Apple has delayed the HomePod, its next big new release. The Siri-enabled speaker is intended to be Apple's response to the increasing popularity of gadgets like the Amazon Echo, Google Home and the Sonos One. But it will have to wait a while before taking them on, since it has been delayed until "early 2018". "We can't wait for people to experience HomePod, Apple's breakthrough wireless speaker for the home, but we need a little more time before it's ready for our customers," a statement from Apple said. "We'll start shipping in the US, UK, and Australia in early 2018."

Apple promised to release the HomePod in December, but the company now says it won't start shipping them until next year. Apple revealed the HomePod at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June and had said it would come out for the holiday season, but that won't be the case anymore. "We can't wait for people to experience HomePod, Apple's breakthrough wireless speaker for the home, but we need a little more time before it's ready for our customers. We'll start shipping in the US, UK and Australia in early 2018." The delayed release date means that people who wanted to buy the HomePod for the holidays won't be able to anymore.

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We hope you weren't counting on giving (or getting) a HomePod for the holidays -- Apple has delayed the release of the Siri-powered speaker from December to early 2018. In a statement, the company said it needed a "little more time" before the device was ready for its initial release in Australia, the UK and the US. It's not yet clear how this will affect releases in other countries (we've asked the company if it can elaborate), but we wouldn't be surprised if it pushed back their releases slightly as well. They were already being asked to wait until early 2018. You can read the full statement below.

A simple trick goes a long way in hiding your webcam: tape. You don't think about your car until you get a flat. You don't appreciate your phone until the screen cracks. Cyber-security is something you take for granted, until someone hacks your account, steals your bank info, and spreads compromising pictures of you all over the Internet. Most people know about virus protection.

Google's chatbot analytics platform is now open to everyone, more than six months after its quiet debut during the company's I/O developer conference. Called Chatbase, it's intended to help developers better analyze and optimize their bots so they can improve conversion rates and accuracy -- and avoid having users feel bots are useless. Anyone can use Google's Chatbase for free, similar to Google Analytics, and it'll work across any platform, including Facebook Messenger, Kik, Slack, Viber, and Skype. But it's more than messaging services where Chatbase could prove invaluable: With the rise of voice assistants like Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Samsung's Bixby, and Apple's Siri, understanding analytics will be important. A product of Google's Area 120 internal incubator, Chatbase currently has "hundreds" of companies using it, including Ticketmaster, HBO, and Viber.

Petra the parrot is no feather-brain. The chatty African Grey has apparently decided its does not need a human to complete simple tasks around the house. In a hilarious video clip posted online, the parrot is heard ordering its owner's voice-activated virtual assistant, Alexa, to flip on the living room lights - and the gadget complies. Petra says: 'Alexa, all lights on.' The successful bird then nods its head in apparent satisfaction before engaging in'small talk' with Alexa.

We've been overusing the term Artificial Intelligence and AI with everyone we meet online and offline. Mostly inspired by its influence in multiple industries. The way industries are employing this smart technology is indeed overwhelming. In fact, the use of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and deep learning is becoming pervasive in all walks of life. This ubiquitous and generous use of AI gives us a tonne of hope and curiosity about how Artificial Intelligence is going to help us deal with our day-to-day hardships.

While dating and personal ads have been around for decades, the way we meet the people we date has changed dramatically in the last five years. Dating apps such as Tinder have captured a large portion of the online dating market. These apps, but especially Tinder, have transformed the way we represent ourselves online when we date. Men are likely to signal specific resources or potential for acquiring resources, while women are more likely to signal pro-social behaviours such as benevolence, charitable work or virtue, researchers found. While attractiveness is important, users are actually signalling much more than just stereotypical looks.

The design is drawing attention: TechCrunch called it "the strangest smart speaker" and Quartz said the device stands out from the smart speaker crowd "for one reason." While it goes on sale in December, Baidu already has a deal to outfit the device in 100 InterContinental Beijing hotels rooms. Baidu also introduced two robots, the Raven R and Raven Q (the latter of which is still in development). The Raven R looks like a cross between Pixar's Luxo Jr. logo and a contemporary art sculpture. It's a six-jointed robot that moves based on user commands in order to improve the interactive experience and make the device seem like it's expressing emotions.