Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • Introducing the RapCap

    Speaking of Skype, Chill Pill Audio, the makers of the Chill Pill mobile speakers, are about to release a tiny microphone called the RapCap™. It’s the perfect addition to your iPod touch using Skype. Of course, it’s great for use with much more than Skype.

    RapCap allows you to easily record crisp, clear audio on an iPod nano 4G, iPod classic 120GB, iPhone 3G, and iPod touch 2G. Featuring a durable, ultra-compact design, extreme simplicity of use, and a low MSRP of only $14.99, the RapCap is the perfect accessory for iPod and iPhone.

    It’s completely plug and play, thanks to the recording software built in to all compatible iPods; very thrifty, barely affecting the battery life of the host iPod; and it leaves the dock port open for charging and syncing with a computer via the dock cable.

    You’ll be able to buy a RapCap at “Smalldog.com”:http://www.smalldog.com in the upcoming weeks. For more information, check out “Chillpillaudio.com.”:http://www.chillpillaudio.com

  • What's Your (Chip) Set?

    Customers are asking all the time these days which FireWire controller is installed in particular Macs they’re thinking of buying. I figured that information would be available in System Profiler, and was amazed when I learned that it wasn’t. I was intrigued. How do you determine which chip is used without opening up the machine and looking at it?

    The answer is Single User Mode, conjured by holding down the command and S keys immediately after your computer makes the startup chime. You’ll see the screen turn from the expected gray to black with white text. As the white text scrolls past, there will be a reference to the FireWire chip set used in your machine. The information for my iMac (from late 2008), uses a Lucent ID 501 that supports FireWire 800, as indicated in this line:

    Firewire (OHCI) Lucent ID 5901 built-in now active, GUID 000ff3fffe2f9ff2; max speed s800

    The same chipset was found in an early 2008 MacBook and a new Mac mini; the Pro machines tend to include Texas Instruments chip sets. There is a third type that may be in your machine made by Agere. The main reason so many are asking about the chipset is that some online forums claim that professional audio devices, particularly those from Apogee and MOTU, do not play well with the Agere chip set. We have no evidence that this is true, and find it extremely unlikely.

  • Video: 14" iBook Hard Drive Replacement

    A few months ago I was sent a challenge over email: to make a video of a hard drive replacement on a 14″ iBook. Now, for most technicians they wouldn’t consider a hard drive replacement to be a “challenge,” as hard drives tend to be the easiest thing to replace on computers. That said, it has always been interesting to me that for a new technician the 14″ iBook hard drive replacement carries some of the same fears as an optical drive on a 12″ PowerBook (a repair that requires gutting the whole machine and removing the logic board before one can remove the optical drive). While I certainly do not put the two on par with each other, I will admit that replacing a hard drive on a 14″ iBook feels much like driving all around New York State looking for a White Castle; both seemingly easy tasks that just take way too long to complete!

    While many first-time technicians take anywhere from 1-3 hours to replace the hard drive in an iBook, I haven’t found most experienced technicians to take more than 30 minutes and, in truth, it shouldn’t take more than 15-20. Below is the video split in three parts and they add up to 23 minutes which includes commentary. Hopefully I met my challenge and I also hope that those who think a hard drive replacement is never really a “big deal” get a little more of an understanding of what goes on behind the scenes when you drop off your computer for repair!

    “Part 1”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVqmhBXVYF8&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fblog%2Esmalldog%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded
    “Part 2”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk2-YU6GR5A&feature=related
    “Part 3”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99xodavr23k&feature=related

  • Skype, Meet iPhone. Finally!

    With the introduction of the iTunes App Store some time ago, the iPhone and iPod touch became even more useful devices. Anyone could be an iPhone developer and get their software onto the App store, and thousands of people have done just that. My iPod touch has five pages of Apps ranging from Pandora, for free music streaming; to Air Sharing, which makes the iPod essentially a wireless hard drive and network browser; to TextGuru, a full-featured text editor that includes copy and paste functions.

    Skype released its own App late last night, and the blogosphere is buzzing with reviews and commentary. Skype has been around for quite some time, and is a robust instant messaging, video conferencing, and voice over internet protocol (VOIP) phone service with software available for Mac and Windows users. The Skype App allows you to place free calls to other Skype users on your iPhone or pay a nominal by-the-minute fee to call any landline in the world.

    Initial reports suggest that the Skype App works well. It is not as fully featured as the computer-based client software, however. For one, there is not a video conference function. Also, it is not possible to have Skype remain active in the background while your iPhone is sleeping, making it impractical–useless, really–for incoming calls. And, presumably to appease the mobile carriers worldwide, Skype works only while connected to a terrestrial Wi-Fi network. It will not, and probably never will, work over the phone companies’ 3G networks, even though the networks could handle the additional traffic with aplomb. After all, the phone companies are essentially the ones buying the iPhones!

  • Corrections and Feedback on Last Week's Tips

    *High Resolution Icons*
    Last week’s article regarding the high resolution icons often seen in this newsletter works only under Leopard. I apologize to the many thousands of Tiger-using Tech Tails readers for whom this won’t work.

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

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

    *Get in Character*
    Last week, in my tip, “Get in Character,” I featured the keyboard symbol command for the *Degree symbol (˚)* as either “Option-K or Option-0” and asked: “Does anyone know which is actually ‘officially’ correct?”

    As Michael L. notes:
    __”PopChar indicates that the degree is Shift-Option-8. Option-0 is described as a ‘masculine ordinal indicator’ and Option-K as a ‘ring above.'”__

    Hugh H. writes:
    __”I don’t know whether or not this is ‘officially’ correct but I have always used ° (option-shift 8) for the Degree symbol. That was from Robin Williams book ‘The Mac is not a Typewriter.’__ Upon further checking, he wrote, __”I find that Option-K (˚) indicates a circle above and Option-0 (º) indicates a Masculine Ordinal Indicator, while Option-Shift-8 (°) is the degree sign. I hope this is of some help. I enjoy trying to track these obscure things down.”__

    Thanks to those who clarified!

    *-Kali* “kali@smalldog.com”:mailto:kali@smalldog.com

  • Happy Tuesday,

    With warmer temperatures and signs of spring everywhere I look, I took my yearly March swim in the Mad River on Sunday. Owen doesn’t mind the cold water, and swam whenever the river wasn’t ice-covered through the winter, but to me the water seemed much colder than usual this year.

    With Spring comes the anticipation of fresh, local food. Ramps and morels aren’t far off. It’s a great time to consider joining a CSA (community supported agriculture) program near you. These programs are fantastic: you buy in at the start of the season and pick up a load of fresh veggies each week through the fall. A tremendous resource, no matter where you live, is the excellent “www.localharvest.org.”:http:www.localharvest.org There you can find the CSAs near you and other resources to help you eat and live sustainably.

    Enjoy this issue, and keep in touch!

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

  • How are you doing in your March Madness pool? I’ve got 13 of the Sweet 16 and I see some college basketball in my plans for the weekend!

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes team,
    _Don, Kali & Ed_

  • SPECIALS | 03/27/09 – 04/03/09

    View specials while on-hand supplies last. Please note that some specials may not be available in our retail stores; check for availability.

    See all specials on our “Specials Page.”:http://www.smalldog.com/specials

  • FEATURED SPECIAL | 03/27/09 – 04/03/09

    Whenever new Macs are released, we start seeking opportunities to purchase the previous generation models. Many people don’t need (or want) to ride the cutting edge of new technology releases, and appreciate the money that can be saved by getting very slightly older gear.

    Last week we were able to bring in some of the just-discontinued iMacs. Specifically, we have the:
    * “$999.99 iMac 20-inch, 2.4GHz, 1GB RAM, 250GB hard drive, and SuperDrive with 2400XT graphics,”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/71283 and the

    * “$1399.99 iMac 24-inch, 2.8GHz, 2GB RAM, 320GB hard drive with SuperDrive and 2600 Pro graphics.”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/71285

    We’ve created a few bundles with these previous-generation iMacs that bring RAM up to 4GB and include AppleCare and free shipping. For example: “20-inch iMac 2.4GHz 4GB RAM, 250GB drive, SD, 2400XT, 3-year AppleCare plan and free shipping for $1249.99.”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag18918/

    See all iMacs “by clicking here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Apple|iMac

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  • Squeeze More Juice from Your iPhone/iPod touch Battery

    The iPhone 3G is an incredible device. I recently took a ten day trip with my iPhone, and used it every single day in dozens of different ways (including as–go figure–a cell phone). It has become an essential tool in both my digital and real life.

    As I wrote in last week’s Kibbles & Bytes newsletter, I do wish the battery in the iPhone had a little extra stamina. I’m getting the “TruePower extended battery”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/73133 for iPhone 2G/3G/iPod touch before my next extended trip.

    In the meantime, here are twelve tips suggested by Apple and learned from our experience that should help wring a little extra juice from an iPhone or iPod touch battery.

    *1.* Always make sure your iPhone has the latest software from Apple, as engineers may find new ways to optimize battery performance. You can update to the latest software with iTunes 7.7 or higher.

    *2.* Turn off Wi-Fi: If you rarely use Wi-Fi, you can turn it off to save power. Go to *Settings > Wi-Fi* and set Wi-Fi to Off. *However,* if you frequently use your iPhone to browse the web, battery life may be improved by using Wi-Fi instead of cellular data networks.

    *3.* Turn off Bluetooth: If you rarely use a Bluetooth headset or car kit, you can turn off Bluetooth to save power. Go to *Settings > General > Bluetooth* and set Bluetooth to Off.

    *4.* Use Airplane Mode in low- or no-coverage areas: Because your iPhone always tries to maintain a connection with the cellular network, it may use more power in low- or no-coverage areas. Turning on Airplane Mode can increase battery life in these situations; however, you will be unable to make or receive calls. To turn on Airplane Mode, go to Settings and set Airplane Mode to On.

    *5.* Turn off 3G: Using 3G cellular networks loads data faster, but may also decrease battery life, especially in areas with limited 3G coverage. To disable 3G, from the Home screen choose *Settings > General > Network* and set Enable 3G to Off. You will still be able to make and receive calls and access cellular data networks via EDGE or GPRS where available.

    *6.* Adjust brightness: Dimming the screen is another way to extend battery life. Go to *Settings > Brightness* and drag the slider to the left to lower the default screen brightness. In addition, turning on Auto-Brightness allows the screen to adjust its brightness based on current lighting conditions. Go to *Settings > Brightness* and set Auto-Brightness to On.

    *7.* Fetch new data less frequently: Applications such as Mail can be set to fetch data wirelessly at specific intervals. The more frequently email or other data is fetched, the quicker your battery may drain. To fetch new data manually, from the Home screen choose *Settings > Fetch New Data* and tap Manually. To increase the fetch interval, go to *Settings > Fetch New Data* and tap Hourly. Note that this is a global setting and applies to all applications that do not support push services.

    *8.* Turn off push mail: If you have a push mail account such as Yahoo!, MobileMe or Microsoft Exchange, turn off push mail when you don’t need it. Go to *Settings > Fetch New Data* and set Push to Off. Messages sent to your push email accounts will now be received on your phone based on the global Fetch setting rather than as they arrive.

    *9.* Auto-check fewer email accounts: You can save power by checking fewer email accounts. This can be accomplished by turning off an email account or by deleting it. To turn off an account, go to *Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars, choose an email account* and set Account to Off. To remove an account, go to *Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars, choose an email account* and tap Delete Account.

    *10.* Minimize use of location services: Applications that actively use location services such as Maps may reduce battery life. To disable location services, go to *Settings > General > Location Services* or use location services only when needed.

    *11.* Minimize use of third-party applications: Excessive use of applications such as games that prevent the screen from dimming or shutting off or applications that use location services can reduce battery life.

    *12.* Lock Your iPhone: It may seem obvious, but you should lock your iPhone when you aren’t using it. You will be able to receive calls and text messages while it is locked, but nothing happens if you touch the screen. To lock iPhone, press the Sleep/Wake button. You can also set the Auto-Lock interval so your iPhone will turn off more quickly after a period of inactivity. To set Auto-Lock, go to *Settings > General > Auto-Lock* and set the interval to a short time, such as 1 minute.

    *Bonus tip:* Use iPhone Regularly: For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Be sure to go through at least one charge cycle per month (charging the battery to 100% and then completely running it down).

    Finally, the iPhone 3G is stated to offer up to five hours of talk time on 3G, ten hours of talk time on 2G, five hours of internet use on 3G, six hours of internet use on Wi-Fi, seven hours of video playback, or twenty-four hours of audio playback on a full charge at original capacity. The iPhone features up to 300 hours of standby time.