Everyone loves a cool trick. No matter how well we know an app or program, there's almost always some shortcut we never learned.
The same goes for hardware: We may use gadgets every day without realizing the little secrets hiding under the surface of our devices.
Here are just a few tips and tricks to help you master them more quickly.
> Always turn off your device before you start using it. It allows your brain to switch tasks between apps so that things don't pop up in random places, and also stops other people from finding your personal information at all your other times. This is sometimes called “the golden rule,” because even when I'm sitting around my computer screen, I turn off my phone if I have no urgent business. (For instance, if someone comes by while I'm working on something else, I can tell someone to take another moment before coming in.) So be careful with this one!
> If you're going to read a news story on your iPhone or iPad, go ahead and read the entire thing without letting it run in full. If you're doing this kind of reading, you'll see a lot of small details you didn't get and see a lot of new ways to use features like Siri and Google Assistant. Don't turn into a bibliophobe. There are a lot of useful features hidden inside a typical news app or media player. If you're really used to downloading things as you read them, they could be annoying. Your eyes need to relax as you browse through things to keep them moving.
Make sure to turn off anything in your environment that will distract you. Many online services will display ads if you pay for them, which will use up what precious battery life you have. Turn off the microphone icon to stop anyone hearing what you've been thinking. When talking about topics other than politics, make sure to turn off all those notifications on your lock screen. You want to feel confident, but some people don't. Turning them off can kill conversation flow.
> Use apps like 'Dark Mode' on Android and iOS to make your phone look cooler without having to have the lights on. From the settings menu, select 'Night mode', which turns your phone transparent, turning everything else to black and giving it an overall dark appearance. On iPhones: Navigate to Settings > Appearance and lockscreen > Scroll down, then click on Dark mode > Choose Night mode. On iPads: Open ios settings > Select App Privacy > Click Security & privacy > click Always open app with night mode. If you don't want to bother to unlock settings, you can turn off Wi-Fi in certain areas, too. In general, try to spend less time looking and more time thinking.
> Don’t do stuff with your arms while you're typing. As you type, your thumbs are often placed at different angles. To avoid that, hold down your arm, palms facing each other. If your thumbs are too far apart, you might find text a bit hard to read and delete it altogether. Also, avoid reaching the uppermost part of your keyboard if possible. When your work laptop has a USB port, don't use it at all. Instead, put the mouse on a desk and use the cursor keys to move around instead. Just pick the area where everything is located and see what you think you can do with it. Do something else. While most of us are writing and we should probably leave our phones behind, we sometimes just want a change of pace. Go somewhere and use your imagination.
> We might think of our desktop computers as being too big, but they aren’t. They’re tiny compared to many laptops and desktops. Look at our phones as much smaller. These days, smartphones are made to fit in palm sized hands. That means they have limited power, memory, and storage compared to PCs which support hundreds or thousands of gigabytes. The good news is that you can still use the right software and the right tools to complete your projects. Remember that the old desktop PC is not dead! Back in the day, we called it a system, so you can use the right commands to complete any problem you had, and still get the best experience out of it.
Use Adobe Photoshop to draw, for example, and then print the images. Don't do anything with your back. It doesn't show up in real life. Keep your shoulders straight and don't twist your body to get better focus on whatever you're typing. We do too. Try to learn to write things down first and then edit the final product later. Then, start editing when you're done. Save a lot of data. Not only does it save space, but it saves lots of trouble when trying to remember where everything is. Think about where everything happens on the internet, in your phone, or in a folder.
What’s stored on your hard drive? Why isn’t it on your computer somewhere? Can you find it on a Mac or Windows computer? If you're worried about losing important files, back up your photos and documents to these cloud services now. One step further: Use password protection. A simple way to save some space on your computer is to encrypt your files. Some solutions like Apple's iCloud or Google Drive give you permission to delete a file if they don't exist anymore. If you can't protect your files, take them public with Dropbox or Google Photos. Another option is free and easy to set up.
> We can take shortcuts and forget to use them properly. A number of modern websites use extensions to improve the viewing experience or download something faster or easier. But the biggest cheat is deleting the extension. They usually add itself automatically as soon as it's installed. Sometimes, that little tab disappears completely but leaves a weird feeling in your head. At least you don’t end up with a uninstall button. Nowadays, webpages allow you to block the extra functions that your browser offers and disable all the plugins you're used to. Find the plug-ins you're missing and install them. Create new ones. Most of them will be very small icons that let you jump around and you can hide. However, they are there because developers still want to find new uses for the interface. Search for extensions you might need. Downloader extensions are great to remove junk websites. Almost everyone gets an unwanted website somewhere, so use search engines to find an alternative. For examples, consider using Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Edge, Opera, etc.
Use social networks. Social network sites are everywhere, so you can connect with others, share your content, and watch other people’s videos. Don’t be afraid to use Facebook. It’s not as risky, it’s really easy to sign up and stay connected even while you’re doing nothing online. Add social profiles to your account, and comment on your friends' pages from anywhere, and they'll recognize you. If you’re feeling lazy, use Twitter. Tweeting has become a habit for me. My whole family is on Twitter. The ability to chat on the platform makes you feel like a person. Be safe when downloading torrents. Torrents are dangerous because they are distributed by a large group of hackers. Download the torrent and extract the executable files.
Finally, check out forums. Lots of tech communities are dedicated to connecting hobbyists with experts and sharing knowledge around various subjects. We love community building and sharing. Especially when speaking about specific technologies. We want to see what our peers are learning and thinking about. There are plenty of subreddits dedicated to tech. A lot of people in Reddit threads explain technical terms or discuss coding, design, and related fields.
Check your local library websites. Even though we often think of them as boring, they are full of interesting articles. Take a peek into Wikipedia. Most of its articles deal with the history of machines, the origins of programming languages, and the nature and functioning of systems. Use the dictionary on your phone. It's pretty handy to reference something. Read it. Use YouTube. All kinds of video information are found here. Everything goes well if you know YouTube, don't you think? Videos uploaded on popular channels like Netflix are often just reruns. You don't have to see all the episodes on TV. You can turn off playback controls to prevent spoilers. Or try making a movie poster for yourself. The possibilities are endless, even on a basic level.
Conclusion
