Kibbles & Bytes Blog

Apple news, tech tips, and more…

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  • Grace and I are preparing for our summer motorcycle ride. This year we are going to ride down the Blue Ridge Parkway to view the total eclipse of the sun and to visit our friend Jen Mayer at Charlotte Street Computers in Asheville. We’ve got our special eclipse viewing glasses and we are almost all ready.

    We are riding down tomorrow to Rutland to get Grace some new tires for her Victory Vision and then we are ready. I rigged up a cup holder that holds my 30 ounce Yeti so cold brew will be the drink for the trip.

    Great year for blueberries, btw.

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    Don, Emily & Hadley

  • Set Phasers to Stun

    I received a very good question from a reader about my article last week. The question was about interference between these radar systems on a crowded highway. I couldn’t easily find a good answer about this online, but my suspicion about this is that these systems function in a way similar to consumer-grade wifi transmitters. A full apartment complex might have a dozen or more wifi transmitters on top of each other spitting out signals that overlap and potentially interfere. This situation would be similar to lots of cars packed together on a highway. Wifi transmitters are designed with this possibility in mind. They use different transmission “channels”, basically just different frequency groups, to keep their own traffic under control and optimized. A transmitter will do this automatically by design. I’m almost positive radar systems in cars work the same way. Since they are radio frequency-based, they too can operate on discrete channels and switch to new channels if one has too much interference. However, one thing I did see a lot about was that these radar systems do mess with consumer-grade radar detectors pretty badly. So much so that detector manufacturers are starting to have to design their devices more intelligently.

    Onto my topic for this week: lasers! Believe it or not, when the first lasers were invented in the 1960s, scientists called them “a solution in search of a problem.” It wasn’t apparent at that time how much use lasers could be, but today we rely on them from things as simple as barcode scanning at the grocery store to the fibre connections that form the backbone of the entire internet. Lasers are pretty complex pieces of technology and they involve some electrochemistry too (not my strong suit) but I’ll do my best to explain them for you here.

    First of all, the word laser, like radar, is an acronym that stands for “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.” Would you like fries with that? The acronym is descriptive, but is complicated. At the heart, a laser has some kind of gain medium which can be energized somehow as well as some kind of construction that can provide optical feedback. The amplification part comes in when we start with the gain medium. In order for it to amplify light, we need to give it something to start with. Either energy (in the form of electricity) or light from some other source. This process of supplying energy to the gain medium is called pumping. Lasers can be pumped with many things including flash lamps, electricity or another laser.

    A simple laser could be described as the following. Imagine a cylinder composed of the material to be pumped. On each end of the cylinder is a mirror facing the cylinder. When the gain medium material is pumped, it gives off photons in an amplified state which bounce back and forth between the mirrors, passing through the gain medium and being amplified more each time. Now imagine if one of the mirrors was translucent allowing some light to escape. We’d have a laser!

    What is the gain medium composed of? In most industrial or scientific lasers, the gain medium is often some kind of gas, like helium, helium-neon, or carbon dioxide. If the gain medium is a solid, we call these solid state lasers. In these lasers, the gain medium consists of a glass or crystalline rod that is “doped” with ions in a process similar to “doping” silicon for use in photovoltaics. Finally there are semiconductor lasers. These lasers, while technically solid state, are not generally referred to as such and are most common in consumer grade devices. They are composed of diodes that are electrically pumped and function most similarly to our basic example above.

    As they are most common in our daily lives, I’ll explain a bit more about semiconductor lasers. They can be made to emit laser radiation at wavelengths from 375nm to 3500nm. Why are so many of these lasers red though? Most laser pointers are red for example, as are most barcode scanners. The reason is because laser diodes are cheaply available in those wavelengths. To achieve shorter wavelengths, more sophisticated techniques need to be used. I have a green laser pointer at home that I got in 2006 for about $75 online. Little did I know at the time, but green lasers such as that one only became widely available to consumers in the early 2000s. Green semiconductor lasers are most often a type of diode-pumped, solid-state, frequency-doubled laser. The green light is generated via a two step process that starts with a lower energy laser diode in the infrared spectrum. This light is used to pump a—brace yourself—-yttrium orthovanadate crystal doped with neodymium. That gain medium is then where the green laser light comes from. I think laser scientists just want to obfuscate their devices with wild names.

    I have to stop there because even my head is spinning a bit. Hopefully this was an ok explanation of these interesting and useful devices.

  • Apple Pencil

    I am by no means an artist nor someone who has drawn anything beyond your standard High School art class. However something drew my attention the Apple Pencil, call it intrigue or even memorization of the new slick addition to the Apple line up I could not keep from considering why it was so endearing. Whatever the calling was I finally made up my mind and purchased one of these compelling little stylus, and boy oh boy was I impressed. I had little experience playing with the abilities of the Apple Pencil outside of the store. I have discovered a new found obsession with sketching.

    For anyone who has ever drawn with your standard paper and pencil, (as well if you are as nit picky as I am) you will quickly find by erasing multiple strokes several times you quickly create this indent on the paper, an indent that will never go away. This is infuriating! As with any drawing tablet this frustration is elevated when using a computer to render your work allowing easy (Command – Z) undo functionality. There are some intense differences when comparing drawing tablets vs paper and pencil, and many artists strongly dislike the separation between the two. Again, I am no artist and do not claim to have a strong history with any of the options discussed. However I must express my complete and wonderful surprise that was using the Apple Pencil. The fluidity, precision and pencil likeness was unmatched by any expectations I had. Whether it be lightly sketching out the initial point of reference lines or deeply highlighting the final details it feels as though I am sketching on a piece of paper just underneath the glass of my iPad Pro.

    Without spending all day going into details and further examples, I’ll wrap this up with a final thought. The Apple Pencil is not just for Artists, or people in the field of artistry. If you are someone who draws, sketches, paints or even prefers written notes, the Apple Pencil can be another tool added to the arsenal. Even if you are like me, someone who has never tackled anything artistic but has a nagging urge to create, I highly encourage swinging down to Small Dog and testing out the Apple Pencil. We have one at the counter anyone can test out on one of our iPad demo models and see for yourself what makes it such a unique and diverse product.

  • Are You Ready For iOS 11?

    Some of you might have already jumped on the “public beta”:https://beta.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/ program for “iOS 11”:https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-11-preview/. If you did, you might have discovered that some apps have stopped working for you. If you haven’t installed it yet this is a good time to get ready.

    I’ve been an iPhone user since the iPhone 3GS and I’ve been an iPad user since the original iPad came out. iOS 11 brings on some similar hiccups that have plagued macOS, most apps and applications ( if it’s on the Mac ) will carry over and run, but eventually some apps and applications will stop working and you need to either replace or update them. Here’s the run down on why and what to look for with your iOS apps.

    Through the iPhone 5, fourth-generation iPad, original iPad mini, and fifth-generation iPod touch, Apple used 32-bit processors. However, in 2013, Apple instead began putting 64-bit chips in all new iOS devices. Apple encouraged developers to make their apps run on 64-bit mode but kept iOS7 compatible with older 32-bit apps. Starting in 2015, Apple required apps to run in 64-bit mode to receive App Store approval. iOS 10 initially warned that 32-bit apps might slow down your device and later said 32-bit apps would need to be updated.

    First off, don’t worry about what 32 and 64-bit mean, all you need to know is that 32-bit apps are old and won’t run on iOS 11, and that 64-bit apps will continue to work as they always have. But how do you know which of your apps are 32-bit? For apps that you use regularly you’ve probably seen one of these warnings. But other apps you may open only occasionally. How can you figure out which of those are destined for the chopping block?

    In iOS 10.3, Apple added a feature to call out these apps. Navigate to Settings > General > About > Applications to see a list of 32-bit apps that don’t have direct updates available. Note: you do need to be running specifically iOS 10.3 for this to work. If you are on iOS 10.3 and Applications won’t let you tap it, it means you do not have any 32-bit apps. When I looked up any potential issues I found 4 of my 122 apps are 32-bit. Now what? Well there are some options for handling this.

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    **Delete the app.** If it’s an app you don’t use much or perhaps at all anymore just get rid of it! Simply press and hold the icon until you get the familiar shaking apps and tap the X.

    **Look for an update that’s a new app** It’s very possible that the developer simply released a completely new version of the app that you need to downloaded. This unfortunately might mean that you have to buy a paid app again, but if you like that app well enough it will be worth it.

    **Look for an alternative app.** Few iOS apps are truly unique, so you may be able to find an alternative that does basically the same thing.

    If you are in an unfortunate situation where it’s an app you must keep using but there is no update to 64-bit then you’ve got some options, but they may not be ideal. Just like when OS X came out and countless users were faced with costly software upgrades from OS9 to OS X, you might consider running an older iOS device exclusively for that app. You could also consider not upgrading to iOS 11 and keep your device back. Both of these options come with drawbacks and eventually you’ll need to upgrade and migrate to newer versions of the app, so this is only a bandaid. The best advice is to work to replace that older app as soon as possible.

    p{text-align: center;}. !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/5161.png!

    You’ve still got several weeks to work out a plan and prepare for the official release of iOS 11. For myself, I’m going with the easiest option and just deleting the apps and looking for alternatives.

  • AirPods

    I’m one of those types of people who likes to use different types of headphones when it comes to listening to music. At home I have a pair of studio headphones that I use with my Mac when I’m listening to music and watching movies. On my commute to work, I have another pair of studio headphones with noise cancellation, so that I can focus to getting to work on time and not so much on whats going on around me.

    However, I’ve gotten to a point where I wanted something a little lighter in my ears for the commute to work. Primarily something I could just put in my pocket, and not something that I have to fold up, place in a bulky case, and stuff said bulky case back into my backpack. Initially I was a little unsure about the AirPods, but the more that I kept thinking about them, the more I kept noticing that these might actually be a perfect fit for me. I didn’t have a cord that I needed to spend time untangling (like with the Apple EarPods, for example), they weren’t difficult to pair with my other Apple devices (iPad, iMac, and yes the Apple Watch), then there’s the charging case that charges the AirPods when you’re not using them, and best of all it’s super small!

    Music will pause, when you take the AirPods out and starts back up again when you put them back in your ears. You can interact with Siri to make calls, and change the volume of your music just to point out a couple cool features. They’re definitely worth checking out if you’re curious about what it’s like to have a completely unique wireless headphone experience. I’ve only had them for a couple weeks and I’m totally hooked.

  • Mid-August is beginning to feel like late September, and I’m not complaining! We’re experiencing beautifully foggy mornings in the South Burlington area, and nice, cool evenings. Things are busy as always in the South Burlington store, and we’re all looking forward to the back to school rush that is certainly upon us.

    After our last edition of Tech Tails, I received some thoughtful feedback, and great questions from our customers in regards to film scanning techniques. As I mentioned last week, a lot of my spare time is spent shooting and scanning film. Soon to be added to the ritual is chemical processing at home. For those of you looking for the scanner comparison article, hang tight, I’m gathering resources to compare a few leading scanners, so look out for that article soon!

    This week I received a great question about iPhoto vs. Photos, and how editing has improved between the platforms. While I understand the change can be jarring, I believe Photos is a superior application, though it does require a shift in perspective. I always tell my customers, Apple is aiming to merge your iOS and macOS experience. If your introduction to Apple products was through iPhone, or if iPhone is your most frequently used device (as it is for a lot of us) it would stand to reason that your macOS experience should grow to resemble the handheld interface that you’re accustomed to. The telltale sign is when I see customers trying to touch a MacBook Pro screen as if it were a touch screen, then remembering to use the trackpad. Today, we share documents, photos, emails, and more between our iPhone or iPad and Mac. With the replacement of iPhoto, you see a clear shift in the way photos are sorted and edited. Overall, I find that Photos allows for more detailed editing points, and the sorting method makes a lot more sense to me, as it resembles the iOS “Camera Roll.”

    Have you found anything missing, or new features you recently discovered in the latest applications from Apple? I would love to hear your feedback to share with other customers. For now, I’ll be on the sales floor, and working on a few rolls of Kodak at home! Have a great rest of the summer, as autumnal as it may feel!

    Patrick McCormack
    “patrickm@smalldog.com”:mailto:patrickm@smalldog.com

  • Go Cubs Go, Hey Chicago what do you say? Cubs are going to win today! Well, at least I hope they win when Grace and I make our annual pilgrimage to Wrigley Field.

    I have a bear hanging out at my house. We accidentally left our cellar door open and the bear pulled the empty garbage can out looking for food. He or she left a big paw mark on the door. Bears usually only come around if you have bird feeders or garbage hanging out so we are going to have to make sure that door is secure and have the dogs and some people leave their scent. I repositioned one of my Arlo cameras on that door, so who knows I may have a photo for you next week.

    It is always fun to go back to Chicago and reminisce about the good times Grace and I had there as kids. We would ride the “L” and we still remember all the stops and while the crackly speaker is a bit upgraded we will still be getting off at Addison to go to the game!

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    _Don, Hadley and Emily_

  • Do You Know How Fast You Were Going?

    On a few recent road trips, I got to really test out a handy feature in my new car: radar sensing. Many newer cars are available with these features whether they be collision avoidance radar, backup traffic monitoring radar, cruise control radar or blind spot radar. It’s incredible to me that this relatively sophisticated technology is becoming available in even cheaper cars. It made me think that it would be interesting to discuss what radar is, how it works, and the different applications. Many of the fundamentals I’ve discussed in other articles, specifically my article about electromagnetic radiation, will be good to know about before we get into this. So if you haven’t read that article, give “**it a read first**”:http://blog.smalldog.com/kibbles/kb1026/ and then come back.

    Ok, are you refreshed? Good! Radar is one of those words like laser, modem or scuba. Radar was originally an acronym for RAdio Direction And Ranging. The original name should give a hint about how it works. Electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range doesn’t totally penetrate solid objects. This means that when the microwaves hit something they bounce off of it. Depending on the nature of the material involved, some microwaves might be absorbed by the object. In a radar system, there is a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter sends out microwaves and the receiver receives the reflections back to interpret them. Some properties, like simply knowing where an object is, can be determined by how long the transmitted waves take to return to the receiver. The strength and makeup of the received waves can also help infer the material of the object as well as its size. If the radar is set up to detect frequency shifts, it can use that to determine rotation or relative motion of the object. This kind of radar would be called doppler radar (after the Doppler effect) and is often used for detecting rain motion in meteorology.

    Many of the radars that are added onto cars are able to determine relative motion. This means that they can see an object and not only know it’s position in that moment, but also it’s relative velocity (relative to your car). For example, the blind spot radar on my car doesn’t trigger if I pass a car, but it does trigger when a car passes me. The radar is able to distinguish between these two motions. Forward sensing radars are able to detect possible collisions in the same way. This is also how police track your speed by radar. You can notice this effect with sound. When a police siren is approaching you, it sounds higher pitched, and when it passes you, it sounds lower pitched. The reason for this is the Doppler effect.

    When a wave (sound or electromagnetic) is emitted from an object in motion, stationary receiving points along the object’s path will see the waves either compressed or elongated depending on whether the moving object is approaching or departing. When the waves compress, this places more peaks and troughs in the same area. More waves in the same size area or shrinking area (shrinking because the distance between the source and you is shrinking) means higher frequency. When the waves are electromagnetic, this shift in frequency can be determined with high precision to determine how fast the object is moving.

    Because radar is an electromagnetic wave in the microwave spectrum it can be “jammed” relatively easily. By receiving the microwaves, modifying them, and then retransmitting them back to the source, the radar system may not be able to detect the object properly. Radar is also easily detected because it’s an electromagnetic wave. For these reasons, police often also use LIDAR. Which is the same system except it uses visible or invisible light (“LIDAR” is actually a portmanteau of light and radar) to do the same thing. Remember that light is an electromagnetic wave itself, so all the same principles apply. LIDAR can also be jammed, but as it’s a newer technology than radar, it’s less common. LIDAR also depends on lasers and other light focusing technologies and so wasn’t developed until the 1960s.

    You can also use ultrasonic sound to accomplish all of the same exact tasks, but sound is too easily affected by the environment. It’s also horribly slow compared to electromagnetic waves that travel at the speed of light. An ultrasonic rangefinder and speed detector would have to be calibrated every single time it was used. Changes in air density, pressure and temperature would all affect the sound waves. For this reason, we typically only use radar and LIDAR.

    Obviously there are hundreds of uses beyond cars and speed tracking when it comes to radar and LIDAR. We use LIDAR for surveying, aerial mapping, and precise distance tracking of celestial objects like the moon. If all of this was interesting, next week I’m going to talk a little bit about lasers. I’ve always been fascinated by lasers and will never forget my parents getting me a little pocket one when I was just 10. So tune in next week!

  • Get To Work Faster

    Some of us like to ease into the start of our work day, others might want to get things rolling as fast as you can. If you’re someone who likes to get things rolling you might find it advantageous to activate login items on your Mac.

    This feature has been in the macOS for years, and when it first came out it could sometimes affect your computer’s start up. Fast forward to macOS Sierra, SSD drives, flash memory and these concerns become issues of the past. Most of us keep programs running even when we are not using them without any performance issues with our Macs, so there’s little concern with current generation machines of delays from login items.

    If you’re not sure what I am referring to, let me take a moment to explain. You can specify through your system preferences if you do or do not want specific programs to automatically launch and run when you log in to your computer. In some cases users have programs automatically launching at login and do not know why. Microsoft Office, Skype and iTunesHelper commonly end up as login applications without users realizing it. That’s why Skype always seems to open on it’s own! In some cases it’s not an advantage to have a program start automatically, but if it’s one that you use every time you use your computer it can be very helpful. I have set as login items Mail, Safari, Calendar and Messages, the four programs I ALWAYS need when I get to the office.

    To look and see if you have any applications as login items is quick and simply. All you need to do is go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items.

    p{text-align: center;}. !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/5179.png!

    You might find that you already have items in the list, they could be ones you want or perhaps ones you’ve always wondered why they auto launch for you. You should go through this list every now and then. As mentioned, on occasion applications you might not want as a login item might find its way there. You also might find you have an application as a login item that you no longer need or want to run all of the time.

    Here is what you need to know about managing your login items:

    **Add a login item.** An easy way to add an app to the Login Items list is to drag its icon from the Finder into the list. But you can also click the + button beneath the Login Items list and choose the app from the Applications folder. Or, make sure the app is running, Control-click its icon on the Dock, and then choose Options > Open at Login from the shortcut menu.

    **Remove a Login item.** To prevent an app from launching at startup in the future, select it in the Login Items list and click the – button under the Login Items list.

    **Hide a login item’s windows after startup.** Some apps, like Adobe Photoshop and InDesign, fill your screen with their windows immediately at launch. If you don’t want to use an app right after restarting your Mac, you can reduce screen clutter by selecting its Hide checkbox in the Login Items list. That’s the equivalent of launching an app and hiding its windows by Option-clicking on another app.

    So, the next time you start up your Mac, get to work faster!