Windows Phone's no-show at Build drives home Microsoft's mobile neglect and other top stories.

• Windows Phone's no-show at Build drives home Microsoft's mobile neglect

  If Windows Phone isn’t dying, Microsoft sure has a funny way of keeping it on life support. From super-smart conversational bots to the birth of HoloLens, Microsoft had plenty of surprises in store at its annual Build event keynote on Wednesday. But the most shocking aspect of the keynote was how much attention Windows 10 Mobile received in the spotlight: zilch, nada, nothing. No roadmaps, no upcoming features, no future plans. The cold shoulder shouldn’t be a surprise, although it must lea..

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• Microsoft envisions a future where Cortana and a legion of smart bots act as our butlers

  

  Simmer down, Ray Kurzweil. If Microsoft’s Satya Nadella has his way, there will be no Singularity in the future—where humanity uploads its consciousness into a mass, computer-backed intelligence—nor a murderous scene straight from the Terminator. “Ultimately,” Nadella said, “It’s not going to be man versus machines. It’s going to be man with machines.” Nadella made the grand pronouncement during Wednesday’s introduction of Microsoft’s new “Conversations as a Platform” philosophy—basically, t..

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• Checking Your Uber Rating Or Getting Your Purse Back Just Got Much Easier

  

  After years of forcing customers to use email to complain about anything, Uber is now committing to more updated technology. On Wednesday, the ride-hailing giant announced it plans to roll out globally its in-app customer service support features, which it has been quietly implementing in the U.S. since late 2015. For passengers, this will mean that from the app they’ll be able to check their ratings, report an issue with their payment or ride, or ask for help retrieving an item they left in th..

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• Here's a map of where Apple and Google are fighting the All Writs Act nationwide

  

  The FBI was able to crack Syed Farook’s iPhone, but the overall fight against encryption is far from over. On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union released an interactive map plotting all of the instances where the government has compelled Apple and Google to unlock a mobile device. Like in the now-vacated San Bernardino case, the ACLU found that government has been trying to use the All Writs Act since 2008 to force these companies to provide assistance in cracking their customers’ ph..

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• Buy now or wait? Apple's new iPhone SE vs. the rumored 'iPhone 7'

  

    Feature Buy now or wait? Apple's new iPhone SE vs. the rumored 'iPhone 7' By Neil Hughes Wednesday, March 30, 2016, 08:45 am PT (11:45 am ET) It's one of the most common questions any prospective smartphone buyer asks: Should I buy now, or wait? The launch of the iPhone SE — an uncharacteristic-for-Apple mid-cycle upgrade — makes the answer slightly more complex this year.tl;dr: If you prefer smaller phones, now is the time to buy the iPhone SE. If you want a larger screen and you can h..

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• Why the Oculus Rift won't go the way of Google Glass

  

  On a recent episode of our podcast we spoke about the VR industry with Matt Hartman, director of seed investments at Betaworks. When evaluating VR companies, Hartman looks for whether the company is delivering a “10X experience.” Ultimately, can you deliver 10 times the value of comparable offerings with your solution? For VR companies, the vision of their given solution may not be flawed, but is the technology, cost and timing right for consumers? “Uber could have existed a decade ago, but ..

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• HoloLens uncensored: A candid hands-on with HoloLens Development Edition

  

  It felt like an undercover operation: On Tuesday night, while Microsoft executives were rehearsing their keynote presentations for Microsoft Build, I was in a hotel room next door to the conference venue, testing out what everyone would be coming to see: the HoloLens Development Edition.  This is actually the third time I’ve gone hands-on with HoloLens hardware, and it's clear Microsoft has used the last 15 months of HoloLens development to craft a remarkably polished experience.  Microso..

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• iPad Pro (9.7-inch) review:

  

  Take last year's largest-ever iPad, shrink it down to the more traditional 9.7-inch size, add an even better camera and screen, and you've got the new 2016 iPad Pro. It starts at $599 (£499 UK, AU$899) for the 32GB Wi-Fi model -- and it's the iPad I'd buy if I were in the market for a new tablet right now.But if I already had an iPad Air 2, I'd hold off unless I really needed the drawing features enabled by Apple's excellent Pencil stylus (sold separately for $99, £79 UK and AU$165). I'm writi..

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