12/24
    • 3-Day Select: Last day to ship: 12/17; Receive date: 12/24
    • Ground: (OH, WV, VA, MD, DE, NJ, PA, NY, Northern Maine) Last day to ship: 12/18; Receive Date: 12/24
    • Ground 1 day (VT, NH, MA, CT, RI, Southern Maine) Last day to ship: 12/21, Receive Date: 12/24

  • Google Chrome Beta: Released Into the Wild!

    I last wrote about Google Chrome, the web browser from Google, in Tech Tails #626. A beta of the browser had just been released to the Windows community, and finally the Mac community can join in. Chrome was praised back then for its JavaScript performance, but big improvements were made both to Safari and to Firefox in the intervening months.

    Chrome is unique in that each tab runs as its own process. If you’ve ever had Safari quit unexpectedly because one of your windows or tabs encountered a situation it couldn’t handle, you’ll appreciate this feature of Chrome. If one tab encounters a situation it doesn’t know how to handle, only that tab will quit. The other open tabs will be unaffected. This leap is is similar to the protected memory in Mac OS X vs. the shared memory of the classic OS. Remember the day when one application crashing meant you had to restart the whole computer?

    While developer previews were available some time ago, this is the first public beta of Chrome. It is quite fast, and I haven’t been able to make it crash yet. There are plenty of benchmarking articles out there, but I’m not prepared to declare any browser fastest until Chrome is no longer a beta. With Google’s tendency to keep products in perpetual beta, when or if that happens is uncertain.

  • The Apple Year in Review

    2009 was a great year for Apple. Apple experienced record growth in revenue and profit regardless of the most serious downturn in the economy in a generation. While not recession-proof, Apple has shown that it doesn’t hurt to have the hottest products on the planet even when the planet’s financial system is being stressed.

    *January* – The last year of Apple’s presence at Macworld Expo in January. The show had an aura of finality to it and even though there is a Macworld again this year in February, there will be no Apple presence at the show. This year iLife ’09 was released with great new features that made it a compelling upgrade, especially for iPhoto. iWork ’09 was also released as well as a new 17-inch MacBook Pro.

    *February* – Apple updated the entire range of Mac desktops with new iMacs, new Mac Pros and new Mac minis. Apple also updated the Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme with simultaneous Dual-Band WiFi.

    *March* – Apple introduces the tiny 4GB iPod shuffle! Later in the month Apple introduced iPhone 3.0 software.

    *April* – Apple introduces new Xserves with Intel Nehalem processors. They also announced the end of DRM for iTunes and introduced variable pricing for songs. Apple announced their financial results for the quarter with an astounding $1.21 billion in profit.

    *June* – Apple introduces new MacBook Pros including the new 13-inch MacBook Pro. They also released the iPhone 3GS updated phone.

    *July* – New versions of Final Cut Studio and Logic are released and Apple’s financial report indicates another $1.3 Billion in profit on spectacular Mac and iPhone sales. Steve Jobs is out sick and Tim Cook announced that “The Mac has now outgrown the market a staggering 18 of the last 19 quarters.”

    *August* – Another update to the Time Capsules pushing the storage to a large 2TB! Snow Leopard is released at just $29 for the upgrade and the Mac Box set with Snow Leopard, iLife ’09 and iWork ’09 is released, too.

    *September* – iPods! The iPod touch goes down in price and up in features and capacity, the iPod nano adds a video camera, the iPod shuffle adds colors and more choices in capacity and the iPod classic is moved from 120GB to 160GB without a price increase. To coincide, iTunes 9 is released.

    *October* – Apple crushes the street again posting their most profitable quarter, ever, with a profit of $1.67 Billion. Apple sold more Macs and iPhones than any quarter. To complete the product offerings for 2009 Apple also released a slew of new products and updates.

    iMacs were updated and the beautiful 27-inch wide screen iMac was introduced along with a new unibody white MacBook. Apple brought out the new Magic Mouse and even a new Apple remote. They updated the Mac mini again and introduced a server version of the Mac mini bundled with Snow Leopard server for only $999. Time Capsules were updated again, too.

    *November and December* – not a time for product announcements but a time for sales and all signs point to another amazing holiday quarter for Apple with their common stock hovering around $200/share.

  • Deduct a New Mac and More From 2009 Business Taxes!

    The year is almost over, but there’s still time to save on your tax return while upgrading your business’s technology. For 2009, IRS is allowing small and medium businesses to deduct the full purchase price of equipment (up to $250,000) from their tax return, as long as it’s purchased and installed by 12/31/09.*

    The higher deduction limit and provision for making a same-year tax deduction on technology is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These rules are currently set to expire in 2010.

    Take advantage of these new tax rules while boosting productivity with up-to-date technology. Buy your business a new Apple computer solution now and lock in substantial savings on your 2009 return!

    Small Dog Electronics offers the complete line of powerful new Apple computers, including MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, and Xserves. We also offer the full range of business and productivity software for Mac, including Microsoft Office, all Adobe titles, Quickbooks Pro, iWork, and much more. Need Windows? Our expert, Apple-certified technicians can quickly set you up with Windows on a Mac. It’s like having two computers in one.

    We’ve run our business exclusively on Macs since 1994. In that time, we’ve also helped thousands of companies successfully switch to Mac, as well as upgrade and maintain their existing Mac inventory. Based on our experience, we can offer honest, direct advice for businesses using Macs or considering the switch to Mac.

    Contact us now for a custom quote, to make a purchase, or simply to learn more. We’ll help make sure your purchase is processed in time to qualify for tax savings.

    Small Dog Electronics’ Business Services:

    * Easy and flexible business leasing solutions: “Learn more by clicking here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/finance

    * Consulting: over the phone, remotely via chat, or on the spot, our Apple certified consultants can set you up, saving you time and money. “Learn more by clicking here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/consulting

    * Managed services. Maintenance Contracts and Data Backup Plans to make consulting services for your business convenient and affordable. “Learn more by clicking here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/consulting

    *Don’t forget, consult with your tax professional regarding eligibility. See Section 179 of the 2009 IRS Tax Code for details on equipment deduction: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=213666,00.html

  • Swag On!

    We have a lot of fun, inexpensive gifts that are great last-minute finds and stocking stuffers for the person who has everything.

    We have Small Dog branded t-shirts in a Euro-style design, Small Dog pint glasses, Retro (see a bonus review below) and Small Dog-themed mousepads, Pure Vermont maple syrup nips, Small Dog Euro Nalgene bottles, Aroma Home lemon-scented screen wipes and more.

    “See all of our swag here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Gifts_and_Swag|Small_Dog_Swag They’ll make someone verrrry happy!

    ***********************

    *Reflect Mouse Pad Review*

    Hands down, the “Retro Mouse Pad”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74965 ($4.99) is the best mouse pad I’ve ever used. It’s very thin, so it doesn’t impede my hand’s movement. The reflective surface really does make the mouse cursor move more smoothly, too.

    The bottom has the coolest, most ingenious surface. It always sticks really strongly, even if it’s dirty. There is a small crackling noise when you start using it because the pad seems to be made of thin, almost foil-like material, but that goes away once you use it for a couple minutes.

    I love the retro design, too!

    -Moses “moses@smalldog.com”:mailto:moses@smalldog.com