Andy Rubin is working on a secretive Google mission that could transform the smartphone market by giving away software
By John Markoff
A retinal scanner emitting a blue glow monitors the entrance to Andy Rubin's home in the foothills overlooking Silicon Valley. If the scanner recognizes you, the door unlocks automatically. (The system makes it easier to deal with former girlfriends, Rubin likes to joke. No messy scenes retrieving keys -- it's just a simple database update.)

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By Leo Benedictus
My first meeting with Gingernutt, in an elegant central London cafe, is like a classic clown routine. I arrive on time, and begin to wait for him -- a man I have only ever seen wearing a red nose, wig, giant shoes and facepaint. After 10 minutes, I decide to give him a call. Immediately the peace is shattered by a loud ringing at the table next to me. Gingernutt unrecognizable out of costume, has been sitting beside me all this time wondering when I was going to turn up.

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Tutoring the kids, combing personal ads and buying tickets can be taken off your to-do list
Adrianne Yamaki, a 32-year-old management consultant in New York, travels constantly and logs 80-hour workweeks. So to eke out more time for herself, she routinely farms out the administrative chores of her life -- making travel arrangements, hair appointments and restaurant reservations and buying theater tickets -- to a personal assistant service in India.

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