SPECIAL: Lionize Your Keyboard and Trackpad

As today marks my final contribution to Kibbles & Bytes, I wanted to take a moment to thank you–our readers–for your tremendous support over the past year. Writing for Kibbles & Bytes has been a wonderful opportunity, and easily ranks among my favorite aspects of working at Small Dog.

It’s been an absolute pleasure bringing you Mac Treats, Apple news and product reviews on a weekly basis, and I’ll miss having the opportunity to do so. Thank you for your support, questions and feedback throughout the past year, it’s been great being a part of the Kibbles community. Most of all, thank you so much for reading!

I, like Don, have been using Lion since its release and loving it. (Though just for the record, I put it on my personal machine. We’re still BFFs, IT!) I’ve found features that I was specifically waiting for (e.g. Resume, tricked-out Finder) and ones that I hadn’t expected (e.g. Actions in-line in Mail such as Delete, Forward, etc.).

Another such feature that I didn’t expect was the new “Natural” scrolling in Lion. Because Lion incorporates many of the features prevalent in iOS, the way one scrolls is -backwards- different. Scroll down, and your mouse goes up. Scroll up, and your mouse goes down. I understand that motion on my iPhone; not so much on my iMac.

Thankfully, the fix is easy if this is bothersome to you as well! Just go to *System Preferences > Trackpad* and uncheck “Scroll direction: natural.”

*UPDATE* Since this was featured in Kibbles & Bytes, I received a few responses which pointed out that if one does not have a Trackpad (either no laptop or no Apple Trackpad), the Trackpad preferences will not be visible. To that I say, you’re right! If you don’t have a Trackpad attached, you’ll find the same option in the Mouse preferences.

Looking for a case for your iPad 2 that’s a little different than the rest?

The “*DODOcase*”:http://www.smalldog.com/search/?find=dodocase+book+cover for iPad 2 is a handmade structured case with a vintage bookbound aesthetic. It converts to a stand for typing and viewing and keeps your iPad solidly protected.

As a Kibbles & Bytes subscriber, get free shipping on this awesome case, this week only. Use code *kbdodo* in the cart. Your choice of Black with Charcoal, Black with Red and Black with Green.

“*Click here to view details*”:http://www.smalldog.com/search/?find=dodocase+book+cover – $59.99 with free shipping (with code *kbdodo*)

Last week, Apple announced Mac OS X Lion has already amassed over one million downloads. The freshly debuted operating system reached this impressive sales figure in just 24 hours, making it fastest selling OS release in Apple’s history. The first major OS X release available exclusively through the Mac App Store, Lion’s easy install and relatively low $29.99 price point likely aided in its tremendous early adoption rates.

Lion has been in the wild for over a week now and, although Apple has yet to disclose additional sales numbers, it is highly probable downloads have surpassed the two million mark. With over 250 new features and refinements to nearly every aspect of previous versions of OS X, it’s easy to see why Lion is a runaway hit. Speaking on the operating system’s excellent reception, Apple senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller offered the following:

bq. “Lion is off to a great start, user reviews and industry reaction have been fantastic. Lion is a huge step forward, it’s not only packed with innovative features but it’s incredibly easy for users to update their Macs to the best OS we’ve ever made.”

Putting Lion’s success in better perspective, MacRumors “*cites*”:http://www.macrumors.com/2005/06/06/wwdc-keynote-summary/ it took Apple more than a month to sell two million copies of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger when it originally launched in 2005. It’s remarkable to think that Apple may have already exceeded this number in just 48 hours.

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is now available on the Mac App Store, and retails for $29.99. To ensure your Mac is compatible and ready to upgrade, click “*here.*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/get-ready-for-lion/

To purchase Lion, click “*here.*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fos-x-lion%2Fid444303913%3Fmt%3D12%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 (opens the Mac App Store)

*System Requirements:*
* Intel-based Mac with a Core 2 Duo, i3, 15, i7 or Xeon processor
* Mac OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard
* 2GB of RAM
* 7GB available hard drive space
* Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply
* Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply

In iOS 4, and presumably in iOS 5, there is an easy way to completely close any apps that are running on your iOS device. Many customers complain about their device’s battery life, and running too many apps in the background can be a major culprit of shorter lifespans.

Quitting excess apps is a great way to preserve battery life, but you don’t need to always quit every app. For instance, I leave Messages, Mail, iPod and Words With Friends running pretty much all the time. I tend to close apps like Camera, Facebook and CNN when I’m done, as I only use them every couple of days.

To force quit an app, double-tap the home button (the physical button beneath your device’s screen), and the apps that you have used most recently will show up in a tray beneath the dock. Next, press and hold any app in the tray, and a red minus button will pop up next to it. Simply tap the minus sign to quit the app. If you’ve never closed out of an app, then every app you’ve ever opened will show up. It can be a tedious process to quit every app on your device, but it will save battery life. Perhaps iOS 5 will introduce a “quit all” button.

Remember, this process does not delete apps, it just quits them so they’re not running in the background and draining battery life. Next time you open an app, it will once again be added to the recently used apps in the multi-tasking tray. If you’d like to maximize your device’s battery life, consider quitting non-essential apps when you’re done with them.

I have the big electric motor mounted on my wheel and swing arm and I hope to get it uncrated and mounted to the motorcycle frame this weekend. Then the hard work starts, designing the battery pack, electronics, etc. This is an exciting project and I’ll keep you updated and add pictures as we go along.

Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

Your Kibbles & Bytes team,
_Don, Ben(bibi) & Kali