While many call centres these days record support calls, it can help you to keep them accountable (and keep track of your account details) if you keep notes on any support calls you make.You don’t need a word-by-word transcript, but here are some basic facts you can note down:the date and time of your call the name of the operator any specific details related to your call such as dates, times, or payment amounts discussed if they say anything which seems odd or wrong to you, make note of it. For example, a staffer at one ISP told me it didn’t matter what phone provider I used, I’d be able to get their internet regardless. It seemed odd, and sure enough, when I rang back the next day to connect, I was told that I had to be with Telstra or a Telstra wholesaler to get their service.
Having these notes to hand can make any followup support calls much easier for you and the company you’re calling.
My other advice is to ask questions to clarify anything complex, and repeat it back to them. Saying “So if I understood you correctly, the situation is…” can help make sure you’re both on the same page.
US-centric: Misplaced your cell phone around the house and don’t have another phone on hand to call it up to locate it? Give your number to web site PhoneMyPhone and they’ll instantly ring you up. Aside from instant calling to locate your phone, PhoneMyPhone will also schedule phone calls at specific times, similar to previously mentioned Popularity Dialer, to get you out of that boring meeting or awful date if you need it. As for sounding off the ring when you misplace your phone—it may not get a pizza to your door like Google Maps used to, but the easy-to-remember PhoneMyPhone should ensure a quick recovery from the recesses of your couch cushions. Thanks David! PhoneMyPhone
Developing new habits can jumpstart our creativity and even help us grow new brain cells, reports the New York Times. Research by authors Dawna Markova and M. J. Ryan suggests that stretching—but not stressing—yourself can develop your mind and creative skills. “Getting into the stretch zone is good for you,” Ms. Ryan says [...]“It helps keep your brain healthy. It turns out that unless we continue to learn new things, which challenges our brains to create new pathways, they literally begin to atrophy, which may result in dementia, Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases. Continuously stretching ourselves will even help us lose weight, according to one study. Researchers who asked folks to do something different every day—listen to a new radio station, for instance—found that they lost and kept off weight. No one is sure why, but scientists speculate that getting out of routines makes us more aware in general.”
Web site Linux.com offers a few tips for taking advantage of the second Ethernet port on the back of your computer. For example, in Linux you can bond your two ports for load balancing and fault tolerance. …bonding [combines]both of the computer’s interfaces into a single interface…. The OS can alternate which interface it uses to send traffic, or it can gracefully fail over between them in the event of a problem. You can even use it to balance your traffic between multiple wide area network (WAN) connections, such as DSL and cable, or dialup and your next door neighbor’s unsecured Wi-Fi.
Mac OS X only: Browse your Del.icio.us bookmarks like never before with freeware beta application Delish. URLs weren’t mean to be viewed as text, according to the minds behind Delish, so the software provides a visual interface for your bookmarks by creating thumbnail snapshots of all the links, which it displays in an attractive, easy-to-use interface. Delish even supports multi-touch pinch and scroll gestures for owners of new MacBook Pros and Airs—though unfortunately you can’t create a new bookmark with it. Delish is currently freeware, Mac OS X only. Delish [via TUAW]
Web application Glasnost simulates BitTorrent downloads on your computer to determine whether or not your internet service provider (ISP) is throttling your BitTorrent transfers. It does so by measuring the difference between your regular download speed and your BitTorrent download speed, testing against different ports and other variables to get a better idea of what exactly is being throttled. The tool is aggregating the results of the test, which the site is publishing to encourage greater transparency among ISPs. If your ISP turns out to be throttling your BitTorrent traffic, you can still avoid the throttling if you know the right tricks.
Writing your blog should be a fun way to stretch your mind and stay connected to trends, friends, and the greater world, not another computer task that takes far too long to get done. But that’s exactly what it can feel like if it takes you more time to find your post ideas, tweak your markup, and make everything look right than to actually get your thoughts down. Being somewhat experienced at this blogging thing, your Lifehacker editors have pinpointed a few tools and tricks that make our posts go faster and smoother. After the jump, we round up 10 of them.
Web monkeys comfortable with CSS can now apply their style skills to Google Docs. A new (to us) item in the Edit pulldown menu lets you apply standard CSS styles to your Google Doc. A Google Group exists to help you work out any kinks in the process, and a Googler offers a beautiful resume template (available for you to copy into your own Docs account) all styled with CSS.
The Simple Dollar financial blog offers up a guide to creating a “Master Information Document”—a single piece of paper that’s locked away securely, explained only to family and very close friends, and which has all the information someone would need to put your finances and will in order if something happened to you. Blogger Trent recommends writing down information on all your open accounts, a list of all your debts and assets, and any estate-related documents, like a will or trust, in a filing cabinet or other secure place. We’ve offered a bigger-picture guide to organising your family’s information in case of emergencies, but Trent’s advice is sound, especially for anyone who hasn’t even glanced at the idea of emergency planning. Making and Maintaining a Master Information Document [The Simple Dollar]
