The home is becoming more and more connected, and there are a ton of devices out there aimed specifically at making it more convenient to control lighting and appliances. But connected devices can do more than simply make things a little more convenient -- they can also help keep you and your home safe and sound. There are a ton of smart security products out there, all aimed at tracking and recording your home, specifically at night and when you're not at the home. There are cameras, window and door monitors, alarms, and more -- and all can be used in conjunction with a smartphone app and sometimes with other smart home devices. If you're in the market for some smart home security products, there are a few things you should consider.

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 29: Sriram Thodla, senior director of services and new business at Samsung, speaks about the new voice agent named'Bixby' that is featured on the new Samsung Galaxy S8 during a launch event, March 29, 2017 in New York City. Following the recall and discontinuation of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, the Galaxy S8 is the new flagship smartphone for Samsung. While all eyes will be on the Galaxy Note 9 at Samsung's next launch event, Bixby 2.0 is likely to debut in a smart speaker which may actually damage its sales potential. Bixby is Samsung's attempt to compete against Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa and so far, it has been nothing short of a disaster. This is because compared to Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and even the much-maligned Siri, Bixby is hopelessly outclassed.

Apple's virtual assistant Siri is about to be the most well-fed data science algorithm on the planet. Over the past year, Siri hasn't looked good compared to her peers in the bot world -- Facebook and Amazon have opened up their bot platforms to developers, while Siri has continued to be handcuffed to a handful of limited use cases. But with the announcement of Apple's new wireless earbuds, called AirPods, earlier this month, it looks like Siri is about to be exposed to the daily activities of Apple users all over the globe. Apple's dual hardware/software AirPod launch will, if the smartbuds become as ubiquitous as the iPhone, allow Siri to jump from novelty to the preeminent A.I. bot platform in the world. Since Apple clearly intends for users to leave their buds in throughout all of their daily activities, from work to commuting to travel to exercise, Siri will be able to make suggestions at any point based on geolocation, a particular iPhone activity, a Bluetooth pairing (i.e. with a car or entertainment system), and more.

This video explains how sales and inventory forecasts based on the time series model in Cortana Intelligence can provide accurate, reliable predictions about inventory levels and trends in sales so that businesses can make better decisions about how they manage inventory. Learn how to set up a location and restock the items in the location when needed as well as where to look for sales and inventory forecast charts and how to configure them. You will also find examples of how businesses can improve their bottom-line using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Is it excellent sales or powerful marketing, strong business strategies, implementation of modern technologies or superior customer service that makes Amazon so unique and helps the company stay atop? Over the years, Amazon as a company, has been pushing the boundaries of innovation, setting new trends in customer experience and bringing about revolution as a market leader. The company has embraced emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning which further elevates its success. Let us take a tour of Amazon Inside. Amazon uses a Strategy to Manage Artificial Intelligence known as The Flywheel Amazon has christened its approach to AI as a flywheel.

The events of the past few weeks have provided much fodder to this columnist. First, there was the American grandstanding on immigration, and then the events at Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., Infosys Ltd and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. More recently, Cloudflare Inc., which hosts information for close to two million websites, including Uber Technologies Inc. and OKCupid, had an Internet security disaster that saw the leak of passwords, cookies, and private messages from adult dating sites. This "Cloudbleed" was discovered on 17 February, 2017, but has evidently been around for many months. Decisions, decisions--what does one chew on first?

Smart speakers (and the virtual assistants they house) offer voice control for so many connected devices it's hard to keep count. Those audio gadgets can also assist with a range of questions -- that is, if they can understand you. The Washington Post took a close look at the performance of Alexa and Google Assistant when it comes to understanding people with strong accents. The results show that while these devices are certainly handy and increasingly popular, there's still a lot of room for improvement. The Facebook CEO covered a range of topics, including its evolving approach to fake news and a comment about Holocaust deniers that warranted a clarification afterwards.

To see the full resolution version of this infographic that has higher legibility, click here. Steve Rabuchin, the VP of Amazon Alexa, has a vision. He dreams of customers having a conversation – not just with voice-enabled devices like the Amazon Echo, but with appliances, cars, and everything in between. Though that dream may not be realized in the short term, sales of smart speakers are increasing as people warm up to the idea of using voice-assisted devices in their homes. Today's infographic, from Raconteur, sheds light on the fight for smart speaker market share, how early adopters are using the devices, and the growing array of voice-enabled devices currently on the market.

A new smartphone app aims to connect medical marijuana patients with advice on getting the most of their prescription, through a growing database of knowledge fed by artificial intelligence. The CannaBot is being announced Friday by the suburban Philadelphia biotechnology and pharmaceutical company Affinity Bio Partners, said CEO Christina DiArcangelo Puller. The system starts out with a medical cannabis dispensary or prescribing physician signing up to use CannaBot. Then, their patients would access it through an Amazon Alexa or Google Home smart speaker. Say they've been taking a certain dosage of the cannabis compound CBD for a headache, but the pain won't go away; they could direct the speaker to bring up CannaBot then ask: What should I do?

Amazon's Prime Day may be over, but all the discounts are not. So if you missed out on any of the smart home deals over the past 36 hours, we've got two more for you. The first is the Lutron Caseat Wireless Smart Lighting Dimmer Switch Starter Kit for $120 on AmazonRemove non-product link. We've seem this bundle hit this all-time low a few times before, but it hasn't budged from its $160 MSRP since February, so this is a great time to grab it. In the box you get the two dimmer switches, two pico remotes, and a smart bridge, and they're certified to work with Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Assistant.. We reviewed the Lutron Dimmer Switch kit in March and gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars.