Google and Microsoft are banking on voice technology, each with their own vision, but both squarely heading to become the operating system for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Google has announced a way for Apple developers to write virtual reality apps for the iPhone. The shift will enable iPhone users to use Google Cardboard to view VR.

Microsoft has long used a strategy with business enterprise resource applications to write an application once and use it multiple times. Now it will take that same message to the 5,000 software developers who will attend Microsoft's annual Build conference Wednesday, according to one report.

The total time spent with search engines on desktops rose by nearly 24% since last year, amounting to more than 111 billion minutes spent on search engines a month.

Although risky, Microsoft's teams aimed to create artificial intelligence that learns from positive interactions, similar to the algorithms that support a search engine query -- but they clearly didn't take into consideration that the technology also learns from negative interactions.

Search marketers turning a blind eye to artificial intelligence might want to take a closer look. On Wednesday Microsoft introduced Tay, "an artificial intelligence chat bot" that could become the customer service host on the next Web site you visit.

Geoffrey Hinton, known as the godfather of deep learning -- the tech that helped Google's AlphaGo beat a master at Go -- said the most powerful machines are about a million times smarter than the human brain, and becoming more sophisticated each year.

A chunk of Apple iPhone users want a smaller phone and screen, but that wish becomes a challenge when it comes to rendering text and images in Google's mobile search app on an iPhone.

Nebo, Geary LSF, and Back Azimuth Consulting were the big winners for the first SEMPO Global Awards event.

Yahoo released data this week to help marketers gear up for spring trends, from DIY home improvements to planting a vegetable garden or Rose or Gardenia plant. Some of the more interesting findings show a correlation between tax day and a willingness to view advertisements, along with the correlation between furniture and cars.