GeekSugar

Yes, You Can Take Screenshots on Your BlackBerry

GeekSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:05:33 -0800

You already know that you can easily take screenshots on your iPhone with just a few clicks, but taking a screenshot on your BlackBerry may prove to be a little more difficult . . . without an app that is. With Screenshot (pretty easy to remember, right?) you can take screenshots on your BlackBerry to back up messages, phone numbers, texts, or whatever you may need.

Screenshot is simple to use since you can assign a key to act as your own personal shutter switch to capture whatever is on your screen. Although the iPhone screenshot tip was free and came as a built in feature for the iPhone, the app is not as wallet friendly as free: it comes in at $3.

iPhone Tip: More Keyboard Shortcuts

GeekSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:02:31 -0800

Thanks to reader T S for commenting on my latest iPhone tips post. Turns out, holding your finger down on different keys on the keyboard opens up quite a few options while you're typing. She writes:

You can also type letters with accents by holding your finger on the letter, so if you put your finger on "e" and hold you'll get the option of é, è, ë, etc.

I just spent the last hour holding down various keys to see what would happen, and found more shortcuts! To see my list, read more.

Holding down the period button when entering someone's email address gives an option of adding a ".com," ".net," ".edu," or ".org" suffix (I love this one!)
Holding down the period button gives the option of ellipses.
Holding down the "0" key gives the option for the º symbol. (I've never had to use it, but nice to have the option!)
Holding down the "-" key gives the option of an em dash (-).

I also knew that touching any image in Safari gives you the option to download it to your phone - am I missing anything else?

Geek Tip: Another iPhone Typing Shortcut

GeekSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:30:48 -0800

I'm starting to think Apple might be reading my mind - every time I find something I don't like about my iPhone, I realize they've already thought of a solution. Similar to learning how to quickly scroll to the top of the screen on my iPhone, I wish I would have known about this quick shortcut months ago.

If you're typing a URL into Safari on your phone, there's a convenient ".com" button on the keyboard - great when the suffix to the site you're trying to visit is .com. Not so great when it's a .net or .org site and you have to type it out - or so I thought! Turns out, you just have to touch and hold the ".com" button for a few seconds and a pop-up window appears, displaying .edu, .net, and .org suffix options. Brilliant!

I love learning new tricks for my iPhone, so if you have any to share, please tell me in the comments below.

How To: Video Chat With Up to 10 of Your Friends at Once

GeekSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:33:21 -0800

Although iChat allows me to video conference with up to three people at the same time, sometimes I just want to have an iChat party with more of my friends or family. Same goes for those who work from home and need to video with other co-workers in a conference. And with SuperIM, you can now video chat with up to 10 people. Amazing!

All it takes is a free account with Paltalk and a quick download of SuperIM, and you're on your way to chatting with 10 of your buddies from around the world who have an Internet connection. But it's not just video, you can also text IM with Paltalk too. So if you're having a bad hair day, no one has to know.

Geek Tip: Drag Labels Onto Messages in Gmail

GeekSugar — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:30:31 -0700

When I first noticed this new Gmail labeling feature (disclosure: yesterday), I wasn't sure if I was the only person who was left in the dark. One quick and informal office poll later, I realized I wasn't. Now I'm going label crazy! I'm already a fan of Gmail labels, and now they're even easier to use: you can drag-and-drop to label emails in your inbox. And it's so easy, I'm not sure how I overlooked it. Simply click on the label you want to use and drag it over to the email message:

This adds a label to the email, but doesn't move it from your inbox, which is crucial for me. If I can't see it, I won't read it!

And to find out how to move a message to a folder, just read more.

Though if you do want to move a message to a folder, there's a drag-and-drop feature for that, too. Click and hold the checkbox beside the message and drag it into the proper folder:

It's such a simple feature, but makes labeling emails so much easier. File this one under, "Things I wish I'd known sooner."

Find Out What Kind of Power Vampire You Are With an App

GeekSugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:44:06 -0700

I already showed you ten vampire gadgets and appliances that bleed power when you're not home, and if you haven't taken my tips to heart just yet, you can now find out exactly how much cash you're losing with the Vampire Power Calculator.

Just enter in how many hours a week you use a given gadget, and the app will serve up a rundown on how much energy and money you're wasting each year, what kind of power vampire you are, and tips on how to stop the madness. Plus, there are fun quizzes and games to get you in line so your gadgets and appliances will stop sucking your wallet dry for good. And don't worry, if you're strapped for cash already, this app is totally free.

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Stuff Your Friends Love - Now in Google Search Results

GeekSugar — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:15:23 -0700

Twitter updates will soon appear within search results, Google Labs has launched Google Social Search - an application that displays public search results found via your friends' social media profiles - Flickr streams, Twitter feeds, FriendFeed updates, and more. Google defines your social circle as:

On the heels of the big announcements from both Bing and Google that

People you're connected to through social services that you've listed in your Google profile . . . such as Twitter and FriendFeed.
People in your Gmail (or Gchat) chat list.
People in your Friends, Family, and Co-workers contact groups for Google.

Social Search only works if you're signed into your Google account. To test this feature, visit google.com/experimental. If you opt in, access Social Search results by using the left-hand links on a search results page. It also shows which friends and acquaintances social content comes from. Check out the Google blog for a great, informative video explaining how Social Search works and how Google determines who's in your social network.

Do you think you'll use this feature? Or will this be yet another way to search in Google that you don't think you'll use?

Geek Tip: Expand Your Vocabulary With a Little Online Help

GeekSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:10:37 -0700

I've heard that the key to mental longevity is to always keep your mind open to learning new things. One easy way is to adopt a few new words and use them in your daily conversations. Surely you don't want to sit around all day, flipping through a thesaurus, so let me introduce you to Save the Words.

This website is not only cool but pretty funny. Scroll around inside the white box, and words will jump out at you, just begging to be used in your next speech or convo. Click on one that looks interesting, get the definition, and sign up for an optional "pledge" that sends you a reminder to use the word as much as possible every day. It's a fun way to expand your vocab, and create those coveted knowledge wrinkles in your brain!

3 Ways to Get Your Weather Forecast Delivered Daily

GeekSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:15:45 -0700

Nothing ruins a good day like getting caught in the rain -or snow, or cold, or sweltering heat - when you least expect it, or when it conflicts with your morning run. Here are three ways to have the forecast delivered right to your phone or inbox, so you won't get caught unprepared again. Don't fret if the forecast calls for rain or snow! You can use one of these geeky umbrellas to stay dry.

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How to Organize Your Networking Accounts

GeekSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:01:15 -0700

Cataloging your trillions of social networking accounts makes cleaning out your packed closet feel like a walk in the park with an ice cream. There's TeamSugar, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Flickr, Picasa, Twitter and every other revolutionary community you signed up for to spy on friends and explore the digital landscape. I don't have enough mental bandwidth or time to keep up with every community, but I have come up with a few tricks for keeping up with all my friends across the world wide web.

Photo courtesy of The CW

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