Amazon brings Alexa to the iPhone

alexa

An incoming update for the Amazon app for iOS will add the company’s Alexa voice assistant that was previously limited to the users of its Echo speaker and other Alexa-enabled hardware. Alexa can stream books from the Kindle library or music from Amazon Music Unlimited, Prime Music, or purchased music. Amazon Prime members can stream playlists, stations, and over two million songs for free and many more. Inside of the Amazon App for iOS, there will be a microphone icon near the top of the screen that you can press…

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Samsung Galaxy S8 to Adopt Facial Recognition

When Samsung rolled out the Galaxy Note 7 last year, it introduced a new iris scanning technology designed to bolster device security. However the Galaxy’s note 7 life was short lived. The new Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus will reportedly both include iris scanning functionality. Samsung is planning to add facial recognition technology to its S8 lineup to either complement the iris scanner or replace it altogether. The Galaxy S8 to be unveiled later this month will blend fingerprint, iris and facial detection to verify users accessing mobile services…

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Old Windows malware may have tampered with 132 Android apps

Google has removed 132 apps from its Play store following a malicious coding flaw that was found possibly because the developers were using infected computers with malware, according to security researchers. The 132 apps were found generating hidden iframes, or an HTML document embedded inside a webpage, linking to two domains that have hosted malware, according to security firm Palo Alto Networks. Google investigation indicates that the developers of these infected apps are not to blame, but are more likely victims themselves. “We believe it is most likely that the…

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WikiLeaks announces tech firm cooperation

wikileaks

The anti-secrecy platform WikiLeaks has said it would work with tech firms to fix security flaws before publishing them. Customers’ trust in firms like Google and Apple has already been eroded by the Snowden leaks. Google, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung and other major tech companies have been faced with new dilemmas by the latest WikiLeaks release. The “Vault 7” dump of CIA files has exposed a number of security breaches in their software, which US intelligence has exploited and kept secret so that it can continue to hack into smartphones, computers,…

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Facebook Messenger now offers a more dynamic persistent menu for bot developers

Facebook has released a Messenger platform update giving bot developers greater flexibility and control over how they want the app experience to be for users. Included in version 1.4 is a redesigned persistent menu that supports multiple nested items and allows better workflows and experiences, thanks to its integration with webviews. Developers can access this capability today, but it will become visible to users over the next two weeks. In addition, Facebook has also launched new ways to share content within Messenger, updated its customer matching feature for businesses, and…

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FCC halts regulations to protect data security

Many people realize Web services like Facebook or Google are monitoring their activities and security is not guaranteed, but companies also collect data in less obvious ways. Large websites and smaller businesses running smartphone apps do everything they can to collect information to tailor advertising or sell it to third parties interested in doing the same. The Federal Communications Commission in the United states FCC has been pushing through rules requiring internet service providers to disclose in plain language how consumer data is collected, how it’s shared with third parties…

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Microsoft steps up media campaign urging girls to pursue STEM careers

For the next phase of its “Make What’s Next” campaign, which encourages girls to enter tech and science fields, Microsoft is launching a spot that shows girls the steps they have to take to make their STEM goals a reality. The campaign was introduced last year and highlighted today with a video of young girls talking about they would do change the world. The girls who appear to be tweens and teens are resolute and confidant about the challenges they want to tackle: climate change, making sure there’s enough water…

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Microsoft adds Mixed Reality demo to Windows 10

windows mixed reality

Microsoft previously let us know that a range of its OEM partners with familiar names from the PC world would be building headsets that offer mixed reality experiences on Windows 10 hardware. The tech giant launched its Windows 10 Insider Build 15048, which allows users to access the Windows Mixed Reality Portal. Developer Mode must be enabled in order to access the portal. Once opened, the program will compare your hardware with the required system specifications for Windows Mixed Reality. Users can choose to set up a development kit headset or…

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Facebook is testing emoji reactions and dislikes in Messenger

When words just aren’t enough emojis come to the rescue, and Facebook is reportedly testing out a feature that lets you reply to messages with smiles, sad faces, and even a thumbs down icon. Facebook confirmed to TechCrunch that emoji reactions are indeed being trialled. Most of the reactions are the same as the ones you’ll know from your News Feed, except for that thumbs down, “dislike” button, which Facebook says is more of a “no” response to something that’s been said. “We’re always testing ways to make Messenger more…

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5 best Tech websites to follow in 2017

Technology is evolving fast. Every day, we hear about some new technology that will change the world and the way we learn in it. It’s as well hard to remember a world without blogs. Tech websites have been discussing technology news in detail online for years, and these blogs and websites are where much of the online conversation is centered. Because of the ease of editing and updating blogs quickly as news happens, many of these blogs and websites are able to break news that traditional media organizations haven’t covered…

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