People wave while waiting to take their seats to hear the keynote address of the Google I/O conference in Mountain View, Calif. FOSTER CITY, Calif.--Computers as we know them are about to disappear. Well, okay, they won't completely disappear, but they will take on a new form that makes them very difficult to distinguish from everyday objects all around us. This transformation is part of a bigger, longer term trend that some have dubbed "ambient" computing. The idea is that computing capability will end up being embedded in devices ranging from speakers to automobiles, and will provide capabilities and services to us throughout the day via the environment around us. "The difference between receiving useful information or performing specific actions automatically, as opposed to instigating the efforts on our own, is profound" The most obvious example of ambient computing to date is Amazon's Echo line of products. Echo and Tap integrate the company's Alexa digital assistant into what appears to be a Bluetooth speaker.

A crowd gathers ahead of the Google I/O conference at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, Calif. It's been a big 12 months for Google. On Wednesday, the tech giant kicks off its I/O developers conference with a keynote address expected to cover plans for its Android mobile operating system, and possibly other ventures including Android Auto. Burke says Android is the most popular operating system in the world. More than 600 Android phones launched last year.

Google Home will take on Amazon Echo when the voice-activated device launches later this year. MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - Google officially entered the voice-activated digital assistant race Wednesday with Google Home. The small device will compete directly with Amazon's popular Echo and should be available to consumers later this year, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced at the search company's annual developers conference. The move had been anticipated, as Google looks to put its mark on a coming age of artificial intelligence in which machines learn to interpret and answer human queries by leveraging the speed and scope of cloud competing. The device will be able to play music, complete a range of tasks and answer questions that one would ask of Google search.

In "The Martian," Matt Damon plays a NASA astronaut who has been stranded on Mars and has to figure out how to survive until the space agency can devise a daring plan to rescue him. But Earth's first manned mission to Mars will share little resemblance to the hit film -- not to mention the book it's based on, according to author Andy Weir and top NASA officials. Despite winning plaudits for making "The Martian" as scientifically accurate as possible, Weir thinks the real thing is likely to involve a smaller role for NASA and a bigger role for robots, 3D printing and private spaceflight companies. "It won't look anything like it looked in the movie," he said at "Transformers," an event hosted by The Washington Post on Wednesday. It may surprise you to hear that NASA completely agrees. "Andy … he's absolutely right," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

Google just made it that much easier to access its massive search engine when your phone isn't nearby. The device is similar to the Amazon Echo smart speaker. Google Home functions as a speaker that also houses Google's powerful new voice-activated assistant. It's launching later this year, but the company demonstrated a preview of the gadget on stage. Google Home is customizable, so buyers can swap out the material based on their furniture and ambience. The device comes with an embedded speaker and microphone, and doesn't include any buttons.

Beginning May 2nd, the FAA deployed five different rotor and fixed-wing unmanned aircraft systems in about 40 trials to evaluate the FBI's detection technology. Academics and staff came from a host of agencies, including the FBI, Department of Justice, the Queens District Attorney's office, and Port Authorities of New York and New Jersey. The drone-detecting tests expanded on research done earlier this year at Atlantic City International Airport. The FAA must continue these evaluations as part of the FY 2016 Appropriations law. The agency hasn't nailed down a strategy to detect civilian drones and their operators, but least we can rest easy knowing we can knock them out of the sky with a net bazooka or trained hawk when the time comes.

Facebook has two of them: WhatsApp and Messenger. They're all messaging apps--smartphone apps that let you chat with friends and family. But they're rapidly morphing into something else, a new kind of super communication tool that does so much more than just shuttle texts between people. So, it should come as no surprise that Google is building a new one of its own. The big difference is that, well, it comes from Google.

LikeSo lets you choose the words to look out for. LikeSo and Ummo are two new applications that analyze your speech and can help you improve your diction. So we put a movie famous for its speech - Clueless - to the test. NEW YORK--"So, ya know, like, frankly my dear, I totally, just don't give a damn." OK, so that's not quite the way Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) delivered his famous parting words to Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) in Gone With The Wind.

Jeremy Corbyn has likened the government to "a driverless car heading in the wrong direction", in his response to the Queen's Speech. The Labour leader said the raft of new policies would not make society more equal or create opportunities for all. He said the government failed to realise "cuts have consequences" as he attacked austerity as a "political choice not an economic necessity". Prison reform was the centrepiece of the government's plans. The government has also said it will publish details of a British Bill of Rights to replace the Human Rights Act.

"Legislation to enable the future development of the UK's first commercial spaceports." The new law would form part of the Modern Transport Bill. The UK's desire to build a spaceport on British shores isn't new, however. In the summer of 2014, the government revealed eight locations that it was considering for the landmark project. Six of these were in Scotland, leaving Wales and England with one apiece.