After responding to a domestic violence case in Tijeras, New Mexico on July 2, the Bernalillo County sheriff department initially announced that Amazon Echo, the voice-activated speaker device, had automatically called 911 that led the police to arrive at the scene. "Alexa calling and messaging operates via Wi-Fi between Echo devices or the Alexa app -- it does not support PSTN (public switched telephone network) calling," Hass said, NBC 26 reported. However, there are a few ways to get around the restriction, and get Alexa Echo or Echo Dot to call 911 during an emergency using third-party apps. After this is done, if the owner says "Google, dial 911" or "Alexa, dial 911" (provided one has switched the Google Now trigger word first), a call will be directly placed to the emergency services.

As a company, Amazon's known for its periodic and unexpected investments and projects. The online retailer's latest initiative wants to bring its staffers into your home for tech support. Amazon has launched an in-home service that'll help users set up their Amazon Echo and integrate the device into their smart home. Through the Geek Squad-like program, Amazon employees can also be scheduled to make home appointments for Alexa consultations or perform installation and setup for smart home products like lights and thermostats. Read: Here's How To Get Alexa To Tell You When Your Amazon Package Is On Its Way Installation costs for smart home devices through the Amazon program vary depending on the difficulty of the products.

A New Mexico man was arrested for allegedly beating his girlfriend and threatening to kill her -- after Amazon's Alexa called police, authorities said. Eduardo Barros, 28, became angered with his unidentified girlfriend while housesitting in Tijeras, about 15 miles east of Albuquerque, and the dispute suddenly turned physical on July 2, authorities said. During the assault, Barros waved a gun and threatened to kill the woman before he allegedly asked: "Did you call the sheriffs?" The question was inadvertently picked up by the smart speaker and the voice-powered virtual assistant recognized the phrase as a command -- prompting it to call 911, Bernallillo County Sheriff's Department Deputy Felicia Romero confirmed to The Post on Monday. It's unclear whether the speaker was connected to an Amazon Echo or Echo Dot device, but the Alexa virtual assistant was connected to a landline in the home, Romero said.

Let's pause for a moment, and take linguistic stock. Technology has many societal impacts, but perhaps one of its most visibly evident is how the tools we use change how we communicate with each other -- so, literally, how technology rewrites language itself. We see this in the willing stockpiling of techie jargon into individual vocabularies (the Androids, the iPhones, the lesser-seen Surface Books); the new word coinages (blockchain), the new and expanding uses for existing words (a'message' is a noun; 'message me' an imperative verb asking someone to send you an IM); the creative portmanteaus (glasshole is a particularly good one), the tech-obsessed idioms (I don't have bandwidth for that right now), and so on and on. We also get to glimpse the places where technology might be in the process of placing stress on social structures or societal norms. Again, glasshole is a great example of that -- a word that effectively contains the full story of Google Glass' abject consumer failure wrapped up in those two mocking syllables.

If you've been contemplating purchasing one of Amazon's voice-enabled Echo smart speakers, now is a particularly good time to pull the trigger. Just in time for Amazon's Prime Day blowout sale, which kicks off at 9 p.m. ET on July 10, the company has slashed the prices of its Echo devices. The standard model will cost $89.99 Amazon's portable Tap speaker will be selling for $79.90, a $50 markdown. Amazon Echo Show with an Arlo security camera, Amazon will chop $75 off the total price. All Alexa-enabled devices can access third-party "skills," or voice apps, and are compatible with music streaming services including Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, and TuneIn.

By now most of us have learned first-hand that human-AI relations need some work. Amazon's Alexa personal assistant is plugged into one of the world's largest online stores and can pull information from Wikipedia. But can it help you when you yell out what in the moment feels like a simple request to play that summer banger you just heard, starting at the catchy chorus? "I'm sorry, I don't understand the question." All supposedly smart helpers including Apple's Siri and Google's prosaically named Google Assistant are capable of frustrating feats of what can feel like artificial stupidity. It's one reason that Google is starting a new research push to understand and improve the relations between humans and AI.

Google may strike me down, but I'm going to say it anyway: Some of the best Android apps I've used come from Microsoft. I'd even go so far as to say that as an Android developer, Microsoft has done what it couldn't with its own mobile platform--actually make you a Microsoft phone. If you use a Windows PC, there's ample reason to explore the company's suite of apps and services, as it can streamline the work you do between the desktop and your mobile device. It's not yet nearly as smooth as what Apple offers between the Mac and iOS, but Cortana and some other Windows 10 tools can make the experience pretty seamless. The most critical piece of the link between the desktop and mobile is Cortana.

Smart devices are steadily becoming a part of our daily lives, with gadgets like smart speakers, which are a combination of voice commands and artificial intelligence, being very useful in emergency scenarios. While users may be coming to terms with the idea of a slew of smart devices inside their homes, in their pockets or on their wrists, these devices are evolving fast in their capabilities in responding rapidly in emergency situations. Reports said a smart speaker saved the life of a woman and her daughter in New Mexico by alerting authorities to an alleged assault last week. Eduardo Barros allegedly pointed a gun at his girlfriend and posed the question: "Did you call the sheriffs?" This exchange triggered the speaker to call 911.

Major tech firms have been keen to sell speakers equipped with voice-based artificial intelligence agents recently. The debuts of smart speakers are seen as the prelude to an AI era, ushering in a new technological age in which virtual assistants are expected to become as ubiquitous as the smartphone, allowing people to connect to the internet by voice with greater ease. Whether these speakers will really take off and whether the technology will be popular in Japan remain to be seen. The following are answers to these questions as well as why AI speakers are creating a buzz and what will be the role of Japanese firms in this field. What makes AI speakers special?

First impressions count – and nowhere more than in online dating. But how lifelike are the selfies posted on websites like Tinder? New research shows both sexes are prone to manipulating their images to create the right impression for potential lovers. Men are much more likely to take their selfies from around waist height to make them appear taller, more powerful and more likely to be able to protect their partner. And women are much more likely to take them from above head height to accentuate facial features and disguise any concerns over body weight.