Given below are two statements about online search: Statement I: Google search results return the same information to anyone who enters the same keywords. Statement II: Search engines are gathering vast amounts of information about our searches and ourselves. In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R). Assertion (A): A Search Engine is a hardware device that searches for websites on the World Wide Web. Reason (R): Google and Microsoft's Bing are two popular search engines. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:

Which of the following factors made a significant contribution to the historical growth of ICT usage? A. Exponential progress of semiconductor technology paving the way for low-cost hardware. B. Introduction of user-friendly software and operating interfaces. C. Merger of computer and communication technologies to produce smart mobile devices. D. Rise of cloud computing offering scalable software services without heavy local hardware investments.