Features

Brandon Bailey / The Associated Press Apple said sales of Macintosh computers were up 9 percent in the last quarter. The company increased its share of the personal-computer (PC) market at a time when overall PC sales were declining. Apple no longer reports separate numbers for its iPod music players.

The A7 uses sensors, radars and a front-facing camera as “eyes” and advanced computer technology to intelligently negotiate traffic. A self-driving Audi A7 traveled from Silicon Valley to the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, while Mercedes-Benz and Ford also made announcements about autonomous technology, reports Time.

Toyota expects overseas sales to grow 2 percent this year to more than 8 million vehicles from 7.9 million vehicles last year. Tokyo—Toyota Motor Corp. stayed at the top in global vehicle sales in 2014, taking that auto industry crown for the third year straight, but was less upbeat about this year.

The HiLux accounted for almost a quarter of that number to be the nation’s third best selling vehicle behind the Corolla and Mazda3. Hyundai has finally revealed the first tangible evidence of its intention to enter the same market segment as Toyota’s HiLux.

DETROIT—The head of self-driving cars for Google expects real people to be using them on public roads in two to five years. Chris Urmson says the cars would still be test vehicles, and Google would collect data on how they interact with other vehicles and pedestrians.

Brandon Bailey / The Associated Press San Francisco—Despite some glimmers of recovery, the personal-computer (PC) industry is still struggling with declining sales, according to two recent market reports showing that global PC shipments fell in 2014 for the third year in a row.

Whether restyled or entirely revamped, several iconic vehicles are getting a facelift for 2015, including the Toyota Prius, the Ford Mustang and the Renault Espace.

The so-called People’s Pope continues to shatter perceptions of a detached leader presiding over 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide.

Two billion mobile phones were shipped worldwide in 2014, 75 percent of which were smartphones, says Tim Bajarin, longtime technology analyst and president of Creative Strategies. Demand is growing by 10 percent to 12 percent each year. And we want to send e-mails, play games, stream music and videos, get step-by-step directions—all battery hogs.

GO on Santa, treat yourself. Give the reindeer a break because Mercedes-Benz may have just the perfect present carrying answer — and in festive red to boot.