Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella just wrapped up the keynote at the company's big developer conference, Microsoft BUILD. This year, the keynote was a wild ride through the future of what Microsoft thinks the world will look like, but in between the philosophy quotes and visions of dystopias where you have Skype embedded in your car dashboard, Microsoft actually did reveal a few new projects and products. This year is all about software, AI, distributed computing, and the "multi-device" experience. In case it wasn't clear before, Microsoft wants to make it clear that it doesn't care if you're using a Windows PC, a Mac, an Android phone, or anything else that can access the internet. It just wants you to be using its platform and its software to do so, and that's at the core of everything the company announced today.

Onstage at I/O 2018, Google showed off a jaw-dropping new capability of Google Assistant: in the not too distant future, it's going to make phone calls on your behalf. CEO Sundar Pichai played back a phone call recording that he said was placed by the Assistant to a hair salon. The voice sounded incredibly natural; the person on the other end had no idea they were talking to a digital AI helper. Google Assistant even dropped in a super casual "mmhmmm" early in the conversation. Pichai reiterated that this was a real call using Assistant and not some staged demo.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai delivers the keynote address at the Google I/O 2018 Conference at Shoreline Amphitheater on May 8, 2018 in Mountain View, Calif. Google isn't ready to tell us what the "P" in Android P will stand for: pistachio ice cream, peanut butter, pretzels or presumably the name of some other edible treat. What Google did reveal Tuesday at its Google I/O developer conference, however, was a lot more about the features and thinking behind the latest version of its mobile operating system, including ways Android P might even help you tame your smartphone addiction. Android P won't formally launch until the fall. But if you have a Google Pixel or such other phones as the Sony Xperia XZ2, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, Nokia 7 Plus, Oppo R15 Pro, Vivo X21, OnePlus 6, and Essential PH‑1, you'll be able to try Android P in beta starting today, assuming all the usual risks that come with running pre-launch software.

Google on Monday showed off a slew of new features coming to its wide range of consumer products, from an addition to its Android OS that encourage users to take breaks to the ability for its Google Assistant to praise kids (and, perhaps, adults) for using the word "please." Speaking to a crowd of developers, reporters, and techies during its annual I/O conference in Mountain View, California, Google CEO Sundar Pichai noted how these additions make technology increasingly helpful and accessible. Of course, the company hopes these conveniences will make users more willing to share all kinds of personal data when they're, say, asking Google to please tell a story. But he also was quick to point out that the tech giant-- which has dominated the markets for search, browsers, email, and more for over a decade now-- is trying to let users feel more mindful about how these products are integrated into daily habits. Indeed, while technology can be a positive force, Pichai said, "there are very real and important questions being raised about the impact of these advances and the role they'll play in our lives."

Google's I/O developer conference has already begun in Mountain View, California. Among the things the technology giant first showcased at the event are the new features that are coming to the Google Maps app this year. The first new feature that's heading to Google Maps this summer is the "For You" section. It is designed to come up with personalized recommendations to users based on their interests. Google said the dedicated "For You" tab will present information about new restaurants opening nearby, trending spots and many more based on the places the users have rated and visited, MacRumors has learned.

It didn't make the I/O main stage, but in a follow-up post, Google revealed that Chromebooks are getting Linux support to help developers code on the browser-based laptops. A preview will be available for the Pixelbook soon. "Support for Linux will enable you to create, test and run Android and web apps… Run popular editors, code in your favorite language and launch projects to Google Cloud with the command-line. Everything works directly on a Chromebook. Linux runs inside a virtual machine that was designed from scratch for Chromebooks. That means it starts in seconds and integrates completely with Chromebook features. Linux apps can start with a click of an icon, windows can be moved around, and files can be opened directly from apps."

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced Tuesday during the company's annual I/O developer conference that it is adding six new voices for its virtual assistant, including that of R&B star John Legend. The voices will be available for phones, Google Home smart speakers, and other devices. Pichai told the audience this was possible due to a breakthrough six months ago from Google's DeepMind A.I. team in its WaveNet technology, which stiches together speech recordings by analyzing the underlying raw audio to create a realistic-sounding voice. A video ran on the conference stage showing Legend recording phrases that might be useful for Google Assistant in the company's studio. "Couscous: a type of North a type of North African semolina in granules made from crushed durum wheat," Legend says at one point, appearing to be reading the definition from the Google Dictionary.

Always one of its strong suits, Google announced it plans to go all in on artificial intelligence with the next iteration of Android and the products that run the operating system. As a taste of that at Google IO, the company showed a video of its AI assistant booking an appointment over the phone -- you know, just like a human assistant would. Watch Google Assistant make a real call to make a hair appointment, talking back-and-forth with a human. No, it's not yet available but being tested. Notice how human the voice sounds and how "she" responds to phrases like "Just gimme one second" with an agreeable and natural sounding "mhmm."

In a building called the Partnerplex on Google's sprawling campus in Mountain View, California, I've been invited to hear a 51-second phone recording of someone making a dinner reservation. Person 2: Hi, um, I'd like to reserve a table for Friday the third. Person 1: OK, hold on one moment. As I listen to what sounds like a man and a woman talking, Google's top executives for Assistant, the search giant's digital helper, watch closely to gauge my reaction. They're showing off the Assistant's new tricks a few days before Google I/O, the company's annual developer conference that starts Tuesday. Turns out this particular trick is pretty wild. That's because Person 2, the one who sounds like a man, isn't a person at all.

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