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Author "don"
wrote in 1061: Apple Stomps The Street, Stuck On What To Gift, iPhone X .

Joanne showed me her iPhone X and it just made me more anxious to get mine. Mine will not show up for another couple of weeks but Emily already got me a case for it. While I would love to carry it around without a case, I am just too clumsy and will certainly break it.

While I shouldn’t do it, I do like basking in the warm weather down here and giving my co-workers in Vermont a lot of ooo’s and ah’s at their low-temperature reports. I should have sympathy, right? I am bad, I just remind them that it is 80 and sunny here. But I did pay my dues with 45 Vermont winters under my belt.

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

Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

Don, Emily, and Joanne

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wrote in 1059: Keyboard Showdown, Do Not Pay The Ransom .

Snowbirds fly south. We have been seeing the flocks of geese heading south even though the weather seems to be staying warm. While we are not flying, we will be driving the Volt with the pups to our home in Key West next week. Packing up our house here is always interesting. I think I have too much stuff. The first year we hauled multiple boxes downstairs to stash in the cellar. It has gotten to be less and less as we decide not to bring things like our winter clothes back upstairs.

Nevertheless, we will be making a pile for our trip to Key West, another pile to be stashed and of course, the suitcase of winter clothes to be at Small Dog for my visits. I have to put gas stabilizer in the motorcycles, plug them into chargers and put baggies on the exhaust to keep out the mice. Change the batteries in the cameras, smoke detector, and locks and we might be ready to hit the road.

Meanwhile, it is likely to be in the 60s this weekend and that will mean one last ride in the Green Mountains for me!

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

Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

Don & Emily

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wrote in 1059: Keyboard Showdown, Do Not Pay The Ransom .

I took advantage of our recent liquidation purchase and bought myself an iPad Pro 10.5 inch unit. My plan was to use this many of the times that I would normally use my Mac but do not need the specialized features of my MacBook Pro, like accessing Small Dog’s custom database.

Aside from that database, my initial impressions after extensive use of the iPad Pro is that it could easily replace my MacBook Pro for much of what I do and provide me with some advantages, too. I am not giving up my Mac but I am also not carrying it around when I do not need. So, on my recent trip to San Francisco, where I would normally pack my MacBook Pro and my iPad mini, I left them both behind and took my iPad Pro. I was nervous about this since I normally travel with all my devices but it worked out great!

While I can type okay on the on-screen keyboard, it just is not the same as having a real keyboard so over the past couple weeks I have been testing both the Apple Smart Keyboard for the iPad Pro and the Brydge Aluminum Keyboard for the iPad Pro that was generously provided to me by the good folks over at Brydge.

The Apple Smart Keyboard for the iPad Pro is a lightweight keyboard that connects via the Apple Smart Connector on the iPad Pro so it does not require its own power source and you never have to charge it up. The Smart Keyboard has an integrated stand that folds both for typing and viewing and provides a cover for the iPad Pro when not in use. It is “splash-resistant” and the keyboard is easy to connect and use.

Pros:
Lightweight keyboard with good key action. The keyboard case folds to protect the screen and also into both a typing and a viewing mode. It is easy to set up and because it connects via the Apple Smart Connector there is no Bluetooth pairing to deal with. Did I mention that it is lightweight?

Cons:
I am not usually so negative about an Apple product but I have to say the Smart Keyboard does have some drawbacks. First among those is that it is not backlit. I am so used to using backlight on keyboards that this really was obvious to me as I was trying to answer an email with the iPad Pro on my lap on a darkened airplane.

It is a regular keyboard – i.e. it has all the normal keys but no function keys and no special keys that would make working with the iPad Pro easier. I think the keys are a bit noisy but not that bad. It only comes in one sorta boring, ugly gray color and while I am not using a pencil it would be nice if it had a slot for that.

At $159, the Apple Smart Keyboard is not a bad choice, especially if you want to maintain the sleek low weight feel of the iPad Pro.

The Brydge Aluminum Keyboard for the iPad Pro 10.5 inch is a much heavier device and at first that put me off on this choice. But then I started using it and I came around to love it. The Brydge keyboard is made of aluminum and comes in 4 colors that match the iPad Pro colors. Maybe it is just me but the Brydge keyboard made me think I had just come up with the perfect combination of MacBook and iPad Pro in one device.

The keyboard is easy to set up and pair. Once you have inserted the iPad Pro into the hinge, you hit the power button which responds with a green light. Hold down the Bluetooth button for 3 seconds to pair the keyboard and your power button will turn blue, indicating it is in pairing mode. Once it is paired the light on the power key goes off and you are good to go.

The keyboard connects via Bluetooth and must be charged from time to time, although the battery is good for up to a year in normal use. The iPad Pro slips easily into the patented hinge, just make sure the camera is on top and not in the hinge. The hinge allows the iPad Pro to be used at 0° to 180° angle for typing viewing or slouching on the couch. And if you want to switch to iPad mode you just pull it out of the hinge!

Backlighting is one thing but 3-levels of backlighting take it to another level. You can adjust to your ambient lighting and still be able to type away in the dark. I liked the feel of this keyboard and its natural tactile feel. The keys are a bit smaller than on my MacBook Pro but even my fat fingers had no problem getting productive on this board.

Unlike the Apple Smart keyboard, the Brydge has a row of special keys that are made for iOS operation. This may be the single reason that the Brydge has won this keyboard shoot-out. I find myself utilizing this top row of keys frequently to enhance my productivity. It has keys to toggle between the on-screen and physical keyboard, it has a Home and Control Center button that I learned to use all the time. It has a quick lock key, keys to control your music and volume and of course, an on/off button. In the lower left corner, it also has a Siri button which Apple oddly omitted from their offering.

Pros:
Backlit keyboard, specialty iOS keys, great typing action, great screen protection, matches your iPad Pro color, 1-year battery life. At $139 it is less expensive than the Apple Smart Keyboard. Feels substantial and highly protective of the iPad Pro.

Cons:
It is heavy but you are essentially making your iPad Pro into a laptop and the combination of your iPad Pro and the keyboard is about the same weight as a MacBook and less than a 13-inch MacBook Pro. It also does not have anywhere to stash a pencil if you are using an Apple Pencil. It is Bluetooth so it must be paired but that was super easy to do and once paired is stays paired.

Conclusion
Having used both of these keyboards extensively, I have decided that I will be using the Brydge keyboard for my iPad Pro. Whether I am on an airplane or just being a couch potato the iPad Pro 10.5 with my Brydge keyboard is my device of choice. The Brydge keyboard offers the protection I want for my expensive iPad Pro screen and the keyboard connects easily and is great to work on. The backlighting and iOS specific keys make this a productive combination that simply cannot be matched by the Apple Smart Keyboard. The winner is Brydge by a span.

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wrote in 1059: Keyboard Showdown, Do Not Pay The Ransom .

Dear Friends, Grace and I lived up to our motto of “More Fun!” in San Francisco. We had a ball celebrating and visiting our old haunts. Aside from the extra day at JFK due to flight delays the travel went smoothly. My daughter, Autumn, and family watched the pups and aside from some chewed up […]

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wrote in 1058: A Special Edition Of Kibbles & Bytes .

As you read this I am probably on an airplane with Grace heading for our long weekend celebration of our 50th anniversary. Damn, we are so old but we are still having fun! We will see Joe Bonamassa in concert, check out comedy by Margret Cho and then I rented a fancy car through Turo to visit some old haunts from when we lived in the Bay Area. Our motto is the same exclamation that Grace tells me every time I complain about some random age-related pain – MORE FUN!

This trip should bring back memories of our days as hippies and political activists in Berkley and Oakland in the 60s. I think we are gonna have some fun.

Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes. I hope you find some value both in our content and the specials that we bring you each week.

Your Kibbles & Bytes team,

Don & Emily

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wrote in 1057: Migrating Your Data, Is Technology Addictive? .

Notwithstanding the frost on my windshield this morning, we are having an extended Indian summer and we are just heading into peak fall foliage. The trees still have their leaves for the most part and the temps during the day are still in the 60’s for the next 10 days. That certainly means some fall motorcycling this weekend in between baseball if the Cubbies make it.

Grace and I will be celebrating 50-years of marriage in about a week. We are heading to San Francisco for some playtime and to get tattoos to celebrate. It is hard to believe we have been married that long but I guess we have sort of blended into one, you know… like Gron or Drace. People tell us we finish each other’s sentences and I know that there are just some things I don’t need to remember because Grace has got that. I would do it all over in a heartbeat. I couldn’t ask for a better life companion (well, there is Jezebel…).

Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes! It is hard to believe we have been writing this newsletter every week for the past 21 years and are past our 1000th episode! Thank you so much!

Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

Don & Emily

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wrote in 1057: Migrating Your Data, Is Technology Addictive? .

I am about to do my annual migration to Key West. I mean, I had to scrape ice off my car! Horrors! That is way scarier than moving your data from your old computer to a new Mac. It’s become even easier now that more and more people are becoming aware of Apple’s Migration Assistant.

It used to be that even with this tool, things would not be moved over exactly right but Apple has done a lot of work on Migration Assistant and it is a fantastic tool. However, I still recommend that you don’t wipe your old machine until you have checked to make sure you have all your passwords and important files. Open up your email, open photos, open your music library and make sure it is all okay on your new Mac before you delete everything on the old machine.

In spite of this, Migration Assistant is a great and useful tool. It can move your data from either a PC or a Mac to your new Mac. You use Migration Assistant to copy all of your documents, apps, user accounts, and settings to a new Mac from another computer. I will outline the process for Mac to Mac transfers and we will handle PC to Mac transfers in a future issue of Kibbles & Bytes.

Get Ready
*Install all available Apple software updates on both Mac computers. Install any updates for your third-party apps as well.

*Make sure that your old Mac is using OS X Snow Leopard v10.6.8 or later.

*Make sure that your old Mac has a computer name: Choose Apple () menu > System Preferences, then click Sharing and check the Computer Name field.

*Connect both computers to AC power.

Connecting to your Data

If you have been a good person you have backed your data up using Time Machine and that is by far the easiest and fastest way to migrate your data. Regardless, you will need to connect your old data to your new Mac.

*If both computers are using macOS Sierra or later, just make sure that they’re near each other and have Wi-Fi turned on. If either is using OS X El Capitan or earlier, connect them to the same network using Wi-Fi or Ethernet. You will be frustrated with the slow transfer of data using wireless so this is not ideal.

*Alternately, connect them using target disk mode and the appropriate cable or adapter. Then start up up your old computer in target disk mode. Faster but a bit cumbersome.

*Best, connect your new Mac to a Time Machine backup of your old Mac. Oh, you don’t have that Time Machine Backup? Here’s what you do before you start your data transfer. Drop everything and come to Small Dog Electronics in Vermont of Key West and get yourself a backup drive! Or order one up on smalldog.com. Drives are cheap these days and your data is priceless! Take the new drive and make a backup right now using Time Machine. There, you now have a backup and the easy way to transfer your data.

Migrate!

On your new Mac:

*Open Migration Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.

*Click Continue.

*When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer from a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk.

*Click Continue.

On your old Mac:
If you started your old Mac in target disk mode or are migrating from a Time Machine backup, you can skip these four steps. Didn’t I tell you a Time Machine backup was the way to go!

*Open Migration Assistant.

*Click Continue.

*When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer to another Mac.

*Click Continue.

Then going back to your new Mac:

*When asked to select a Mac, Time Machine backup, or another startup disk, click the appropriate icon.

*Click Continue. You might see a security code.

Back to your old Mac:

If you started your old Mac in target disk mode or are migrating from a Time Machine backup, skip these two steps. Score for Time Machine again!

*If you see a security code, make sure that it’s the same code as on your new Mac.

*Click Continue.

On your new Mac:

*You should see a list of backups organized by date and time. Choose the backup that you want to use.

*Click Continue

*Select the information to transfer.

*Click Continue to start the transfer. If you have a lot of content, the transfer might take several hours to finish. Get a cup of coffee, go out for a hike and just let Migration Assistant do its work.

Finish Migrating

This part is important. When Migration Assistant is finished and before you do anything with your old Mac you need to do two things. 1) Make a new backup – plug that drive you bought from Small Dog into your new Mac and do a Time Machine backup and 2) Use you’re new Mac.

What I mean by using it, is to verify that you can do everything you normally do. Sign onto those websites that ask for passwords. Open your email and send and receive. Open up Photos and make sure all those photos of your dog are still there (and send me one!) Once you have confidence in your new Mac, I suggest that you put your old Mac in a drawer for a week or so just to be absolutely sure.

When you are ready to give away or sell your Mac there are a few things you should do.

1) Sign out of iCloud
2) De-authorized your old Mac for iTunes
3) Sign out of Messages

Now you can use Disk Utility to erase and re-install a new OS so the old Mac is fresh and clean for its new owner!

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wrote in 1057: Migrating Your Data, Is Technology Addictive? .

Dear Friends,

Today’s commute was interesting. First off, I thought I was done scraping ice off my window but there I was scraping while Jezebel was sitting in the car barking at me. Luckily, the seat heater in my Chevy Volt doesn’t eat up too much juice so I still have plenty. So, I am driving along the Common Road here in Waitsfield and aside from the normal wildlife (Canada geese, turkeys, and deer) I drove around a corner and there was a Subaru stopped on the side of the road and a guy without a shirt on was doing tight-rope practicing on his tightrope rig in the 30 degree temps. His girlfriend was sitting across the road wrapped in a blanket watching.

We are making great progress in evaluating all the gear that we got in the liquidation bid that we won. Some are just brand new Macs and iPads with packaging that is dented or dirty, others have been used and we are running the complete suite of Apple diagnostics on those before they hit our price list. All in all, there are some great bargains here; if you are looking for a MacBook Pro, iMac or even a Mac Pro we have some killer deals. There are also a number of iPads, ranging from iPad minis all the way to some iPad Pros! We have a number of brand new Apple Watch bands, too!

We have finally received our initial shipments of the new Apple TV. We think these may be in short supply through the holidays so we have stocked up. If you are interested in one of these new Apple TVs you might want to consider ordering now. I am getting one for my house in Key West (and I think I have convinced Grace that I will need a 4K HDR TV to go along with my 4k Apple TV.)

This week’s Kibbles & Bytes Exclusive features the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. This unit has a powerful 2.8GHz i7 processor 16GB of ram, 256GB SSD drive and 2GB of video ram. I am bundling it with AppleCare+ and to make it a great home office set-up I am also bundling it with a BenQ PD2710QC 27 QHD Designer Monitor USB-C 2560 × 1440 – Black that includes a USB-C hub with ethernet, an Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Magic Mouse 2. This set-up would normally cost you $3509.95 if purchased separately. Kibbles & Bytes readers can get this awesome home office bundle for over $500 off at $2999.99!

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