Of course, the most straightforward way to eliminate any eavesdropping Alexa concerns is to simply mute your device's microphone. For most Alexa devices made by Amazon (the Echo lineup), the button to do so is located on the top of the device and looks like a microphone with a slash through it. Once you press it, you'll know the microphone is muted by the red light displayed on the Echo device. It's a bit antithetical to how the device is designed to be used, but if you don't mind manually turning the microphone on and off each time you want to ask Alexa something, it's an easy fix for privacy concerns. If you still want to be able to call out to Alexa without fiddling with a button each time, you can adjust your recording settings for extra data protection.

College football chaos: Historic upsets, Arch Manning's fiasco, clock controversy and CFP ramifications arise Hostile Valkyries fans verbally attacked women's sports activists at WNBA Finals Game 1 in San Francisco Could injured Giants star Jaxson Dart return for the playoffs? Joel Embiid rejects idea 76ers stars must'take a back seat' as NBA regular season looms Steve Sarkisian vows to'evaluate everything,' won't rule out benching Arch Manning amid Texas' two-game skid Freshman Tommy Carr's second-half magic leads Michigan to must-have win over Penn State Ole Miss defense takes charge, shuts down Missouri's high-powered rushing attack in 31-3 win Ohio State shatters Indiana's 22-game winning streak, but questions linger about Julian Sayin's health Ex-wrestler Pac's sudden death cause revealed by Cook County Medical Examiner's Office Eagles' Jalen Hurts placed on injured reserve after superficial blood clot found in his calf area Pro-Palestinian, communist mobs in France are making an'anarchic effort,' expert warns Kaylee McGhee White: Voting for Democrats is voting for a'progressive grievance hamster wheel' Kaylee McGhee White: Dems don't even know what they're supposed to be mad about Lara Trump: With super intelligence, there's information everywhere you turn Benjamin Netanyahu: What genocidal country sends food to its enemy? Benjamin Netanyahu: The Iranian people have been taken captive by'ideological thugs' Netanyahu: Let's forge a different future for the Middle East Rep Andy Barr: If it taxes like a socialist, it's a socialist Jack Smith's actions were unjustified for his mandate, Gregg Jarrett says'Border czar' Tom Homan touts major ICE arrest surge Mike Rogers calls Michigan'last line of defense' against socialism OutKick Human vs. ChatGPT NFL Week 6 betting picks: AI goes all-in on totals after another weekly win Four underdogs headline the human card as ChatGPT seeks a third straight win over the human with five totals bets. Giants upset Saints, Colts favorites, Will the Bears dominate on Parkins' Week 6 Picks? Danny Parkins makes his Week 6 picks, including the New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, and Chicago Bears. Nick Wright, Chris Broussard, and Kevin Wildes join to discuss the Denver Broncos beating the Seattle Seahawks in ugly fashion. OK, this is getting annoying.

The Dell Laptop Buying Guide UK: Which Dell Laptop Should You Buy? When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. One AI subscription to replace them all is $99.99 for life Paying for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini separately costs well over $60 per month. Claude 4.6 Sonnet refines your written drafts, GPT-5.5 Pro handles extensive research queries, and Gemini 3.1 Pro distills dense PDFs. Beyond chat, 1min.AI includes image generation, background removal, text-to-speech, voice cloning, video creation, and a blog article generator, all drawing from the same monthly credit pool.

Altman's focus on intelligence shouldn't be mistaken for OpenAI treating the hardware as an afterthought. The company's robotics job listings indicate it is working on custom electromechanical actuators that include motors, transmissions, sensing and thermal systems, while other positions cover manufacturing and the supply chain needed to eventually produce hardware at scale. OpenAI is also not entering uncharted territory. Tesla has been working on Optimus for years, and XPENG recently had its IRON humanoid autonomously walk off the production line after being assembled. Both are good reminders that even smart software has to coax a very complex set of motors and joints into action.

Your Amazon Echo's light ring is a valuable information hub. And while most users are familiar with the recognizable blue ring, many don't realize that the light ring can display nine different color notifications, some of which are intended to grab your attention. If you see a flashing yellow ring around your Echo device, don't panic: a yellow light emanating in slow bursts every few seconds means that Alexa has a message or notification it would like to share with you. Introduced in 2017, this notification system transforms your Echo into a proactive assistant, capable of alerting you to everything from breaking news and calendar reminders to notifying you when Amazon has shipped your latest package. It is also useful for taking advantage of some of Alexa's more advanced features, such as Alexa for Shopping's price-drop alert tool.

Models such as DeepSeek allow users to take the core software and use it without paying an expensive ongoing licence. Models such as DeepSeek allow users to take the core software and use it without paying an expensive ongoing licence. There is much to fear from artificial intelligence developed in China and handed to businesses and governments in the west almost free of charge. Every month Chinese AI developers such as DeepSeek and Xiaomi dispatch the latest versions of their "open-weight" models that allow users to take the core software and use it without paying an expensive ongoing licence. In Britain, we love cheap Chinese kit, usually setting aside any concerns about how it was made and who by.

If your Alexa doesn't seem to understand your voice, try setting up a Voice ID: Select Account Management and select your profile. Select Voice ID and follow the instructions. You can also say, "Alexa, learn my voice" to the same effect. If your Alexa's long-winded responses have become a bother, there are a couple of different methods you can try: Brief Mode and changing her personality type to Brief. The latter is one of several Alexa personality settings and will edit out things like filler statements while still speaking to you.

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. So-called balcony solar setups are becoming legal across the US. Maria Diaz is a staff writer with a passion for home automation, smart home devices, and tablets. Multiple states are working to legalize backyard solar setups. After Utah, nine other states have legalized it, or are working on bills for plug-in solar.

Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. Here's what we know about the man who allegedly bugged an OpenAI conference room in San Francisco The OpenAI logo is seen displayed on a cell phone in front of an image on a computer screen generated by ChatGPT's Dall-E text-to-image model, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search.

These smart glasses do just about everything Meta glasses can, but they're not tied to a social media platform. HTC, the company behind 2010-era virtual reality headsets and a failed smartphone business, seems quite eager to tackle that comparison directly. In September, HTC started selling its $499 Vive Eagle smart glasses in the US. The Eagles have lots of the same features as other glasses on the market--cameras for capturing photos and video, speakers in the frames for music playback and calls, an embedded AI agent you can ask questions of and even get recipes from by taking pictures of stuff in your fridge. But HTC also wants to steer clear of the ongoing debate about privacy in camera-equipped smart glasses.