When Facebook announced a new dating feature at its annual developer conference this week, it drew quick comparisons to existing apps like Tinder and Bumble. But the social network's matchmaking service, simply called Dating, most closely resembles another, lesser known dating app: Hinge. Facebook hasn't yet begun to test Dating, but the demo version touted on stage by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and chief product officer Chris Cox looks nearly identical to Hinge. This isn't the first time Facebook has ripped off a competitor; Instagram famously lifted Stories from Snapchat in 2016. And as in previous cases, Hinge probably doesn't have much recourse to stop them.

The love-seeking singles of Facebook's new dating service, privacy experts say, may not be prepared for what they'll encounter: sham profiles, expanded data gathering and a new wave of dating fraud. Facebook -- under fire for viral misinformation, fake accounts and breaches of trust -- said this week it will soon offer a new dating service designed to help its users find love, giving the world's largest social network a uniquely intimate vantage point on its users' romantic desires and personal lives. The service will allow people older than 18 to create a dating profile -- separate from their main profile and invisible to their friends -- that it shows to potential matches based on common interests, dating preferences, location and mutual friends, company officials said. Using a button -- not a swipe, as popularized by popular dating app Tinder -- people will then be able to say whether they're "interested" or would rather "pass" on those potential partners, officials said. Matches will be shown the other person's first name, age, current city and photo, though users will also have the option of sharing their work, education and other biographical information.

The love-seeking singles of Facebook's new dating service, privacy experts say, may not be prepared for what they'll encounter: sham profiles, expanded data gathering and a new wave of dating fraud. Facebook -- under fire for viral misinformation, fake accounts and breaches of trust -- said this week it will soon offer a new dating service designed to help its users find love, giving the world's largest social network a uniquely intimate vantage point on its users' romantic desires and personal lives. The service will allow people older than 18 to create a dating profile -- separate from their main profile and invisible to their friends -- that it shows to potential matches based on common interests, dating preferences, location and mutual friends, company officials said. Using a button -- not a swipe, as popularized by popular dating app Tinder -- people will then be able to say whether they're "interested" or would rather "pass" on those potential partners, officials said. Matches will be shown the other person's first name, age, current city and photo, though users will also have the option of sharing their work, education and other biographical information.

Google brought its AI assistant to Android Wear 2.0 last year, and has been adding features like Routines and Custom Device Actions ever since. Now the company is bringing a few new features to Assistant on Wear OS (as it's now called), including contextually aware conversation suggestions, auditory answers to your questions and actions for connected devices. You can already tell Google Assistant to control your smart home devices like, say, setting the temperature of your LG fridge. Now this feature is coming to your Wear OS device, too, which means you'll get to talk to you wrist to set your thermostat or turn on the Hue lights in your bedroom. Hearing the answer to a question via your watch speaker or Bluetooth-connected headphones can be more convenient than having to lift your wrist to see a visual response, too, and pre-set response suggestions will offer up things you might not think of when asking Assistant for the weather, for example.

Now that it's easier to ask Amazon's Alexa follow-up questions, it's only natural that its shopping options are getting a boost. Soon you'll be able to ask Alexa to buy even more things, as Amazon opened up in-skill purchasing to all developers today. While some microtransaction applications are obvious -- buying items in games, for example -- others could be upgrading from a free to a paid tier or, heck, simply browsing goods. In-skill purchasing was first announced back in November but only available for a few game publishers like Jeopardy! and The Ellen's Show's Heads Up, along with limited options in Best Buy's application. Once developers set it up within their skill, they select what products and prices for customers to sift through -- and if they see something they like, pay for it using their Amazon account's payment information.

Since the Windows 10 April update, some users have been dealing with frozen systems when they're running apps including Chrome or using the "Hey, Cortana" command. The good news is Microsoft's working on a fix, which may be ready in time for next week's scheduled patch. The monthly Windows 10 updates typically include new features, like the recent Timeline activity log, and seek to squash bugs, such as the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities Microsoft added defenses for in March. Sometimes, as with the update Microsoft rolled out on April 30th, the patches unintentionally add more problems. Until it can deploy a fix for the Chrome bug, Microsoft suggested those whose systems are locking up can try a workaround key sequence.

If you've experienced issues with Google's Chrome browser freezing or becoming unresponsive after installing Microsoft's Windows 10 April 2018 Update, you're not alone. Microsoft has acknowledged the problem and is working on a fix. Certain apps, including Cortana and Google's Chrome browser, may hang or freeze when using them, Microsoft acknowledged in a support post on Wednesday, as noted earlier by The Verge. A Reddit post, which became the unofficial repository for users complaining about the problem, also noted that users had had the same problem while working within Visual Studio. According to Microsoft, the company is working on a patch that it plans to ship on the next Patch Tuesday, currently scheduled for May 8. Microsoft reportedly delayed the April 2018 Update because of "Blue Screens of Death" that the update triggered.

The retail industry has benefited greatly from the advancements of machine learning (ML), which have the ability to improve a company's bottom line. The technology can do so by improving the retail experience for consumers with a better user interface, a personalized recommendation engine, the optimization of stocking and inventory and to more accurately price an object. Many companies have already shifted towards a more digitized platform in order to have a better understanding of when to push products more aggressively and when to use more tact with customers. There's no telling how far ML will go in revolutionizing the retail world, but a recent study by McKinsey suggests that U.S. retailers that have adopted data and analytics into their supply chain have experienced up to a 10% increase in operating margin over the last five year. Attaining data and developing the right smart solutions platform with predictive capabilities have been key to boosting businesses' ROIs.

Google Assistant is gaining ground in the smart home. The search giant said on Thursday that its artificial intelligence-infused voice assistant now works with more than 5,000 smart home devices. Google Assistant is gaining ground in the smart home. Tripling the number of devices that Google Assistant is compatible with should give the firm a strong foothold in the ongoing smart home wars. Big tech firms ranging from Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Samsung have all launched their respective smart speakers and digital assistants, but making sure they're compatible with a plethora of internet of things products around the home is no easy feat. To this end, Google says its digital assistant works with a variety of smart cameras, dishwashers, doorbells, dryers, lights, plugs, thermostats, security systems, vacuums and locks, among many other technologies.

Google will be holding its annual I/O conference next week and it's already giving its voice Assistant a big push just before the upcoming event. The company announced today that Google Assistant is now able to work with 5,000 smart home devices. "Over the past year, we've made great progress ensuring that the Google Assistant can work with all types of connected devices, and now every major device brand works with the Assistant in the U.S.," the company said in a blog post. "Today, the Google Assistant can connect with more than 5,000 devices for your home--up from 1,500 this January. That includes cameras, dishwashers, doorbells, dryers, lights, plugs, thermostats, security systems, switches, vacuums, washers, fans, locks, sensors, heaters, AC units, air purifiers, refrigerators, ovens … we can keep on going!" The number of smart home devices that can work with Google Assistant is also expected to grow even further in the coming months.