Google has confirmed that it will be completely blocking access to YouTube for Amazon's Echo Show and Fire TV devices. Google might bring back YouTube support to those devices once the company is able to reach an agreement with Amazon. "We've been trying to reach agreement with Amazon to give consumers access to each other's products and services," a Google spokesperson told Engadget. "But Amazon doesn't carry Google products like Chromecast and Google Home, doesn't make Prime Video available for Google Cast users, and last month stopped selling some of Nest's latest products. Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and FireTV. We hope we can reach an agreement to resolve these issues soon."

Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., said Amazon's retail website doesn't sell competing products like the Google Home smart speaker or Google's Chromecast streaming device. Google also claimed that Amazon's Prime Video lineup of shows and movies isn't available via the Chromecast. It added that Amazon has stopped selling some products from Nest, a connected-device maker that is Google's sister firm under Alphabet. Amazon in October launched a home-security system that competes with Nest. "Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and Fire TV," a Google spokeswoman said Tuesday.

SAN FRANCISCO – A rare public spat in the technology industry escalated on Tuesday when Google said it would block its video streaming application YouTube from two Amazon.com Inc. devices and criticized the online retailer for not selling Google hardware. The feud is the latest in Silicon Valley to put customers in the crossfire of major competitors. Amazon and Google, which is owned by Alphabet Inc., square off in many areas, from cloud computing and online search, to selling voice-controlled gadgets like the Google Home and Amazon Echo Show. The stakes are high: many in the technology industry expect that interacting with computers by voice will become widespread, and it is unclear if Amazon, Google or another company will dominate the space.

The iOS 11.2 update brought the much-awaited Apple Pay Cash features to iPhone and iPad users this week. The Apple Pay improvements were announced during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Apple announced on Tuesday the features have rolled out to all users in the United States. "Apple customers already use iMessage to communicate with friends and family, and now they can get paid right within those everyday conversations, or by just asking Siri to pay someone," Apple said in its announcement. "They can use the debit and credit cards they already have added to Apple Pay, so there's no need to install an app or create yet another account."

Google and Amazon have been battling a bit lately around the implementation of YouTube on the Echo Show. As of today, though, Google is putting its foot down and officially pulling support for YouTube on both the Echo Show and Amazon's Fire TV devices. "We've been trying to reach agreement with Amazon to give consumers access to each other's products and services," a Google spokesperson said in a statement. "But Amazon doesn't carry Google products like Chromecast and Google Home, doesn't make Prime Video available for Google Cast users, and last month stopped selling some of Nest's latest products. Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and FireTV. We hope we can reach an agreement to resolve these issues soon."

Virtual advisors are helping meet the demands of investors who want data-driven insight and a rich, personalized experience akin to Netflix. Cognitive software platforms, which provide the tools to analyze, organize, access, and provide advisory services based on a range of structured and unstructured data, are set to attract investment of nearly US$2.5 billion in this year alone. Additionally, spending on intelligent and cognitive applications is forecast by IDC to grow at an impressive 69 percent compound annual growth rate from 2017 to 2020. Driving this explosion is the fact that more data will be created in 2017 than in the last 5,000 years. And it's expected to increase three-fold from this year until 2021.

The "plus" in the Amazon Echo Plus is an integrated ZigBee smart-home hub. It's a feature that boosts this smart speaker's price tag by a third compared to the $100 second-generation Echo, and by a factor of three compared to the $50 second-generation Echo Dot. Having one smart appliance do the job of two sounds like a good idea, but most people will be happier with a more powerful smart-home hub that works in conjunction with Alexa, even if the combination costs more. Amazon is way out in front when it comes to enabling voice control of the smart home, thanks to partnerships with all the major players--DIY platforms like Samsung SmartThings and the Wink Hub 2 as well as big installers such as Vivint Smart Home and ADT Pulse--and a deep commitment to helping any and every interested third-party manufacturer tap into its Amazon Voice Service (i.e., its Alexa digital assistant). I can recommend any Echo model--except this one.

The Echo Show is the first of Amazon's Alexa-enabled devices to feature a screen, and to be honest, it's pretty darn cool. While the Show may be the most expensive* of the Echo lineup, ringing in at $229.99, it includes a slew of features and skills you can't get from the other Echo devices, thanks to the 7-inch touchscreen and camera. So why would you want to choose the more expensive Show over the new Echo ($99.99) or the more affordable Dot (on sale for $29.99)? There are several Show-specific skills that are both fun and functional. From watching HD movie trailers to making video calls, these are our picks for the top 10 skills you definitely need to try with your Amazon Echo Show.

We have heard terms like'artificial intelligence' and'machine learning' bandied about often, but do we really know what they hold for us in the coming days? Data Science may have become hot in this decade, but its existence can be traced back to more than a couple of decades ago. A lot of academic research took place in data science (data mining) then, but there was no application in the market; it was all theoretical and mathematical. Kirk Borne, Principal Data Scientist and Executive Advisor at Booz Allen Hamilton, shared some nuggets of wisdom in the field of data analytics and prediction, at the recently concluded DataHack Summit. Given his experience in the field of astrophysics, he emphasised the need for companies and individuals to be inspired and illuminated in the world of analytics.

There's nothing like cosying up in front of a roaring fire during the Christmas holidays, but you can't exactly stoke the embers from your smartphone on the way home from work. Turning your central heating up to tropical temperatures from afar is something you can do with Tado's smart heating system, though. This week, we're giving away one of Tado's connected thermostat starter kits, two smart radiator valves for creating specific heating zones, and free installation for the lot. The smart thermostat also works with Alexa, Siri and Google's Assistant, so there are plenty of ways to fiddle with the dial without taking your hands out of those toasty pockets. Go ahead and get your entries in via the Rafflecopter widget below, but make sure to familiarise yourself with the giveaway rules first.