Microsoft is a software giant first and foremost. It's where it earned billions of dollars and created an empire that permeated almost every aspect of the corporate office. But it's also been diving head first into hardware from mice to the Xbox to the Surface tablets and laptops -- the tech company is no slouch when it comes to tangible items. So it should come as no surprise that it launched its own noise-canceling headphones. Microsoft made a solid first attempt at building high-quality noise-cancelling headphones.

Smartphone maker Huawei is planning on taking its popular voice assistant outside of China and competing with Amazon, Google and Apple internationally, according to a report from CNBC. The Chinese technology firm is apparently working on a version of its voice assistant Xiaoyi that will work outside of China, though it hasn't revealed what languages the AI will speak, nor when it will be available for other markets. Prior to developing Xiaoyi, Huawei was reliant on third-party voice assistants including Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. The company's first smart speaker, the AI Cube, relied on Alexa. Huawei has been building on its own voice assistant in recent months. Its newest device, the AI Speaker, uses Xiaoyi, as does its latest line of smartphones.

Google has unveiled its plan to put a smart device in every room of the home as part of its digital'ecosystem' that could be manipulated to eavesdrop on users. The tech giant's smart home concept, unveiled at a one-off event in San Francisco, showcased Google Assistant at its full potential. It combined speakers, smart plugs, voice controlled vacuums, smart displays and cameras throughout the house. Its digital ecosystem is designed to enable communication between rooms and family members - even if they are not at home. But experts are wary of the technology and have warned the gadgets have the potential to eavesdrop on confidential conversations in order to sell users new products.

It looks like Tinder learned something from the ride-hailing app Uber. The dating company announced Thursday that it's testing a new feature called Swipe Surge, which sends a push notification when usage is spiking in a specific geographic area. During those periods, Tinder says the odds of finding a match are increased. The test comes one week after Facebook announced testing of its competing dating product would be expanded to two new markets. Tinder says Swipe Surges are triggered by a number of variables, including when activity in an area is two times normal averages.

Google Assistant wants to help you get out of bed in the morning. The search giant has long given users the ability to set'routines,' or multiple tasks that are triggered by a single command, using its digital assistant. For example, when users say'Hey Google, good morning,' it will turn your lights on, brew your coffee and read you the news. Now, a new addition to Google Assistant makes it so that routines are triggered after you hit snooze on your alarm. Google Assistant wants to help you get out of bed in the morning.

Even with a number of workable free services for listening to podcasts, Pocket Casts is a popular option for episodic audio. Indeed, it does cost you a few dollars, but the app is well designed and offers a more comprehensive feature set that some of the free software doesn't. Following its sale, in May, to a public radio group that includes NPR, Pocket Casts is debuting a big overhaul today that makes what many consider to be the best podcast repository even better. The UI will feel somewhat familiar, but you'll notice that a few things have been tidied up. Specifically, the individual podcast episode lists and the player interface were where the tweaks stood out to me the most -- with changes to color, icons and layout. However, everything you need to use regularly is still easy to find.

An Amazon Echo smart speaker could provide crucial evidence in a double murder case in the US after a judge in New Hampshire ordered the tech giant to provide investigators with recordings from the device. The speaker, which features the artificial intelligence voice assistant Alexa, was seized from a home in Farmington where two women were killed in January 2017. Timothy Verrill, 36, is charged with killing Christine Sullivan and Jenna Pellegrini by stabbing each woman multiple times. Judge Steven M Houran wrote in the court order that an Echo device present in the home may have captured audio that could provide key evidence in the case. How Alexa recorded a family's conversation then sent it to someone How Alexa recorded a family's conversation then sent it to someone "The court finds there is probable cause to believe the server[s] and/or records maintained for or by Amazon.com

You can always expect to see a bunch of gift and shopping guides pop up in the weeks, even months, leading to Black Friday and Christmas season. Even Mozilla has released its own take, but instead of making it a list of products to buy, the organization has compiled the most popular gadget gifts and identified which of them are secure and trustworthy. It's called Privacy Not Included, and it will tell you if a particular device can spy on you using its camera, mic and location services. The guide also includes various information about the devices' security features, and those that meet Mozilla's minimum standards are recognized with a badge on their page. Mozilla awarded the badge to 33 products (out of 70), including the Nintendo Switch, Google Home, Amazon Echo speakers, Apple TV/iPad, Sony PS4 and Microsoft XBox One.

Microsoft has released its updated Cortana app for iOS, which includes a design overhaul and new features, including music and podcasts support, an option to set up Cortana-enabled devices and a so-called conversational experience for the voice assistant. Those might prove especially useful for those who buy Microsoft's Surface Headphones, which will ship next week. Cortana 3.0 has deeper integration with other Microsoft services too. It ties into your email, calendar, reminders, meetings and To Dos, while you can use Cortana to join Skype and Teams meetings. The Cortana 3.0 beta landed on both iOS and Android last month, so it's unlikely Android users will have to wait too much longer to get their hands on the updated app.

Just like a bad break up, we point out the flaws that Amazon saw in your city's bid for their second headquarters. But Amazon's digital assistant does assume the role of a vocally-driven kitchen helper as you reheat a plate, defrost foods, and otherwise prepare a meal with the previously announced but just now available AmazonBasics Microwave. I've been cooking with it for a couple of days, and find the $59.99 price--and to some degree the use of voice--appetizing. As with any other compact countertop microwave, you can press on a keypad to choose power levels--there are ten--or the length of time you'll be nuking the item you've placed inside. But where's the fun in that when you can get Alexa to do everything at your behest?