Bret Brautigam wrote a thought provoking article on how adding a human voice to a computer could be a form of skeuomorphism. This idea made me wonder… Is any form of conversational design Skeuomorph to some extent? Before we start, let's address the fat turkey in the room: what the hell is Skeuomorphism? Simply put, Skeuomorphism is a fancy design term based on the simple idea of creating elements that resemble their real-world counterparts (switches etc). You might wonder, how could anyone design such a hideous interface?

Two chief executives of major messaging apps in India and South Korea predicted a decline in the importance of texting via keyboards and a rise in the use of cameras and voice activation to communicate. Speaking at The Wall Street Journal's D.Live Asia conference, Kakao Corp. Chief Executive Rim Ji-hoon said the South Korean firm would roll out voice-activated artificial intelligence services in the third quarter of this year.

SoftBank said it would buy two firms that build walking robots from Google's parent company, Alphabet, adding to the Japanese company's growing artificial intelligence portfolio. SoftBank said it would buy Boston Dynamics and Tokyo-based Schaft, which design and manufacture robots that simulate human movement, but did not disclose the terms of the transactions. Shares of the company rose as much as 7.9 per cent after the deal was announced, hitting a 17-year high. "Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the information revolution, and Marc (Raibert) and his team at Boston Dynamics are the clear technology leaders in advanced dynamic robots," SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son said in a statement on Friday. Mr Raibert is chief executive and founder of Boston Dynamics. SoftBank has embarked on an aggressive acquisition campaign to boost its research and development capabilities.

Facebook has launched yet another politically focused feature. The social network is making the most of the general election, and has created a collection of new graphics breaking down the results. A notification saying, "You have newly elected representatives. Find out who represents your constituency," has just started rolling out to users. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph.

Japanese Internet, solar and technology company SoftBank Group Corp. is buying robotics pioneer Boston Dynamics from Alphabet Inc., Google's parent. Terms of the deal, announced Friday, were not disclosed. SoftBank, which offers the Pepper companion robot, said the purchase underlines how robotics is a key part of its business. Boston Dynamics makes various robots, including Big Dog and Spot, complex machines that walk and trot on four legs, as well as Atlas, which walks on two legs like a human. Atlas has arms and can open doors and lift items.

As this week wraps up we're getting you ready for E3, and digging into Boston Dynamics' new owner. The Japanese company has a'vision of catalyzing the next wave of smart robotics.'Softbank It's been over a year since Google's parent company Alphabet said it wanted to sell its robotics company Boston Dynamics, and now it has a buyer: Softbank. The Japanese company has been working on its own robots for years, including the helpful Pepper, and now they'll be under the same umbrella as Handle, Big Dog, Atlas, WildCat and all the rest. So many leaks that the company put out their own images.OnePlus shows off the OnePlus 5 - at an intentionally specific angle It's only been two days since OnePlus announced the June 20th launch date for its upcoming OnePlus 5 flagship phone, but it didn't take long before leaks started to appear. With that dual camera, LED flash, antenna bands and shade of gray, commenters were quick to point out the heavy resemblance between this device and the iPhone 7 Plus, which is presumably why OnePlus decided to post the above image to make a point.

Apple is introducing a convenient new Wi-Fi password-sharing feature in iOS 11. The next time somebody wants to connect to your home network, you won't need to go through the hassle of rummaging around for your password card and, once you've found it, desperately hoping they type out the complex string of characters correctly. Instead, you'll be able to get them connected with a single tap of a button. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph. The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session A man looks at an exhibit entitled'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric Jaguar I-PACE concept SUV before it was unveiled before the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S The Jaguar I-PACE Concept car is the start of a new era for Jaguar.

In a long-awaited transaction, The New York Times Dealbook announced that SoftBank was buying Boston Dynamics from Alphabet (Google). Also included in the deal is the Japanese startup Schaft. Acquisition details were not disclosed. Both Boston Dynamics and Schaft were acquired by Google when Andy Rubin was developing Google's robot group through a series of acquisitions. Both companies have continued to develop innovative mobile robots.

Japanese internet, solar and technology company SoftBank Group Corp. is buying robotics pioneer Boston Dynamics from Alphabet Inc., Google's parent. Terms of the deal, announced Friday, were not disclosed. SoftBank, which offers the Pepper companion robot, said the purchase underlines how robotics is a key part of its business. Boston Dynamics makes various robots, including Big Dog and Spot, complex machines that walk and trot on four legs, as well as Atlas, which walks on two legs like a human. Atlas has arms and can open doors and lift items.

SoftBank Group is taking over Google parent Alphabet's robot dreams, buying Boston Dynamics to pursue a future when more machines intermingle with humans. As part of the transaction with Alphabet, SoftBank also agreed to buy Japanese bipedal robotics company Schaft. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Boston Dynamics, bought by Google in 2013 as part of a robotics acquisitions spree, made its name with a series of two- and four-legged machines that are able to stay upright even when pushed or traversing rocky terrain. Videos of the robots, known for their animal-like movements, are popular on YouTube.