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November Class Schedule
We’re now offering classes in Waitsfield!
“See all classes and curriculum here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/classes*Absolute Mac Basics:*
Sunday, November 8th, 2009 _(South Burlington Store)_Saturday, November 14th, 2009 _(Waitsfield Store)_
*Mac Basics Level Two:*
Sunday, November 15th, 2009 _(South Burlington Store)_*_Please Note_*: Classes are from *5:15pm* – *6:45pm.*
Sign-up “here!”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Classes
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Burlington Free Press Holiday Section
I can’t believe it’s already November! We keep getting closer and closer to the Holiday Season, which for most of us reminds us of quality time spent with friends and family.
Starting officially today, the “BurlingtonFreePress.com”:http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/holiday09 is putting together a special Holiday section online where you can share all of those great memories!
Personally, I’m looking forward to the __”My Horrible Holiday Sweater Contest.”__
Readers will be submitting pictures of themselves in their most unattractive Holiday Sweater (I think we’ve all had one of those moments…) with the chance to win $250.00 to the Burlington Town Center.
Send your picture, name, and contact information to “bfpholidaycontest@gmail.com”:mailto:bfpholidaycontest@gmail.com.
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Altec Lansing VS2620 Speakers: Music To My Ears!
Finding speakers that can offer a great sound – but will also fit on my desk is always a challenge–until now.
The “VS2620”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74581 speakers by Altec Lansing get the job done–and then some. With no subwoofer, the “VS2620”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74581 speakers still produce a high quality sound that lets me jam out and not think about wanting to jam ear plugs in my ears due to bad sound like to many other options out there! These speakers could handle everything from “Otis Redding”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_redding to “ZZ-Top”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZZ_Top (and I like my music loud)!
The other real test was watching a TV show from the iTunes Store on my Mac. The sound quality was great! Sitting at my desk watching a movie (after work hours of course…), I felt like I had a surround sound setup–I couldn’t believe _that_ much sound could come from speakers without a subwoofer.
With the auxiliary jack I can either plug these speakers into my Mac or plug them into the headphone jack of my iPod nano. BUT–there is also a secondary AUX jack on the speakers themselves, which means I can plug my iPod right into the speakers and not have to worry about unplugging my computer or iPod all the time–they both can be plugged in at once!
It’s also really convenient having all of the controls on the front of the speakers so I don’t have to move everything around to get to the back of the speaker to change the volume.
I also love the fact the speakers have a silver outline; it matches my MacBook Pro and Cinema Display _perfectly_!
Altec Lansing VS2620 speakers are awesome. They are also $10 off right now–normally $29.99–now $19.99! Click “here”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74581 to check them out for yourself!
**_One Tip:_** Leave your Mac volume turned up about 3/4 of the way and adjust the volume on the speaker directly for best sound quality!
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Meet The Consultants Day: Thursday, November 12th
_Have questions about your Mac that you need assistance with? Is there something you want to learn?_
Stop in to our **S. Burlington retail store between 11am – 4pm on Thursday, November 12** and let our Consultants, Jason and Rebecca, field your questions. We will give **free 15 one-on-one sessions**–feel free to bring in your Mac and let them check it out!
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The New Apple Line-Up!
**iMacs:** 21.5″ starting at “$1,199.99″:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Apple|iMac|21.5in and the 27” starting at “$1,699.99″:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Apple|iMac|27in it’s well worth every penny–whichever model you choose.
In this new updated line we see a base processor of 3.06GHz–when previously the iMac line up started at a 2.66GHz. Whether you are looking at a 21.5″ or 27″ the new iMac will come standard with 4GB of RAM–but with 4 RAM slots!
The 21.5″ iMac will come standard with a 500GB hard drive–leaving you plenty of room to grow and expand with your iMac. However, the 27″ comes standard with a 1TB hard drive (ideal for any professional out there who battles hard drive space)! Both options can be custom made with up to 2TB hard drives.
The 21.5″ and 27” beauties come standard with an SD card slot (like we saw with the new MacBook Pros a couple months ago), a FireWire 800 port, 4 USB ports, a Mini DisplayPort, headphone/optical digital audio port, audio line in, built-in microphone, and of course the iSight camera. Another very cool feature of the new iMacs is that if you have a laptop as well–you can use the iMac screen as a monitor for your laptop! This is a feature I have been waiting for… well, forever! What a versatile machine! Click “here”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/all-new-imacs/ to read Ed’s blog about the new iMacs.
**iMac Accessories:** We were also introduced to the new “Magic Mouse,”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/even-mightier-the-new-apple-magic-mouse/ which is a full touch mouse–featuring many of the same strokes that we see with the iPhone. All of the iMacs also come standard with the “Apple Wireless Keyboard.”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74730 This aluminum keyboard will operate within 30ft of your Mac. It will also automatically power down when it’s not in use and start back up again with the tap of a key. This keyboard includes a power button to turn the keyboard completely off so you don’t waste battery life. The 2009 edition of this keyboard only requires two batteries–where the 2007 model required three.
**Mac mini:** Keeping the classic Mini look, we saw the Mini’s innards upgraded. A faster Inter Core 2 Duo processor on all models, more storage and double the RAM. The mini still starts at “$599.99”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74724 (2.26GHz, 2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, 5 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800) but the newer “$799.99”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74725 option is real power house. 2.53GHz, 4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive as well as the same ports as the entry level. I think more than ever, we will see more minis hooked up to large screen TVs to make the ultimate media center.
**_ALSO_**: Apple announced the “Mac mini Snow Leopard Server”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74788! A server that can finally be made… simple. By taking the SuperDrive out of the server, the mini can now house dual 500GB hard drives, which makes it easy to store all of the info you need (perfect for the office)!
**13″ Unibody MacBook:** Finally the “MacBook”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74726 got tough and thin at the same time! Apple finally gave us the unibody polycarbonate enclosure AND this new MacBook is only 1.08″ thin. It weighs in at only 4.7 pounds (do I sense an Apple vs. Apple rival with the MacBook Air?). Surprisingly, the new MacBook has a 250GB hard drive which is actually larger than the entry level MacBook Pro and they also have the same amount of RAM and processor speed!
The new MacBook got a facelift and now has the LED-backlit glossy widescreen display. The only tough pill to swallow with the new MacBook is that there is no FireWire port; however, we are seeing the ongoing trend of USB coming back in style! I just purchased one of these guys and I’m in love!
Also announced was a refresh of the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule (“1TB”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74733/ and “2TB”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74734); read up on the speed and range upgrades “here.”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/airport-extreme-time-capsule-update/ Plus, we were introduced to a new aluminum-finished “Apple Remote.”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/new-aluminum-apple-remote/
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*Greetings!*
Whew! What a product refresh we saw last week… Since the announcements were so **huge,** we had to dedicate this edition of Best in Showroom to the new Mac line up!
**New iMacs, Mac minis, MacBooks, Magic Mouse, AirPort, Time Capsule, Remote and more… Read on below for full coverage.**
We have the new Macs on display in both of our retail locations. We would be glad to introduce you to the new line and answer any questions you may have! Click “here”:http://www.smalldog.com/retail for store hours (select the “Store Hours” located right under where it says “Find Us, Visit Us, Contact Us”).
We’re going to be having a **Beat the Rush Holiday Event on November 21-22!** Why wait for Black Friday for the good deals? We will be featuring giveaways and big savings on Apple stuff (and more) in our retail stores, and we’ll be keeping you posted via email with our exclusive sale updates…
We look forward to seeing you in the store!
Katie and the Small Dog Team
“katie@smalldog.com”:mailto:smalldog.com -
9th Annual Halloween Costume Contest: Vote Now!
Greetings, ghouls…
We’re at it again this year, and we need your help picking the best costume of all the Small Doggers. This year, we’re also giving away a Chill Pill to one lucky voter, who will be picked at random.
Here’s how to play:
- Preview all costumes below (you’ll be able to enlarge the photos to get a better view). See all costume photos on Flickr here.
- Vote for your favorite costume on the poll below (after the photos).
- Once you’ve voted, email us at marketing@smalldog.com to be entered into the Chill Pill drawing!
Voting will end Sunday night!
Art, “Wicked Twine Tangle Monster”
Brian, “Mike Myers”
David, “Monty Python Lumberjack”
Don, “Hippo”
Ed, “Eddie Munster”
Emily, Kerry, Lucie, Kali and Rebecca, “Mad Dog Derby Dames”
Gary, “Rocker”
Hapy, “Tinky Winky”
Jaime, “Party Granny”
Jason, “Aquaman”
Jim, Groucho Marx”
JJ, “Pirate”
Jon, “Biker”
Katie, “Don Mayer, CEO”
Mark, “The Health Care Meltdown”
Matt, “Tired”
Michelle, “PC”
Taylor, “Austin Powers”
Tim, “Freakshow” from Harold and Kumar go to White Castle
Happy Halloween and thanks for voting!!
Votes are only registered once, and multiple email entries for the contest will be disqualified. By entering, you may receive notification of future contests and specials from Small Dog Electronics.
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I dressed up as a full size hippo for Halloween today, with Fantail Shrimp as a mini-hippo and Hammerhead dressed as a french bulldog. Don’t forget to check out all the costumes for our annual contest and vote! Plus, enter to win a Chill Pill, too…
I’m picking up the Norton from our friends over at Classic Bike Experience who had done an “assessment” for me, outlining my work in restoring this classic. This is my stress relief project for the winter. I know that I’ll be stressed about that bolt that won’t come out or the part that doesn’t quite fit right, but this is a different stress than the day-to-day pressures of business and a great balance. Banging my knuckles occasionally is good for my mental health!
Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes and Happy Halloween!
Your Kibbles & Bytes team,
_Don, Kali & Ed_ -
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FEATURED SPECIAL | 10/30/09 – 11/05/09
This week we’re offering $10 off any external hard drive with coupon code *backup*. Simply enter this code in your cart at checkout to get the $10 savings on any external hard drive!
We’re also offering $5 any iPod nano, including iPod nanos that are already on sale or listed in bundles, with coupon code *nano5*. For example, you can get an additional $5 any of the iPod 4G bundles listed below:
“iPod nano 8GB – Orange (4G), Free Contour iSee Inked for iPod nano (r) – $119.99!”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag19555/
“iPod nano 8GB – Pink (4G), Free Contour iSee Inked for iPod nano (r)! – $119.99”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag19558/
“iPod nano 8GB – Yellow (4G), Free Contour iSee Inked for iPod nano (r)!”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag19557/atXX/
“iPod nano 16GB – Yellow (4G), Free Contour iSee Inked for iPod nano (r) – $129.99!”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag19559/
“iPod nano 16GB – Silver (4G) , Free Contour iSee Inked for iPod nano (r)! – $129.99”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag19556/
Finally, we’re offering $5 off any iPhone case with coupon code *iphonehome*.
To use any of the coupons, place the item you’d like to order into your cart and then enter to coupon.
*If you have trouble using a coupon, please email* “sales@smalldog.com”:mailto:sales@smalldog.com.
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My MacBook Pro: A Practical Look
After the death of my beloved iBook G4 (she spent two years in Africa with me) and after about a month long mourning period, I purchased one of the 13in MacBook Pros in anticipation of starting grad school. I’ve had the new computer for a couple of months now, and I don’t think I could survive without it. However, rather than just preach to the choir about the glory of Apple, I want to talk about the practical ways some specific innovations have been indispensable.
One of the primary reasons I was attracted to this computer in the first place was the physical size. At 4.5 pounds it’s only a shade heavier than the Air, and not that much larger. And in trade you get back way more power and speed, so I can still play games on-the-go if I want to. Speaking of on-the-go, compared to my old iBook, this computer is a joy to carry with me everywhere. The portability allows me to follow my impulse to the next coffee shop and basically work from anywhere.
But shrinking sizes and boosted specs are nothing new. What really makes it easy to keep working is Apple’s new 7-hour battery. This thing lives up to the boast. In practice, I am able to charge my computer over night and leave the charger at home in the morning. I work on this thing all day at Small Dog, then take it for a study session at a couple of different coffee shops, and finally read web comics in bed before it finally tells me to plug it into power. Not having to remember to carry my adapter with me is, in a word, liberating. And all of that usage was done without ever turning off Wi-Fi or dimming the screen anymore than the computer does automatically (yeah, did I mention it auto adjusts to ambient light? ‘Cause it does!).
The third thing I really love, which has changed the way I think about user input devices, is the glass Multi-Touch trackpad. As an example, in my grad program, I have to read a lot of scanned texts. I like to save paper so I never print these out. Sometimes, however, they are scanned in vertically, so the text is the wrong way around. On my iMac, I have to go through menus to rotate each page. Pain in the butt. On my MacBook Pro however, all I have to do us use the rotate gesture on the trackpad. Nothing has ever felt so natural. Add to that the intuitive zoom and scrolling and it’s like I’m manipulating a physical document. This is truly the interface of the future!
The innovations Apple has packed into these unibody MacBooks and MacBook Pros are amazing and make mobile computing an absolute delight. With the polycarbonate body MacBooks finally getting some of the goods, it really makes it a great time to upgrade an older laptop.
“Check out what’s new here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/macs
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