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CEATEC 2019 is underway in Japan and more than just the usual tech trade show, the event has an underlying theme that promotes a rather idyllic and ambitious vision of the future. That is what Japan's Society 5.0 is trying to push, a society that harmonizes cyberspace and real space for the enrichment not just of individuals but of the entire society as well. That future relies heavily on technologies like the cloud and AI and, unsurprisingly, Microsoft is making a big push for its Intelligent Cloud and Intelligent Edge to power the future IoT-centric world.

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You've heard of Web 2.0 and perhaps even the Web 3.0 that browser maker Opera loves talking about. But have you ever heard of Society 5.0, much less the previous versions that came before it? No, it's not a hot new piece of software but Japan's trendy label for what historians often refer to as "ages". With Society 5.0, the Japanese government and companies are working together to put developments in technology, especially in AI and automation, at the service of improving human society and evolving civilization as a whole.

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For all the benefits that cloud-based game streaming may promise, it will live and fall by one word: latency. Beholden to Internet connections and distance from Google's data servers, Stadia may end up becoming something only a few will be able to enjoy. Like with any problem, however, Google is solving this problem with some machine learning and AI which it dubs as "negative latency". And if that works well, Google Stadia may indeed be faster than any local PC or console until those reach Star Trek-like FTL speeds.

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Cloud file storage is often presented as a collaborative tool but it can also be used for keeping personal backups of files you want to access any time, anywhere, and on any device. Sometimes, however, those files may require the utmost secrecy and security, perhaps far more than the usual security measures these cloud services implement. That's where Microsoft's OneDrive Personal Vault comes in, which was launched in June with limited scope. Now the company is making it available for all though you might have to take note of some limitations before investing in it.

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Game streaming is touted to be the inevitable and unavoidable future of commercial gaming but, for that to work seamlessly, a reliable and fast Internet connection is required. That is why it makes sense for game streaming platform developers to make sure they have favorable partnerships with network operators and that's exactly what Microsoft is doing in South Korea with its deal with SK Telecom that will, in turn, make the country the first gaming market to experience its promise of xCloud game streaming.

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At its pre-Gamescom interview with Gamespot, Microsoft Xbox head Phil Spencer had a lot to say about the company's focus for the future of Xbox gaming. Naturally, one of the biggest points of interests has been Project xCloud game streaming. Specifically, there has been rumors about an Xbox "Lite" that eschews the expensive hardware in lieu of streaming games. That may sound almost dreamy but that may now remain a dream as Spencer insists they aren't working on such a console just yet.

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Earlier today I happened upon the Android app called Photo Map. This app was developed by Levion Software, and it seems to deliver exactly the service it intended to provide. Much like a similar iPhone/iOS feature that's been in play for several years, this "Photo Map" app creates a lovely spread of photos the user took and uploaded to Google Photos. For that, it's a great piece of work, and the developer deserves their accolades. What I did not expect was that this app would remind me to check my email at exactly the right moment - the moment Google would deliver a foreboding message.

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Google and friends are trying to push the idea of game streaming to the public but there are still undoubtedly questions regarding this rather novel form of interactive entertainment. Some may even have reservations despite reserving their place in Google's upcoming Stadia game streaming service. The company has now published an FAQ that tries to put those fears to rest.

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Game streaming is the future if publishers and console makers have their way. Although the idea isn't new, it is only recently that the technology and industry backing have finally come together. Now that Google is also getting into the game, over players are starting to pick up the pace. Microsoft, of course, has been promoting its own xCloud platform but may soon have a cheaper and smaller Xbox to go along with it.

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OneDrive is making some big changes today, doubling the storage in its standalone plan, while adding a new OneDrive Personal Vault for maximizing security around the most important files. The new Personal Vault features is an extra-protected subset of data, which can be only be accessed with secondary authentication.

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From the very beginning, Chrome OS and Chromebooks were envisioned to be cloud-centric, which is why the early models had very measly internal storage. It may have been a bit ahead of its time and Chromebook makers eventually crammed more gigabytes inside devices. Fast-forward a few years later, cloud storage has become a critical piece of modern workers' lives and now Chrome OS is putting them these services to the forefront of its native Files app. That is if their Android app supports its.

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This year’s E3 signaled a shift in the coming years of gaming. The event wasn’t just about video games, but how we would get hold of them. It seems every publisher and their dog wants to implement a subscription service for video games – a Netflix for gaming of sorts. Google, EA, Microsoft and Ubisoft are among the list of publishers in the heated race. With all these similar announcements, the industry looks to be saturating quickly – even more confusingly than TV-streaming services.

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