Amazon's smart assistant can now add'cooking' to its ever-expanding set of home skills. The firm has revealed that Alexa users in the US can now control their microwave ovens with simple voice commands, by stating phrases such as: 'Alexa, defrost three pounds of chicken.' While the functionality is limited to microwaves for now, Amazon says support for'other cooking devices,' including conventional ovens, is on the way. Amazon has revealed that Alexa users in the US can now control their microwave ovens with simple voice commands, by stating phrases such as: 'Alexa, defrost three pounds of chicken.' The new microwave functionality will first come to customers in the US, with other countries to follow.

It's given you an extra 15 minutes in bed, responding to data it received from your phone about your quality of sleep. Before you ask, Alexa has switched on the lights in the bathroom and is playing your morning bulletin. As you finish brushing your teeth, you hear the coffee machine start to bubble away in the kitchen. You open the fridge, finish the last of the milk in your coffee, and see a notification come in saying that more milk will be arriving today in your grocery delivery. Your personal assistant reminds you that you have three meetings today, and for once you'll need dress smartly.

ROBO ADVISOR SAYS'HUI has hit previous target, and although ROBO-ADVISOR thinks we go lower from here ROBO-ADVISOR is not shorting this area, ROBO-ADVISOR prefers to wait for the "better" trades. ROBO-ADVISOR would potentially short if it moves higher or looks to buy the coming intermediate term low for a big move higher. SPX ROBO-ADVISOR still sitting patiently for the mkt to come to ROBO-ADVISOR to get short for what could possibly be a panic move lower, time will tell of course.'

While Kohler is mostly known for simple bathroom fixtures, it's been releasing a few high-end smart products, like toilets, for years. But now the company is expanding to the whole bathroom. The brand introduced a new platform at CES, Kohler Konnect, that runs on a new line of products users can customize with presets and control with motion or voice -- and some even have Amazon Alexa built-in. These apply to a new suite of products, from mirrors to showers to toilets, designed to work with Konnect. Users can start a shower, warm a toilet seat, adjust lighting from the mirror or fill a bathtub to a desired depth through vocal control.

Does Cortana have a future in the workplace? We want to hear your thoughts. Late last month, Amazon unveiled "Alexa for Business" – the company's latest foray into digital assistant space. Targeting the workplace, the new version of Alexa is tailored for businesses looking to automate the office, with commands for starting conference calls, handling appointments and hooking directly into other enterprise services. This announcement follows an earlier partnership between Amazon and Microsoft, where plans were outlined to merge the company's two rival assistants in select scenarios, covering a wider range of skills.

One of the oldest names in kitchen and bath fixtures is getting serious about the smart home. Kohler announced Friday that it will show seven new smart home products at CES 2018, including mirrors, faucets, toilets, and bath products in its Kohler Konnect line. The idea with Kohler Konnect is to automate and control all manner of common tasks such as filling or draining a bath or adjusting a mirror's lighting. Devices in the product family can recognize voice commands as well as gestures, and can be integrated with three of the major digital assistants: Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri via Apple HomeKit. Kohler mentioned only one specific Alexa integration in its announcement.

The New Year brings new opportunities for love and dating app users are logging in more often in January. Tony Spitz has the details. A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. The New Year brings new opportunities for love and dating app users are logging in more often in January. Tony Spitz has the details.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undergone numerous Hype Cycles over the last five decades but, if the analysts are to be believed, we now find ourselves once again at the'Peak of Inflated Expectations' – with the impending'Trough of Disillusionment' ahead. The media has raised consumer expectations by proliferating visions of intelligent assistants and self-driving cars, but while these are some way off becoming reality, AI is still a critical technology, one which could contribute $15.7tr to the global economy by 2030. This potential means that we're seeing increased development of machine learning algorithms, the benefits of which are being felt across industries – from manufacturing to financial services. The opportunity presented by AI was also recognised in the recent Budget, which commits £20 million to supporting businesses working in AI and £9 million to the establishment of an AI advisory body. Organisations in the HCM space are taking great strides towards AI, particularly in the shared service function using smart software, but they also need to be vigilant, and ensure they're walking the walk before they talk the talk.

The Nvidia Shield TV streaming box just keeps getting cooler. In addition to doubling as a Plex server, an over-the-air DVR, and a hands-free Google Assistant, the Shield can also now serve as a smart home hub with the addition of a Samsung SmartThings Link. This $40 dongle plugs into one of the Shield's two USB ports, where it can control smart light bulbs, switches, plugs, and any other appliances and devices that work with the full-sized SmartThings hub (here's a list). Yet there is one crucial difference: A dedicated hub can reside anywhere in the house, but the SmartThings Link is inherently bound to wherever your TV lives. If that happens to be in the corner of your house, you might run into some range issues. The SmartThings Link also doesn't include a couple of minor offline and battery-backup features that the full-sized Hub offers.

Following the introduction of its commercial robots in 2017, LG Electronics continues to push the envelope with the unveiling of three new work robots at CES 2018. If CES is a guide, you'll soon be surrounded by a multitude of brainy things--not only smart speakers, electronics gear, and appliances, but eventually household robots, an intelligent car, and maybe even the very city you live in. All things smart is an underlying theme leading into the annual tech shindig that commences this weekend in Las Vegas, giving the public an early look at devices they may buy later this year or next. Thought you just successfully navigated the decision about whether to purchase an Amazon Dot vs. a Google Home Mini? Think you've got smart lighting figured out?