Moen is about to make its showers a little smarter. Last year, the company announced that it would be incorporating Alexa and Siri into its U by Moen smart shower series. What's more, the Alexa functionality has now been upgraded from being just a third-party skill to one that's fully integrated as an official Amazon Alexa Skill. For example, instead of saying "Alexa, tell Moen to turn on the shower," you can now say "Alexa, turn on the shower" for the command to take effect. It works similarly with Siri and Google too; simply swap "Alexa" with either "Siri" or "Google."

Matthew Braga is the senior technology reporter for CBC News, where he covers stories about how data is collected, used, and shared. If you have a tip, you can contact this reporter securely using Signal or WhatsApp at 1 416 316 4872, or via email at matthew.braga@cbc.ca. For particularly sensitive messages or documents, consider using Secure Drop, an anonymous, confidential system for sharing encrypted information with CBC News.

BEIJING - Chinese gay dating app Blued is halting new user registration for a week, it said Sunday, following media reports that underage users caught HIV after going on dates set up via the world's largest networking app for the LGBT community. China has a vibrant lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender scene, though activists say conservative attitudes among some groups in society have prompted occasional government clampdowns. On Saturday, citing academic research, financial magazine Caixin said juveniles were heavily involved in the gay dating app, where some teenagers had even hosted live-streaming. It added that many gay teenagers had unprotected sex through the app and contracted HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In response, Blued vowed to launch a "comprehensive content audit and regulation," and crack down on juvenile users posing as adults and on texts, pictures and groups that involve minors.

Techies and gadget geeks alike have been talking about it for years already, but artificial intelligence made serious waves in 2018, showing up prominently in pop culture and our everyday devices. With companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft investing millions in AI, this will ultimately make it one of the major themes to look out for at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off in Las Vegas next week. CES is an opportunity to showcase the consumer use for that technology, so much of what will be displayed are "smart" devices or "smart" products -- take, for instance, this smart bathroom with voice-enabled lighting technology. While there are dozens of players in the AI space, we can expect that Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa are going to dominate the show this year. Both voice assistants are compatible with more than 10,000 devices, which -- as Wired noted-- will make the showroom floor quite noisy. We'll also see smaller players introduce even more smart gadgets and other AI-powered gadgets you would and wouldn't expect, everything from TVs to security cameras, and even golf equipment.

Organisers of the consumer electronics trade show (CES) in Las Vegas, that serves as a window into the year's hottest tech trends, is of the opinion that 2019 will be the year of 5G or fifth-generation mobile communications, artificial intelligence (AI) and self-driving vehicles (SDVs). Fifth-generation cellular networks, which will significantly quicken mobile internet speeds, is also expected to proliferate cyber security products for home networks as consumers, nowadays, own so many devices that can connect to the Internet. However, AI is expected to take the centre stage and those days are not away when you are always accompanied by a virtual assistant that obeys your commands so much so that it will slowly become an inevitable part of your life. The competition is between Amazon Alexa and Google Home, two most popular artificially intelligent assistants. In a bid to become your go-to digital companion, the two tech giants have teamed up with makers of devices like thermostats, doorbells, light bulbs and car accessories to add their virtual assistants to them.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese gay dating app Blued is halting new user registration for a week, it said on Sunday, following media reports that underage users caught HIV after going on dates set up via the world's largest networking app for the LGBT community.

Sorry if it wasn't that clear before, I'll just re-iterate it again: The Makerlog Assistant is in "pre-launch" (you can see the grey dot by the name), and is launching tomorrow (the 6th of January). I have no control over this, as Google has to review the action first, and they're doing so as I'm writing this! Makerlog has arrived on Google Assistant!!! Keep track of your tasks right from your Google Assistant, whether your in the living room, in the kitchen, on your phone or in your car - no installation is needed. Get started with the Makerlog Assistant now, just by saying "Ok Google, talk to Makerlog". A one-time login process is necessary to link your Makerlog account, but after that logging tasks is easy from your phone, Google Home, TV, car, or any other Google Assistant-enabled device!

The world's largest tech show has become center stage for the digital assistant wars. Amazon Alexa was the belle of the CES ball two years ago when the e-commerce giant unveiled a long list of product integrations that included Ford vehicles and Whirlpool appliances. Not to be overshadowed, Google the following year constructed a large, eye-catching stage and announced four new Google Assistant-powered smart displays. Which brings us to CES 2019, kicking off next week. There, Amazon and Google are expected to make big splashes designed to show the rest of the tech industry that they -- not the other guy -- have the best platform for operating our smart homes, connected cars and voice-powered offices.

This year's Consumer Electronics Show is bringing the latest in tech including self-driving suitcases and motorcycles. The Numi toilet from Kohler was impossible to ignore. Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, 2018, the new $8,000 toilet was not just touted to "bring you the finest in personal comfort and cleansing," but it also had voice commands via Alexa. Ready to flush or want to heat up the seat? Just ask Amazon's Alexa personal assistant to do it for you.

At last, you've found yourself with an Amazon Echo speaker. The Echo (or Echo Dot, or Echo Tap, or Echo Show, or Echo Plus, or Echo Spot) is now in your kitchen, and it's ready for your every command. With so many Echo models, is that Echo even the best fit? Before you toss that gift receipt, here's a quick read to figure out which Amazon Echo is right for your lifestyle. Alexa can perform so-called "skills."