When you consider the popularity of Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa and the company's Fire TV streamers, it was really just a matter of time before the folks at the Everything Store decided to mash them up. In fact, Amazon already has, sort of: The company started down that path last year by giving Echo devices the ability to pass commands along to a Fire TV or Fire TV Stick. With the new Fire TV Cube, though, Amazon is trying to break down the wall between Alexa and the content you want to see altogether. Now, we've only had our Fire TV Cube for about two days, and that's just not enough time to really put the streaming box through its paces -- instead, read on for our first impressions about Amazon's new hardware and the virtual assistant that will ultimately make or break it. The Fire TV Cube itself is a glossy black box that, aside from the blue ring that lights up when Alexa is listening to you, looks about as nondescript as a bit of home theater kit can be.

If you're thinking of buying the Amazon Fire TV Cube because you're delighted by the idea of having an Amazon Echo and a Fire TV device mashed into one device, let me stop you right there. Alexa on a TV interface demands a level of conversation like no other streaming TV product I've used before. After a few nights of using the Cube, I began to hate the sound of my own voice. Maybe you'll still be delighted by the Cube at first if you buy one. Maybe if you have kids, they'll love shouting at the TV to get their cartoon fix. But there's a good chance you'll end up doing what I did: going back to the fuddy-duddy Fire TV remote, because that's the easiest way to scroll through multiple media options.

Whether Father's Day, Mother's Day, a birthday or simply "just because," buying gifts can feel like counting grains of sand - i.e., it's not easy. Meanwhile, there are 250,ooo--300,000 e-commerce companies in the U.S. all vying for the attention of shoppers. How are consumers possibly expected to decide where to spend their hard-earned money? And how can retailers create a more personalized shopping experience, rather than facing the same demise as the 6,700 retail locations that closed their doors in 2017? In short, the retail sector is in a sticky wicket.

Amazon has announced a new program designed to help hotels deploy Alexa's voice-enabled smarts across their properties. Though Amazon's Alexa-powered Echo speakers are growing in popularity across the domestic realm -- helping users control their doors, lights, and search the web using nothing but their voice -- the internet giant has been targeting the hospitality sector for a while already. High-end hotel firm Wynn Resorts has been placing thousands of Amazon Echo speakers in its hotels since last summer, for example. And as of April, Alexa has been able to make phone calls in hotel rooms. Put simply, Amazon recognizes that hotels are a perfect showcase for its automated AI technologies.

The Season 2 finale of HBO's existential tech-western "Westworld" airs this weekend, but Season 3 probably won't drop until 2020, so fans may be forgiven if they're already beginning to experience withdrawal symptoms. But diehard devotees who can't get enough of the carefully crafted worldbuilding and the layered mysteries now have another way to immerse themselves in the show. HBO and 360i released a new "Westworld" skill for Amazon's voice-activated Alexa assistant today. A 30-second trailer by 360i introduces the concept. Anyone with an Echo or other Alexa-enabled device can play an interactive game set in the universe of the series by asking her to "Open Westworld."

Almost everyone today uses some form of machine learning unintentionally. Several algorithms support the search features of Google, Facebook, or LinkedIn. The same goes for selecting assets on Netflix, Spotify or YouTube. Even when you use your phone for Siri, Okay Google or Amazon Alexa, the voice recognition and search commands are supported by machine learning. Facebook stopped an "Artificial Intelligence Engine" after the developers discovered that the AI had created its own unique language that they could not understand.

Apple's AirPods have taken the headphone world by storm. While they weren't the first ever "true wireless" headphones out there, they certainly helped popularize the new trend in headphones, and sparked a slew of alternative options. For the uninitiated, Apple AirPods are Apple's take on true wireless headphones, or earbud-style headphones that have absolutely no wires. In other words, the separate earbuds sit in your ear, connected only wirelessly to each other and to your listening device -- whether it be your phone, computer, tablet, or another device. There are plenty of other options out there, and they each have something a little different to offer.

Match Group, the company that owns Tinder, has bought a controlling stake in Hinge, which was redesigned to cater to individuals seeking relationships instead of the casual dating (and hookup) culture prevalent in other dating apps. This adds the'anti-Tinder' to the company's collection of other online services OkCupid, PlentyOfFish and Match.com, Match Group bought a 51 percent stake in Hinge with the option to buy the rest of the shares in the next year, both companies told Bloomberg. But the former actually started investing in the latter back in September, taking a seat on its board and starting discussions of a potential acquisition. In March, Match Group sued the company behind one of the only other remaining notable dating services, Bumble, for patent infringement. The latter quickly countersued, revealing that Match Group was interested in acquiring it, and Bumble claimed the first lawsuit was intended to drive down the asking price and sully other interested parties.

Virtual assistants can go beyond playing music or buying things on Amazon. And they don't need corps of developers or fancy artificial intelligence technology to do so. Business and society in general have moved a long way towards self-service. Most offices no longer have a secretarial pool, and most managers and even some executives don't have a dedicated assistant. Travel agents and other common jobs of yesteryear still exist but you don't go to a travel agent to book a simple direct domestic flight; you go to a website.

Sure, we may be living in the digital age, but not everything has to sound like it. And with Google's virtual assistant becoming more conversational with every update, you'll want to choose a voice you don't mind interacting with several times throughout the day, every day. Google has programmed eight different voice options in a variety of human-like pitches to give the virtual assistant life. These voices are different than the one you may have heard in real life or TV ads. They're a tad more realistic sounding than the default Google voice, making them a bit more pleasant to interact with because they're so refined.