Fake phone numbers are a beautiful thing, whether you make them up on the spot or give out the number to a service like the Rejection Hotline. Best of all, though, are the ones you craft yourself, like the one I gave to car dealers that fakes a full voicemail message.
If you have phone phobia, you're not alone. (I'm a recovering member of the club myself.) If the situation in this country is making you anxious, calling your local MP is both a step toward a solution, and a way to give yourself a small amount of control over something. But you have to be able to actually make the call.
Ever needed to hand your phone to a kid? Even if you don't want to, sometimes you're trying to keep them quiet at a restaurant, or calm them down at the doctor's. But handing over an unlocked phone is just asking for the kid to delete all your home screen shortcuts (or, worse, work emails). Fortunately there's a way to fix this.
There's no shortage of things that could happen to our phones (falling out of pockets, into pools, even out of planes) - but even though the device may be gone forever, that doesn't mean you need to lose your texts, contacts, and photos.
iOS: If you need to quickly redial the last number you called on your iPhone, you can always just pop into the recent calls list, but OS X Daily points out an even faster way is to simply tap the big green phone button again.
Our smartphones boast some high-end cameras, but they can’t always get us that optimal selfie angle. That’s why the ARMOR-X Mini Flexible Phone Tripod is a must-have for those looking to snap dynamic photos on the go.
Android: Google is just as sick of robocalls as you are, it seems. The company has just announced that the built-in phone app on Nexus phones will give you a big red warning when you're getting a call from a spammer.
Android: Google's released the stock phone and contacts apps to the Play Store, breaking them away from Android, which means we'll start to see more regular updates with sweet new features.
Windows only: Skype 4.0 is officially out, and it features all the really big video windows and Outlook and problem-reporting tools from last year's betas. It also beefs up Skype's handling of bandwidth. The biggest jump noticeable, at least for users of the official 3.8 version, is the window real estate given to video chat and IM chats, and the general overhaul given to the app's skin and look. Skype's standard two-pane video chat has been traded in for a picture-in-picture layout, but that can be changed by dragging out your own video thumbnail. Skype also touts a new audio engine and network manager, Silk, that uses half the bandwidth to provide audio and tries to save it from stuttering when Skype notices your connection slowing down in the background. The video engine purportedly does the same type of save-the-call moves when your bandwidth drops off. Skype 4.0 is a free download for Windows systems only. Skype hounds, are you noticing better audio quality and fewer glitch-outs? Liking the new look of video chat? Tell us in the comments. Screenshot from Skype.
Productivity consultant Jared Goralnick offers ten reasons why your phone shouldn't automatically notify you the moment you receive a new email message—like protecting your sanity, for one. Some phone email clients (like Gmail Mobile for Java-based phones) require that you start them up to check your mail; other devices like the Blackberry check automatically and notify you the moment a new message lands in your inbox. It may seem convenient to have your phone auto-check email, but do the constant interruptions actually save you time? After the jump, tell us how you like email on your phone—pushed to you on the fly or only there when you check.
US-centric: Tired of getting phone calls from the same 800-type phone number, but have no idea who's calling? 800Notes, a free user-submitted reverse phone directory, lets you see who might be ringing, whether it's a sales firm, debt collection agency, or other cloaked caller. Whether or not you find a match depends on if anybody else has reported the identity of the caller, but many of the matches have useful information, like a caller's experience in trying to get the other end to stop calling. For those who've recently changed numbers or seem to attract false debt collection calls, it's definitely worth a bookmark for when Google searching fails. 800Notes
The Marc and Angel productivity blog drums up 10 useful mobile phone numbers to keep in your contacts list—the kind of numbers you don't use often, but you really want to get at fast when you do. Among them, they make a strong argument to do a little research ahead of time and find a reputable, affordable, and, most importantly, available locksmith:There's nothing worst than being locked out, especially at night. Save yourself the hassle of trying to find a reputable locksmith with reasonable prices when you are locked out and stressed out. Do a little homework now and find yourself a reputable locksmith that has a 24 hour emergency call service.Sound advice, and quick to accomplish with a Google Maps or online yellow page service. What must-have numbers are firmly lodged in your phone's address book? Serve up a few ideas in the comments. 10 Handy Numbers to Save in Your Mobile Phone
Need to make a long, long, long-distance call but don't want to pay the cost of a cheap lunch every minute? My VoIP Provider might be a good place to start looking for cheap internet-based calling options. The site offers rates and customer reviews for roughly 1400 VoIP services around the world, and can display and sort calling rates between nearly any two countries. You'll always want to dig around a bit before signing up with an unknown VoIP service, of course, but it's a handy way to get even cheaper phone calls than with standard call-out services. My VoIP Provider is a free service that doesn't seem to require a sign-up. Check out a handy roundup of the numerous VoIP tips and tricks we've previously featured to get more out of your internet calling.
MyVoipProvider
Automated phone bots keep interrupting your dinner with their pre-recorded marketing messages? Play the U.S. Special Information Tone signal for "vacant circuit" when you pick up the phone. Our brother site Consumerist says a reader who kept getting automated debt collection calls added the tone to the beginning of his voicemail greeting: The next time the robot called, it thought it was getting a dead line and dutifully erased the number from its system. Voila, automatons be gone. Some places have autodialers that don't (or have been tweaked) to respond to SIT tones, but if you've got a persistent unwanted robot caller, it's worth a shot. Of course, adding this to your answering machine greeting may confuse genuine human callers as well, but that may be worth scaring off the bots. Grab the tone as a WAV file from the Art of Hacking site. U.S. SIT (Special Information Tones) signal: Vacant Circuit (out of service or nonexistent phone number)
If you're like me, you probably get unwanted mobile phone calls often from people who accidentally but habitually dial the wrong number. You can ask your carrier to block the repeated offenders, but that option is not supported by all carriers. The Baby Toolkit blog has an alternative that may be just as good. For people who repeatedly call the wrong number, create a contact called "Wrong Number" and set your phone to silent. That way, you can save your cell phone minutes and avoid being distracted when you get a call that isn't intended for you anyway.
Hack Your Cell: Identify Regular Wrong Number Calls
The Digital Inspiration weblog has found another Facebook feature that's useful offline as well as on--a compilation of friends who list their phone numbers. To get to it, head to facebook.com/mobile and then hit the "Phonebook" link at the top to get a list that can be printed pretty easily. For another print-worthy Facebook feature, check out how to make a friends collage.
Constant phone interruptions can break up even the most dedicated workflow. However, you can solve this by setting aside a specific time each day to return and make your calls. Productivity blogger John Cox has more: Folks will leave you messages. Return those messages at a set time. Try to say between 10AM and 11AM in the morning and 2PM and 3PM in the afternoon is the time that I call people back. Not before, not after. I suppose there could always be exceptions to the rule due to emergencies, but to be honest with you, I haven't had to make the exception. The only reason that folks expect an immediate return call is because we train them into that behavior. I've had to do this since I started working exclusively from home, and it's cut my distractions down pretty drastically. If you've set aside a specific phone time, please share in the comments how this is working (or not working) for you.
Windows/Mac/Linux (All platforms): Freeware Voice-over-IP (VoIP) application Gizmo Project makes phone calls from your PC similar to the popular Skype. Like when we first mentioned Gizmo Project, it still boasts several excellent features like voice integration with other Gizmo Project users as well as Google Talk, Windows Live and Yahoo Messenger users, support for AIM and MSN chat, and a free call-in number—making it sort of a kitchen sink version of Skype.
The latest version of Gizmo Project supports video chat (though it's not as high quality as Skype), an improved interface, and several worthwhile fixes. If you've tried Skype but you're looking for more functionality and integration with other communication standards, Gizmo Project is worth a go. If you've been using Gizmo Project since we first mentioned it, let us know how it's working for you in the comments. The current beta is Windows only, but will presumably support Mac and Linux soon.
US-centric: Microsoft recently announced a slate of updates to their Live Search features for mobile users, including a free 411 service and voice input for search features on Windows Mobile devices. Live Search 411 (800-CALL-411, or 800-225-5411) offers some pretty familiar features, with business listings and the ability to have maps sent by text message. Meanwhile, Live Search for Windows Mobile users now offers voice input (in beta), gas prices, and hours of operation for businesses. Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0 and BlackBerry users can access Live Search Mobile at wls.live.com, while other mobile phones go through m.live.com.
US - centric: Previously mentioned GOOG-411, Google's free telephone directory assistance tool, has graduated from Google Labs and gotten a whole new web site. This doesn't mean much except that Google's serious about supporting GOOG-411, so the accurate, lightning-fast voice-recognition directory assistance is here to stay. For a lot of us, the cost of an expensive cell phone data plan supersedes the convenience of internet access on your phone, and—likewise—the cost of a call to your traditional 411 service is an expense no one wants to incur. As you can see from the video, the free GOOG-411 is a simple, free way to get on-the-go information from the comfort of your phone for only the cost of a call.
1-800-GOOG-411
