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How to Enable Hidden Features in Popular Gadgets
Are
you fully utilising the potential of your gadgets?
How
to access some features that you may not know existed on your device
APPLE iPAD
Your iPad is a powerful device and it is capable of providing you with
a full Windows experience using a free VNC app. Install a free VNC server
software such as TightVNC on your computer and a free VNC app on your iPad
(there are several options). As long as both the iPad and computer are
connected to the same network, your iPad can connect to your computer and
function as a portable ‘screen’ for your computer — complete with touch
control. You can also use your iPad as a second display for your computer
using an app called Air Display. If your iPad has limited storage, you can
store them on your computer and stream them over using an app called Air
Video.
CANON DSLRs
Most digital SLRs have some features that are either limited or locked
by the manufacturer. Using a custom firmware, you can unlock these hidden
features and in the process, enable features from Pro-level cameras in your
entry-level DSLR. Magic Lantern is one such temporary firmware that can
immediately enhance the number of features your camera offers. Head to www.
magiclantern.fm and download the custom firmware. Copy it to the root of
your SD card (format the card before starting) and start the firmware
upgrade process from settings. It will take a few minutes to upgrade and
once you see the confirmation screen, restart your camera. You will notice
various new settings in the display and more can be accessed by pressing
the Delete button. All this is done without actually modifying anything
permanently — so your warranty remains intact. When you want to go back to
original firmware, format the card and restart your camera. Keep in mind
that it only works with select Canon DSLRs, so check if your camera is
supported before downloading.
SONY PSP/ PS VITA
Apart from portable gaming and entertainment, a Sony PlayStation
Portable or PlayStation Vita can be used to remotely access your PS3 (and
the upcoming PS4 – which will support additional features compared to PS3).
You need to configure it first by connecting both to the same WiFi network
and looking for the Remote Play option in the PS3 settings menu. Follow the
on-screen instructions to pair them (you might need to connect them using a
USB cable). Once both of them are paired, the connection can also be
established remotely, i.e., you can be outside of your home network as
well. For this to work, your PSP/Vita needs to be connected to a WiFi
network (4mbps minimum recommended) while your PS3 at home should be either
switched on or on standby mode and the home WiFi connection should be
switched on. Then your PSP will be able to remotely power on the PS3 and
access the contents (music, photos, videos) stored on the drive.
SONY PS3
A PlayStation can function quite well as a media center: a hub for your
photographs, music & videos. If you install the free PS3 Media Server
on your computer, you can stream any type of video (with live conversion)
over to your PS3. Many PS3s come with an internal hard drive — a 40GB drive
for a PS3 that’s a few years old, going up to 500GB for newer versions.
Whatever the size of the drive, you can upgrade it yourself without much
fuss. You need a larger capacity 2.5-inch (laptop size) SATA hard drive and
a Philips head screwdriver. It does not void warranty and the procedure is
detailed by Sony in the user manual. Usually, the hard drive spins at
5400rpm. While upgrading, get one that spins at 7200rpm or better yet, a
flash-based drive to boost speed in certain areas.
PC/MAC
Is your internet connection too slow? Did you know that you can easily
take a friend’s wireless connection, your own wired connection and a USB
data dongle — and bridge all of them to get three times the Internet speed?
All you need is small software called Dispatch (www.connectify.me/dispatch).
Dispatch takes all the available connections on your computer and combines
their bandwidth seamlessly. It even includes real-time bandwidth monitoring
to keep an eye on your bandwidth usage. A paid pro version removes
advertisements and adds features like application specific settings,
automatic start-up, unlimited dispatch uptime and even lets you assign data
caps to each connection so that you don’t cross your ISP’s pre-assigned
data limit. Currently, Dispatch is only available for Windows. Mac users
can try out Switchboard (www.connectify.me/switchboard)
that offers similar functionality.
XBOX 360
If you own the Xbox 360 with 4GB storage, you will notice a couple of
issues. Not only does this console have very limited storage, many new
games refuse to work on it because they need to download content to an
internal hard drive. One way to solve the issue is to buy Microsoft’s own
hard drive upgrade which is needlessly expensive. Or, you could just add a
hard drive on your own. The process is easy and does not void warranty— buy
an Xbox 360 third party HDD case (available for as low as 400 online) and
use any 2.5-inch SATA hard drive. Xbox 360 has a slot to connect a hard
drive for extra storage. Open the hard drive cover on the bottom of the
console to access the hard drive slot. Fit your hard drive into the Xbox
specific case and just slot the case into the Xbox. It will lock with a
click and you are done. Start your Xbox, go to settings > system
settings and select storage to view if your Xbox has detected the hard
drive. This method will be at least 50% cheaper than buying an official
Microsoft hard drive.
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Hitesh
Raj Bhagat and Karan Bajaj ET131218
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