New Voice Assistant Shames Siri and Google Now; PS4 Game Play Coming to PCs and Macs

Posted: March 1, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Soundhound has rolled out what they’re calling their original concept, which has been 9 years in the making. Businessinsider.com says their new assistant app…Hound…blows both Siri and Google Now into the weeds with both speed and accuracy. SoundHound has been around a while. It recognizes and identifies music that’s playing around you. Instead of converting your voice to text, then trying to decipher what you are inquiring about, Hound’s proprietary engine does it all at once…like a human brain. Hound can replace Google Now as default voice assistant on Android, but Apple doesn’t allow replacing Siri on iOS. Hound has 110 data partners, while Siri started with 12 5 years ago, and even now only have 25.

The next system software update for Sony’s PS4 will be out in beta this week. Bgr.com reports that Sony has announced Remote Play. Remote Play won’t work in the beta, but by late this year, the final version of update 3.50 will be released to the public, and with it, and everyone with a PS4 will be able to stream games directly to their PC or Mac. Best of all, the PS4 controller is basically plug-and-play on computers, so gamers won’t have to fiddle around with the controls to make everything work.

Cortana Lands on Android and iOS; A Number of Us Are Rarely Offline

Posted: December 9, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In what seems like quite a clever move (and a bit of bet-hedging), Microsoft gone live with Cortana for Android and iOS. 9to5google.com notes it’s been a small beta since last month, but now you can check out it’s functionality for real. Since it’s an app, and not baked in, don’t expect it to have the power of Google Now or Siri yet. With Windows Phone still in the basement, Microsoft is smart to be porting over to the two much more widely used mobile systems.

TV and Comedy have had a lot of fun with people being inseparable from their smartphones and computers…everything from chipped people to the Simpsons’ Eye Phone, where the thing replaced an eyeball…so now comes data from Pew research that 21% of Americans go online almost constantly. Drilling down, 73% are online daily, 42% several times a day, 13% several times a week or less. The Luddite contingent of people who never use the internet stands at 13%. They probably still have buggy whips…and I don’t mind insulting them, since they’ll never read this or hear it anyway!

Facebook’s New Virtual Assistant

Posted: August 27, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Facebook has begun a soft rollout of ‘M,’ its new virtual assistant that runs in the freestanding Messenger app. According to wired.com, it will not only make restaurant reservations, shop for a birthday present for your sweetie, suggest-then-book a weekend getaway…Facebook claims it will perform tasks Siri, Google Now, and Cortana can’t. That’s because it doesn’t just rely on artificial intelligence…the secret ingredient in Facebook’s M is people.The people Facebook has in place behind the AI interface have customer service backgrounds. You’ll know when you get the new assistant when a new button appears at the bottom of you Facebook Messenger mobile app.

New cars come with a fair amount of connectivity, and a few companies like Automatic, and Zubie sell gadgets that let you turn an older vehicle into a connected one. Now, Forbes.com reports that Verizon is getting into the act with Hum. The communications giant will offer it directly to consumers, and Hum is designed to be installed by the user in their own cars. It has two pieces of hardware…a cellular modem that plugs into the ODB diagnostic port, and a Bluetooth connected speaker that lives on your visor. It should be able to spot issues before they get out of hand, and relay miles per gallon, overall vehicle health, and so on, which will display on a mobile app. Hum also comes with roadside assistance, emergency assistance, parking info, and a vehicle finder. The hardware is $120, and subscription to the service is $15 a month.

Google Now Takes a Leap Forward & More on Microsoft’s Surface Hub

Posted: June 10, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

As things move further towards software and assistants that actually work, bgr.com reports that Google Now can answer a new set of questions without the user including place names or addresses. If you’re standing in front of a restaurant, you can ask ‘when does this restaurant open,’ and Google Now will answer based on your location. If you’re next to a monument, you might query ‘when was this built,’ and it will tell you. A spooky cool new feature just announced by Google at an event in Paris.

We now have more information about Microsoft’s Surface Hubs. The 55 and 84 inch hub displays first shown in January will be out in September. Primarily intended for business conference rooms, they are a cool $6999 for the 55 inch model and $19,999 for the king sized 84 inch screen. Both feature 100 points of multitouch, 3 simultaneous pen inputs, dual hi res cameras, and microphones that reduce background noise during conference calls. They run a slimmed down version of Windows 10. Preorders open up July 1st.

Ringly Keeps Your Finger On Incoming Calls & Texts

Posted: June 13, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Can’t hear the phone when it’s in your purse? Ringly may be for you. It looks like a fashion ring, but 9to5mac.com says light and vibration patterns can be set to alert you via Bluetooth to calls, texts, and more. It works with iOS and Android, and presale price is $149. That’s a bit pricey, but if you can’t miss a crucial call or text, check it out.

Google Now continues to get smarter. Thenextweb.com says Google is testing a feature that suggests calendar entries from your Gmail inbox. It’s already live with a select pool of users, and you can switch it off if you find it creepy.

According to tech crunch.com, Amazon has added audio integration to its iOS and Kindle apps. It’s an extra $.99 to $3.99 per title, but you can switch from reading to being read to on the fly. You could listen to a book while commuting, then pick up reading later right where you left off with Amazon’s Whisper Sync.

Apple insider.com says the Apple has patented a smarter smart cover for iPads with illumination that lights up to alert users to incoming messages, low battery warnings and other notifications.