Kibbles & Bytes Blog

I got an email today from my brother who said that his iPhone had gotten wet. There’s definitely hope for it, but it was an important reminder that the best thing to do when a computer, phone or other device meets potentially disastrous liquid consequences is to turn it off and leave it off.

The worst thing that can happen is that if you turn the device on while it’s still wet, it may short circuit because the electricity + water = bad. Advice ranges from using low heat to putting the device in rice to help suck out the moisture. Neither will hurt it, but the best advice our techs can give is to simply leave the affected device off for 3-5 days.

Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes. Stay tuned for our regular news in next week’s issue!

Your Kibbles & Bytes team,
_Kali & Ed_

This week we have great offer on a Small Dog Refurbished 4GB iPod nano 3G in silver. This is the square iPod nano that came out before the current rectangular version. The iPod nano 3G can play music, videos, podcasts, some games, and is compatible with the Nike+ Sport Kit.

We’ve bundled it with an arm band, screen protecter, and car charger, all for only $89.99. “Click here to see this.”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag19317

Small Dog’s Apple-certified technicians test and bring the product to current specifications. iPods carry a 90-day Small Dog Electronics limited warranty come complete with all accessories (unless otherwise noted).

In Tuesday’s Q3 earnings announcement, Apple crushed the street like King Kong crushes bananas. Apple earned $1.35 per share, up nearly 12% year over year (having earned $1.19/share in Q3 2008).

The company generated $8.34 billion in revenue, booking $1.3 billion in profit. Apple now has over $31 billion in cash on hand (up $2.2 billion for the quarter). This was the best non-holiday quarterly revenue in Apple’s history.

While Apple cut prices on MacBooks and iPhones in June (as much as 10%), gross margins were still up to 36.3%, compared to 34.8% the year-ago quarter.

Sales of iPhones and Macs (especially MacBooks) led Apple’s growth.

* Apple shipped 2.6 million Macs during the quarter, a 4% increase over the year-ago quarter.
* According to Macworld, 1.75 million of those Macs were notebooks. That’s up 13 percent from the 1.553 million notebooks sold last year-ago quarter.
* Tim Cook reiterated that Apple’s goal is not to build the most computers, it’s to build the best computers.
* Quarterly iPhone unit sales reached 5.2 million, a 626% increase from the year-ago quarter.
* Apple hopes to have iPhone in China “within a year.”
* International sales accounted for 44 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
* Apple sold 10.2 million Pods during the quarter, which was a 7% unit decline over the year-ago quarter.
* Despite the overall decline in iPod sales, Apple noted that sale of the iPod touch are still growing.
* Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, said “We expect traditional MP3 sales to continue to decline over time as we cannibalize ourselves with sales of the iPod touch and iPhone. But we still have a great business which we believe last many, many years, and we will continue to manage well.”

It was rumored that Steve Jobs would participate in the conference call, but chose to send a prepared statement instead:

bq. __”We’re making our most innovative products ever and our customers are responding. We’re thrilled to have sold over 5.2 million iPhones during the quarter and users have downloaded more than 1.5 billion applications from our App Store in its first year.”__

Tim Cook, Apple’s COO (and acting CEO when Jobs was out on medical leave) noted that “The Mac has now outgrown the market a staggering 18 out of the last 19 quarters.”

Almost 20% of Fortune 100 companies bought 10,000 or more iPhones while some corporations and government organizations bought 25,000 or more iPhones. Tim Cook noted “We think we’re at the tip of the iceberg with what the iPhone can do with business customers.”

Regarding the future, Apple’s guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 (which is actually the current quarter as of this writing) includes expected revenue of $8.7 billion to $8.9 billion and earnings per diluted share of $1.18 to $1.23. Apple is forecasting an increase in Mac sales during the back-to-school shopping season. It’s worth noting that Apple is notoriously conservative with its future estimates.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is valued at $135 billion. That makes it the tenth most valuable company in America and 19th worldwide.

“Read this article for a slightly bearish opinion of Apple’s stock price future in the Wall Street Journal.”:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124821056118269783.html

“Click here to read Apple’s press release on its third quarter results.”:http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2009/07/21results.html

“Click here to listen an audio webcast of Apple’s conference call discussing Q3 – 2009 financial results.”:http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq309

“Click here to read Macworld’s in-depth converge of this matter.”:http://www.macworld.com/article/141829/2009/07/appleq309.html?lsrc=top_1

__See below for rebate details.__

Microsoft has released a *Service Pack update for Office 2008 for Mac,* and it delivers substantial changes. Service Pack 2 not only includes stability fixes, but additional features for PowerPoint and speed increases for Word and Excel.

Among the featured *general Office 2008 improvements* (from Microsoft):

* *Stability is improved.*
This update fixes an issue that causes Office 2008 applications to exit unexpectedly when you open or use the applications.

* *New controls for changing the alignment of text on chart elements.*
This update includes new controls for setting the vertical position, orientation, and custom angle of text in chart elements. It also includes controls for data label positions.

Among the improvements in *Word:*

* *Notebook Layout View recovers audio notes after Word closes unexpectedly.*
This update fixes an issue that causes users to lose their audio notes when Word closes unexpectedly. When you restart Word, the AutoRecover file does not include the audio notes. This issue is fixed now.

* *Compatibility with Word 2007 is improved.*
This update fixes an issue that causes a Word 2007 document that has table borders not to be displayed correctly when the document is viewed in Word 2008 for Mac.

Among the improvements in *Excel:*

* *Reliability is improved when you open a protected workbook.*
This update fixes an issue that causes a protected workbook not to open.

* *Performance and Stability are improved.*
This update fixes an issue that causes slow performance and fixes an issue that causes Excel to close unexpectedly when you enter arguments in a specific order or when you right-click a Chart Sheet, and then you click Select Data.

Among the improvements in *PowerPoint:*

* *Double-clicking a slide to add a text box.*
This update lets you double-click a slide to add a text box.

* *Path animation enables an object to trace a custom path.*
This update now lets you add and edit path animations on a PowerPoint slide. Path animation (also known as motion path) for an object traces a custom path for the object to follow across a slide. Unlike the entrance or exit effect, you can use a path animation to move the object on the slide from one position to another in any direction you want. You can apply path animation to any object, such as shapes, text, tables, or pictures.

The update applies to all versions of the Office 2008 suite as well as the individual applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel); it is just under 300MB(!).

“Download here”:http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx or use the Microsoft AutoUpdate within your application to install this update. (To use Microsoft AutoUpdate, click Check for Updates once you’ve launched any component of Office 2008 and follow the instructions.)

__Be prepared: This update may take a little while to download. In my case, it seemed like foooorever…__

For a complete list of the new features and improvements, visit “Microsoft’s Support page for Office 2008.”:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973254

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*BONUS: We’re offering an instant $20 rebate on Microsoft Office 2008 Home and Student Edition. Final cost: $129.99.*
“Buy it now!”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/70713

Along with Logic Studio, Apple has introduced a new version of Logic Express, Logic Express 9. I’ve used Logic Express 8 for about 14 months, and I absolutely love it. It was a perfect step up from GarageBand. I found it relatively easy to use and very powerful. Logic Express looks to be even better, and still affordable at $199.99.

Regarding Logic Express 9, Apple says:

bq. __”Record, edit, and mix your music on a Mac using the new Logic Express 9. Open your GarageBand files and get right to work, or start from scratch with a new composition. Logic Express 9 is a guitar player’s dream, with Amp Designer and Pedalboard, two new plug-ins that re-create the sound of legendary amps and stompbox effect pedals. You can build your own amp model and try any combination of stompboxes. An improved set of music creation tools makes it even easier to capture and develop your musical inspirations. Use the new Flex Time tools to easily manipulate audio timing and tempo. And make music right out of the box with over 100 instrument and effect plug-ins from Logic Studio.__”

*Logic Express Top Features:*

* Perfect for capturing and developing your musical inspirations.
* Seamless compatibility with GarageBand files.
* Flex Time features that make editing audio timing and tempo easier than ever.
* More than 70 studio-quality effect plug-ins, including vintage and modern compressors, delays, reverbs, and more.
* New Amp Designer plug-in to help you re-create the sound of 25 legendary amps and 25 speaker cabinets.
* New Pedalboard plug-in with an assortment of 30 virtual stompbox pedals inspired by the classics.
* 36 software instrument plug-ins, including the Ultrabeat drum synth and beatbox, ES2 synth, and EXS24 sampler.

If you’re a musician who uses GarageBand, you must “read this excellent GarageBand vs. Logic Comparison on Macworld.com”:http://www.macworld.com/article/141775/2009/07/logic_studio_garageband.html While the focus is on Logic, much of this also applies to Logic Express.

“Click here to see Logic Express 9.”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74234

“Click here to see the upgrade from Logic Express 6, 7 and 8 for $99.99.”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74235

Today Apple released a major update to Logic Studio with more than over 200 new features and enhancements. The new version includes Logic Pro 9, MainStage 2, Soundtrack Pro 3, Compressor 3.5, and WaveBurner 1.6.

Apple says Logic is for “guitar players, live performers, and all musicians who record, edit, and mix their own music.

The center of Logic Studio is Logic Pro 9, which makes it easier than ever to create your own compositions. Produce and play nearly any sound imaginable with a huge collection of effects, instruments, and loops, including the new Amp Designer and Pedalboard plug-ins. Use MainStage 2 to perform live with the instruments, amps, effects, and sounds you used to make your tracks. Logic Studio also comes with applications and utilities that expand your creative options into audio post-production and mastering.

Logic boasts:

* Flex Time lets you manipulate audio timing and tempo like never before.
* Build dream guitar rigs with the new Amp Designer and Pedalboard.
MainStage 2 with new Playback and Loopback features let you take your Mac to the stage.
* Inspire your music with more than 1,000 instruments.
* Everything musicians need to write, record, produce, and perform on a Mac.
* Logic Pro 9 for do-it-yourself musicians to write, edit, record, and mix their own compositions.
* Shape your sound using more than 80 studio-quality effect plug-ins, including vintage and modern compressors, delays, reverbs, and more.
* New Amp Designer to help you re-create the sound of 25 legendary amps and 25 speaker cabinets.
* New Pedalboard with an assortment of 30 virtual stompbox pedals inspired by the classics.
* 20,000 royalty-free Apple Loops from all the Jam Pack collections.
* Soundtrack Pro 3, a streamlined audio post-production application for film and video.

The U.S. retail price of Logic Studio is $499.99. Current owners of Logic Studio or Logic Pro can purchase an upgrade for $199.99. Current owners of Logic Express can purchase an upgrade for $299.99. Upgrades are available only for retail versions.

“Click here to see Logic Studio.”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74231
“Click here to see the Logic Studio Upgrade from Logic Pro 6, 7, or Logic Platinum or Gold 5, 6.”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74232
“Click here to see the Apple Logic Studio Upgrade from Logic Express 6, 7, or 8.”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74233

If you’re a musician that uses GarageBand, you must “read this excellent GarageBand vs Logic Comparison on Macworld.com”:http://www.macworld.com/article/141775/2009/07/logic_studio_garageband.html