Since I write sci-fi, or stories with a futuristic slant, it only makes sense that I lean toward gadgetry. I love the feel of a new laptop. Or cell phone, or lately, my Blackberry! Woo Hoo, I finally got my own BB. :) 
Except OMG, the keypad is tiny and this thing is complicated. So here are a couple of things I have recently learned, and though t you all might appreciate hearing about. And no, this isn’t just for the teens – god knows they can figure these things out faster than me – it’s also for all the parents out there that like to play with their tech toys. I’ll post this sort of thing occasionally and hope it helps me to remember the hints as much as it helps you!
The first tip I learned for the Blackberry (from here on in referred to as Baby) was the “Switch Application” shortcut. It is accomplished by holding down the “berries” key (the key to the immediate left of the track ball/scroll pad) for a second or two and voila – your menu appears – so in the middle of an email, you can switch easily to your calendar. For older models the switch application is achieved by pressing the Alt key at the same time pressing the ESC key (the key immediately to the right of the track ball).
And for those of us who sometimes look for that special character such as accented characters (yup, I am showing my bilingualism here) such as the é in fiancé but don’t bother because it seems too complicated, well it just got a whole lot simpler! To change the character simply hold down the letter of choice (and it will capitalize by the way) and while holding down that letter use your trackball to scroll though that letters options – very cool!
For those of you who have long lists of contacts and end up scrolling through them like mad, this shortcut is very helpful and it’s the space bar! When in a list, such as your email list, press the space bar, the list will go down a page. If you hold down the Alt key and press the space bar, the screen will go up a page.
Simple things, but when you are playing catch up with the tech world, it’s the little stuff that counts. And since I love my Baby, I need to treat her right. 
Anne
