Okay, I have been wearing my new Apple Watch for about a week and I have to admit that I was pretty skeptical that I would like wearing a watch after 50-years of not wearing a watch. I do pride myself on being able to figure out the time without a timepiece. Well, so far I am really enjoying learning about the Apple Watch and seeing how it integrates into my lifestyle.

Apple is doing something pretty cool with the Apple Watch. They are offering free set-up sessions with one of their “specialists” to go over the features and functions of the watch. I have my appointment set for Sunday morning but Grace had hers already and thought it was very valuable. They are taking customer satisfaction to a new level with these sessions.

Okay, so onto some first impressions:

*Battery life:*

Double okay! Not only does the Apple Watch battery easily last all day with frequent usage but it also has an impact upon the battery life of my iPhone. That is because the “glances” I would take on my iPhone all through the day are now easily done with a flip of my wrist, so I am not taking my iPhone out of my pocket much.

*Cool Things it Does:*

* Let’s see, paying for my Starbucks drink on the road to Maine was cool; I just launched Passport on the Apple Watch and held it up the the Starbucks terminal and my Venti Iced Black Eye was paid for to the amazement of the people in line.

* Using the Remote App to control my Apple TV is also very cool. No more searching for that remote; I can put it in the drawer.

* Smarter texting was something I discovered yesterday. I have gotten texts before on the Apple Watch and there were some canned responses that you can customize or you can reply via dictation and send the reply as an audio or text file. ll that was not too surprising but when my health care provider texted me a question on a medication dosage – i.e. “1.5mg or 0.75mg?” I was surprised to see that my Apple Watch realized I was being given a choice and the canned responses now included 1.5mg and 0.75mg as clickable responses.

*Watch Apps:*

I am liking the Score app which gives me updates on the Cubs games. While the Activity app is a little annoying when it taps my wrist and tells me to stand up, I am finding that I am motivated to meet my daily goals for standing, moving, and exercising. I used the Maps app and soon got used to the taps to alert me to turns. I don’t think I will use that on my motorcycle but I can clearly see the use while navigating on foot in a city. Grace and I tried out the camera remote function while on our trip but never could quite get the iPhone in a stable place so helpful people always offered to take our picture.

I think I’m gonna keep it!

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of announcing Small Dog’s latest edition to the retail store: the *Automatic*. If you don’t recall what the *Automatic* is you may want to take a look in our “*Archives*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/kibbles or visit “*Automatic.com*”:https://www.automatic.com/how-automatic-works/ to learn more. Anyway, the *Automatic* is a little adapter the plugs into the the OBD-II (On Board Diagnosis System) port, which is standard in most cars manufactured after 1996. This little adapter is designed to help make you a better, safer, and more efficient driver. The app that you download with the device is there to guide you for every road trip to come. It will make recommendations based on your driving style and also help you diagnosis and reset most warning lights that appear on your dash.

I purchased my *Automatic* just over two weeks ago, and I am blown away at how well the device works. First off, let me tell you about the packaging. My first impression of the packaging was: “Wow, I cannot believe a company would sell such a small device in such a large, thick, heavy plastic container in todays world.” After removing the packaging and directions I found out that that “large, thick, heavy plastic container” was actually a reusable cup with an air tight lid…this blew my mind, and honestly, I think I may use the cup more than I use the adapter itself.

Once I finally calmed down about the reusable cup I continued to setup the device. The setup of the *Automatic* was so incredibly easy. Once I downloaded the app on to my iPhone all I had to do was essentially plug in the adapter. With a firm push into the OBD port, my *Automatic* beeped, and I was ready to drive. I did a little test drive around our parking lot, traveling a total of 0.3 miles, spending a total of 44 cents on gas at that time. Not only does the app tell me how far I have driven and how much money I have spent on gas, but it also tells me my average miles per gallon and where exactly I either traveled too fast or braked too hard. All in all, the *Automatic* has helped me save money already, and in just a few more road trips, the device will have paid itself off.

Lastly, *Automatic* has some great sister apps that you can download to better utilize the device. To see the full list of compatible apps “*click here.*”:https://www.automatic.com/apps/

*Automatic* will be on *SALE* for a limited time, to claim yours at a discounted price “*click here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001859/special-save-20-off-the-new-automatic-connected-car-adapter?preview=OTAwMDAxODU5OjpiYzE4MmZiNGMyM2EwMTZkNzBlNDZmOWViMDcxM2NlYmI4MTFjZWI5MmUxNmI5NGRlMDRhMTFiNDhjYzZiZjA2

After my short article last week on the Dock I got some great feedback from Kibbles & Bytes readers and I thought I would share some here. Jerry King is the President of the Naples MacFriends User Group and has volunteered to write up a story on using Stacks in the Dock. I cleaned up my Dock considerably by dragging my Utilities folder the the right side of the dock and whenever I need a utility, I just mouse over it and can access Keychain Access or Activity Monitor, etc. Look for Jerry’s article in the next couple weeks…

Jim Blohm reminded me that you can press *Option + Command + D* to hide and show the Dock. Another reader pointed out that if you have just downloaded a document from the web or email and you do not know what application will open it you can drag that document along the dock and applications that will access and open the item will highlight with the name of the application as you move over each one.

I look forward to Jerry’s article and we will pass along any other Dock tips as we get ‘em.