Stop fumbling around and use your personal assistant!

Do you use the personal assistant (Hey, Siri or Hey, Google) on your phone to help you do things more quickly or easily?  If not, today might be a good day to start!  

Today every time you pick up your phone to check weather, time, messages, what's on your calendar, to call someone, etc. ask Siri or Google to do that for you.

Some examples:
Begin by saying "Hey, Siri" (iPhone) or "Hey, Google" (Android phone), then

1. What time is it?
2. Send a message to......
3. Remind me to pick up my prescriptions today.
4. Write an email to my mom.
5. What is the weather going to be like today?
6. What time is it in Munich?
7. Get directions home.
8. Find coffee near me.
9. Set a timer for 10 minutes.
10. Put a haircut on my calendar for April 1 at 10 AM.
11. Turn on the flashlight.

What other ways can/do you use Siri or Google?  Remember, your "personal assistant" is there to help you.  
Troubleshooting:
If Siri isn't working on your iPhone, check out these suggestions:  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207489
If Google assistant isn't working on your Android phone, check out this page:  https://support.google.com/assistant/answer/9795643?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid

Have a terrific Tech Tip Tuesday!  Since Kansas weather promises to be wet today and keep us inside, take some time to familiarize yourself with your personal assistant!

Shazam it!

I remember downloading Shazam quite a few years ago and using it to identify songs playing on the radio or TV.  It wasn't always successful in the identification and it still isn't, but it is much improved.  With iOS 14, Shazam is now a built-in feature of the iPhone operating system and comes with the ability to identify music that is playing not only on other devices but also on your iPhone and headphones. You no longer have to download the app if you are using an Apple product; Android users will download it from the Google Play store.

How might you use Shazam? 
1) While watching someone's TikTok you want to know what music they've used to create it.
2) You're watching a YouTube video and want to identify the background music.
3)  While watching a show on TV you'd like to know the name of the music that is playing.
4)  You're listening to music on your headphones and want to identify what is playing.

Who can use it? Shazam can be used on multiple devices - iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Macs and Apple Watches.  Android users have already been able to use some of these features for a couple of years.

Shazam can be accessed through the Control Panel on your Apple devices OR you can even just ask Siri to identify the music. ("Siri, what song is playing?")

If this is something you're interested in using or learning more about, Apple has an excellent "how-to" article - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210331

OR, maybe you would rather watch a quick how-to video that demonstrates the process - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhVHADLe4Ps  

Today is going to be way too nice to stay inside and spend time with your technology, but maybe you can use this tip while you are listening to music or a podcast during your walk?  Make it a great Tech Tip Tuesday whatever you choose to do!

Top 10 Siri Commands for Those with Cognitive Issues

The accommodations and activities afforded by voice-activated assistance technology (i.e., Siri and Alexa) are absolutely amazing.  Before watching this video, I have to admit I had never thought about some of the tips being beneficial to those with cognitive issues. 
Don't let the title - "TOP 10 Siri Commands for Memory Loss, Dementia, Early-Stage Alzheimer’s"  - keep you from watching. (You may want to move the slider forward to the 2-minute mark to skip his plea for money.)  These are some great tips for ALL of us!  There is also a PDF available for download below the video if you'd like to keep it as a reminder.

If you don't watch the video, please be aware of the last tip; it could be a lifesaver:  When/If you need to call 911 on your iPhone be sure and say:  "Hey, Siri, call 911 on speaker phone."  Those last 3 words could be a lifesaver.  If you don't say "on speaker phone" you will not be able to activate the speaker phone once the emergency operator answers, and they will not hang up to let you call again.  They are trained to stay on the line.  Thus, you will not be able to hear them giving you directions if you have fallen and are a distance from your device.

One more note:  I am an iPhone user and am not as familiar with the Android devices so I'm unsure how to do these same tasks on one of those devices.  Sorry.