Hasta La Gadget!

Google promised that we’d get hands-free voice search in Chrome back at I/O 2013, and it’s delivering today with the beta of its Voice Search Hotword extension for desktop Chrome 31 users. As long as you’re either sitting at Google’s home page or have a new browser tab open, the add-on lets you start a search by saying “OK Google,” much as you would in Android 4.4 KitKat. Anyone eager to move beyond mouse-and-keyboard queries can grab the extension today from the Chrome Web Store.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

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Via: Google (Google+)

Source: Chrome Web Store

Google has delivered a steady stream of Glass updates since the Explorer Edition launched, but its new July upgrade may be the biggest yet — it addresses several of our earliest gripes. Wearers can now answer phone calls or have messages read aloud. It’s also now possible to call or message any Gmail contact, not just the top ten. Oh, and that hidden web browser? It’s now public: Glass owners can ask to see a favorite page and navigate using the touchpad. If you’re one of the precious few to sport Google’s eyewear, you should automatically receive the much-improved firmware in the next few days; we’ve already heard of at least one user getting the upgrade today.

Update: We now have screenshots of how browsing works in the update — check them out below.

Filed under: Wearables, Google

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Source: Project Glass (Google+)

As promised, Google’s delivered an update to its Chrome app for iOS that bypasses Siri for the tech giant’s own voice-controlled search. Now, users living in Cupertino’s curated kingdom can talk at their screens using the Chrome browser’s omnibox and watch as those inquires are quickly displayed in realtime. Google’s voice search will also now talk back (politely) to users, relaying answers to specific queries. And thanks to some additional under-the-hood tweaks, cached pages should reload faster — helpful when dealing with spotty connectivity issues — while links from other iOS apps can now be opened in Chrome. You can grab it at the source now or, if you’re already leaning on Chrome for your iOS browser fix, wait for the App Store update.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile, Apple, Google

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Source: iTunes, Google Chrome Releases Blog

We’re used to Google’s mobile search apps letting us ask questions as we would with real people, but the desktop has usually been quite stiff. That’s changing today: Google is bringing conversation-like voice search to our computers through Chrome, with no typing required. Web denizens just have to say “okay, Google,” ask their question, and get back a spoken response similar to what they’d hear on their phones. The company hasn’t said just how soon Chrome will incorporate the new voice features, however.

Filed under: Internet, Mobile, Google

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Human-machine interaction — the term sounds so clinical, yet it’s the most important relationship we need to foster in the 21st century. Which is why the venture arms of Samsung, Intel and Spanish telco Telefonica have sunk considerable funding into Expect Labs’ voice recognition software, an investment the trio announced earlier today. The startup’s prescient tech, known as the Anticipatory Computing Engine (or ACE, zing!), aims to guesstimate a user’s actions or information needs by listening in on and analyzing real-time conversations. It’s understandable if the prospect creeps you out — it should — but the end goal isn’t to invade a user’s privacy (though the data mined would be significant), it’s to anticipate and assist.

That three major corporations with stakes in computing, mobile and home electronics would want to proactively invest in Expect Labs’ tech is a no-brainer. Apple, Samsung and Google all already offer voice navigation services (to varying degrees of success) on smartphones and the potential for current smart TVs (defined by their internet connectedness) to get smarter and change channels or record programs independently would do well by their slack-jawed worshippers. What’s more, practical applications for ACE aren’t some far-off prospect; the tech could easily make its way into Samsung’s next Galaxy S flagship. And then every other machine in your life not long after…

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Home Entertainment, Software, Samsung, Intel

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Expect Labs