10 Simple Technology tricks you should know

1. Share a Nest Cam video feed

The Nest Cam is great for getting live video streams, seeing any past events, and getting instant alerts of motion and sound. Many people are unaware that you can easily share a Nest cam’s view. I permitted my sisters to see my mother’s Nest cam in her living room.

The big gotcha is how you share the video stream. Do not select a public link. That means anyone with the link can see the stream without a password.

Use the option for a password-protected link. This way, only people you give both the link and password get the video stream, and other people will not have access to your Nest home and the devices connected to it. Up to ten people will be able to view the video stream simultaneously.

Sign in to the Nest app with a computer. For some reason, you can’t change the camera’s privacy settings on a phone or tablet.

Select the Camera that you want to share > Settings > Camera sharing.

You have two options: Share with a password or Share publicly. Select Share with password: Click this to let specific people view your camera’s live stream. They’ll need the link to your camera and they’ll need to enter the password you set.

your document in front of the webcam and line it up on the screen. Hit the red photo icon to take a picture. It will then appear in the bottom right corner. Drag it onto your desktop for safekeeping.

On a Windows PC, open the Camera app. Line up your document in front of the webcam, then hit the white camera icon to snap a photo. Your photo will appear in the bottom right corner. Click it to open, then click the three dots in the upper right. Choose Open folder to see where it is stored on your computer, then move it anywhere you like.

2. Stop guessing when to leave

Google Maps lets you set a departure time or an arrival time. By setting a departure time, you’ll get an estimate of when you should arrive for an appointment. By setting an arrival time, you receive an estimate of when you should leave your current location to make it on time.

All you have to do is open Google Maps and fill in your location and destination.

3. Free transcripts of your meetings

Taking notes is a pain, and transcribing audio takes forever. Otter.ai is a great option if you want AI to do the work for you.

Otter records and transcribes in real time. Even better, within a couple of minutes, you get access to searchable transcripts to find whatever you need. You can playback your recording, and highlight or add comments.

With a free account, you get 600 minutes of transcription per month. After that, plans start at $8.33 a month when billed annually.

Send your note via text or email.

The person you’ve added to the note can make changes, as can you. Now you can communicate privately, and it won’t show up in your text messages.

The Notes app is full of tricks. Did you know it has a built-in scanner feature?

4. Use a Post-it for useful reasons

Keyboards are magnets for dirt and grime, especially if you eat at your desk. If you don’t have any compressed air handy, clean out your keyboard with the sticky side of a Post-it note.

Run it through each row of your keys. You’ll be both surprised and disgusted to see all the junk it picks up. If dust piles up the corners, use a pair of tweezers to get it out.

Spring clean your tech on the inside, too.

.6. Open a new tab

Want to open a tab to read later? Hover over a hyperlink and click the wheel of your mouse. This automatically opens that link in a new tab, keeping you on your current screen.

Sorry, laptop users. You’ll still need to use the menu to select the Open link in a new tab.

7. Store a digital signature on your Mac

You don’t need Adobe Acrobat to sign a digital document. It’s easy to create a virtual signature you can use on a Mac using the Preview app.

In Preview, hit Tools.

Choose Annotate.

Select Signature.

Select Manage signatures.

From there, you have two options. Sign using your trackpad or sign your name on a white piece of paper and hold it up to your webcam.

8. Use your pencil eraser for something useful

If you own any Apple tech, you probably have quite a few dirty white charging cables. Those things attract scuffs and marks in no time.

Make them look brand new with a pencil eraser. It takes a little time and patience, but start erasing and the mess will be gone in no time.

9. Give your webcam a new purpose

Your webcam is good for more than video meetings. Use it as a scanner when you need to get a document onto your computer and don’t want to go through the steps of taking a photo, sending it to yourself, and formatting it.

On a Mac, open Photo Booth. Your webcam will automatically open. Place your document in front of the webcam and line it up on the screen. Hit the red photo icon to take a picture. It will then appear in the bottom right corner. Drag it onto your desktop for safekeeping.

On a Windows PC, open the Camera app. Line up your document in front of the webcam, then hit the white camera icon to snap a photo. Your photo will appear in the bottom right corner. Click it to open, then click the three dots in the upper right. Choose Open folder to see where it is stored on your computer, then move it anywhere you like.

10. Stop guessing when to leave

Google Maps lets you set a departure time or an arrival time. By setting a departure time, you’ll get an estimate of when you should arrive for an appointment. By setting an arrival time, you receive an estimate of when you should leave your current location to make it on time.

All you have to do is open Google Maps and fill in your location and destination