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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Essence Denies Toxic Workplace Allegations After Anonymous Call for Resignations

As it marks its 50th anniversary this month amid a multi-weekend, virtual edition of its annual music and culture festival, Essence finds itself on the defensive, refuting allegations of a toxic work environment rife with corporate bullying, intimidation and pay inequity made in an anonymous... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-06-30 17:51:48 UTC ]
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In ‘Friends and Strangers,’ a new mom insists the babysitter is her buddy. She’s not.

J. Courtney Sullivan focuses on the culture of privilege that works so effectively to maintain class distinctions while erasing any acknowledgment of them. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-06-30 09:19:54 UTC ]
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Frankfurter Buchmesse Adds an Online BookFest: Call for Proposals

The city-based BookFest is still being programmed for venues in Frankfurt. Now, Frankfurter Buchmesse adds a 16-hour single-day digital program. The post Frankfurter Buchmesse Adds an Online BookFest: Call for Proposals appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-06-29 12:16:21 UTC ]
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PW Talks with Spike Trotman

Founded by artist and writer Spike Trotman in 2007, Iron Circus Comics is a small indie graphic novel publishing house based in Chicago. PW talked with Trotman about how she is dealing with publishing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Library Campaign calls for government action over post-lockdown 'danger' to service

The Library Campaign has called for the government to do more to secure the facilities' future after the Covid-19 crisis. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-23 21:52:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #government action #library campaign #covid-19 crisis


Faber and Profile to publish two new Alan Bennett Talking Heads monologues

Faber and Profile Books are to publish two new Alan Bennett "Talking Heads" monologues, to be published together under the title Two Besides.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-22 11:52:59 UTC ]
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Ahead of Postponed NewFronts, Industry Leaders Talk Virtual Format, Adapting to Covid-19

Just four months ago, the Interactive Advertising Bureau heralded an overhaul of its annual Digital Content NewFronts slate, which it was calling the "new NewFronts." But the IAB had no idea just how "new" this year's event would become. In mid-March, Covid-19 shut down the industry, and the... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-06-22 00:00:40 UTC ]
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Bakari Sellers wanted his memoir to spark tough talks about race. We’re already in the middle of a conflagration.

The CNN commentator and South Carolina politician wrote ‘My Vanishing America’ before the country was on fire. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-06-19 09:58:38 UTC ]
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B2B Publishers Call to End Data Misuse in Online Ad Auctions

A group of B2B publishers and ad tech firms are banding together to curtail the harvesting of publisher-specific data from online ad auctions by third-parties, a practice they argue is an unauthorized breach which places their relationships with their audiences at risk. Referred to as data... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-06-17 21:29:40 UTC ]
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Lockdown diaries: the office assistant

It may come as a surprise, but when I heard about the lockdown, the anxiety that the world seemed to be feeling did not grip me. I never felt worried or confined by the limitations placed on us. For introvert like me, it felt like a long weekend with the same cycle of activities consisting of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-17 05:58:38 UTC ]
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Adeola and Wilson-Max call for trade transparency on race

Illustrators Dapo Adeola and Ken Wilson-Max have said the industry could be on the cusp of change over diversity but it requires more black people in sales teams and greater transparency on race. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-16 15:01:56 UTC ]
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Black Writers’ Guild calls for sweeping change in UK publishing

More than 100 authors join new body calling for the industry to address deep-seated inequalities in output and personnelMore than 100 writers including Booker winner Bernardine Evaristo, Benjamin Zephaniah and Malorie Blackman have called on all major publishing houses in the UK to introduce... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-15 17:08:57 UTC ]
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Struggling for Serenity: PW Talks to Jim Terry

The comic book artist explains the triumphs and challenges he experiences while drawing his own life's story in the graphic memoir 'Come Home, Indio.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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40 Under Forty: Christopher Michael Schroeder aims to make New Mexico the most small business-friendly state

Through SOMOS ABQ, Schroeder and others celebrate what makes Albuquerque a unique place. Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2020-06-10 18:50:00 UTC ]
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We need to call out the lack of support and erasure of Black British voices

Using terms such as BAME and PoC makes it harder to call out the lack of support and erasure of Black British voices (often working class and male) from festivals, prizes, agencies and organisations set up by non-Black PoC in the name of ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion’. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-09 05:56:06 UTC ]
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Waterstones responds to staffers' call to support Black Lives Matter

Waterstones has said Covid-19 closures means a charitable donation to Black Lives Matter is not currently possible despite a petition set up by booksellers calling for the chain to financially support the cause. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-08 15:36:16 UTC ]
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Poets Call for Change at Poetry Foundation

An open letter to the Poetry Foundation signed by more than 1,800 individuals issued in response to the organization's recent statement on the killing of George Floyd and other current events calls for significant change at the organization, including the resignations of its president and board... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Talks with ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall

With a virtual ALA conference now set for June 24–26, PW caught up with Hall over two days in mid-May to talk about guiding the association’s necessary, complex transformation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Charts: Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race soars to top

Reni Eddo-Lodge's Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race (Bloomsbury) has rocketed straight into the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Non-Fiction number one spot in its first week in the chart. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-03 00:35:29 UTC ]
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BookExpo Children’s Dinner Speakers Emphasize Finding One’s Voice

This year’s BookExpo Children’s Book & Author Dinner took place via Facebook Live, where more than 700 booksellers and others viewed in real time a diverse group of authors, ranging from the iconic Judy Blume to younger voices such as Kwame Mbalia and Raj Haldar. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
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