Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • 2009 AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule

    Apple somewhat quietly updated its AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products a few weeks ago. While the price points and storage capacities for Time Capsule remain the same, each product is now twice as robust–they have dual antennas and dual radios to accommodate discrete, simultaneous connections on the 802.11a/b/g and 802.11n frequencies.

    This means that you can use your 802.11a/b/g device, such as iPod touch or iPhone, on the same network as Apple TV or modern Macs using the long-range and screaming fast 802.11n frequency–all without slowing the entire network to the speed of its slowest member.

    It is true that adding an 802.11b device to an otherwise entirely 801.11n network will slow the whole lot down the 802.11b speeds. The beauty of these new base stations and time capsules is that the two frequencies can coexist as one cohesive network, with all devices participating at their maximum possible speed.

    The new AirPort Extreme has been a godsend in our busy South Burlington flagship store. With forty or more devices connected at all times, with at least a handful of them not running at 802.11n, there was untapped potential for a faster network. Adding the new AirPort Extreme to the mix was an immediate and zero-configuration update, as the configuration file from the last generation model was used to deploy almost instantaneously.

  • Troubleshooting Back to My Mac

    I recently set up Back to My Mac, a feature of MobileMe, so I could access files on a home computer while I was on the road or at work. I had a tough time getting it set up initially, and was met with cryptic error messages and plenty of frustration.

    Whenever I run into trouble, I turn to Google for answers. It turns out the Back to My Mac feature uses a suite of protocols called IPsec, designed for secure IP (Internet Protocol) communications. I found an article suggesting that connection failures could be due to the client and server system times being out of sync, and it struck me that the Mini at home required me to manually reset its clock after every restart. I was trying to connect at 9:30 AM to a computer that thought it was around 11PM.

    Surely enough, after going home for lunch and to reset the time on the Mac Mini, I was able to immediately connect from work. If you’re outright unable to use the Back to my Mac feature of MobileMe, check that the time is synchronized as closely as possible.

    Of course, there are some more elegant solutions to the time synchronization problem. The ideal is to install a replacement backup battery (often referred to as a PRAM battery, but correctly referred to as a backup battery) in the affected computer. I wound up doing this last night, and of course no longer need to reste the time. I also could have set the home computer to synchronize with a time server using the Date and Time Preference Pane.

    Unfortunately, though, this computer has some software issues that prevented me from accessing System Preferences at all. Because this computer is so heavily customized, and I don’t really need access to System Preferences, I didn’t want to embark on any extensive software repair or reconfiguration. I’ll get to the root cause eventually!

    My co-workers will agree that technicians tend to have rickety computers. We use them hard and swear by AppleCare.

  • Apple Notebooks Glow in Consumer Reports

    Happy Cinco de Mayo, Apple! In Consumer Reports’ upcoming June issue, Apple tops all three categories for notebook computers. In the 13in category,…

  • Happy Tuesday,

    Signs of Spring are everywhere. Daffodils and tulips are in full bloom; the hydrangeas outside our Waitsfield showroom and growing quickly; ramps are in their prime outside my office window; the river is warm enough to swim in (well, almost); and lilacs outside my bedroom are poised to bloom any minute now. I’ll be tilling the garden on Sunday.

    Much to my mother’s dismay, I went motorcycle shopping with Tony last Saturday. We’re going to look at a few more this weekend, and hopefully I’ll have one of my own before too long. Tony decided to test ride a new Harley, and wound up riding it home!

    It’s always great to hear from readers. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me directly with any feedback or ideas for articles.

    Keep in touch,

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

  • Incipio iPhone Feather Case Review

    Brief review of the Incipio iPhone Feather case. The Feather measures less than 1mm thin, with a soft touch matte finish and includes…

  • Next week is conference week for me, starting with the Annual Spring Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility conference at the Hilton in Burlington. I will be moderating a panel discussion with representatives from Senator Sanders and Leahy’s office and from Congressman Welch’s office. It should be an interesting discussion of health care reform, economic recovery and energy policy.

    Right after that panel, I hop on a plane (with a surgical mask?) and head to New Orleans for the annual Apple Specialist Marketing Cooperative meeting. There should be some excellent presentations and a lot of opportunity to network with other Apple Specialists. I’ll be leaving the Kibbles & Bytes duty to Kali and Ed next week.

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
    _Don, Kali & Ed_

  • May Specials

    “Purchase any new Mac with AppleCare and get a free Canon All-In-One MP190 Printer (after rebate)!”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/72260

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  • May Rebates

    *Featured Rebates*

    *FREE CANON MP190 with Mac + AppleCare Purchase*
    Purchase any Mac with AppleCare from now until 6/21/09 and get a FREE Canon MP190!

    We want to reward you for shopping with us–this is a Small Dog exclusive rebate! For more details, come in to our store or “read more here”:http://www.smalldog.com/sderebate/.

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    The Drobo rebate is back! Simply purchase a Drobo between 5/1/09 and 5/31/09 and you’ll receive a $40 mail-in rebate in the form of a Visa Gift Card.

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  • FEATURED SPECIAL | 05/01/09 – 05/07/09

    *Purchase any Mac with AppleCare between 4/27/09 and 6/21/09 and get a Canon MP190 Multifunction printer FREE after rebate!*

    This is an in-house rebate process, meaning you only have to deal with Small Dog Electronics to claim your rebate. You can submit your rebate online, rather than having to mail it in. This is faster and easier than the traditional rebate process, and you’ll get your money returned faster, too.

    You can read more about the rebate “by clicking here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/sderebate/

    We kicked off this promo in time for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and 2009 graduation, but it’s available to everyone.

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  • A Look Back: Steve's First 100 Days

    President Obama just marked his 100th day in office this week, so I thought we’d take a look back to when Apple’s own Steve Jobs returned to Apple to run the show. Like Obama, Jobs had a huge task at hand–Apple was struggling in 1997, and Jobs was rehired to take Apple into a new creative direction (and away from financial ruin).

    It’s natural for people to want to assess progress within a certain time period and use that to determine success, and the retern of Steve was no different! He was rehired back at Apple on February 7, 1997 when Apple purchased Jobs’ company, NeXT. Apple’s stock was low (a sharp contrast to their most recent numbers), and the company needed an overhaul.

    Apple needed innovation and vision, and Steve Jobs had it. Simply put, Jobs shook things up. Among the highlights of his first 100 days, Jobs:

    * Discontinued the Newton
    * Eliminated the Apple clone project
    * Announced that Apple would begin selling computers directly from their website
    * Introduced a partnership with Microsoft that included their $150 million investment in Apple

    It’s worth a mention that Jobs’ first keynote upon his return was not met with overwhelming acceptance. He was even booed several times during his presentation. Things looked bleak, but as my husband likes to say, “change is inherently very uncomfortable” and we all know what’s happened since then…

    To wit:

    * The iMac, the all-in-one Mac that changed everything (“She comes in colors…”)
    * Apple retail stores
    * OS X and iLife
    * MacBooks and MacBook Pros
    * iPhone

    Congratulations to Obama on his first 100 days and to Apple’s continued success. Most of all, here’s to CHANGE!

    Other fun reads:

    * Apple’s list of discontinued products
    * Wikipedia’s history of Apple
    * “Watch Steve Jobs’ keynote from Macword 1997”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEHNrqPkefI

    __Sources:__
    Cnet, “Apple after Jobs’s first 100 days”:http://news.cnet.com/Apple-after-Jobss-first-100-days/2100-1001_3-206360.html 12/15/97;
    ArsTechnica, “10 years: Steve, welcome back”:http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2007/02/6890.ars 2/4/07