Microsoft (MSFT) gave the world a glimpse into what it's been working on for the past year and its vision for the future during its annual Build Developers Conference in Seattle on Monday. And while the company might be known for its Windows operating system, it's telling that the first day of the two-day event focused heavily on Microsoft's cloud and artificial intelligence efforts. From adding the ability to see smartphone notifications on your Windows PC to using AI to improve accessibility for the hearing and visually impaired, Microsoft gave us a ton of interesting news. Here are the most important highlights. Microsoft's Windows Phone is ancient history, but that doesn't mean the company is completely out of the mobile space.

In theory, Sony's newest wearable sounds promising. The Xperia Ear is a single Bluetooth earbud that lets you dictate messages, get weather updates, smartphone notifications and carry out other little tasks just by talking to it. Sony also promises a long-lasting battery that can endure a full workday of talk time with the included charging case, so you can have the assistant ready for your commands all day. Unfortunately, the Xperia Ear simply doesn't do enough to justify its $200 asking price. Sony's Xperia Ear is an intriguing device -- in theory. It's a single Bluetooth earpiece with a built-in assistant that's always ready for your voice commands, and will recite your smartphone notifications as they arrive.

Not sure what to get for Mother's Day? Columnist Jennifer Jolly shows off great tech gifts for Mom. Amazon's Echo smart home hub has become a sleeper hit for the company. Mother's Day is coming up fast and that special gift that makes her feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Well it isn't just going to make, or buy, itself. Here are 10 of this year's most-wanted mom gadgets sure to show her how much you appreciate her, all year long.