One of the best features of Google Home is the ability to control all of the smart devices in your house, letting you turn on the lights or set the thermostat without fiddling with any apps or controls. Now you can use Google Assistant on your Pixel phone to do the same thing. First spotted by Android Police, the settings menu in Google Assistant on the Pixel adds a new tab for Home control, letting you talk to your various devices without lifting a finger. And you don't need you have a Google Home to do it. Previously, the Pixel could interact with the Home to operate Nest smart devices, but now your phone can do it all on its own.

A French court has thrown out a complaint by a federation of Catholic families that dating site Gleeden's business model is illegal and anti-social because it encourages extramarital affairs.

Windows 10's Cortana is already a dutiful digital assistant, providing answers, reminders, or other information when asked. But Microsoft has given her more power to take the initiative, automatically setting reminders for commitments you've already agreed to. Take an email, for example. You may have promised your boss that you'll deliver a sales presentation by Friday. Just in case you've forgotten, Cortana will automatically issue what Microsoft is calling a "suggested reminder" the day before, to ensure you have plenty of time to finish it up.

With the start of the New Year, most savvy leaders make sure to carve out time for reflection and taking stock of their business. During this time, it's equally important to look ahead and identify the upcoming trends likely to impact how you position your company for success. Customers expect organizations to be at the forefront of innovation, regardless of the products or service they provide. If you're not looking towards emerging technologies in the pipeline, you're missing out on a crucial opportunity to drive your business forward, even if you don't consider yourself a tech company. These days, all companies will be significantly impacted.

Hephaestus, the Greek god of craftsmen and blacksmiths, was believed to have created automatons to work for him. Another mythological figure, Pygmalion, carved a statue of a beautiful woman from ivory, who he proceeded to fall in love with. Aphrodite then imbued the statue with life as a gift to Pygmalion, who then married the now living woman. Throughout history, myths and legends of artificial beings that were given intelligence were common. These varied from having simple supernatural origins (such as the Greek myths), to more scientifically-reasoned methods as the idea of alchemy increased in popularity. In fiction, particularly science fiction, artificial intelligence became more and more common beginning in the 19th century.

Artificial intelligence is a young field full of nearly unlimited potential that remains largely misunderstood by most people. We've come a long way since Watson won Jeopardy in 2011 and IBM formed the business unit with over $1 billion in investments. AI is no longer a one-trick pony. AI technology from IBM Watson and multiple companies such as WayBlazer and SparkCognition has moved firmly into the real world. We have no doubt come a good distance on what is indeed a very long road.

Google has finally launched Android Wear 2.0 after being delayed multiple times after it was first revealed last year. The updated smartwatch operating system brings in some improvements to its existing software, while also adding some nifty new features. Probably the most sought after new feature on Android Wear 2.0 is that it brings the Google Play Store right into smartwatches. This allows users to browse, download and install apps right on their device without it being connected to a smartphone. The apps are of course simplified versions of their smartphone counterparts, but it does make the smartwatch experience feel more untethered.

Two of the biggest trends in technology right now are machine learning and artificial intelligence. In fact, the two terms are used almost interchangeably. However, there are subtle but important differences between them both. In many ways, machine learning is a subset of artificial intelligence. Also, the term AI is older than machine learning.

As futuristic as the year 2025 sounds, it is now less than eight years away. Will time travel, flying cars and summer vacations to Mars be in the cards? Probably not, but drone delivery, chatbots and an AI-driven retail industry are near certainties. And the people driving these changes, the "digital native" generations, are quite open to disrupting, if not destroying, old retail practices. Sure, McKinsey predicts brick-and-mortar stores will still account for approximately 85% of U.S. retail sales in 2025, but will the shopper journey be the same as it is today?

If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. Our picks and opinions are independent from any business incentives. Whether you're shopping for Valentine's day or some other occasion, shopping for guys is hard. While every guy thinks they're easy to shop for, if we're being honest that isn't remotely true. Personally, I usually only think about what I want right before I'm about to buy it.