Readers offer their best tips for finding attractions when you're travelling, moving windows on dual monitors, and ordering takeout.
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About the Tips Box: Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons—maybe they're a bit too niche, maybe we couldn't find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn't fit it in—the tip didn't make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments, share it here, or email it to tips at lifehacker.com.
Use Local Hotel Concierge Even If You're Not a Guest
Photo by UggBoy.
Pashdut lets us know an easy way to travel without travel guides:
A great tip I use anytime my wife asks me to plan a vacation, or I am traveling to a destination I have never been to, I simply call a local Hotel (Hilton, Marriott, etc) and contact their concierge. Ask them what attractions/activities/etc available in the area or what they recommend. This saves a lot of time compared to searching TripAdvisor page after page. Just Google a local major hotel in the area! Most people completely forget about this gem feature.
Move Windows Between Monitors with a Keyboard Shortcut
Wipeout shares another way to quickly move windows between dual monitors:
Use the Windows Key and the Left/Right Arrow keys to move windows back and forth between multiple monitors in Windows 7.
For example, if you want to move a window from the left monitor to the right monitor, WIN+SHIFT+Right Arrow moves the window to the other monitor and WIN+SHIFT+Left Arrow moves it back.
Just WIN+Left Arrow/Right Arrow will move a window to the left or right side of your monitor. I use this when trying to compare directories - I send one Explorer window to the left and one to the right for easy viewing.
Use Your Phone's Notes Field for Easy Carry-Out Ordering
Exner.chris shares a quick tip for ordering carry-out:
It's been a longstanding tradition with my girlfriend and I order food in for dinner every Sunday. I found it difficult to remember what I ordered from each place and to know what was good. Over time I have been adding these restaurants to my Google Contacts (and my Android). In the notes field, I put what we ordered, how much, and if it was good or not. Now when we say to each other "Want to order in?" Its really easy to order.
Get Longer Sheets of Paper Towel from Automatic Dispensers
Photo by Philip Shannon.
Tallchair shares a secret to beating those automatic paper towel dispensers:
So I was annoyed with the arbitrary amount of paper towel that the no-hands dispenser in my office bathroom gave me- it's just short of being enough paper towel to get my hands dry.
If you need a longer sheet of paper towel, it usually wont give you more paper towel until you rip that sheet off. Instead you can simply reach just inside the dispenser and press the serrated blade down, this triggers the machine into thinking that the towel has been torn off. It will then spit out more paper towel without needing to tear it off.