Apps and Software

The trial of Ross Ulbricht began on Jan. 13. The 30-year-old is accused of being the mastermind behind Silk Road, what was once the planet's biggest online marketplace for illegal drugs

The operation was worth $1.2 billion before federal law enforcement shuttered it in 2013. The kingpin behind Silk Road operated under the alias "Dread Pirate Roberts," a reference to the Rob Reiner film The Princess Bride. Ulbricht was arrested at a San Francisco public library that October, and officials seized his laptop. He pleaded not guilty in February 2014.

Google's Android app just got a lot smarter.

Google Now will be updated with support for 40 third-party apps, the company revealed Friday.

Google Now, launched in 2012, provides personalized search results — in the form of "cards" — automatically based on a user's previous actions. For example, as you leave work the app may surface a Google Now card alerting you to an accident on your way home and provide an alternate route via Google Maps

But these cards largely relied on Google's own services: Maps, Calendar, Gmail, Search etc. The latest update changes that with integration with a few dozen third-party apps, including Lyft, eBay, Ford, Pandora and ...

"Men everywhere can now rejoice as their wives and girlfriends finally have a way to track their time of the month." I received this pitch email for the MyPeriod Tracker app this week. "How many ruthless fights have been started due to lack of empathy from the husband because he had no idea what type of mood he was coming home to?"

It's 2015 and this kind of utterly embarrassing marketing still exists. Keep reading — it gets worse

The subject line contained the phrase "PMS & Men," which hinted at the email's contents. The app was created by none other than five (five) men who "were tired of the drama, discourse and sometimes absurd fights." The app would help "relinquish the fear and confusion of men, and allow women to be more tuned into their own cycle and symptoms." ...