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  • Take Awesome Fireworks Photos With Your iPhone

    It’s that time of year, summer, including the fourth of July and fireworks. I seem it be on a roll so to speak when it comes to iPhone camera tips, so here’s a few more for the upcoming weekend, most of us will have our iPhones in our pockets and might want to capture that amazing moment.

    **1: Pick A Good Location**

    Consider your position before it gets dark. If you’re too close, you might not be able to capture the full glory of the massive color burst. Too far away, the fireworks will be little spots of light. Make sure there aren’t any power lines or lamp posts between you and the fireworks. If there’s nearby water, you might be able to take some interesting reflection shots.

    **2: Turn off the Flash**

    The iPhone’s flash works only at short distances, so turn it off to avoid annoying people around you. In the Camera app, tap the lighting bolt and then select off.

    **3: Disable HDR or Enable Keep Normal Photo**

    You probably want to disable HDR by tapping HDR on the Camera screen. and then tapping Off. HDR or High Dynamic Range, combines three exposures into one photo, which works well when some parts of a scene are dark and others are light. The problem with HDR is that fireworks will move slightly between the exposures, which may cause the photo to blur. That could be an interesting effect in its own right, so if you want to try leaving HDR on, be sure to enable Keep Normal Photo in Settings > Photos & Camera. That way, you can see whether you prefer the normal image or the HDR version.

    **4: Hold Still or Use a Tripod**

    To reduce the chance of your fireworks photos coming our blurry, keep the iPhone as still as possible. Try holding it with both hands and pressing your elbows to your sides. Even better, you can set up a tripod (selfie sticks can sometime work as well) to better stabilize your phone. Even a small portable tripod can work wonders. If you’re fortunate enough to get the right parking spot you can place the tripod on the roof of your car.

    **5: Try the iPhone’s Special Modes**

    **Burst Mode:** A great option! (also works well with lightning storms) Press and hold the shutter button to take multiple shots at once.

    p{text-align: center;}. !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/5145.png!

    **Live Photos:** Fireworks are all about motion, the slow climb, the pause and then the explosion of light and sound. If you enable Live Photos by tapping its bullseye icon in the Camera app (it then turns yellow), tapping the shutter button will take a mini-movie of the action. Tip: when you’re done with the fireworks photos turn off live photos to reduce the amount of space your photos are taking up on your phone.

    **Slow-Mo Video:** This is a really cool way to take these kinds of pictures and even more fun if you plan to share them on social media. Sure a regular video will work just fine, but there’s something extra special about seeing the color explosions slowly unfold.

    **Time-Lapse Video:** Another really fun way to capture the show! You can record the entire event in a time lapse video. Time lapse will compress the entire show into a few short minutes, just flip to Time-Lapse in the Camera app. Tip: you will need a tripod for the time-lapse video to work.

    p{text-align: center;}. !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/5146.png!

    **6: Use an App for Longer Exposures**

    Apple’s build-in Camera app doesn’t let you increase the length of exposures, which can provide striking light trails of fireworks. Lots of independent apps do offer that capability, including “LongExpo”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/longexpo-slow-shutter-and-long-exposure-camera/id594078421?mt=8 (free), “Shutter”:https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/shutter-manual-camera/id1019169526?mt=8 (free), “Slow Shutter Cam”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/slow-shutter-cam/id357404131?mt=8 (.99), and “Manual”:https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/manual-custom-exposure-camera/id917146276?mt=8 ($5.49).

    Try out these tips this weekend if you can and Happy 4th of July to all!

  • Lock Her Up in Ten Easy Steps

    Your house that is. Automating your door lock can be easy and give you some versatility and control that is almost magical. Imagine that your door is unlocked whenever you approach it and locks whenever you leave home. Or imagine that a friend wants to stay at your house when you are gone but they don’t have a key. You can send them an eKey or just unlock the door for them from anywhere that has Wi-Fi.

    You can do all that and more with the August Smart Lock. I have installed August Smart Locks both here in Vermont and in Key West. Since I have renters or friends using my house when I am not there, it is easy to send them a key via email or let the cleaners in to clean up after them.

    The physical installation of the August Smart Lock is pretty darn easy. Yes, YOU can do it if you already have a deadbolt on your door you are only changing the inside of the lock. The outside with the key slot stays just as it is and you can, in fact, use your old fashioned key if you want. To install the lock the only tool you will need is a Phillips screwdriver.

    p{text-align: center;}. !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/5137.jpg!

    **Step One**
    Buy an “August Smart Lock”:http://www.smalldog.com/search?search=august from Small Dog Electronics!

    **Step Two**
    Put the included piece of tape over the outside of your current deadbolt (the side with the key!) to hold it against the door as you complete the installation.

    p{text-align: center;}. !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/5138.jpg!

    **Step Three**
    Unscrew the two screws holding the inside of your deadbolt and remove that latch or knob. You now have a piece of the deadbolt sticking through the door.

    **Step Four**
    Install the August backing plate and tail-piece adapter. The clever August backing plate fits most deadbolt locks and has adjustable holes so that the screws will fit. Using the screws you removed in step three, screw in the August backing plate. The August lock comes with an assortment of tail pieces. You need to select the one for your brand of deadbolt (there is a chart that comes with the lock!). Select the right tail piece and install it onto the August Smart Lock by pressing it into place.

    **Step Five**
    Install the August Smart Lock. Here’s a smart feature, the August Smart Lock has two little handles that you pop open and then you can place the lock into place with the tail piece connecting to that piece of your deadbolt that was sticking through your door and the lock clicking into place on their backing plate. Simply, push the two little handles back down to lock it into place.

    p{text-align: center;}. !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/5139.jpg!

    **Step Six**
    Push on the front plate of the lock to remove the magnetic front cover. The lock comes with batteries installed but they have a little piece of plastic to remove to make them active. Remove that. Just a note on batteries, I find that they last about 6 months and the August app will remind you when you need to replace them.

    This is the point at which I take a break and pat myself on the back for my mechanical skills. Everything from this point is software. One of the best features of the August Smart Lock is the ease of installation but it is also notable that it does not require a separate hub.

    **Step Seven**
    Download the August App. It is available for free in the Apple app store. Once you download the app and launch it, you are in the capable virtual hands of the app which will walk you through the set-up. Once you have the app and launch it, the app will scan for your lock. Once it finds the lock it will update the firmware on the lock if the lock needs it. Be patient and leave your iPhone near the lock while this is going on.

    **Step Eight**
    The August app will next ask you to calibrate the lock. This is a simple process of asking you to manually lock and unlock the door so that the software knows which is which. After calibration, you need to name your lock and assign in to your house and if you want, add a picture.

    p{text-align: center;}. !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/5140.jpg!

    Check it out! Use the August app to open and close your lock. In order for you to be able to operate your lock remotely you must have HomeKit set up and an Apple TV or iPad set as your HomeKit hub. We have written in “past issues of Kibbles”:http://blog.smalldog.com/kibbles/kb1025/ about how to do this. Once you have it set up as a HomeKit device you can ask Siri to lock and unlock your door and incorporate your lock into “scenes” or “automations”.

    **Step Nine**
    Invite someone. Using the invite screen you can send an electronic key to almost anyone. You can invite them via their cell phone number or by email. You can grant them “always” access or just for a set period of time.

    **Step Ten**
    Automate with your iPhone. The August Smart Lock knows where you are because it knows your iPhone. When you are nearby it knows to open the door and when you leave, if you set up the auto lock feature it will lock the door. It does this through geofencing which uses GPS or RFID technology to create a virtual geographic boundary. Using the August App you can set this boundary so that when you are within that limit your door unlocks or when you leave it locks the door. Better yet, if you are using HomeKit, you can set up an automation to unlock the door through HomeKit. That way you can add other features, too, like unlock the door, turn on the lights and turn up the heat.

    The August Smart Lock is easy to install and set up and yet, it is one of the most powerful and versatile pieces of home automation gear. I like the lock a lot and highly recommend it. It is also great for renters since you are not removing or changing the deadbolt.

  • Jonathan Bombard

    Family: Mom (Heather) Dad (Andrew) Pets: Bella (bulldog) Hobbies/Interests: Mountain Biking, Skateboarding and snowboarding Favorite Books: N/A Favorite Bands: Dirty heads, 21 pilots…

  • Cam Andrews

    Family: I’m fresh out of high school, so I still live with my mom and dad as well as my 10 year old…

  • Remind Me Again

    Apple designed the built-in Reminders app as a list-keeping assistant for both macOS and iOS. You can add reminders of any sort to…

  • The Blue Lights Blues

    So there you are. Hammering away at your keyboard, not breaking eye-contact with your monitor, your eyes observing intently the letters that manifest themselves against the white backdrop of your e-mail window with each click and clack of your fingertips. Before you realize it you have moved just a bit closer to your screen, your eyes feel strained and you have that little headache growing again.

    These, my friends, are some of the side effects of prolonged exposure to artificial blue light. I’m sure many of us out there have the firsthand familiarity with the effects of the dreaded blue light, but those who might be a little unfamiliar let’s take a closer look.

    We know light is made up of electromagnetic particles that travel in waves. These waves emit energy, and range in length and strength. The shorter the wavelength, the higher the energy. These varying wavelengths are each represented by a different color and they’re grouped into the following categories: gamma rays, x-rays, visible light, infrared light, and radio waves. Put all of these together and you have the electromagnetic spectrum, visible blue light is the neighbor to ultraviolet which as we know is quite harmful. Blue light has a very short wavelength and thus it contains a higher amount of energy.

    This isn’t to say all forms of blue light are “bad”, by any means. In fact, quite the opposite. Let’s break down blue light in the forms of natural and artificial. Natural blue light is found virtually everywhere you look. It’s the reason the sky is blue, and it’s the reason our bodies tell us when it’s time to sleep. On a physiological level, blue light is quite beneficial for not only our physical wellbeing, but also our mental state. One could argue that it’s the reason some of us get bummed out when hit with a string of rainy days, and the same reason we feel joy when the sun comes back around again!

    However, in this age of information, we’re subjected to artificial blue light on a daily basis. Devices such as your cell phone, your computer screen, your television, your tablet and energy efficient lightbulbs all mimic and imitate natural blue light. This fact is and of itself, is of course not inherently adverse to our health and wellbeing but overuse and prolonged overexposure to these devices can counteract the positive effects that natural blue light has on our bodies. Issues ranging from disruptions to sleep cycles, increased risk of depression, back and neck pain and of course permanent eye damage.

    So what can we do to find the balance? Luckily for us all, more and more developers are taking steps to counter the adverse effects of artificial blue light. A new addition to macOS Sierra, 10.12.14, was Night Shift. When enabled, Night Shift will adjust colors of your display to the warmer, less intense colors on the spectrum when the sun goes down. Night Shift can also be found on your iOS devices, assuming you are updated to at least iOS 9.3. (Note: not all devices running the prerequisite iOS/OS are capable of running Night Shift) The shift in warmer colors has been shown to lessen the exposure and intensity of the artificial blue light and it’s also is more in-sync with our circadian rhythm, which governs the natural sleep cycle. Too much exposure to artificial blue light before heading off to bed has been shown to adversely effect our chances at getting a good night’s sleep, but reducing that blue light glow to a warmer color has yielded great results for me, personally.

  • Using Filters In Gmail

    A problem that many e-mail users have is receiving too many unwanted e-mails. I often receive automated e-mails for receipts or promotions that I don’t necessarily want to stop receiving, but are not important enough for me to want to receive a notification about them on my phone or e-mail client. For Gmail users, this problem can be easily solved by setting up a filter.

    By creating a filter, you can ensure that e-mails are matching a specific pattern, like from a certain e-mail address or containing a certain phrase in the title or message are caught and filtered. They are automatically marked as read or sent to a specific locations. You create a filter by opening Settings from the Gmail website ( located in the gear icon), and navigating to “filters and blocked addresses” tab. From there you can click the “create a new filter” button to set the parameters for the filter.

    I have dozens of filters set up on my Gmail accounts. Every few weeks or so, I look through my recently received e-mails to see if any could have been eliminated by setting a filter. The goal is to never receive an e-mail notification on my phone about an e-mail that I don’t want to reach. As you use more online services you will receive more e-mails that you might want to filter out.

    Hopefully this quick tips helps you to keep your in box a bit less chaotic and allow you to focus on the e-mails you really want to see.

  • Drone Etiquette

    No longer the stuff of science fiction, drones are becoming more and more prolific in our modern world for personal and commercial use. Sounding like an angry beehive on steroids, most popular consumer-level drones are what are classified as quadcopters, having 4 propellers providing lift and control. Powered by batteries and electric motors with a sophisticated electronic brain to provide stability, these human-controlled devices often contain detailed HD or 4K cameras which can take spectacular video and images from a perspective only birds and the CIA have been able to experience until now.

    !>http://blog.smalldog.com/images/5115t.png?1497362847!

    In addition to getting those awesome aerial shots, you may be surprised to know that when flying one you are actually considered by the government to be piloting an aircraft. Easy, Maverick, this doesn’t mean that you get your gold wings or a fancy helmet. What it does mean is that there are laws that are attached when taking a drone out to fly.

    To the Federal Government, a drone is considered an Unmanned Aircraft System, or UAS. If you’re based in the USA most drones, aside from the little $10 novelty toys you can buy at a drugstore, have to be registered with the Federal Aviation Administration. You can “register online”:https://registermyuas.faa.gov/ easily and it only costs $5 for three years, but if you fail to register, you can rack up expensive fines and even up to three years in prison, but that’s obviously in extreme cases.

    If you’re planning on using your drone for commercial purposes such as selling your footage or delivering pizzas, you’ll need to take a “few more steps”:https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/fly_for_work_business/ which includes passing an initial aeronautical knowledge test. The good thing is that you can “study online”:https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/fly_for_work_business/becoming_a_pilot/ and prepare ahead of time.

    Once you have registered, you will want to follow these guidelines:

    * Don’t fly higher than 400 feet.
    * Always keep your drone within sight.
    * Avoid flying in the dark, strong winds, and/or bad weather.
    * Don’t fly near other people or property until you’re very confident in your ability to maintain control and pilot the vehicle.
    * Avoid airports and military-controlled areas to prevent accidentally filming something classified and getting the men-in-black called on you. Also if you do fly within 5 miles of an airport, you have to notify air traffic control.
    * Avoid flying over private property as much as possible as privacy is always an issue.

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    What it really comes down to is that you’re operating an aircraft which can potentially crash into other aircraft, wildlife, buildings, people, power lines and has the potential to give you the ability to cross barriers and fences to access areas that someone else may not want you to have access to. Please use common sense and be courteous, follow local laws and regulations and don’t annoy, harass or trespass on your neighbors. Let’s keep that awesome footage coming.

  • Summer is officially here and an already short Summer in Vermont feels even shorter with all the rain we continue to get. We really only get 2 months of summertime weather here in the Green Mountains. I continue to think positively that the continuous rain in the daily forecast will come to an end. The one plus is that I’m taking every advantage I can to enjoy the sunshine when it does come out.

    I was talking to a customer last week who, like me, is doing his best to enjoy the warm summer weather every chance he can. We’ve been experiencing a lot of sudden showers. One minute it’s sunny and in a matter of minutes it’s pouring down on us. Unfortunately for the customer I was talking with his MacBook Air was caught in one of these sudden showers. He had been working on his MacBook Air on his deck and listening to music, while cooking dinner a pop up shower erupted and he unfortunately forgot his computer was on the deck. Well you can guess what happened next, another tragic story if liquid damage to a computer. These kinds of accidents happen all of the time, I could write a book about all the ways I’ve heard of how a computer ended up with liquid damage. Broken shampoo bottles in suite cases, the cat running across the desk and hitting the glass of water on the way by and the champagne toast that didn’t go as planned. Thankfully, for some customers this worry and concern is now by the wayside. With Apple’s introduction of AppleCare+ for Mac, customers can now have peace of mind when it comes to life’s mishaps with liquids and their computers. Many customers choose to skip AppleCare because of the Macs reliability, but with the added protection of accidental damage everyone should be purchasing AppleCare+ for Mac with your computer purchase. Apple now also only gives you 60 days to get this protection, so I strongly encourage it at the time of purchase. AppleCare+ can make your next trip to the service department a lot less stressful!

    I hope everyone has a safe and memorable 4th of July weekend. Our offices will be closed as well as our retail locations so that everyone can enjoy this special holiday.

    Thank you for reading.
    Emily Dolloff
    “emily@smalldog.com”:mailto:emily@smalldog.com

  • The strawberries are sweet and definitely in season with juicy organic berries at many of the nearby farm stands. I love strawberries with my breakfast, in my salads and especially in my strawberry beverages. I have already stained one nice shirt slurping on berries in the car before I got home.

    Well, I have dismantled my Indian to do some performance upgrades. It was a good thing this week was rainy because I don’t think I missed too many opportunities to ride. I do complain a lot when I am doing motorcycle mechanics. You know, about my aching back or losing that screw or how do I get that bolt out but I have to say that it is really therapeutic for me. I really don’t have to think about Macs, iPads, employees or anything while I am trying to remember just how I got that bolt back in the last time I took the bike apart. I crank the tunes in my shop and have fun with my tools and hope that I don’t have any parts left over when I am done.

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

    Your Kibbles & Bytes team,

    _Don, Emily & Hadley_