Kibbles & Bytes Blog

Apple news, tech tips, and more…

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  • Apple Does It Again!

    I have run out of superlatives to describe Apple’s quarterly financial successes. All the “know it all” analysts were smug in their predictions that Apple would exceed their 3rd Quarter financial guidance but Apple posted earnings that surprised even the most bullish of the crowd. Posting sales of $45.8 Billion with a profit of $8.7 Billion. WOW!.

    This was the first quarter of growth in iPad sales in 4 years as the new iPad Pros began to have traction and it was the best non-holiday quarter in two years. Apple grew all sectors of their business, including iPhone, iPad, services and the Mac. In fact, it was a an all time record for Services revenue for Apple, too.

    These results alone would be remarkable but Apple also gave strong guidance for the next quarter. The back-to-school quarter is one of the most critical for Apple and even in the light of rumored shortages and other unsubstantiated churn, Apple is predicting sales of $49-$52 Billion and a strong quarter to come.

    Investors rewarded the good news with Apple stock opening at a record $159 per share, up some 6%. The Apple board of directors declared a $0.63 quarterly dividend to reward shareholders, too.

    The iPhone was responsible for about 55% of Apple’s revenue and they sold 41 million iPhones in the quarter. This brought the total number of iPhones sold since its introduction 10 years ago to 1.2 BILLION iPhones! Apple quoted a 95% customer satisfaction rating for the iPhone from 451 Research and a 99% rating for the iPhone 7+ which is truly remarkable.

    Services were a big part of Apple’s success story this quarter with their record $7.3 Billion in service revenue which is 22% growth. Much of this revenue comes from the widely popular App Store, although they reported that they have over 185 million subscriptions to Apple Music, too! Apple Pay also showed continued growth. Services is becoming a huge part of Apple’s amazing success story.

    The Mac did not do so well in the 2nd quarter but rebounded significantly this quarter with the introduction of the new Macs and rewarded Apple with 7% year over year growth compared to a decline for most other computer makers. They also trotted out some research again from 451 Research that showed a 97% customer satisfaction rate!

    Apple sold 11.4 million iPads which is 15% growth after several quarters of decline. The rumors of the demise of the iPad were definitely fodder for my new URL – www.falserumors.com. iPad sales were strong across the globe and among tablets costing more than $200, Apple holds a significant 89% marketshare. They announced that Walmart, Bank of America, Medtronic and Panera Bread would be rolling out large numbers of iPads in their operations.

    Apple ended the quarter with $261.5 Billion in cash, most of which is outside the USA. Apple spent over $3 billion on R&D with efforts on autonomous systems and other amazing new stuff that we will see in the coming months and years. Tim Cook was particularly upbeat on autonomous systems:

    “We are very focused on autonomous systems from a core technology point of view, we do have a large project going and are making a big investment in this from our point of view. Autonomy is sort of the mother of all AI projects,” Cook said today, echoing statements made last month. Autonomous systems can be used in a variety of ways and a vehicle is only one.”

    That got me thinking about some of these other ways that autonomous systems can be used. They hinted at some upcoming news on “Made in the USA” and certainly manufacturing is one area where autonomous systems can be utilized. I think we have only scratched the surface of a new manufacturing revolution.

    Congratulations to everyone at Apple for a stellar quarter. My retirement account thanks you, too! As an independent reseller of Apple products we feel privileged to be a part of this success. It is a tough business and I hope that Apple remembers the little guys that helped them grow, too. As one of the world’s largest businesses, Apple has a greater responsibility than anyone to be socially responsible and should and is held to a much higher standard. Great job on the quarter!

  • _Dear Friends,_

    I had some good weather for the Road Pitch and listened to about 10 different pitches for businesses ranging from an innovative energy management solution to modular exercise facilities built from shipping containers. It was good to connect with the other riders. This event has really grown. I was one of the inaugural riders a few years ago and we had about 10 riders then, all entrepreneurs or investors. This year there were over 50 riders at the kick-off event at Green Mountain Harley Davidson.

    I am off to my home town of Chicago to catch a couple of the Cubs games. The Cubbies are on fire right now in their quest to repeat as national champs.

    I quickly added the information that Apple had eliminated the iPod Shuffle and iPod nano last week. Sorry to see these devices go but most people are using their iPhones for music now. But we did score some of the remaining units and will have some for sale while supplies last.

    I will be reviewing the Apple 3rd quarter financials below but suffice it to say that Apple desurfaced the street and left the kind of grooved pavement that motorcyclists hate behind. They posted amazing results and grew across the board. Good job, Apple!

    For this week’s “**Kibbles & Bytes Exclusive you can get a FREE iPod Shuffle with any purchase of an in-stock MacBook.**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002766/89635/87083? We have a great selection of MacBooks in stock and we will send you a free iPod Shuffle if you buy one this week!

  • AC Rectification

    It’s back to usual this week for my article, because I thought of a good topic. I’ve talked many times about AC power…

  • intro

    Dear Friends, I had some good weather for the Road Pitch and listened to about 10 different pitches for businesses ranging from an…

  • I have a busy week coming up starting with my Road Pitch ride but also attending a concert in Shelburne and then hopping on a plane to go to Chicago with Grace for our annual pilgrimage to Wrigley Field where we will catch games against the Diamondbacks and Nationals. With the Cubbies back in first place by a hair they should be good games.

    I might have to grab a couple iPod nanos before they disappear. I use one on my motorcycle and it is a great way to have a lot of music to accompany my ride. Lately, I have been using my Beats X EarPods rather that the motorcycle’s sound system because my bike does have Bluetooth built-in.

    Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    _Don & Hadley (Emily is on a very well-deserved vacation this week)_

  • AC Rectification

    It’s back to usual this week for my article, because I thought of a good topic. I’ve talked many times about AC power and how and why we use it, but many things don’t use AC power. In fact, they can’t. These are things we use every single day. Virtually all digital electronics cannot use AC power directly. It needs to be converted into DC power. Remember that AC means the current is alternating and DC means the current is flowing in one constant direction.

    Any time you convert electricity from one type to another, or one voltage to another, there will be losses. Nothing is free. Every time you change something about electricity, you have to pay a tax. The goal in electronics design is to minimize those losses. AC to DC conversion is one of the simplest and most efficient conversions we do on a regular basis. DC to AC conversion is also possible (accomplished by inverters). Most of these processes are on the order of 95% efficient or greater. So how do we convert AC to DC?

    First off, the process of converting AC to DC is called ??rectifying??. Devices that accomplish this task are often called rectifiers. A very common rectifier design is called a bridge rectifier. To understand how they work, we have to recall that AC is a wave. Sometimes it’s voltage value will be positive, other times it will be negative. This doesn’t work for DC since the voltage has to always be positive or always be negative. Rectifiers take the negative voltage swing of the wave and flip it up top so that it’s positive. Now instead of a sine waveform, the output of the circuit will look like mountains. The voltage will always be positive, but it will still vary considerably, from the peak (approximately 170 volts on grid-level 120VAC) to zero and then back up again.

    How is the voltage rectified? In a bridge rectifier a ring of diodes is used. Recall that a diode only allows current to flow through it in one direction. By arranging the diodes in a ring we can create a “draw off” point for the current where the voltage will always be positive. Instead of being allowed to “pull” the current backwards during the negative voltage swing, the diodes redirect it back to the output point. Of course, this only means that the negative voltages get flipped up, creating the mountain-like waveform I mentioned earlier. This is not good for DC power, so how do we fix it?

    There are many ways to minimize this issue, but it can’t be fixed perfectly. One way is to use capacitors to buffer the output voltage. Instead of sinking when the mountains go back down to zero, the capacitors prop the voltage up during that period, until the next mountain peak arrives. Depending on the load, this could mean large capacitors to hold the load long enough. Remember also though that AC has a frequency on the order of 50-60Hz. This means there will be around 120 of those mountain peaks every single second, so the capacitors don’t need to hold for too long.

    The other issue we have to contend with is how to reduce the voltage from anywhere between 120-240VAC to something DC electronics might expect, like 5VDC. For AC to anything, this is actually very easy; we use transformers. A transformer has two sets of wire windings, a primary winding and a secondary winding. The primary winding contains the input current, usually fluctuating AC. This fluctuating current induces a magnetic field that also fluctuates in a metal core that extends from the primary winding to the secondary winding. The changing magnetic field in the core induces a new current in the secondary winding. The induced current will necessarily be greater than the input current if the windings are configured to reduce voltage. The overall power has to remain the same. So if the input were 120VAC at 1 amp (120 watts), and the transformer was reducing the voltage by a factor of two, the output would be 60VAC at 2 amps (still 120 watts). The output of a transformer will still be AC, but this is where we would apply rectification.

    This method of power conversion is extremely efficient, but as transformers are highly inductive, power companies would hate it if every single device used one. The reason for this is because inductive loads shift power around a lot without actually consuming that much. So the power company has to pay to send the power all the way from their generating station, to you, only to have your device reject almost all of the actual energy in that power. Most homes don’t have solely inductive loads though, so most of the time it’s not an issue. However, certain industrial processes rely heavily on inductive load machinery. In these cases, the power company may request that they burn off a certain amount of power in dump loads (basically huge resistors) in order to keep the grid functioning normally.

    So there you have it. How we take that high voltage raw AC power from the wall and tame it to safely power all of your devices.

  • AppleCare+ is a "No-Brainer" Add-on

    I have written many times on the benefits of AppleCare and how it differs from those “extended warranties” that everyone tries to sell you. Back in June, Apple converted to AppleCare+ and now adding AppleCare+ is truly the smart move.

    AppleCare+ was already out there for iPads, Watch and other Apple gear but June brought this feature to the Mac. We used to be measured by Apple on our AppleCare attach rate but now that is almost a moot point since most customers do opt for the new Applecare+.

    All of the features of the original AppleCare were brought over to AppleCare+. Your hardware warranty is extended from 1 to 3 years and your toll-free technical support from Apple is extended from 90 days to 3 years as well. This comes in pretty handy when your college student is cramming for an exam and needs tech support NOW. Without AppleCare+ the first thing your student would provide is a credit card number. With AppleCare+ for 3-years they can call Apple and get help.

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    So, what is new about AppleCare+? Well, it is that “+” sign. AppleCare+ now covers accidental damage which is the most common problem we see when we are checking in Macs for repair. You will have to pay $99 for screen or external enclosure damage or $299 for other damage, however, if you spill that soda on your Mac you are looking at a logic board replacement at well over $500 if you do not have AppleCare+.

    Let’s review each of the benefits of AppleCare+ for your Mac.

    *Late Night Tech Support*
    Okay, it might not always be late night but Apple is there to answer your questions 24/7 via chat or phone. Not for 90 days but for 3 years if you have AppleCare+

    *Apple Hardware Coverage*
    Your Mac is covered literally anywhere in the world for 3-years for both parts and labor. You can, in many cases for desktop Macs, request on-site service. For laptops you can mail them in or take it in to Small Dog Electronics or any Authorized Apple Service Provider. Or an Apple store if you must. This coverage extends not only to your Mac but also to:

    * Battery
    * Included accessories like the power charger
    * RAM
    * Airport base stations (if purchased within 2 years of your Mac purchase or while AppleCare+ is valid
    * Apple USB Superdrive (who uses those anymore? I have one on my shelf)

    *Software Support*
    Is it a software or a hardware problem? This is a common dilemma. But since Apple makes the OS, many Apps and the Mac, too, your AppleCare+ covers the MacOS, iCloud and quick how-to questions on Apple Apps such as Photos, Pages, iMovie, etc. Don’t expect a long lesson but if you are running into a roadblock on using Keynote, for example, you can call up and get some advice. Connecting to your network and printers is also covered.

    There is one important difference in buying AppleCare+ now. In the past, you had up to 1-year to buy AppleCare. We would send out reminder letters and many people did wait. But now, you have only 60-days to make that choice. Most people buy AppleCare+ with their Mac purchase because it becomes a bit of a hassle to buy it after the fact. You would either need to bring the Mac into Small Dog for inspection or set up a remote diagnostic with Apple.

    Pretty much anything that goes wrong with your Mac is going to cost you more than AppleCare+ if you are not covered so that is what makes it so valuable. With all the liquid damage we have seen, I am so happy to have a better option for customers. Too many times we have had customers come in with liquid damage and be shocked at the cost to repair. Now, that wine spill will be capped at $299 with AppleCare+. I can have a different discussion now with customers when we show them that the moisture sensors have been tripped and there is the gooey sticky substance on their logic board despite their insistence that they did not spill.

    The only thing that would make AppleCare+ better is if Apple would just include it with every Mac rather than asking you to buy. It is that essential to the Mac!

  • _Dear Friends,_

    It is blueberry season and the bushes on my place on Prickly Mountain are loaded with the juicy berries. Blueberries for breakfast, blueberry pancakes and blueberry pie seem to be July’s harvest at least at my place.

    I got out on my Indian and rode down to Brattleboro to meet my sister for lunch which was great. Monday I head out on the annual “Road Pitch”:https://www.roadpitch.co. This is an event where several entrepreneurs and investors who happen to also ride motorcycles go from town to town in Vermont to listen to business pitches. It is fun to hear the pitches for some very good and some not so good ideas but it also great to ride with some interesting people including the Governor of Vermont.

    I need to speak out against the President’s recent misguided ban on transgender people serving in the military. We are indebted to every single soldier regardless of their gender. We need to honor all that sacrifice and serve. When we discriminate against one group of people we lessen our humanity. #LetThemServe

    This week we also bid farewell to some important Apple products. We have just received word that the only iPod to survive today’s cuts will be the 32GB and 128GB iPod touch. So, goodbye to the iPod nano and shuffle, two great products!

    This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive features a configure to order MacBook. We have 5 or 6 of the specially built CTO MacBooks in stock. They feature the 1.3 GHz processor, 8GB of RAM and the upgraded 512GB SSD storage. These are brand new units and I have some of each color, Space Gray, Gold, Silver or Rose Gold. This week exclusively for Kibbles & Bytes readers I am “**bundling them with AppleCare+ which is just a ‘no-brainer’ and the IO Gear Ultra Slim Dual Display USB-C hub with 10 ports**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002763/. I have used this hub and it is ideal for making your USB-C laptop into a great desktop. It has all the ports you need including power pass-through, ethernet and display support. This bundle would normally cost you $2030 but this week for “**Kibbles & Bytes readers it can be yours for only $1879**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002763/ while supplies last.

  • Identify Malware

    I’m pretty sure everyone has dealt with malware at some point in their lives, especially given the prominence of desktop and laptops that people are using more and more.

    As a tech person, malware is like my arch-nemesis. I know its weakness, but it never seems to go away! So today I’m going to go over a few common malwares on Mac that people may not know are actually bad for their computer or just plain unnecessary!

    1. MacKeeper

    MacKeeper is the #1 unnecessary program. MacKeeper and is essentially a placebo! It pretends to be helping your computer out by “scanning” it and telling you if you have “threats” but most of the time the “threats” are just normal files! MacKeeper seems to have a pretty convincing setup that can lure unsuspecting consumers into a false sense of security and make it seem like downloading the software is a benefit, when in reality it’s superfluous! MacKeeper is typically downloaded from pop-ups on various websites found on the web. MacKeeper is a very invasive malware, meaning it can mess with your entire operating system on a deep level.

    2. Mac Defender

    Mac Defender is probably one of the worst malwares. It constantly pops up telling you that you have “threats” and telling you to delete files when actually, your computer is fine…except you have this malware called Mac Defender! This one is actually a phishing scam. This software is not as much of a threat thanks to security updates from Apple, however I have still seen it on customer’s computers. It comes from a legitimate website advertisement that redirects people to Mac Defender, saying their computer is “infected”, and offers itself as a “solution” when in actuality it is the root of the problem! The goal of this malware was to steal people’s credit card information, which can be used for fraud! Not fun at all, to say the least.

    3. Dok

    Dok is a rather new piece of malware. This malware was extremely scary until Apple managed to block it out. One of the reasons people purchase Macs is because they tend to get viruses a lot less than Windows computers. This is a perfectly legitimate claim because Macs have built-in security measures not only in the software that is used to develop the operating system (macOS) but also has security features built in from Apple! So don’t worry, your Mac is double wrapped! However this particular piece of software was a direct result of hackers. The hackers in question managed to gain access to a legitimate Apple developer’s account and have this particular piece of software authenticated by Apple! Essentially this software was allowed by Apple to be installed on people’s computers, and the way it was spreading was through an email phishing campaign, pretending to be Apple and attempting to steal the victim’s information. Don’t be scared though, Apple has since fixed that and revoked the software’s authentication so it is blocked by Apple’s built-in security measures as of a few months ago!

    Thank you for reading!

  • Time Machine, More Than Just A Backup

    With Apple’s Time Machine utility, backing up data is as easy as flipping a switch. When configured properly, Time Machine will perform automatic backups of a Mac to storage devices such as connected external hard drives or networked Apple Time Capsules and macOS servers. These backups can be extremely valuable in the event that a Mac’s internal hard drive fails. However, the Time Machine utility provides some great additional features other than just preventing data loss. The Time Machine utility also provides the ability to view and restore the contents of a Mac’s filesystem through Apple’s familiar Finder file management interface just as it was hours, days, weeks and months into the past.

    By entering Time Machine through the Time Machine menu, one is able to navigate through snapshots of their Mac’s files with the timeline bar. While in Time Machine, specific files can be viewed and restored to the way they were at specific times in the past. This feature is particularly valuable for understanding how a specific file, or a Mac’s entire filesystem, has changed over time. For example, if one wanted to know how exactly they filled up their internal hard drive so fast and are now running out of storage space, the answer could be found with Time Machine by navigating the past of their Mac’s filesystem and viewing the files being added through time.

    Time machine can also be utilized to restore specific files to the way that they were at precise times in the past that have since been edited. This could be extremely useful for the writer, musician, or filmmaker that wants to restore their project’s draft to an earlier working version. Because Time Machine is an automatic backup application that runs in the background, it is hard to know when it is operating correctly and backing up your data. By frequently using these additional features one can quickly verify if Time Machine is working correctly and better understand the evolution of their Mac’s filesystem as time progresses. 

  • Summer’s peak is upon us, and as tradition dictates, our air conditioning is struggling to keep up! As many of you know, Macs are safer in cold climates than hot, so I’d like to remind you all that leaving your Mac in the car in July is never a good idea!

    I had a customer recently ask me for scanner recommendation, and it reminded me of all the types of artists and professionals that rely on quality scanning tools. For me, scanning is a huge part of daily life. I use an Epson V800 for the specific purpose of converting film negatives into digital image files. Yes, that is right, film is still very much alive! While the industry has downsized, you still see a passionate and stable community of those who prefer the film look and process. As an inspiring contrast to my work here at Small Dog, I find my Hasselblad’s 100% mechanical operation fascinating and reliable. While road tripping across Ireland, that camera survived the cold and misty climate without any shutter lag or loss in optical excellence. The image you take home is unlike anything else, and with the right scanner, that can translate those negatives to something far superior to a digital camera in a similar price range. In a future article, I plan to compare scanners that range from basic document scanners, to flatbed scanners like mine. A past customer of mine requested a lesson in film scanning, and I was happy to host it here at the store. In fact, here at Small Dog, we do not restrict ourselves to Mac based topics. For example, if you want to learn about producing music in Ablelton, give James a call! We have all sorts of skills here that we’re happy to share with our community.

    We’re staying busy in the South Burlington store this summer, but our techs are keeping up with the demand for Apple warranty service. Did you know that our average repair turnaround is currently 2.04 days? We generally quote about 3 business days from check in to check out, considering parts often need to be ordered, but our Adware removal service and iOS restore service are same day turnaround. 

    If you’re in the neighborhood, make sure to stop by and see us! Hope everyone is having an awesome summer, and enjoy this edition of Tech Tails!

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