Techies Corner

Lightbulbs that merely illuminate will soon be a thing of the past, if Sengled, a Shanghai-based company, has its way. Sengled unveiled a line of app-controlled LED bulbs at CES that can be set to turn on your music, boost your Wi-Fi signal and recognize your face — or perhaps more importantly, the faces of people who shouldn't be in your house when you're away. Only the company's newest bulb, the Snap, offers facial recognition. It also has a built in security camera, microphone and speaker and supports motion detection and video recording. Sengled says there are several potential applications for the Snap, most of which are centered around security. You could replace an existing motion-activated bulb, for example, and use the camera to record when activated. The Snap will cost $199.99 when it goes on sale later this year. Other models include one with a built-in Wi-Fi repeater, the Boost, and two Bluetooth speaker bulbs: the Pulse and Solo. The $59.99 Solo has dual 3-watt speakers, while the $169.99 Pulse has a more powerful JBL multi-channel stereo wireless speaker inside. All of the bulbs are compatible with the sockets already in your light fixtures; each one can be controlled with an accompanying Android and iOS app. As with any bulb, they will eventually burn out and need to be replaced — in this case after about 25,000 hours of use, according to the company.

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Office Remote is a MS app turns your phone into a smart remote that interacts with Microsoft Office on your PC. The app lets you control Word, Excel, and PowerPoint from across the room, so you can walk around freely during presentations.

Download/more info...

>> MathPapa Algebra Calculator

>> Symbolab Algebra Calculator

>> MSN Messenger

Once the world’s favourite instant messaging client, 15-year old MSN Messenger bid a final farewell to the Internet this year. Microsoft-developed messaging client was one of the best IM clients known for its reliability and ease of use. The service was rebranded to Windows Live Messenger in 2005 and has since been known by that name. In 2013, Microsoft merged MSN Messenger with Skype rendering the former obsolete. The easy and real-time messaging made it an instant hit, with MSN alone attracting 330 million active users each month.

>> Orkut

Google shut down its early social-networking service, Orkut, which was launched ten years ago but has failed to put Google ahead in what has become one of the Web’s most popular businesses. Orkut was launched early in 2004, the same year that Facebook, now the world’s No 1 social network with 1.28 billion users, was founded. Google pulled the plug on Orkut on 10th September.

>> iPod Classic

Apple had not updated their iPod Classic since 2009, so it was destined for an end. The iPod Classic could hold up to over 40,000 songs but once the smartphone emerged, people wondered the necessity of the device. Debuted in October 2001, it was eventually replaced by the iPhone which could offer much more than just storing music. It was the last iPod to have the famed “clickwheel.” It all seems like a distant memory now.

>> Windows XP

It was one of the most sought after and popular Windows edition the company could have ever seen. The 13 year old outdated PC OS retired in April. Unfortunately the trouble that arose was that many companies across the globe were yet using the operating system. Not to mention, 95% of banks’ ATM ran it too. But eventually, Microsoft stopped support for Windows XP.

>> Microsoft Clip Art

This takes us way back. Clip Art was Microsoft’s own collection of pictures and templates, which were commonly used during the 90’s to help users ‘jazz up’ Word and PowerPoint documents. Microsoft replaced the Clip Art library by Bing images. The 21 year old reign came to an end this year. To just think about the fact that it started with Word 6.0.

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>> ALT+F4 hotkey now works to close

>> CTRL+C, CTRL+V and Other CTRL hotkeys also works

>> Maximizing to full screen size, Aero Snap also works
(ALT+Enter hotkey for full screen mode)

>> Automatic text wrapping upon window resize

>> Can have transparent command prompt window

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