We all know what an iPhone is capable of doing. We are able to use this useful device to connect to the Web and view the latest movies and tv shows. We can use it to update our Facebook pages and send out tweets. We can play music, make phone calls, to get directions to the nearest Italian restaurant by using the iPhone. However, you might be surprised at what else your iPhone lets you do. Fortunately, there are plenty of smartphone experts out there willing to share their top iPhone tricks with you.

Saving Time

It can be frustrating to use the tiny on-screen keyboard for typing emails or Web addresses. If this is true for you, try turning your phone horizontally before clicking in the area you need to type in. This will give you a larger on-screen keyboard making it simpler to type a “t”  and not a “y.”
Here is a tip for making phone calls: If you are browsing the Web for a phone number you need to call, simply tap the telephone number on the screen and your phone will dial it.

More Efficient Typing

This tip from Apple results in speedier typing.  When using the on-screen keyboard tap the space bar twice at the end of a sentence. This will automatically add a period and capitalize the next word you’re going to type. If you use a great deal of special characters, you can get them by touching and holding a letter. Then you’re able to chose the character you want and insert it into the message.

Quick Printing, Personalized Entertainment

This tip is for those of you that own an AirPrint-enabled printer. You can easily print documents, emails, and Web pages from your iPhone with this gadget. To print a Web page merely tap the “Action” icon and choose “Print,” this will send the information to your printer. Printing an email is just as easy; tap “Reply” and select “Print.”

For you music lovers out there, you can create a music playlist on the run. Access the iPod app, tap the “Playlists” icon chose the “Add Playlist” icon. Relabel your playlist and add any video or song on your phone simply by touching it.

It’s something we already take for granted: when we touch an icon on the screens of our electronic devices, we expect something to happen. And not just anything, either; we anticipate our gadgets to do exactly what we’d like it to do, when we want it done, and all at the touch of a fingertip. It wasn’t too far back that touchscreen technology was a source of wonder. These days, touchscreen technology is a given for many of the latest gizmos—from tablet computers to GPS units.

While most of us use this technology on a daily basis, most of us do not know how it works. How does a screen know what to do when we touch an icon? There are various types of touchscreen technologies but they all operate based on a similar idea.

Resistive touchscreens

This is the most common form of touchscreen technology. Resistive touchscreens are coated with an electrically conductive layer. Your fingertip changes the electrical current when you touch it. This delivers a message to the device’s controller telling it what action you would like to perform. This technology is less expensive than other touchscreen technologies and also less sensitive.

Surface wave touchscreen

This form of touchscreen utilizes ultrasonic waves that pass across the screen. When your finger touches the screen, you absorb part of the wave. This information is sent to the device’s controller and an action is preformed. Simple right?

Capacitive touchscreens

This technology tends to produce the sharpest image quality. Similar to the resistive technology these screens are covered with a material that sends an electrical current continuously across the screen. When you touch the screen you absorb some of the current, which in turn disrupts the flow. This information is then sent to the controller and the action that you requested is executed.

It’s a good thing we don’t have to fully understand the touchscreen technology to enjoy it. But it is nice to have a grasp, if only slightly, on how a technology works that we use everyday, particularly as we know that touchscreen technology isn’t going away any time soon.

These days it feels like everything is going digital. Will currency follow suit? It may seem far-fetched to imagine that currency could go completely digital. Nevertheless, people already depend heavily on credit cards and online auto-payments to pay their bills. Gas stations, parking meters, and even vending machines take plastic now and many people don’t carry cash any longer. So we might not be that far off from ditching paper money after all.

The Bitcoin revolution?

Some consumers have already been using an actual digital currency since 2009, Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer digital currency that users around the world can use to purchase products and services. The open-source program behind Bitcoin is regarded as impossible to hack, so that relieves many security concerns.

Of course, Bitcoin is hardly a worldwide digital currency. For one thing, it is not legal tender. So most retailers, even in the online world, don’t accept it, and there’s no guarantee that Bitcoin won’t simply disappear. Entrepreneurs can create an alternative digital currency that proves more popular, and consumers could instead flock to that. This might render Bitcoin valueless.

The digital currency model

There are many advantages to ditching paper money. You can’t lose it, you don’t have to worry about having exact change, and there is no need to replace damaged currency, which saves time, energy, and money.

Digital currency is also more secure. If you’re mugged and carrying a fair amount of money, it is extremely unlikely you will ever get that money back. If your credit card is stolen, however, it’s easy to call your credit card company, cancel the card and recoup most if not all of any fraudulent charges to the account.

Holdouts

Of course, not everybody will be sold on digital currency. There are still consumers today who don’t use credit cards and who have never banked at an ATM. They prefer to take care of their transactions the old-fashioned way with paper money that they can see and feel. Then again, paper money?

This year’s Tokyo Motor Show exhibited some interesting, wild, and green concept cars. With efficiency in mind, companies unleashed these eco-friendly designs that are both innovative and rather eccentric. Here are just a few.

Volkswagen

For those of us who like to rock and roll, Volkswagen presented their newest Beetle. They have made friends with Fender to bring a sound system to this car that is ready for the main stage. The system includes a 400W 10-channel amplifier, a subwoofer, and two sets of tweeters, one set in the front and one in the back.

Honda

This eco-friendly design is Honda’s “micro commuter” car. This tiny electric car is just 98.4 inches long, 49.2 wide, and 56.3 tall and looks like something from a video game. To enhance its arcade feel, it’s controlled with two joysticks. While its top speed is only 37 mph and can only carry three people its tiny size is great for the city commuter.

Daihatsu

While this design from Daihatsu resembles a bus, it is not; it’s the FC Sho Case. FC standing for fuel cell. Daihatsu’s revolutionary design contains no rare earth metals, which makes it more economical to make then other fuel cells. The LCD screen on the outside plays relaxing wave patterns, but when getting into the car passengers must step over these to get in which makes it difficult for elderly people or individuals with injuries.

Toyota and Yamaha

Scooters have become more common in the past couple of years. People want easy, fuel-efficient methods for getting from here to there. Partnering with Toyota, Yamaha unveiled an electric tricycle that takes scooters one step further. The EC-Miu can be recharged at charging stations used by other electric vehicles and it has Wi-Fi capabilities.

This year’s concepts at the Tokyo Motor Show were very green focused. Every year the designs revealed at the show seem to get more creative. I can’t wait to see what they bring us next year.

Android smartphones and Apple’s iPhones are very different. Android phones are highly customizable. You can change anything from your Android phone’s home screen to the way you download apps because Android is open source. The tips below will show you how easy it is to tailor your smartphone to your specific needs.

One-Touch Dialing
There are unquestionably certain numbers that you dial more often than others. With Android smartphones, you can set up one-touch dialing for those people whom you call the most. Simply press an open space on the screen and select the “Shortcuts” option. Then press Direct Dial and pick the right person from your list of contacts. Now you can call that person by simply pressing a single button.

Saving Time Searching the Web
If you have Web sites that you visit regularly, you are able to customize your home screen to incorporate shortcuts to these sites. To achieve this, press and hold onto the desired site in your browser’s bookmarks until a list of options pops up. Select the option “Add Shortcut to Home.” You will then see the selected Web page show up on your phone’s home page.

Organizing with Folders
Creating folders on your Android phone will allow you to keep everything organized, out of your contacts to work documents. To create folders on your home screen, press a blank space on the screen. When the menu pops up, choose “Folders.” This will allow you to create folders and name them. Then, simply, drag and drop documents, images, and files into these folders.

One of the top cyber crimes, and the most lucrative, are phishing scams.  Large corporations such as Sony have been jeopardized and accounts of these types of cyber crimes are being reported at a high rate.  Phishing scams are just as dangerous to small business owners as they are to large corporations.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (partners with the FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) have reported more than 300,000 cases of online phishing scams and other Internet related crimes.

Let’s look at what phishing really is, so that you can gain a greater knowledge of why your small businesses may be targeted by a cyber criminal.

What is phishing?

Phishing is a serious problem, but the term can be a bit unclear. It is the act of illegally trying to acquire private information such as passwords, credit card account numbers, banking account information, usernames, or social security numbers.  Phishing is accomplished by creating fake logos, email addresses, authentic looking official websites, and phone numbers.  Victims are then under the impression that it is official business and are compelled to give out their personal data, which in turn can be used to steal their identity.  Small businesses often suffer from phishing, as the goal is to gain access to their customer’s private information such as credit card account numbers.

Examples of small business phishing scams

Countless numbers of small business owners have been sent emails by an entity using incredibly authentic IRS-looking letters stating that W-4 forms or other additional forms must be filled out and returned via fax.  This frightened many owners into believing they would be audited or penalized by the IRS for not handling the issue immediately. Unfortunately, they were fraudulent emails and these companies were tricked out of their private information.

The IRS states on it’s website at IRS.gov, that it will not initiate any contact by email and that you should never click any links on an email sent to you asking you to send anything to the IRS.

Your company email can be a target

Thieves can gain access to a business by targeting a particular individual by sending them deceitful emails that conveys a professionally sincere image. Most of the time these emails will contain a computer virus or malware. It has the ability to infect a company’s entire network, which allows thieves to gain access to confidential data.

Phone phishing

There are also a number of “phone phishing scams” where fake messages from your bank, for example, ask you to call a phone number and enter your account information.

How to protect your business against phishing

APWG.org is the Anti-Phishing Work Group, and their goal is to provide wonderful advice on how to make sure your business does not fall victim to phishing. Listed here are some of their tips:

• Make sure your employees are aware of what phishing scams are, and are cautious when reading and responding to suspicious emails.  Always err on the side of caution.  Instead of clicking a link, open another browser window and go to the official website.
• Never give out company financial information such as bank routing numbers to an inquiry made via email.  Your bank does not need you to confirm your account information…they already have that. An email like that even if it has your bank’s logo is a fake. Make it a habit to check your accounts regularly for suspicious charges and withdrawals.
• Make sure every computer used has up-to-date virus and malware protection.  Schedule regular full system scans.  Never download “anti-virus” software from an unknown entity. It’s better to stick with trusted brands.

The APWG keeps statistics on phishing scams and offers lots of advice on defending your business.  Phishing is virtually impossible for law enforcement to stop.  The best defense is to educate yourself and your employees on how to identify phishing scams and stay up to date on the latest information.

Trends in business change every day. One trend that seems to be gaining momentum is telecommuting, but is it a trend at all? There are many of ideas around whether telecommuting is good for business or not. Some of the questions raised are, “Will it make employees more productive? Will they be happier, lonelier, more connected or less? What are the benefits to the company?” These are all considerations when deciding if telecommuting is a good fit for your company’s culture.

This study shows there could be great benefits to telecommuting.  Below we’ve laid out some pros and cons:

Pros

• Telecommuters work longer hours, as they aren’t wasting time travelling.
• Telecommuting employees are generally less stressed.
• Employees can take advantage of their most productive hours, even if that is the middle of the night, and can adjust their working hours to their daily life.
• Those who don’t work effectively in a structured nine-to-five culture, find relief in telecommuting.
• Self-reliance and time management skills are encouraged by telecommuting.
• Telecommuting allows employers to hire highly trained people.
• Telecommuting saves the company and the employee money.

Cons – the other side of the coin

• Telecommuting can lead to burnout and resentment of the company if they work too much.
• Telecommuters often complain of being isolated and feeling lonely or depressed from lack of socialization.
• Telecommuters can suffer a lack of motivation and if a manager isn’t fully involved in the employee’s daily workload, the employee may take advantage and slack off.
• Telecommuting can lead to a break down in communication due to distance.
• Telecommuting can require a more time than usual to set up a home office.

For both manager and employee, successful telecommuting takes strong communication, time management skills, and clarity of job responsibilities. We are seeing more and more people desiring an independent working environment. But in the end, whether telecommuting will work or not, depend on the company’s culture and the employees’ mindset. Tell us what you think; will telecommuting be the way most businesses are organized in the future or will it fade out?

As the holidays quickly approach, advertisers seem to be pushing smartphones and tablets as the only tech gifts available this season. However, there are many other good high-tech gift ideas that will make that tech savvy relative happy without breaking the bank, and several of these are flying under the shopping radar. Some are ideal for the eco-conscious, some are perfect for that inner geek in all of us, and some are even perfect for those lucky ones who already own a smartphone and tablet.

Gadgets make great gifts – whether they’re practical or not

Someone may not love the 40-in-1 Swiss Army Knife, however they may be enamored with the 6-in-1 key chain. Either way, they’ll discover a use for it at some point. Tech-geek gadgets are especially suitable for individuals on a budget. So, while the Starship Enterprise pizza cutter (http://bit.ly/vR8K4y) or these crocheted headphones won’t break the bank, they are sure to please!

Gadgets for the hard-to-shop-for individual

So what makes a good gadget gift? It really depends on how tech-savvy the recipient is, and how much you’d like to spend. If you have a little more money and the individual is environmentally conscious, you may opt for a “green” choice. Eco-friendly products abound and are especially sought after this year. From hand-powered paper shredders to solar-powered tiki torches, many options exist for that inner tree-hugger in all of us.

Tablet or smartphone owners

For those friends and relatives who already own smartphones or tablets, there are gadget accessories that are sure to brighten their day. Generally, the intent for tablets and smartphone is to be solely touch-screen based. However, many people prefer a physical keyboard when typing for long periods of time on their tablet or smartphone. That’s why these gadgets are certain to be welcomed with open arms! Both of these cases, one for the iPad,  and one for the iPhone, were created with a physical keyboard included.

The best part about gadgets and the reason they’re continuously sought after is that they’re always at hand. Gadgets, simply put, make our lives easier. While phones and tablets are the big-ticket rage this holiday season, hopefully we’ve given you some ideas for tech gadget gifts that are under the radar!