VoiceRecognition
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Amazon Echo now fact-checks politicians
You've probably heard politicians make more than a few outlandish claims, and not just in the run-up to the US presidential election. Do you really want to swing by a fact-checking website every time a candidate stretches credibility? As of now, you don't have to lift a finger. Duke Reporters' Lab has introduced an Amazon Echo skill that lets you fact-check any politician scrutinized by PolitFact, FactCheck.org or the Washington Post. If you want to know if Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump is telling it straight, you just have to ask your wireless speaker whether or not a claim is true.
Amazon Echo Dot review (2016): Forget the Echo. Buy this instead.
The robot assistants we were promised as children are finally ready for the home. Well, sort of. Instead of walking, talking humanoid automatons like Rosie from The Jetsons and Robby the Robot from Lost in Space, our well-spoken helpers are housed in plastic and sit on tables. They answer our questions, control our homes and sometimes tell us a story. The most ubiquitous assistant so far has been Alexa, an Amazon-powered attendant that has made the jump from a $180 tower to the $50 Dot, which isn't much bigger than a hockey puck. That sort of drop in size usually results in a loss of features. In this case, you're going to want to go tiny.
Amazon Fire TV update gives you much wider voice search
Amazon's Fire TV devices just became much more useful if you prefer to talk to your media hub. An update rolling out to the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick gives you dramatically improved search: you can now use voice to search over 75 apps and services, including Netflix and (soon) HBO Now. If the show you're looking for is available on multiple services, you'll see all your choices. And if you're content with watching Amazon Video, you're still getting an upgrade. You now have voice control of playback with Amazon's service, so you can skip to your favorite Transparent scene without using the fast forward button.
IBM partnership puts Watson in your ear to help you at work
Smart earphones like Bragi's Dash aren't just for personal activities like music and running -- they could also help you get some serious work done. Bragi and IBM are partnering on ways to combine "hearables" like the Dash with Watson's Internet of Things platform to help you communicate and collaborate with your teammates. The Watson supercomputer could translate what you're saying for a coworker, for instance, or give you instructions and smart notifications. Higher-ups could benefit, too -- they could get a sense of your location and safety without relying so much on cameras, or have you authenticate with your voice.
Siri cheat sheet shows how you can talk to your iPhone
Sure, iOS will give you a quick hint as to what you can ask Siri, but there's a lot more the voice control system will recognize. How do you know whether or not your command will work? You don't have to guess. Sandro Roth's recently launched Hey-Siri.io outlines a whopping 489 Siri actions for both iOS and the Mac, all of it neatly divided into categories with practical examples. If you want to know how to talk to your smart home devices or create a grocery list, the answer is likely just a few taps away. This probably won't cover absolutely every command (certainly not those for third-party apps), but it could save you a lot of guesswork... not to mention embarrassment.
Barclays swaps passwords for voice IDs for telephone banking
Just as fingerprint sensors have made smartphones more useful and secure, voice-authentication tech is making the dreaded call to customer services that bit more convenient. Following TalkTalk and fellow bank HSBC's example, Barclays has also introduced voice identification to its telephone banking service in the UK. No stranger to biometrics, Barclays has been trialing voice recognition among a subset of customers for several years, only now making it available to anyone with a personal account.
Xbox One's Cortana update arrives at last
After months upon months of delays, Cortana is finally ready for your Xbox One. Microsoft has started rolling out its promised summer update with Cortana's smarter, richer voice control as its centerpiece. You can use your headset or Kinect to search games, invite friends to play and otherwise accomplish tasks that required either stiff commands or (gasp) your gamepad. This also represents another step toward tighter integration of the Xbox and Windows 10 experiences, such as platform-independent party chat and streamlined shopping that lets you redeem Xbox credits.
Amazon Echo now controls your August Smart Lock
Amazon's Echo is about to become much more useful if you've ever worried about leaving the door unlocked. August Home is introducing an Alexa skill that gives you voice control over its Smart Lock system. If you have a first- or second-generation lock with an August Connect bridge, you can ask Alexa to both check a lock's status and lock the door. It's a simple addition, but it beats having to pull out your phone or walk across the house simply because you didn't remember to lock up when you got home.
Dish's new TV remote listens to your voice commands
Nowadays, you can save energy by talking to your gadgets and letting them do the work for you. So it's no surprise that Dish wants to help you with that, too. The satellite provider has introduced its aptly named Voice Remote, which lets Hopper 3 and 4K Joey customers search for content with spoken commands. Results populate based on movie or TV titles, genre as well as actor names. Additionally, the new remote features a clickable touchpad for easier navigation, backlit keys and support for two IR devices. If you're a Dish subscriber with one of the aforementioned boxes, you can get the Voice Remote starting today for $30.
Siri hints at upcoming Mac support
Apple may have inadvertently erased doubts that Siri would come to the Mac. Brian Roemmele has discovered that asking iOS' Siri the right question (such as "open settings in the window") sometimes produces a response saying that the voice assistant can't find the Finder app -- you know, a crucial part of the Mac's interface. Barring the inclusion of a full-on file manager in iOS 10 (not very likely), this hints that Apple is laying the groundwork for Siri in OS X.
Google Assistant will talk to your favorite services
Google Assistant won't just be helpful for talking to Google itself: It'll tap into a wide array of services, too. The search giant has revealed that it's working on a "comprehensive way" for third parties to tap into the AI-powered, conversation-oriented helper. You'll have to wait to hear more about it in the "coming months," but there are already some big partners lined up, like OpenTable, Spotify and Uber. On stage at its annual I/O developer conference, Google also said that it expects developers to trivia challenges and other games. In short: As with Facebook Messenger and Skype, you may find yourself chatting up all kinds of services in the near future. For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2016, follow along here.
One of Apple's earliest Siri engineers reportedly leaves for GE
Apple hasn't had a great time holding on to the original Siri team, and we don't just mean the founders -- there are precious few of those core members left. And today, we're learning that one of those last remaining pioneers may have walked out the door. The Information's sources claim that Darren Haas, a Siri co-founder and Apple's head of compute-focused cloud engineering, has left the company to join GE a few weeks after one of his fellow Siri alumni, Steve D'Aurora, reportedly did the same. The two are believed to be working on a similar cloud platform at their new employer.
Google gives its search app a new voice
You're likely well-acquainted with the voice of Google's search app, but get ready: Google is shaking things up. The company has introduced a new voice that promises to be subtler and more natural. It combines the usual small slices of speech with whole segments that reflect the intonation changes people make in real life, such as a higher-pitched inquisitive tone. While it's not as if the previous voice was all that stiff (Google's was arguably the most natural of the major options), it should sound considerably more human-like as it answers your queries. The new sounds should be available now, so feel free to ask Google some questions to see if you can spot the differences.
Google is reportedly working on an Amazon Echo rival
Nest might not be building a challenger to the Amazon Echo, but that doesn't mean its sister company Google is standing idle. The Information's sources claim that Google is building its own voice-controlled "personal assistant device" to beat Amazon at its own game. Just how it would work isn't clear (though it would likely rely on Google's existing voice search tech), but the search giant is believed to be working alone -- unlike Google's OnHub line, you won't find any hints of Nest technology inside.
TalkTalk's customer helpline now uses voice authentication
The days of digging out that grubby Post-it note with your telephone account password scrawled on are over for TalkTalk customers. From today, you'll only need your vocal cords to prove you are who you say you are. That's because TalkTalk has introduced biometric voice authentication on its customer services helpline, in what's said to be the first implementation in the UK outside of the financial industry.
Amazon Echo offers a choose-your-own-adventure 'Batman' story
Amazon's Echo speaker can do everything from controlling your home to ordering pizza, but its latest trick is something special... at least, if you're a fan of caped crusaders. As part of a team-up with DC Comics and Warner Bros., Amazon has launched a Choose Your Own Adventure-style interactive Batman story, "The Wayne Investigation." The tale has you telling the Echo where you want to go as you search for clues following the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents. Depending on how well you do, the voice-guided game lasts anywhere between a brief 5 minutes (clearly, not the successful path) to a lengthy 40 minutes -- at that point, it's basically a radio drama for the internet era.
Siri is reportedly coming to the Mac this year
Ever since Apple introduced Siri voice control in the iPhone 4S, Mac users have been wondering: when's our turn? Well, that day might finally be near. Sources for 9to5Mac claim that Siri will be a "tentpole" feature of OS X 10.12, which is expected to show at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (usually in June) and release a few months later. Supposedly, it's almost as straightforward as what you see on iOS -- you only have to click a menu bar item or say "hey, Siri" to start issuing commands. It's not clear if there will be any Mac-specific features, but the tipsters warn that the interface could easily change between now and the introduction.
Amazon Echo starts talking to your thermostat
Amazon's voice-guided Echo speaker can serve as everything from an exercise coach to a game machine, but its latest addition could be particularly helpful if you're shivering as you read this. The Echo now offers voice control over thermostats, starting with the Ecobee3 -- you can ask it to set a specific temperature, or give it vague directions to warm things up or cool them down. This won't do much if you have a rival smart thermostat (more support is coming, Amazon says) or are willing to use your phone. Look at it this way, though: if you dread getting out of bed on a cold day, this will let you warm things up without lifting a finger.
Amazon's Echo speaker guides you through workouts
Amazon must want to help you fulfill your New Year's resolutions, since it just updated the Echo speaker with a handful of features meant to get your life in shape. To begin with, you can ask Alexa to start a 7-minute workout -- the voice-guided cylinder will coach you every step of the way. You can also get your investments on track thanks to a Fidelity feature that tells you how individual stocks are doing. And if you're more interested in how political leaders fare this year, you can ask the Echo when the next Democratic or Republican debate will take place. The additions won't change your life, but they're definitely cheaper than visiting the gym or a financial guru.[Image credit: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan]
After Hours: Engadget drinks on the job
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-138786{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-138786, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-138786{width:630px;display:block;}try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-138786").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Most of the time we're chained to our laptops, providing you a never ending stream of reporting on the technological wonders of the world. But at the end of the day, we like to let our hair down, enjoy a cocktail or two, have some fun and get a little weird. So turn off the lights and close the doors, y'all. This is what happens After Hours, our new monthly series that shows what happens when we take technology out of the office and into the streets.
