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Become an iPhone  super-user with these 20+ handy, but not necessarily well known tips.    They may enhance your user experience or make you an even more savvy pro.

I complied these tricks from iSmashphone.com.  A big thanks to them for spelling these out.  I’m sure at least a few will be invaluable tools for beginners and experts.

1. Scroll to Top of Page

In any application, Safari included, you can automatically scroll to the top of the page by tapping on the “top bar”, which has the time, service bars, and battery. In Safari, this not only brings you to the top of the page, but also brings up the URL bar.

2.  Domain Resolution

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I love having multiple monitors. It makes working in multiple application so much easier. Most of the time I’ll have several browser windows, email, a couple servers, some windows explorer windows and other various things open and dual monitors makes switching between the programs much more fluid. What do you do if you don’t have the room (or budget) for a second monitor? Adding virtual desktops gives you almost the same functionality, for free!

What is the benefit of multiple virtual desktops?  For me, when I’m working on several projects at once virtual desktops allow me to segment the windows into groups and makes it so that I only see the windows that I don’t get lost in the shuffle of open apps.

I’m a big fan of a program called Dexpot.  It’s compatible with all modern verisons of Windows (XP, Vista, and 7) and allows you to have up to 20 virtual monitors (the default is 4) with alpha transparency, fast screen switching options and the ability to move windows back and forth between different virtual desktops.

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Like many people, you may have received a new computer for the holidays.  If you’re already an avid user you know how to set it up, install your favorite apps and get to work/play.  But if you’ve just moved to a new operating system (Windows 7, OS X or even Linux) you may be a little lost as to the new functionality in your new toy.  Luckily lifehacker has put together a great list of tips and tools for whatever system you’re baffled over.  Take a look at this list and let me know if you have another cool trick you’d like to share.

image from bolti22 on flickr

Circuit Board Gift Box
Recycled circuit board and card stock gift or favor box.  $6
Buy here

Burlap Coffee Bag Laptop Sleeve
Handmade upcycled coffee bag laptop sleeve; various sizes. $35
Buy here

Natural Laptop Jack
Handmade laptop platform; available in 3 sizes. $29
Buy here

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If you think blacking out information in Microsoft Word  using the highlighter and then saving it as a PDF will hide your sensitive data, you are mistaken.   A quick copy and paste into notepad, will reveal that the blacked out information is still available.

I wrote about how to properly redact a PDF document, but I just found a handy redaction tool for MS Word 2007.  It is not an official Microsoft product, but it works great.  Once downloaded and installed, the tool  appears under the tab “Review”.  Highlight the information you’d like to redact,  click on “Mark” and continue through your document marking everything you want blacked out.   When you are finished selecting and marking,  click on “Redact document.”  Your sensitive data will be inaccessible.

Word 2007 Redaction Tool

One of the worst things about starting fresh with a new reinstall of Windows (or a new computer) is that you have to hunt down updated installers for the software that you use.  I just stumbled across this great site which streamlines looking for software and installing it into one super quick process.

There’s really not too much to say about it honestly.  You go to their website, put a check mark next to the applications you want to install, hit the “get installer” button and then a small app runs (doesn’t even install itself on your computer)

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In this age of information overload and constant communication, you might be looking for more ways to manage your Inbox.  Folder making and filing might just be passé, or under implemented because you’re lacking the “big picture” approach to email management.

If this sounds about right, try out this skillful strategist’s techniques:

10 Steps to Become an Email Ninja

[Image by obo-bobolina]

Is it you or is it the site? It happens. Websites go down, meaning they become inaccessible to users surfing the web for various reasons – the servers they’re hosted on need scheduled maintenance, hardware malfunctions, etc. A good webhost will have redundancies in place so that the sites they manage experience minimal interference during maintenance procedures or unexpected interruptions, but from a user’s perspective one can’t always tell if an unavailable website is because of an external condition.

Fortunately, a sparse but useful tool exists for you to test a suspected down-age. It is so simple, its use requires no explanation AND it has a sense of humor (which always helps when we are uncertain about something).

Give it a go:   downforeveryoneorjustme.com

If you’re like me you use the built-in functionality of your web browser to save and manage your passwords to various online sites.  If you’re being careful and protecting your passwords from prying eyes you’re using a master password to protect your password list.  What happens if you forget your master password?  Before now you were kind of stuck.  Your passwords would remain safe but inaccessible, rendering them useless.  Now a recovery tool called FireMaster that can help you recover your passwords.

Before I go any further I’d like to remind everyone that these tools can be used for both good and evil.  Please use this to recover a lost password for yourself or someone that asks you, don’t use this to snoop on someone else’s online business.  These tools are a godsend for tech guys, but if people misuse them it just makes it harder for legitimate users to get their hands on them.

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