Microsoft wants Skype to be more than just a chat app. The company unveiled a significant Skype update that will turn it into a platform for interacting with other apps, similar to what Facebook has done with its Messenger app. This new version will allow Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana and third-party apps to integrate with Skype. Microsoft is touting the ability to plan trips, shop, and book a hotel all within the Skype app by interacting with virtual bots. "We want all of these conversational tools to become rich canvases for computation," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on stage at the company's Build conference to preface the announcement.

Microsoft is taking the wraps off its next big Windows release, officially called the "Anniversary Update." Formerly code-named Redstone, the Windows 10 Anniversary update will be free (and, presumably, mandatory for Home users) this summer. The update will include an expansion of Windows Hello that lets users authenticate with apps and supported websites using a fingerprint or face recognition, and more features for styluses using Windows Ink. For instance, users can open an "ink workspace" with a list of recent and suggested pen-enabled apps, auto-create reminders based on written dates in OneNote, and draw a line on a map to find the distance between two points. The Anniversary Update will also apply to the Xbox One, bringing Windows Store apps to the console and letting retail Xbox One units act as developer kits.

CEO Satya Nadella said, "it's about taking the power of human language and applying it more pervasively to all of our computing." He continued that Microsoft needs to infuse intelligence into its products and services." He pointed out that the platform will be composed of three factors: Humans that actually have the conversations, the digital personal assistant like Cortana and the bots that are the new applications. Nadella said that all of three of these interact in a variety of ways. It won't be corralled in the Window's world. "It has to be about you, not a single device.

If you're young and single, chances are you're rejecting potential dates left and right on apps like Tinder, Bumble and OkCupid. Hundreds of people are whittled down to a few in minutes. In the seconds you lingered on one person's profile, four pictures and an ambiguous job title, what made you swipe him or her to the right? First impressions count in ways you might not expect. How people sit or where their arms and legs are in the images they share seem to loom large in potential daters' calculations, according to experiments involving speed dating and an online dating app.

"Our research shows that a growing number of customers actually prefer self-service channels to answer questions, resolve issues or complete transactions. Yet, automated handling often hits limitations when it comes to handling complex queries or'remembering' information previously mentioned in a conversation," says Dan Miller, Opus Research lead analyst. "As intelligent assistant technology evolves; we anticipate the emergence of highly specialized'intelligent advisors' that know when and how to involve a live agent. Inbenta's Hybrid Chat is the beginning of this progress." "As a transactional e-commerce-based company, having a superior digital customer support program is essential. You wouldn't make your brick and mortar customers search your store without helping them, so why not give them a personalized experience virtually," says Andreia Ferreira, Live Chat Manager, Ticketbis.

The Amazon Echo is turning out to be a sleeper hit. The stand-alone, voice-activated digital assistant is on back order, it was cited when premium speaker maker Sonos announced layoffs and it appears to be prompting other device makers (think Google's Nest) to work on their own look-alike services.

While CIOs are in the midst of transforming their companies into digital enterprises, experts have begun to sound a new alarm bell: The next wave of disruption has already started. Rick Davidson, founder and CEO at Cimphoni, a consultancy focused on the intersection of business and IT, is one such expert. He calls the next wave "the cognitive enterprise," where technology systems that can understand, learn and even reason will be able to meet customer expectations before customers know they have an expectation that needs to be met. He pointed to technologies such as Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Cortana and Amazon Echo -- the first generation of virtual concierges -- as examples. "We're going to move through the digital enterprise pretty fast," Davidson said during his presentation on the cognitive enterprise at the recent Fusion CEO-CIO Symposium in Madison, Wis.

USA TODAY's Ed Baig tests Amazon Echo's personal digital assistant. Find out how Alexa relates to Siri, benefits and flaws in this Jan. A link has been sent to your friend's email address. USA TODAY's Ed Baig tests Amazon Echo's personal digital assistant. Find out how Alexa relates to Siri, benefits and flaws in this Jan.

People try all sorts to impress others with their online dating profiles. But posing on a mountain or next to a puppy, although favoured by many, might not be the most effective way to woo someone. A new study shows that the way to impress with your dating profiles is make yourself appear as wide as possible. A new study has found that the way to impress at first sight is to make yourself appear as wide as possible. A group of researchers in the US showed that people are rated more attractive when they take a wide stance.

Three Day Rule, a matchmaking service with headquarters in Santa Monica, has raised 650,000 from the Dallas Angels Network investment group and 550,000 from several wealthy individuals. The company's 20 matchmakers -- spread across seven cities -- use software and intuition to find potential partners for customers, who pay about 4,000 for three months of assistance. Three Day Rule identifies matches from its own database, which includes people who have signed up free of charge at networking events, industry conferences and on the firm's website. But the pool goes beyond that. JDate, Christian Mingle and OkCupid allow Three Day Rule to choose from people listed on those dating websites too.