Those with digital home assistants know this phenomenon all too well. You ask Siri, Google or Alexa to hook it up with the facts, they provide an answer, but then you have a follow-up question. In order to ask that follow-up question, you have to say “Hey, Siri,” “Hey, Google” or “Alexa” all over again. It’s a true annoyance in this first-world we… Read More
Source: Tech Crunch
It’s a testament to quite how control freaky and hermetically sealed to criticism the tech industry is that Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey went unscripted in front of his own brand livestreaming service this week, inviting users to lob awkward questions at him for the first time ever. Read More
Source: Tech Crunch
Not really the showiest of SXSW announcements, but Google’s got a nice little update for developers looking to differentiate Assistant integration on a product level. Custom Device Actions are way to add specific functions to products. In a blog post, the company gives the specific example of activating a specific color cycle on an Assistant-enabled washing machine machine. The new… Read More
Source: Tech Crunch
A U.S. District Court judge has just handed some Uber drivers a win by concluding the ride-hailing company breached a contract pertaining to “Safe Rides” fees. In U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers’ opinion on damages, she wrote “there is no question that drivers were financially harmed by Uber’s breach of contract.” Read More
Source: Tech Crunch
How can you participate in a Nerf gun fight if you’re missing a hand? The ingenious Hackerloop collective of tinkerers solved that problem by putting together a prosthetic Nerf gun that you can control with your arm muscles. In other words, Nicolas Huchet became Barret Wallace from Final Fantasy VII or Mega Man for a day. And here’s what it looks like: Let’s look at the… Read More
Source: Tech Crunch
LinkedIn used to have its own business card scanning app, CardMunch, which served a useful purpose in a world where paper cards simply refuse to die. But that app was shut down back in 2014, with LinkedIn suggesting users move to Evernote instead. Today, Microsoft is bringing back business card scanning – but this time, not with a dedicated card scanner app, but with its multipurpose… Read More
Source: Tech Crunch
Apple’s Touch ID was a step change in convenience for securing its mobile devices, and now that same level of convenience is available in a padlock. The Tapplock One is now shipping, and features a fingerprint sensor for unlocking, as well as a companion app with a Bluetooth unlock backup. The Tapplock One began its existence on Indiegogo with a crowdfunding campaign back in 2016, but… Read More
Source: Tech Crunch
If you stand in juuuust the right spot in Disneyland — or if you turn your head at certain times on certain rides — you can get fleeting glimpses into Disney’s upcoming Star Wars Land (or “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge”, as it’s more officially known) as it’s being built. You can’t see much, of course; it’s just enough to say… Read More
Source: Tech Crunch
Want to know whether the Samsung Galaxy S9 is worth picking up when it arrives March 16? Good news: I’ve got 4,000 words on the matter that you can read over here. For those who don’t have the time to take all of that in, however, we’ve also put together this handy guide to the biggest new additions to the handset over last year’s S8.
The new features of mostly good… Read More
Source: Tech Crunch
Over the last couple of years, Google has been slowly (very slowly!) opening up the ability for celebrities, politicians, sports teams, museums and local businesses to post social media-like updates directly to its search result pages. Today, after testing this in a few markets over the course of the last year, Google is also opening this feature up to musicians in the U.S. This means that… Read More
Source: Tech Crunch
