TechBits

I ♥ ☼

Ever see someone's Facebook status update that contains funky symbols and wonder, "How'd they do that?"

It's a special ALT + <number from numeric keypad> combination

Examples:

♥ = ALT + 3
♫ = ALT + 14

Here's a chart listing the possible characters (there are quite a lot of them, aren't there?):

Things to note:

• Numbers must be typed from the numeric keypad
• Laptop users may need to use some special key combos instead. On my laptop, I had to press the NumLk key, then use Fn+Alt+the numeric keypad numbers (little blue numbers above some of the letters).
• Not all programs, applications and browsers will recognize the special Alt characters

Alternatives to Drop.io

Goodbye, drop.io!

Online file storage and sharing is handy for library computer users who don't have access to a USB drive, blank CD, or floppy drive (or for those who forget to bring those items along to the library). If drop.io is your standard go-to for online file storage, now is the time to find a good alternative -- drop.io is ending its free service this week and shutting down altogether on December 15.

Here are 3 services that Lifehacker recommends as drop.io alternatives:

• Google Docs
• Dropbox.com
• Windows Live SkyDrive

TechBits readers:  do you have any others to recommend?

(Thanks to Jean for the tip!)