Grace and I are taking our annual pilgrimage to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field in Chicago to catch a couple of the last games of the regular season as the Cubs take on their arch-rival St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubbies are jockeying for position to win their division although they have clinched a play-off […]
Dear Friends,
My original plan was to tow our camper down to Key West when we make our annual migration but, as usual, my clear-thinking wife convinced me that we would probably not use it down there, that it would cost a bunch of money to haul it in extra gas and tolls and we would also have to pay to store it down there. Here, I have plenty of places to store it so we will be leaving it safe in Vermont after we winterize it. It will be all ready for our adventure next summer when we plan to go out west to visit the National Parks in southern Utah.
As was get a few days of colder weather people are thinking about firewood, winter tires, furnace maintenance and other fall chores. I had a tree fall in my yard so after getting the chainsaw running, I ripped the tree apart and cleaned it up. I was exhausted when I was finished. I kept remembering that I used to cut and split firewood for a living and it seemed not to tire me. Grace reminded me that that was 50 years ago.
The Apple Series 4 watches are just starting to ship and we have received a handful. I expect that we will be able to fill our backorders within the next week or two. With the end of September there we have been busy with a lot of government business. For companies like Apple and Small Dog, it is the end of our fiscal year and we are preparing to do inventory this weekend.
Small Dog Electronics’ business mix has evolved over the years. In the beginning, we were primarily an on-line resource for discontinued or refurbished Macs. We entered the retail world and soon over 50% of our business was retail as on-line competition increased and the supply of refurbished Apple products dried up. Retail is a real challenge these days and now, 50% of our business is Government and Corporate with that division led by Raul de Arriz our colorful Apple Solutions Director for Government and Institutional sales. Headquartered near the action in Maryland, Raul has had some amazing successes as we compete for opportunities. Raul is a legend at Small Dog and the constant source of positive vibes and good humor!
This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive features the gold iPad Pro 10.5-inch 512GB Wi-Fi model. This iPad Pro with the maximum 512GB storage could replace your Mac depending upon your use. When I travel, I seldom take my laptop anymore as my iPad Pro 10.5-inch does everything I need and it is lighter and smaller, too! This week we are bundling the iPad with a matching gold Brydge Keyboard case. This is the configuration I use. I believe the Brydge keyboard is the best keyboard for the iPad and provides the most protection. It is a great combination that people always ask about when I pull out my iPad Pro at a meeting. Normally, this combination would sell for $1139.98 but, this week exclusively for Kibbles & Bytes readers, while supplies last, you can buy the combination for $999.99! That’s basically buy the iPad Pro and get the Brydge keyboard for free!
We had our brief Indian Summer but today feels more fall-like. Grace made me go out and see a spectacular sunset the other night, and I launched my drone to capture the photo that is in the intro. I am going to use my DJI flying camera (Spark) to take some more fall foliage shots this year.
I think there’s is some apple picking in my plans this weekend. I guess I will have to make this year’s applesauce since Grace is still in a splint from her hand surgery. It is a tradition that we have had for many years, and will keep alive despite a broken hand, gotta have my applesauce!
Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!
Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
Don & Emily
It looks like some good weather here this weekend, but I know we will be keeping an eye on Florence and hope that everyone has taken precautions to stay out of her wrath. It is the height of hurricane season and notwithstanding some attempts to re-write science and history, these storms kill people and you need to be very careful and seek higher ground.
I will be taking advantage of the sun and see if I can get some September motorcycle riding in on my Indian Roadmaster.
Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!
Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
Don & Emily
Dear Friends,
Okay I did turn on the heat at the house the other day. We have always had our unofficial rule of no heat until after Labor Day, but I had dinner with Hapy the other night and he claims the rule is no heat until after Halloween. Well, that ain’t happening…
We are thinking of all the folks in the path of Florence. Stay dry and stay safe, please! I look at the National Hurricane Center almost daily and if a storm looks threatening I move over to Mike’s Weather Page for more detailed information. Anyone that does not believe that these mega-storms are a result of climate change is just hiding their head in the sand.
There were big iPhone and Apple Watch announcements this week which we will cover in detail. I have thought a lot about upgrading, being the spoiled Apple fanboy that I am. I think I will get a new Apple Watch because I really like the idea of the ECG on my wrist. I am still mixed on the new iPhone since I love my iPhone X so much.
This week’s Kibbles & Bytes Exclusive is the MacBook Pro 15-inch w/Touch Bar. It features a 2.9GHz i7 Quad Core Intel processor,16GB ram, 512GB SSD and the RP560 4GB video card. It is silver and one of our bad box specials – the shipping box has a dent but the contents are perfect and comes with the Apple 1-year warranty. This unit is eligible for AppleCare + and if you ask when you place your order we will offer you AppleCare + for $40 off too! This unit is selling on our website for $2399.99 and we have only 4 available. This week for Kibbles & Bytes readers it is $250 off at $2149.99 first come, first served.
We have a constitutional crisis and people are burning their Nikes? It is completely racist to turn a peaceful protest of police violence against black people into some huge patriotic kerfuffle. Just how would YOU protest if you saw your neighbors, children and friends being victimized by the police? Argh..
I am test driving a Tesla Model 3 while I am in Boston. It is strange but one of my biggest hesitations in buying a Model 3 is the lack of Apple CarPlay. I think I am way too much of an Apple Fanboy.
Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!
Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
Don & Emily
Dear Friends, The temperature got up to 100° on Wednesday. Then I looked at the Weather app and it tells me it is supposed to get down to 39° on Saturday! We in Vermont are definitely heading into fall! Grace and I are heading down to Boston today to celebrate her birthday and help our […]
It is getting to be Apple picking season again. We started doing “Apples to iPods” with the State of Vermont and the Apple Growers years ago. Each year, to encourage people to get out and pick apples, a wooden apple is hidden in each participating orchard. One lucky apple picker gets the prize when they find that apple. In the past, it was iPods but now it is Apples to iPads as the winners will receive an iPad mini when they find the wooden apple. The state of Vermont dropped out of the promotion but this year we are working with the Vermont Fruit Growers Association to keep the tradition alive.
I hope that you have an awesome Labor Day weekend. I have some brutal relaxation planned!
Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!
Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
Don & Emily
Can You Hear Me Now?
I have written about Apple’s commitment to accessibility in their products and, in particular, their MFI Hearing Aid program. Apple has worked with top manufacturers to create hearing aids and sound processors designed specifically for iPhone and iPad. These advanced hearing devices provide outstanding sound quality, offer many helpful features, and are as easy to set up and use as any other Bluetooth device. You can quickly access the features and settings of your paired hearing device by triple-clicking the Home button. Glance at the battery status or change the left and right volume, together or separately. And quickly apply your audiologist’s environmental presets as you go outdoors or enter noisy locations, like restaurants, without having to rely on additional remotes.
I first corrected my hearing with MFI hearing aids four years ago. I discovered that I was not understanding voices, especially British female voices on TV and Grace kept having to repeat herself (not that she is British). As I went to get my hearing checked I discovered that it is not so much the sounds I didn’t hear but the fact that my brain was not interpreting the sounds I heard because they were not clear enough. Hearing aids are actually aids to your brain to interpret the sounds you hear.
I went to an audiologist and was told I needed $7500 hearing aids. Well, that sticker shock turned to annoyance when I discovered that high prices at audiologists were just an insurance scam. I say this because I went to Costco, got the exact same hearing exam and ended up buying Costco hearing aids for $1799. When I confronted my audiologist she basically admitted that she kept prices high so she could charge that higher price to those that have insurance.
This is going to sound like a commercial for Costco and I guess it is but I cannot be happier with my experience with the Costco Hearing Center. The first hearing aids I got back then were made by Resound and were basically identical to those $7500 ones the audiologist wanted to charge me. Costco does the exam, the fittings and all the programming, but their excellence doesn’t stop there. They provide an annual hearing exam and will replace domes, sport loops and clean them any time you want. Their warranty cannot be beat and the best place to buy hearing aid batteries, bar none, is Costco. But they really exceeded my expectations when I asked them if I could give my old hearing aids to a friend that could not afford them. Not only did they encourage that but they told me that they would re-program them for him and treat him like a new customer for free. They even let me leave them with them so he could pick them up at his appointment at Costco.
Long ago, they made me a customer for life. That is why I returned for new Hearing Aids since I wanted the updated technology. I found that Costco’s price dropped a couple hundred to $1599 and now their HAs were made by another Apple MFI supplier, Rexton. You can see all the Apple MFI Hearing Aid suppliers here.
I bought the new Kirkland Signature 8 and I am very happy with the new hearing aids. The Rexton Smart Direct app is easy to use; they paired immediately with my iPhone. One of the great benefits of the MFI hearing aids is that they stream phone calls, messages and music right to your hearing aids. I was having trouble with my older hearing aids not streaming immediately; when someone called me I would have to ask the caller to wait while the streaming got its act together. These newer models stream immediately. Even better, I played some music and, while the older HAs sounded sorta tinny and were not good for listening to music, the KS8s sound like a good quality ear bud. I guess I will be going through batteries faster as I secretly listen to Maria Brink and In This Moment in my ears and know one will be the wiser!
Live Listen is another great Apple hearing enhancement. Let’s say you are in a crowded hall listening to the new Democratic candidate for Governor in Florida, Andrew Gillum and can’t hear too well. You can activate Live Listen on your iPhone and place your iPhone on the podium or near the speaker and it will act as a microphone for your hearing aids. Pretty cool.
How to Pair and Connect your Hearing Aids
When you pair a Made for iPhone hearing aid to your iOS device, audio from your iOS device goes to your hearing aid. To pair your hearing aid, follow these steps:
- Open your hearing aid’s battery doors.
- On your iOS device, tap Settings > General > Accessibility > Hearing > MFi Hearing Aids.
- If Bluetooth is off, turn it on under Devices.
- Close your hearing aid’s battery doors. Your iOS device will search for your hearing aid.
- Under Devices, tap the name of your hearing aid.
- Tap Pair when you see the pairing request on the screen. If you have two hearing aids, you’ll get two requests. Pairing could take up to a minute.
Controlling Your Hearing Aids
The Rexton Smart Direct app is very full featured and allows you to control volume, bass and treble, as well as a host of other features such as a remote microphone (live listen), alert tones, switching between program, presets and much more. My Costco fitter set me up with 4 of the available 6 programs. I have found that I only use two, one is “automatic” which seems to cover 90% of the situations and the other was “restaurant” which basically makes the microphones more directional in noisy situations. I now have automatic, Noise/party, Live Music and Outdoor/Traffic. There are also settings for Cafe, Cinema and Group Conversation.
The Apple iPhone hearing app in the accessibility system preference will also allow you to control many of the features of your hearing aid. You can use a shortcut to get to that screen by triple-clicking the home button or on the iPhone X the side button. You can use your iOS device to see your hearing aid’s battery life, adjust the volume, turn on Live Listen, and more. To control your hearing aid, use Settings or the Accessibility Shortcut.
Set preferences for features that you control with your iOS device by going to Settings > General > Accessibility > Hearing. Then tap MFi Hearing Aids.
Play Ringtones
You can play ringtones through connected hearing devices.
Audio Routing
Choose the default device for audio playback.
Control Nearby Devices
Use your iOS device to adjust the settings of hearing aids that are on the same WiFi network and connected to your iCloud account.
Audio Handoff
Continue listening to media through your hearing aid when you switch between your iOS devices. For example, if your hearing aid is connected to your iPhone but you start watching a movie on your iPad, the hearing aid automatically switches to the iPad.
Control on Lock Screen
Quickly make preset and volume adjustments on your hearing aid right from the Lock Screen on your iOS device.
You can also tap your hearing aid’s name in Settings to:
- View battery life
- Adjust volume levels for either or both hearing aids
- Choose an audio preset
- Turn on Live Listen
- Unpair your hearing aid
Between these two apps, Apple’s MFI hearing aids and Rexton Smart Direct you have a lot of control over your hearing. In real life, while I do use these from time to time, I can also change programs and volume by the little rocker buttons on the hearing aid itself.
Apple has made a real contribution with MFI hearing aid compatibility and it has come a long way in the few years that it has been available. As you know I am a beta tester for the new iOS and some versions have broken MFI hearing aid compatibility in the past. A real testament to Apple’s commitment to accessibility is just how quickly Apple engineers jumped on the problem and solved it after my bug reports.
Are you saying “what?” a lot? Are you pretending to hear and just nodding? Don’t put off getting your hearing checked. There are great solutions, especially at Costco that will stimulate your brain and let it interpret those sounds coming into your ears. One of my greatest memories from when I first got my hearing aids was suddenly hearing the beautiful sound of the birds singing and the creek bubbling that I had all but forgotten existed.
Dear Friends,
Don’t like the weather, here hold my beer. It was nearly 100 degrees yesterday with very high humidity and now tonight temps supposed to drop down to the 40s. I can see some tinges of red on the maples and now that school has started it sure seems like summer is over. Well it is NOT! Labor Day weekend is upon us and then we can put a stick in it.
All of Small Dog Electronics stores and offices will be closed on Monday to celebrate Labor Day.
No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Of course, our website will be working and orders will ship again when we re-open on Tuesday.
This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive is my HomePod/AirPod bundle. Take your choice of a White or Space Gray HomePod along with a set of Apple AirPods. Both of these “pods” are some of Apple’s best creations. The AirPod has been incredibly popular and a sorta status symbol these days. The HomePod has been a bit slower to gain popularity but I have to say that I love my HomePod! I also have Amazon devices but our go-to source in my home is Siri on HomePod. HomePod can be your HomeKit hub and Siri will answer your trivia questions, but it really excels at cranking out the tunes. You will be amazed at the sound quality and how it adjusts to fit your room. This week only take $20 off the combo at only $489.98
