Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • MAC TREAT #107: Time Your Time Machine Backups

    I love me some “Time Machine”:http://www.apple.com/macosx/what-is-macosx/time-machine.html. It’s the easiest way for the average Mac user to reliably back up their computer. Since it’s the easiest backup method, it’s also the most likely method to be used, which is a good thing. Apple writes:

    “Time Machine automatically makes incremental backups every hour, every day, copying just the files that have changed since your last backup. And it does this all in the background, so you can continue working while Time Machine is busy copying your files.”

    As much as I adore and use Time Machine, there are times when it gets in my way. I frequently import and edit audio and video, which results in large files that take a long time to backup. The standard hourly Time Machine backup is often too frequent.

    Fortunately, there is a free app for Mac OS 10.5 and Mac OS 10.6 called “TimeMachineEditor”:http://timesoftware.free.fr/timemachineeditor, which lets you change the default one-hour backup interval of Time Machine. You can change the interval or create more sophisticated scheduling based on a calendar. I prefer my Mac to simply backup to Time Machine once at the end of the day.

    You can “click here to download TimeMachineEditor”:http://timesoftware.free.fr/timemachineeditor. It’s easy to install and uninstall. If you decide you prefer the standard one-hour Time Machine backup, simply use TimeMachineEditor one last time to turn it off, then drag the application to the trash to uninstall.

  • Dear Friends,

    It is over 50 degrees again today and it seems more like September than December. Of course we all know the snow is coming soon, and the skiers are well beyond hoping for snow. I am determined to ride my motorcycle once in December before I put it away. I’ve been working on the Norton in my spare time and I got an interesting phone call on Sunday when I was elbows deep in the pile of parts. It was my friend, Judy Bevans, who is the Chair of the Vermont Democratic Party.

    She asked me if I would be her guest at the White House for the President’s holiday reception today! Of course, I said yes, hardly believing that it was not a prank.

    So, I went to try on my only suit. You see, not many people wear suits in Vermont except to weddings, court and funerals and the last time I had one on was at Hapy’s wedding 15 years ago. That suit, of course, did not fit and I don’t think too big double breasted zoot suits are the right style. Grace took me shopping and I should be presentable when I head down today.

    I’ve been working up in the Burlington store a bit over the holidays and it seems that once again this year it is MacBooks and iPod Touch leading the way for the holidays. Our Chill Pills have also been selling quite well. We have brought in a really neat 3M portable projector that we are selling with an iPod/iPhone cable that allows you to use your iPhone or iPod Touch as a media center to project movies or presentations. I like the idea of projecting it overhead to watch a movie in bed.

  • World AIDS Day: Make a Difference Today

    Today, December 1, is World AIDS Day—an internationally recognized day designed to raise awareness of the people who are affected by the AIDS virus every day.

    I’m sure you’ve seen PRODUCT RED special edition products that, when bought, the manufacturers donate a percentage of the profits to the Global Fund to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. (Apple’s red iPod nano and shuffle are good examples—if they would let us carry them, we would!)

    We must all come together in supporting the Global Fund and the fight against AIDS. …I applaud (RED) and its partners for their vision and commitment.
    -Nelson Mandela

    NIGHTS, the Concert Series that Saves Lives.

    (RED)NIGHTS is 27 nights of music performed by musicians you love that is fueled by your posts to Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. Check out (RED)NIGHTS here# and get started… all of this raises money to keep people living with HIV in Africa alive.

    • Goes Mobile.*

    There’s also an iPhone app for (RED)NIGHTS that includes a visualizer and an equalizer to “show the audio spectrum in real time.”

    Download the (RED)NIGHTS app here.
    Shop (PRODUCT) RED.

  • December Specials

    There’s much more in-store, but here’s a preview of what we have on sale for the holidays. See more at “Smalldog.com/holiday”:http://www.smalldog.com/holiday as well!

    **Save on AppleCare!**
    Save up to $50 on “AppleCare”:http://www.smalldog.com/applecare!

    **$30.00 Mail in Rebate on iWork and MobileMe!**
    When you purchase a new Mac with “iWork ’09”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/72887 or “MobileMe”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74171 – receive a $30 mail in rebate on the software.

    ***BONUS: When you buy a new Mac with Applecare – you’re eligible for one of the two awesome deals below:**

    – *FREE* “HP J4680”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74850 *Wireless Printer/Scanner/Copier/Fax*

    **OR**

    – *Get a* “Lacie 500GB Hard Drive”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/72409 for just *$19.99!*
    (_both after mail-in-rebates_)

  • Exclusive Coupons From Smalldog.com!

    This Holiday Season we have several exclusive coupons. Most run through the season, but for *this weekend only* we’re offering coupon code *softserve10* to give you 10% off all Apple software!

    * 15% Off all Mac “games”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Software|Games_and_Entertainment – Coupon code is *gameoff*
    * 20% Off all “Books”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Books_and_Videos|Books – Use Coupon code *bookclub*
    * 15% Off all “iPod”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/iPod_Accessories|Cases_and_Armbands or “iPhone”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/iPhone_Accessories|Cases cases and armbands – Coupon code is *spacecase*
    * 15% Off All “NoteBook Cases – Includes Sleeves, Shells, Briefcases, Messenger Bags, and Backpacks”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Notebook_Gear|Cases! Coupon code is *applecase*
    * 15% off all “RAM”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/RAM|By_Type for Apple Computers – Coupon code is *ramjam*
    * 5% off all “headphones”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Audio|Headphones (unless otherwise on sale) – Coupon code is *fivephones*

    To use any of these coupons, simply add the item of your choice to your shopping cart and then enter the coupon code in the coupon text field. You can also use these coupons on the telephone. Unless otherwise noted, coupons can’t be combined with other offers, but usually can be used multiple times until they expire.

  • Burlington Free Press Holiday Guides

    *The “My Horrible Holiday Sweater Contest” is still going until Dec. 6!*

    Readers can submit pictures of themselves in their most unattractive Holiday Sweater (the ’80s, anyone?) **with the chance to win $250.00 to the Burlington Town Center.**

    **To enter, send your picture, name, and contact information to:** “bfpholidaycontest@gmail.com.”:mailto:bfpholidaycontest@gmail.com

    “See contest details here.”:http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20091113/LIVING08/91113018/Holiday-contest-Ugly-sweater-photos
    “See the BFP Holiday Guides here.”:http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/holiday09

  • December Class Schedule

    We’re now offering classes in Waitsfield as well as S. Burlington! See all classes and curriculum here. UPCOMING CLASSES Mac Basics Level Two:…

  • Product of the Month: December 2009

    *Small Dog Euro T-Shirts*
    100% organic cotton!

    In the following sizes:

    Womens’, *$17.99*
    Mens’, *$19.99*
    Kids’ (2T, 3T and 4T), *$11.99*

    *Save $5 on 2 or more until 12/31 with the coupon below!*

  • Switching: QuickBooks PC to QuickBooks Mac

    A consulting customer recently switched her small business from PC to Mac with QuickBooks 2003 for Windows to QuickBooks 10 for Mac. In the past, this involved quite a few steps for both the export and the import. I read about it, but this was my first QuickBooks transfer, so I checked Intuit’s site for more information and was pleasantly surprised to see a much “simpler method.”:http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/pages/knowledgebasearticle/1007816

    The first thing I did after arriving on site was to copy her existing company file to a USB thumb drive so we would have a backup before starting anything. Then I downloaded a demo version of QuickBooks 2010 Premier Accounting Edition, ran the installer, and fired up the new version of QuickBooks. At the initial screen I chose to open an existing company file, formatted for QuickBooks 2003 in this case. QuickBooks automatically makes a local backup of that company file, and then upgrades it to the new version. QuickBooks also asked me if I wanted to take advantage of something for interacting with a real accountant, but I declined, and was ready to export.

    To export, I went to the File menu, chose Utilities, then Copy Company File for QuickBooks Mac. I saved the resulting file to the USB thumb drive, and then plugged it into the Mac. I installed her new copy of QuickBooks 2010 for Macintosh, which created a QuickBooks Data folder inside her Documents folder. I copied the exported file from the thumb drive to that folder.

    Next, I launched the new version of QuickBooks 2010 for Macintosh, where I choose to open an existing company file, picking the company file I had just copied over. QuickBooks automatically converted the file to a full Mac company file, and the client was ready to continue where they left off on the PC.

  • Meet the Consultants Day: Round 2!

    Since the demand was so high at our “Meet the Consultants Day” last month, we decided to do it again! Please join us…