Google Assistant wants to talk to you like a friend—and call in your dinner reservation

Google Assistant may have debuted as a bonus feature in the company’s ho-hum Allo messaging app, but it’s been on a roll ever since. The AI helper is now embedded in more than 500 million devices worldwide, Google revealed Tuesday during its annual I/O developer conference keynote. The company is rolling out new features and products to make Assistant more helpful no matter what sort of device you use—and to keep pace with Amazon Echo’s fast and furious improvements.And get this: In the future, Google Assistant will even call local businesses to book appointments for you.It’s true. Google’s machine learning chops have advanced far enough that you’ll be able to ask Assistant to schedule an appointment for you at a business that can’t be easily booked online, and Google’s big brains in the sky will actually ring local shops to set up a reservation.To read this article in full, please click here Continue reading at 'PC World'

[ PC World | 2018-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #google assistant #bonus feature #amazon echo #book appointments

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Let’s talk about fantasy and science fiction books that have fallen off the radar

“Vellum” by Hal Duncan, “Mockingbird,” by Walter Tevis, the works of Tanith Lee and more. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-01-13 14:00:00 UTC ]
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Wattpad 'in sale talks with multiple bidders'

Wattpad, the online story writing website, is in talks with multiple parties to sell the enterprise, with a $500m price tag being mooted, Canada 24 News has reported. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-11 08:40:16 UTC ]
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Want to Talk About Racism? Sit Next to Frederick Joseph

This debut author has learned not to read the comments about his new book, “The Black Friend.” Some are supportive; others contain death threats. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-12-17 10:00:02 UTC ]
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When these animals talk, listen: Audiobooks give voice to a cat, a horse, a sheep and others

Tales like ‘The Travelling Cat Chronicles’ and ‘Tarka the Otter’ offer a unique perspective. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-12-14 17:11:48 UTC ]
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Coke in giant agency review and FTC threatens Facebook: Thursday Wake-Up Call

Welcome to Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. If you're reading this online or in a forwarded email, here's the link to sign up for our Wake-Up Call newsletters. Coke’s giant review Coca-Cola is undertaking a massive agency review that... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2020-12-10 10:59:27 UTC ]
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Happy 10th Birthday, Google Play Books!

Reading books is for nerds, right? Well, that depends on your definition of "nerd," I suppose. While I must confess to not being a regular reader, I greatly admire those that are. Reading is surely a better way to spend time than mindlessly watching sports on TV -- something I am quite guilty of... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2020-12-09 18:41:58 UTC ]
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Announcing a New Publishing Project and a Call for Co-Editors: Best Translations: An Annual Anthology, by The Editors of WLT

News and Events Photo by Wendy Call / www.wendycall.com Deadline for Applications: Thursday, January 7, 2021 Call for Applications: Two series co-editors, one with expertise in Asian literatures and one with expertise in Middle Eastern and/or... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-12-09 14:16:34 UTC ]
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We Need to Talk About England

THE BASIC POLITICAL BACKDROP of Alex Niven’s New Model Island is that Britain is potentially only halfway through a 20-year period of Conservative governance, and that the union may lose several members before power changes hands at Westminster. But the book, a peculiar volume of polemic and... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-12-07 16:00:40 UTC ]
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‘Red, White and Blue’ subject Leroy Logan talks ‘Small Axe,’ John Boyega and his new memoir

The real-life inspiration for Steve McQueen’s “Red, White and Blue” documents his career in law enforcement in “Closing Ranks: My Life as a Cop.” Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-12-04 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Visa picks W+K, and Facebook wrangles anti-vaccine lies: Friday Wake-Up Call

Welcome to Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. If you're reading this online or in a forwarded email, here's the link to sign up for our Wake-Up Call newsletters.In the cards Financial giant Visa picked Wieden+Kennedy as its new creative... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2020-12-04 11:04:31 UTC ]
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PW Talks to Megha Majumdar

In her day job, Megha Majumdar publishes other authors' books. And now, her debut novel, 'A Burning' (Knopf) is a finalist for the American Library Association's prestigious Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. PW caught up with Majumdar to talk about how she balances editing and writing,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Publishing in Talks to Offer E-books to Public Libraries

The potential deal would be a breakthrough moment in the library e-book market as Amazon currently does not make its digital content available to libraries. It would also be a major coup for the Digital Public Library of America's upstart e-book platform and its SimplyE library reading app. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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An Orpheus and Eurydice Remix: Talking to Lilliam Rivera about Never Look(ing) Back, by Bayleigh Acosta

Interviews Photo of Lilliam Rivera by Lilith Ferreira / Las Fotos Project Lilliam Rivera is an award-winning author of children’s books who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Rivera’s work has appeared in the New York Times,... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-12-02 22:19:21 UTC ]
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Lilliam Rivera’s Orpheus and Eurydice Remix: Talking about Never Look(ing) Back, by Bayleigh Acosta

Sesame Street cereal and brands’ fun with the Utah monolith: Wednesday Wake-Up Call

Welcome to Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. If you're reading this online or in a forwarded email, here's the link to sign up for our Wake-Up Call newsletters. Brought to you by General Mills Cereal sales have risen sharply during the... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2020-12-02 11:34:50 UTC ]
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Talking About the 10 Best Books of 2020

On a special episode of the podcast, taped live, editors from The New York Times Book Review discuss this year’s outstanding fiction and nonfiction. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-11-27 16:44:05 UTC ]
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Talking to the Editor Behind Back-to-Back Booker Prizes

Last week, Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain was announced this year’s Booker Prize winner. It’s no small feat for any writer, but what makes this win so spectacular is the fact that Shuggie Bain is a debut novel. (It’s only the fifth debut novel to win in the Booker’s 51-year-old history.) During... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-24 09:51:08 UTC ]
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FutureBook: Abbey calls for industry to expand what it considers 'normal'

The industry needs to expand what it considers "normal", breaking a current way of thinking which considers black authors niche and prevents books representing society, Black Writers' Guild co-founder Nels Abbey has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-16 16:45:55 UTC ]
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Rudd and Turnbull will be called to give evidence at Senate inquiry into media diversity

Sarah Hanson-Young secures inquiry after the popularity of Kevin Rudd’s petition for a royal commission into News CorpThe former prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull will be called to give evidence at a Senate inquiry into media diversity that will examine the dominance of News Corp... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-11-11 08:24:08 UTC ]
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