Of all the ways tech companies are gunning to drive virtual reality, Google may be working on something no one else has done yet: make the experience self-sufficient. The search giant is developing a stand-alone headset, which would be the first VR goggle that isn’t powered by a smartphone, laptop or gaming console, according to …

Marc Andreessen needs to tweet a billion apologies. The prominent Silicon Valley investor and Facebook board member on Wednesday took to Twitter to apologize for a series of offensive tweets he posted the night before. The short missives touched a nerve because they appeared to reference India’s colonial history. The world’s second-most populous country, with more than a billion people, …

How important is artificial intelligence to Google’s future? Hint: The search giant is promoting its head of AI to take over its biggest business. Google on Wednesday said AI chief John Giannandrea will take over search responsibilities when current search boss Amit Singhal retires at the end of the month. That move signals profound changes for how we find things …

Marissa Mayer is cleaning house. The question is whether the makeover is to keep Yahoo going for the long term or to sweep out the clutter and attract potential buyers. To turn Yahoo around, the CEO said Tuesday that she’s cutting about 1,700 jobs, shutting down services like Games, and selling off patents and real estate in the hopes of …

Alphabet, the new parent company of Google, is the Willy Wonka factory of tech: driverless cars, Wi-Fi beaming balloons, glucose-reading contact lenses and even plans for smart cities. If founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin can pull off all those so-called “moon shots,” they’ll certainly deliver a future full of intrigue. But innovation isn’t easy — or cheap. On Monday, …

When Larry Page charges at you with a hockey stick, he doesn’t talk trash. Known for being the silent type, Page is quiet and focused and lets his brother-in-arms, Sergey Brin, do the whooping. That was the dynamic between the duo whenever they played roller hockey, a favorite pastime. But it’s also what defines Google, the company they co-founded in …

There are a few things nearly every Super Bowl party in America will likely have: a TV, chips and some sort of dip, and lots and lots of phones. Since surveys indicate you have these pocket-size computers on you pretty much every waking moment, you might as well be keeping up with the game via Twitter. The Carolina Panthers and …

When’s the last time you used Foursquare? Can’t remember? That’s part of the problem for the company behind the pioneering social app. Also called Foursquare, the firm announced a major shakeup Thursday. Co-founder Dennis Crowley is stepping down as CEO to become its executive chairman. Replacing him in the top job is Chief Operating Officer Jeff Glueck. Steven Rosenblatt, a …

Now playing: Watch this: Butt why do we need the Peach app? 2:59 On my bus ride to work in San Francisco for the past couple of months, I’ve passed by the saddest row of happy-face posters in the world. They’re advertisements for Ello, the once-buzzy social network that cropped up in 2014, billing itself as the anti-Facebook. Its logo …

Pope Francis is largely beloved by the Internet. Now, he’s meeting with one of its leaders. The pope will meet with Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet, the parent company of Google. The Guardian earlier reported the news. The meeting will last 15 minutes and take place in the Vatican in Rome, the report said. The newspaper didn’t give timing …