
Microsoft is leasing Surface tablet and software bundles to businesses
Last month, Microsoft quietly launched a program for individuals to lease its Surface detachable tablets to small businesses so they could use top-line machines without a lot of up-front cost. Today they're rolling out a more ambitious plan that takes a page out of the SaaS playbook, letting partners rent out the devices alongside the tech giant's more popular office software. As part of their Surface as a Service initiative, authorized third parties will offer the tablets al

Pizza Hut and Whole Foods debut social media chatbots
If you can't be bothered chatting with Facebook's news and weather bots, maybe a pizza bot can change your mind. Pizza Hut is launching a Facebook and a Twitter chatbot this fall that can take your order and show you current deals. The Facebook bot even comes with something extra: it can connect your FB with your Pizza Hut account, so it can list your past orders. You know, in case somebody asks you to prove that you've never had Hawaiian before. But what if you eat healthy a

Google Fiber is rolling out new plans for small business owners
Google Fiber knows its "superfast internet" is an important commodity, and one that businesses of all shapes and sizes can utilize. The company wants to make sure there's a plan for Google Fiber that fits all those shapes and sizes too, with three new plans that allow for flexibility and choice among small to large business clients. The plans start at $70 for 100 Mbps upload and download speeds to $100 for 250 Mbps and $250 for 1,000 Mbps. There's also been an increase in the

Avis Now lets you pick your rental car from your phone
To keep up with with the growing proliferation of car sharing services (and their own sister company Zipcar), Avis will now let you pick your ride, extend your rental or just breeze through the car pick up process right from your phone. The updates are all part of the new Avis Now features, which launched today at 50 locations across the US and will expand to select international markets in the near future. To take advantage of Avis Now, drivers have to be enrolled in the fre

'Pokémon Go & Virutal World
Pokémon is a thing right now thanks to Pokémon Go. Niantic's AR creature-catching game is number one in both the Android and iOS app stores, and it's on track to have more daily active users than Twitter thanks to an install base of 7.5 million players so far. It was impossible to go out this past weekend without being surrounded by Pokémon Go players of all stripes -- a lot of kids, sure, but plenty of adults, too. Some were revisiting their childhood love of the franchise w