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MVP Ladder: Sekou Smith Casts His Final Ballot A familiar, record-setting face stays atop the NBA eliite Just a shooter, huh? Nonsense. Stephen Curry has become so much more than that during a transformative season that saw his star, and the fortunes of his Golden State Warriors, rise to epic proportions. The leading vote-getter during All-Star balloting, the No. 1 player on far and away the NBA's best team and the smiling face of a franchise that has remade itself with his image at the forefront, Curry is poised to claim his first Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the NBA's Most Valuable Player. It's an honor he already has locked up here on the final Kia Race to the MVP Ladder, winning out over a loaded field that includes James Harden of the Houston Rockets, four-time MVP LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder. And while Curry checks all of the MVP boxes -- he's an elite score...

Rico.MindHelix Rico is a cute, colorful dog-shaped device packed with motion, temperature, smoke, carbon monoxide and humidity sensors. The companion Android and iOS apps let you view sensor-related stats at-a-glance and receive alerts based on security, safety and environmental triggers. There's more behind Rico's adorable facade than built-in sensors, though. You can also stick an old smartphone inside  this plastic puppy-hub to tack on HD camera, microphone, loudspeaker, 3G and Wi-Fi capabilities. Startup MindHelix says these features should work even if your phone has a broken screen. Live streaming on the Rico app.MindHelix Starting at $99 (at the current exchange rate, that's £60 in the UK and AU$110 in Australia), Rico is compatible with Android 2.2 and higher and iOS 6 and higher. And, supposedly, it's large enough to accommodate a max screen size of 5.7 inches. That's just enough space for the larger Note 3 and iPhone 6 Plus. This blend of sensors and...

Former CEO Bill Gates, shown at bottom left in an iconic company portrait in 1978, has sent a letter to employees marking Microsoft's 40th anniversary.Microsoft Forty years ago, the world's largest maker of software was nothing more than a startup, founded by two college dropouts named Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Today, that company, Microsoft, has more than 125,000 employees, a sprawling 8-million-square-foot campus outside Seattle and  its principal products running on nearly 90 percent of the world's computers . It's the third-most valuable company in the world, behind only oil giant Exxon Mobil and longtime competitor Apple. Gates in 1986.Getty Images On Saturday, Microsoft  celebrates its 40th anniversary  and Gates -- who served as chief executive officer for 25 years before stepping down in 2000 -- has advice for its employees to utilize in the years ahead: "Make the power of technology accessible to everyone, connect people to each other and make persona...