Hot on the heels of the Consumer Electronics Show and its many announcements, the past week has been a busy one for technology.
Here are the top five headlines of the week.
End of Google Glass as We Know It
Google officially announces the end of Google Glass Explorers and a management shift. In a blog post, Google reveals Glass is getting its own division and moving out of Google's Google X experimental laboratory. The news drew mixed response from fans. Many early adopters are disappointed at having to find out about the closure along with everyone else rather than being notified on a more personal level from Google.
Project Ara Gets First Release
Google launches the first official release of its Project Ara smartphone in Puerto Rico, a gateway to markets in North America and Latin America. The phone will be tested through a market pilot among Puerto Rico's mobile-centric population, where 75 percent of residents use their smartphones as their primary way to access the Internet.
Many expect the smartphone technology to revolutionize the device industry as Project Ara is completely modular, allowing users to take out and replace things like the processor and camera. It also means a much longer lifespan, as users can replace parts that break or get outdated.
Google announces it is building the first driverless cars in the Detroit area.
The technology is expected to be ready for the road within the next five years and is being built in the Roush factory in Livonia, Mich. The current design of the car is very pod-like and is similar to a Volkswagen Beetle.
Amazon Web Services Adds New Features
Amazon is adding a number of new features into Amazon Web Services in an attempt to take on the likes of competitors that include Google. Amazon Web Services is currently the largest cloud-based storage system.
The new features include a single sign-on option for those with multiple accounts, as well as a two-minute early warning for spot-instance termination. Spot instances let users name their price for Amazon EC2 computing, letting them bid on spare instances available and run those instances whenever they win the bid.
The Simpsons Coming to Minecraft
Minecraft, one of the most popular games, is adding one of the most popular TV shows as a downloadable skin pack.
Millions currently play the game and can now download and play as the Simpsons within the game. While there have been fan-made Simpsons skin packs in the past, this is the first time an official pack has been released.
