We're still not getting voice assistants right

The BBC is launching its own voice assistant, appropriately called'Beeb' (though the efficacy of that wake word is completely suspect in a world where people might talk about Justin Bieber, just saying). Upon hearing this news, you might be tempted to think, "Ugh, why? The Beeb assistant might be a boondoggle, a waste of British taxpayer money, and a classic example of the BBC making a tech thing without a super clear reason or need just because it can. In fact, I would put even money on it being all three of those things, but I'm still rooting for it anyway. Command Line is our daily newsletter about personal tech.