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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A call to restore America’s institutions, and to let them restore us

Yuval Levin laments the lack of trust in structures that can help the nation flourish. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-02-07 13:00:00 UTC ]
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An indictment of education reformers, and a call to fight back

Diane Ravitch offers disturbing and inspiring tales from the battle over public schools. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-01-31 04:41:30 UTC ]
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Folio: Announces Call For Nominations for 2020’s Top Women in Media Awards

NEW YORK—Folio:, the publishing industry’s go-to source for news, business intelligence and peer-to-peer recognition, has opened the call for nominations for the 2020 Top Women in Media Awards. Each year, the awards program honors 80+ leaders who have made a lasting impact on their brands,... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-01-28 21:07:59 UTC ]
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John Bolton’s memoir probably wasn’t leaked by a heroic assistant editor.

Some very important parts of former national security adviser John Bolton’s forthcoming memoir, The Room Where It Happened: A Washington Memoir (Simon & Schuster, March 17), have leaked. The bit that everyone is talking about confirms that Donald Trump did, in fact, withhold aide to Ukraine... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-27 14:01:28 UTC ]
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Bixby was quiet in 2019, but don't sleep on Samsung's assistant

Decades of science fiction assured us all that, yes, one day we'd be able to control the immensely complex gadgetry around us with just our voices. It was right, mostly. The rise of the virtual assistant, built atop still other developments in cloud... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2020-01-23 16:30:00 UTC ]
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International publishers call for presidential pardon for Khaled Lotfy

International publishers are calling for a presidential pardon to free imprisoned Egyptian publisher and bookseller Khaled Lotfy. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-14 06:05:25 UTC ]
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WI15: Writing About Love—and Dogs: PW Talks with Jennifer Finney Boylan

In this conversation with a featured speaker, PW checks in with Jennifer Finney Boylan, who will discuss gender and resistance with Parul Sehgal, 'New York Times' book critic, on Thursday, January 23. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-01-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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WI15: Preserving African-American Writings: PW Talks with W. Paul Coates

In this conversation with a featured speaker, PW checks in with W. Paul Coates, who will participate in a keynote panel entitled “Bookselling and Liberation: Black Bookstores in America, from the ’60s to the Present” on Friday, January 24. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-01-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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WI15: Unearthing the Roots of Racism: PW Talks with Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

In this conversations with featured speakers, PW checks in with Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, who will discuss Stamped at a panel on Friday, January 24. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-01-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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WI15: Finding Her Voice: PW Talks with Rebecca Solnit

In this conversation with a featured speaker, PW checks in with Rebecca Solnit, who will give the afternoon keynote on Wednesday, January 22. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-01-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Let’s talk about how science fiction has dealt with environmental change. It’s not all depressing.

Yes, much of it looks at how we will survive the apocalypse. But we also have the more hopeful genre of solarpunk Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-01-06 23:50:02 UTC ]
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Galley Talk: 'The Roxy Letters'

Mary Webber O'Malley of Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Ill., recommends 'The Roxy Letters' by Mary Pauline Lowry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-01-06 05:00:00 UTC ]
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B&N, Fired CEO Ready to Talk Settlement in Defamation Case

In a December 18 letter, lawyers for Barnes & Noble informed the court that the parties “are now prepared to proceed with a settlement conference,” which is scheduled for January 27 before magistrate judge Gabriel Gorenstein. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-01-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels talks ‘The Rise of Skywalker,’ his new memoir and four decades of Star Wars

The only actor to appear in every film of the Skywalker saga reflects on his experience in the book “I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story.” Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-12-20 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Bertrams c.e.o. calls on Boris Johnson to 'be clear on Brexit'

Bertram Group c.e.o. Raj Patel has called on Boris Johnson to create a "clear Brexit plan" and to support the firm's diverse workforce, ahead of the latest Brexit talks with the European Union.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-19 04:05:49 UTC ]
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'Convene, Amplify, Solve': PW Talks to BISG Board Chair Andrew Savikas

In his new role as chair of the Book Industry Study Group, industry vet Andrew Savikas discusses the challenges and opportunities facing publishers in an age of rapidly evolving technology. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-12-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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This beautiful coloring book talks to kids about the border, family separation, and empathy

The unfinished illustrations in the book are themselves an act of optimism, encouraging children to imagine a world without lines others create for them. “Children teach us,” writes Ai-Jen Poo, cofounder of Families Belong Together, a coalition of close to 250 organizations working to end family... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-12-17 12:30:49 UTC ]
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‘They Called Us Enemy’ Tops PW’s Graphic Novel Critics Poll

'They Called Us Enemy,' a graphic memoir by activist and longtime 'Star Trek' actor George Takei that recounts the story of his Japanese American family's internment during WWII, has claimed the top spot on PW’s annual Graphic Novel Critic’s Poll. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-12-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Father Gregory Boyle talks hope, homelessness and the power of kinship

Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries, shared "Barking to the Choir" with the L.A. Times Book Club. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-12-17 03:46:56 UTC ]
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What Google's focus on web frameworks means for front-end development [Q&A]

If the recent Chrome Dev Summit was evidence of what Google thinks is hot in web development, then frameworks were one of the clear winners. More specifically, client-side frameworks and libraries like Angular, Vue and React, and larger web frameworks like Next.js. We spoke to Tim Neutkens, lead... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2019-12-13 14:35:38 UTC ]
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