Items tagged with alexa
Amazon is giving users of the Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 the opportunity to repurpose their tablets courtesy of an upcoming software update. Show Mode, which will be available in a software update downloadable on July 2nd, in effect turns Fire HD tablets into a fully functional Alexa-powered Echo Show. That means that...
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One of the many things Bethesda showed off at E3 is a new Skyrim experience, though unlike previous versions that are playable on PCs and consoles, the new Skyrim Very Special Edition takes aim at Alexa. Bethesda showed off a trailer featuring comedian Keegan-Michael Key barking out Skyrim commands at his Echo smart...
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A sign of great technology is when it does what you want in a seamless manner, without getting in your way. If a particularly technology is truly great, you'll sometimes forget you're even relying on electronic parts to do your bidding, just as you don't put much though into the head of a hammer of when mashing a nail...
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Amazon and the Alexa voice assistant that powers the device has come under a lot of scrutiny in the past week following a disturbing story that made the news. A woman's private conversation was recorded by her Amazon Echo and was forwarded (unbeknownst to her) to a person on her contact list.
Amazon profusely...
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Earlier this week we talked a bit about an issue with an Amazon Echo device that had recorded an audio clip of a woman's conversation and then set the clip to a random contact on her contacts list. The woman was rightfully fearful of the Alexa voice powered device after that incident, and had vowed to never use it...
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It looks as though Google is turning the corner with regards to its positioning in the growing AI smart speaker market. Ever since Google Home was first introduced in late 2016, it has played second fiddle to the dominant Amazon Echo family (which originally launched in late 2014). However, new sales numbers coming in...
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A woman from Portland, Oregon has claimed that her Amazon Echo recorded part of her conversation and sent it to a random person on her contact list. The woman claims that she learned about the issue when a person who worked for her husband contacted her at her home after receiving the message and told her that she was...
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The first laptop PCs with integrated Amazon Alexa functionality were announced earlier this year, but Acer is claiming that it is the first manufacturer to actually ship devices to customers. The company announced today that Alexa is preinstalled on Spin 3 and Spin 5 convertibles that are shipping now.
In addition to...
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For many people, digital assistants have become a party of daily life—you might have Siri set a reminder for an upcoming appointment on your iPhone, or tell Alexa to order more laundry detergent from Amazon. These AI (artificial intelligence) assistants are becoming more capable by the day as well. But can they be...
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Do you sometimes feel like the world is starting to populate with a bunch of entitled brats? That's an unfair blanket outlook, though no doubt there are some rude children out there who will grow up to be rude adults. It ultimately falls on parents to teach their kids good behavior, and to supplement those efforts...
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Last year, Microsoft and Amazon announced that their respective AI voice assistants -- Cortana and Alexa -- would be joining forces to combine the best of both ecosystems on Windows 10. This week at Build 2018, Microsoft demonstrated how the pairing with work in the real world, and it isn't as complex as you might...
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If you have ever used the AI personal assistants baked into smartphones, you know they aren't always that helpful. Research firm Stone Temple has issued an update for 2018 on its Digital Personal Assistants accuracy study. The study tested 4,952 queries on five different devices including Alexa on Amazon Echo...
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It appears that Amazon is looking to take Alexa mobile. No, we're not talking about Alexa on your smartphone, but rather Alexa integrated into a robot that will be placed within your home. The robot is being developed under the codename "Vesta" and is being crafted by Amazon's Lab126 hardware research division...
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Best Buy and Amazon are fierce rivals in the electronics market, with the former having a big presence in the brick and mortar side of things, while the latter absolutely dominates the online sector. The two companies are now joining forces to sell new Fire TV Edition smart TVs in a rather interesting...
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Amazon Alexa has grown to become an invaluable resource in millions of American households since its introduction in late 2014, with the company's Echo family of smart AI speakers taking the lead. Amazon has added numerous features to the speakers over the years, with the most recent being "Announcements". The feature...
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Amazon is pushing out a new update to two of its Fire tablets: the Fire 7 and Fire HD 8. This over-the-air update in effect turns the tablets into hands-free Alexa speakers, which furthers the ubiquity of Amazon's dominant AI voice assistant.
Amazon says that Alexa can be invoked when a Fire 7 or Fire HD 8 tablet is...
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Amazon Echo owners have enjoyed the ability to place calls and send messages with their smart speakers for nearly a year. However, some additional members of Amazon's Alexa-enabled product family are also gaining the ability to communicate with friends, relatives, and colleagues using voice controls.
This new tablet...
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Fans of the strange, yet classic flick 2001: A Space Odyssey will most certainly remember the rogue computer AI named HAL-900 that eventually decided to kill all humans. If you ever wanted to own a HAL-9000 (minus the homicidal insanity bit) this is your chance, thanks to a company called Master Replicas. This company...
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Amazon is working hard on teaching its Alexa Voice AI some new tricks. Recently Alexa gained the ability to play music that you have heard previously even if you don’t know the track name. Amazon has now rolled something much more useful into its digital assistant with a new "Follow-up Mode." With this new mode, Alexa...
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We all know that asking an Amazon Echo speaker powered by Alexa to play a specific artist or song is possible (among other things). Amazon has been adding some new music controls to Alexa devices that make it easier to play songs when you don't know the artist or song title. These new playback commands are perfect for...
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Yesterday we talked about a problem that was plaguing some devices powered by Amazon Alexa that would cause them to laugh suddenly and maniacally. Amazon promised at the time that it was working on a fix and it didn’t waste any time fixing the bizarre fits of laughter Alexa was experiencing. The reason that Alexa is...
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After being temporarily knocked offline last week due to an Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage, Amazon is dealing with another Alexa incident. While losing access to Alexa Voice Services for a few hours is annoying, what is currently happening to Amazon Echo users (and other devices that take advantage of Alexa) was...
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