Month: May 2017

Amazon adding “Push Notifications” to its Echo

Dan Uff May 16, 2017 0

(CNBC): Amazon announced on Tuesday that its Alexa smart digital assistant will soon be able to read out notifications from any device with Alexa installed, including the Echo.

Alexa is the first to get this sort of functionality, and it's one that Siri and Google Assistant still lack. Owners of the Amazon Echo will soon be able to walk in the front door and ask it to read out any notifications from various third parties, such as the latest headlines from The Washington Post or weather threats from AccuWeather. (Imagine if you could just place your iPhone or Android phone on the counter and ask it to do the same.)

This functionality will require developers to use new tools that Amazon announced on Tuesday, including the Alexa Voice Service and Alexa Skills Kit, which will be available soon. That means that the scope for the sorts of notifications users can expect is really only limited by what developers decide to add.

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Report: Google is bringing its voice assistant to the iPhone

Dan Uff May 16, 2017 0

(FoxNews.com/tech): Slated to hold its developer conference this week, Google is keeping up with the competition and bringing its artificial intelligence assistant to the iPhone, according to news reports.

First reported by Android Police and confirmed by Bloomberg, Google is slated to bring its Assistant voice-powered assistant to the iPhone, as well as the company's existing Photos app and GE home appliances.

Google I/O, where the company is expected to make the announcements, starts May 17.

The Assistant is slated to be available in the App Store. Apple, which has its own virtual assistant, Siri, has been tight about allowing competing assistants on to its devices, but it has opened up the gates in recent months.

Microsoft's Cortana is available via the App Store and Amazon's Alexa assistant was recently added to Amazon's main app, one of the most heavily downloaded apps. It is currently the sixteenth most downloaded app, ahead of popular services such as Uber, WhatsApp and Twitter.

As part of the new Photos app, users will be able to create physical photo books. The cost of the coffee table books will be $10 per book, according to the report.

"That’s a nice addition for a service which houses buckets of my photos but which might as well only exist on my phone, given how little I ever look at it elsewhere," said analyst Jan Dawson in comments on his Tech Narratives website. "Services that bridge the digital and physical worlds are the key to taking the virtual shoeboxes we all keep in the cloud back into the real world and making them accessible."

In addition, the assistant will come to GE appliances like refrigerators, dishwashers, ovens and other machines. In recent months, Amazon has expanded the presence of its own voice assistant, Alexa, bringing Alexa to LG refrigerators as well as televisions made by other device makers.

Hackers hold Disney Films Hostage

Dan Uff May 16, 2017 0

(FoxNews.com): Real-life pirates are holding Disney's most valuable pirate for ransom.

Digital hackers have reportedly gotten their mitts on a copy of Disney's new "Pirates of the Caribbean" film.

Deadline reports the hackers are demanding a lot of Bitcoin loot, or they will release the film online before its May 26 premiere date.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Disney will not pay the ransom and is working with the FBI.

A rep for Disney did not return Fox News' request for comment.

Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger said during a town hall meeting with ABC employees Monday that hackers claimed to be holding a Disney film ransom but did not say which one, the Hollywood Reporter reported.

A similar incident happened weeks ago when hackers stole the new season of Netlifx's "Orange is the New Black" but the online streaming service refused to pay.

The "Pirates of the Caribbean" series has earned Disney more than $3.72 billion worldwide since the release of its first film in 2003. The new film "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" had a $230 million budget.