Go Shorty...It's Your Birthday: 5 Techy Shortcuts for You

Don't let your tech device send you into maze mode.
(Photo taken from Labyrinth, the movie.)

It may not be your birthday, but I have some presents for you. Ever feel as though you are in a labyrinth trying to figure out how to wind your way around what should be a simple task on your tech device? You need a shortcut! We all could use tips to provide us more time for other things. I hope you have find many of these new and helpful.

iPhone/iPad:

1. Storage Wars: Every week it seems like one of my friends is laughing or complaining they don't have any room left on their phone, usually because of photos. So do this:

• Dropbox (FREE)--allows you to instantly upload to this cloud based app and you can download it to your PC. I have my account synced on all my devices so I can get to any of my files, pictures on any device, anywhere, anytime. After you download this free app, open it up and go to > settings > Camera Upload > swipe 'on'. Anytime you take a pic it will upload into your private account. It's really easy to make folders and delete any photos you do not want there. While it's private and secure, in two steps you can share a link to any of your folders (individually or grouped) with anyone outside of Dropbox. Plus, when you invite others to dropbox, you get more storage. FREE
• Open space: Wondering where all your space is going on your phone? Click settings > usage > then it will give you a list of what is taking up the most space (usually photos and music). You can decide if you want to delete an app or two or you will see how important it is to upload those pics somewhere else so you have more space for more fun.

2. Talk to me: Do NOT text and drive, ever, ever, ever. It's the 21st century. You can talk to your phone and it will text for you. Obviously Siri is the easiest, but there are other apps other there as well:

• Dragon Dictation (FREE): you can talk and it will dictate any thing you say. Students use this quite a bit for typing papers, etc.  Very simple and easy to use. It's a lifesaver for me when I have long emails to type or papers to write.
• Speak It! (1.99): This is the flip side of text to speech. Have some files you need to read, but short on time? Just copy and paste the text and this app will read it to you. Genius!

Keyboard:

3. You're in Ctrl: It still amazes me how many people do not know these easy control key shortcuts. Learn this alphabet, saves a lot of time.

• Zoom: If you cannot read the screen, don't squint. Just hold down the Ctrl key and then either + or - depending on if you want to zoom in or out of the image.

Mac: 

4. Your wish is my command: Much like the control key for PC keyboards, Mac has the command key. Check out Dan Rodney, an instructor, designer and "all around nice guy." He goes beyond the keystrokes and menu symbols.  Do yourself a favor and take just one minute to scan over all these shortcuts, pick a few to get started and instantly save your self time.

Battery Life: 

5. Jump start: You really can't save time on your mobile device if the battery is drained. Opt out of these features to save the juice, which will save you time.

• Face to Face: You might want to get closer to Siri but it's not necessary. Holding down the home button will save time and battery as opposed to holding the phone up to automatically speak with Siri. Go to Settings > General > Siri > then disable "raise to speak.:
• Getting jiggy with it:Turn off "parallax" motion on your interface. Every time you move or jiggle your phone you will see 3D icons sitting on your wallpaper. Looks cool but drains your battery. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Reduce Motion. 
• Keep the lights low: Turn off "auto brightness" adjust manually. Go to Settings > Wallpapers & Brightness > then you can turn off  "auto brightness" and manually reduce the brightness.

All this info for 50 cent...obviously, you could have more time to work out and rap like him. ;)