I Heart Tech

Yes You Can - Send Text Messages from Your Email

Or is that send an email to a cell phone? Well, either way you look at it, here is yet another way for your clients to stalk to you. For the most part, all cell phones with text messaging capability can also send and receive emails - mind you that the messages are limited in length (usually 160 characters - subject and message total) and any charges that are incurred when sending a regular SMS will apply. (SMS stands for Short Message Service aka text message.) If you're like me, you have a plan with unlimited text messages and don't care how many come in or out. And if you're like me, you protect your cell phone number like your SS number and don't have to worry about creepy SMS's (short message stalkers).

Why would you (really, I) want to do this? Well, let me try to make a long story short. I have an iPhone, which for the most part I love. But the two things I don't love about it are: typing on it (couldn't possibly suck anymore - and do not believe the evangelists who constantly squawk "you'll get used to it") and that it doesn't cut/copy paste (yes, I know there's an app for it, but the reviews have not been high enough for me to dare). So, I had made a reservation on OpenTable and wanted to forward some of the information from the email confirmation to my fellow diners. It was a Saturday and I didn't want to send them all emails as I knew that several of them don't check email on weekends but they certainly have their cell phones attached to their heads.

To determine the cell phone's email address you need to know (unfortunately) who the service provider is. All addresses start with the 10 digit number of the phone followed by the carrier domain. Example, for AT&T, the cell phone email addy would be: 4075551212@mms.att.net. To determine your address, send a text message FROM your celly to your email (yes, you can, try it). To determine someone else's carrier and domain you can input the cell number at Mobile Carrier Look Up and easily find it. If your firm or family uses the same service for everyone, then it's easy enough to know all the addresses once you figure out the first one.

Here are some popular carriers and their domains:

Carrier......Send Email to phonenumber@
Alltel.......@message.alltel.com
AT&T.........@mms.att.net
Nextel.......@messaging.nextel.com
Sprint.......@messaging.sprintpcs.com
T-mobile.....@tmomail.net
Verizon......@vtext.com (text only) or @vzwpix.com (pictures and videos).

Daylight Savings for Mac's and Smartphones

It's not just your PC that's at risk next week when we spring forward. You'll have to think about your Mac, your Blackberry, your Treo and/or your Windows Mobile Device also. I took care of my Treo and Mac last night, both were simple procedures and only took a few minutes. Here are some links you should check out to make sure your devices are DST-ready:

• Palm OS /Treo devices
• Windows Mobile devices info (from Palm.com)
• Windows Mobile on Microsoft.com
• General and important info from Apple
• Entourage 2004 for the Mac
• Is your Mac ready for Daylight Saving Time?
• Impact of DST 2007 Changes on BlackBerry users
• DST 2007 Patches for BlackBerry Devices

Did I forget anyone? And don't you forget - if you have an I.T. department be sure to check with them before you go doing anything crazy, chances are they already have it handled.

Text Messages - Good for Quick Communications

Text messages are like sweet pecks on the cheek. You can quickly dash one off to avoid a phone call, transfer short data (like a phone number or an email address) or ask a quick question. You can also use them to summon information such as local movie times or the phone number of your local Home Depot while in your car. Text messages can even come in handy during times of crisis. When my friend Ernie was being chased across three states by Katrina - the ONLY way to communicate with him was via text message.
Just about all phones (smart and dumb ones) have the ability to send and receive text messages, aka, SMS (Short Message System). If you find that you can't, call your cellular service provider and make sure it's part of your plan. And before you go crazy check to see how your provider charges you for them.

Generally, to send a text message, look for the Messages or Messaging menu option, then find Text. To make inputting words quick and easy you'll want to understand the "predictive text" or "T9" feature on your particular device. (Visit this great site to read all about it.) 
I urge you to dig up and READ THE MANUAL if you can't figure this all out. I mentioned using SMS to GET data. How? Well, The Great Goo of course. Below is a pocket how-to on Google's SMS service. Try it, and let us know how it goes.

A piece of advice: try to use them for good, not evil. Relationship wars have been declared over misunderstood text messages.

Download google_sms.pdf

A trio of tips for your Treo

Last night, I had the pleasure of a great Ruth's Chris dinner with a trio of very handsome and interesting gentlemen. We chatted quite a bit  about our Treo's - we all had one. I LOVE my Treo. I have a 650 and we have a great relationship. I totally understand it, I know how to get what I want out of it and I also know just how to push its buttons. How? Well, I Read the Dread - that's right, I read the manual when I got it. That's how I know much of what I know about I tech. I even read the manual for a ceiling fan once (do you know that a counter-clockwise moving fan is preferred (and can help preserve energy) in the winter months and switching it to clockwise moves air differently for summer  months? I'll let you Google the details). A smartphone such as the Treo, or the Blackberry can be so helpful throughout the day - but having one and not knowing how to use it sure can make you look stupid - especially in front of clients. Here are three tips to help you improve your relationship with your Treo.

1. Quickly get to a Contact by tapping their first initial then last initial (for example - tap "al" to get to my (Adriana Linares) contact details.
2. ¿Que? Special characters are easy to get to once you know which key they are hiding behind. To get to the _underscore_ , for example, tap the blue Option key, then S (this gives you the dash just above the S), then before you do ANYTHING else, tap the ALT key for a menu of alternative characters including the underscore.
3. When adding an appointment to your calendar, you can quickly include someone's phone number in the appointment (they MUST be in your Contacts already in order for this to work). 
   

   a. Tap where you want to enter the Contact.

   b. Pop down the Menu’s (tap the key just above the email button)

   c. Select Options, and then select Phone Lookup.

   d. Select the contact, and then select Add.
   (Also works in Memos and Tasks.)