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The next marquee Windows 10 update won’t be just about creators – it will also blow artificial intelligence (AI) wide open on the operating system (OS). The company made the interesting announcement during its Windows Developer Day event on March 7. Essentially, Microsoft plans to bring the underlying machine learning or AI tech behind its Cortana digital assistant, Windows Hello, smart Bing search and more to all Windows 10 app developers. This will enable Windows 10 ‘to deliver more powerful and engaging experiences’ through AI, Kam VedBrat, Group Program Manager on the Windows AI Team writes. Microsoft is simply calling this ‘the AI platform in Windows 10,’ and promises low latency and real-time results by leveraging a given computer’s processing power, even name-dropping video game engines as a possible use case for the technology. Furthermore, every type of device that supports Windows 10 – short of phones – will support this platform. Paving the way for AI’s explosionIn the same blog post, VedBrat even teases that Microsoft’s machine learning platform will include ‘instruction set optimizations’ for a ‘driver model for purpose-built AI processors in the future.’ So, it seems as if Microsoft is intent on competing with projects like Google’s own Tensor processors built specifically for AI applications by providing the underlying code for other processor designers and manufacturers. For readers like you, expect to see your Windows 10 devices inch ever closer to that Her-like capability – but hopefully not that disposition – in 2018 and beyond. Whether you like it or not, AI is about to become a much more expansive and ubiquitous part of your digital life. These are the best laptops we’ve seen this past yearhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/ytL88jOUjfM

As smart speakers and other connected appliances become more popular, one growing concern is how well these products actually protect your privacy. It’s become increasingly common to fill your home with microphones and sensors that are always actively listening for the sake of convenience, and it’s opened us all up to some serious security risks. So on Tuesday when Dyson unveiled the Pure Cool, a new connected air purifying fan with a built-in display and a mobile app, the first question to come to mind is how secure this product actually is. After all, even if it doesn’t have a camera or microphone, the Pure Cool is still taking in a ton of data about the activity in your home, and that data could be used against you if it fell into the wrong hands. Right? We asked Paul Dawson, Dyson’s Vice President of Health and Beauty, what the company does to protect user data. His answer (along with a little digging into Dyson's privacy policy) points to your data being secure. However, it also revealed exactly how much information the Pure Cool has access to, and what the company (or a potential hacker) can do with that data. Home habitsFirst, the good news. Dyson is doing everything possible to keep your data safe. That includes encryption, penetration testing, and help from security experts. “It’s also stored in a way that’s quite difficult to find, and we don’t store those records next to the person’s name it’s associated with," Dawson said. Dyson’s approach to data collection and analysis is more focused on the big picture. By combining information from its air purifiers all over the world, the company can gain insights into how pollutants enter people’s homes and the best ways to keep our air pure. It’s also revealed some interesting details about how people live more generally. “One great trend I was spotting recently was that in Canada, the air quality in homes gets bad during the weekend, but then improves by the end of the week,” Dawson said. He has an interesting theory as to why: people cook more at home over the weekend, releasing pollutants into the air. During the week, however, they don’t have time to cook and tend to dine out more often, so the air stays pure. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bB6HVuWLpm46Zze2SWvrxT.jpg Dyson's new Pure Cool Tower and Pure Cool purifying fans at the products' official unveiling in New York City on March 6 We asked if someone with access to Dyson’s data – like a potential burglar – could similarly figure out when we were least likely to be home before planning a heist. He said there was no way, reaffirming that this data is protected and dissociated with any one specific customer. Dawson also explained that while the Pure Cool can identify general pollutant types, like smoke, it can’t “tell the chemical composition.” So, it won’t know if you’re smoking marijuana at home, and you don’t have to worry about that information being used against you in court if you live somewhere where that’s against the law. If you’re still not convinced, Mozilla’s internet privacy website offers a checklist of potential security issues with Dyson’s air purifier based on another recent model. The page notes that these gadgets don’t include cameras or microphones, and the official app for your phone doesn’t ask for access to those, either. The app can track your location, but that’s common for smartphone software and it’s something you can revoke pretty easily on your own device by checking permissions. Most important of all, Dyson promises not to share your private information. Any details it does gather won’t leave the company’s own digital vault. “We don’t give this data to anyone,” Dawson said. We've spent weeks with the cordless Dyson Cyclone V10 vacuum cleanerhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/osZ165Cb1o8

Mobile wallet company Paytm has launched a business application for merchants in Tamil Nadu — 'Paytm for Business' , which enables them to track transactions, makes instant settlements and navigate through collections. The 'Paytm for Business' app is made for merchants to digitise transactions and keep an instant check on them. Using the app, a merchant does not need to wait for a confirmation message. Moreover, the app gives access to details of the transactions, download daily and weekly gain access to critical information like estimated time of bank settlement. "Our Paytm for Business app is yet another step towards simplifying payments for the country’s vast and diverse business community. It will make managing business simpler for our partnered merchants and offer them the peace of mind," Paytm COO, Kiran Vasireddy said. The app is available on Android Play Store for merchants who use Paytm to accept payments at their offline shops. "We are confident this will add to the convenience of accepting Paytm at an offline store by increasing transparency and trust among our merchants in Tamil Nadu," he added. The mobile application supports 10 regional languages and also ensures that merchants are instantly on board without needing to pay an additional price. The app was launched on 21 January. Paytm Inbox lets you chat with friends, send and request moneyhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/avgMjSl24Fg

Dyson is going all in on cordless vacuums. The company revealed the new Dyson Cyclone V10 at a tri-city event on March 6, and while Dyson will continue to sell its old corded models, it’s focusing all future research and development on battery-powered vacuum cleaners. As a technology journalist with plenty of experience using battery-powered gadgets, my first question was whether the built-in rechargeable battery would wear down over time. After all, lithium batteries have a limited number of charging cycles, and even before you hit that wall, battery life generally tends to degrade pretty significantly in the first year of use. According to James Dyson, who founded the company back in 1987, that won’t be an issue for the Cyclone V10. “Fifteen years of daily use might get you down to 80% battery,” he said at a roundtable discussion with journalists after the New York City unveiling. He added: “But by then you’ll probably want to upgrade to our new model anyway.” Secret to longevityIf you want to get more specific, the Cyclone V10’s battery is good for 800 charge cycles, but based on how most people will use the vacuum, it should last a lot longer. “That’s when it’s fully discharged, which rarely happens,” Dyson said. The secret to Dyson’s long-lasting battery is actually one of the new vacuum cleaner’s coolest features: the trigger. Instead of turning the Cyclone V10 on and off with a switch, you pull a trigger on the handle (which looks a bit like a space-age laser gun) to activate its digital motor. So, you might vacuum for a few seconds in one spot and then let go of the trigger while you reposition. This gives the battery small moments of respite, even while it’s being used, so it won’t drain as quickly. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wcWYB4vfYdNNKgHM855p8U.jpg Dyson Cyclone V10 won't run until you press on its trigger The trigger control also helps stretch out each individual battery life cycle. The Cyclone V10 packs a 2,600mAh battery (that’s 500mAh more than the previous DC59 model), and, according to James Dyson, you’ll get about an hour of cleaning per charge – even if the battery is only rated to last for 40 minutes. He added that thanks to its powerful motor, you’ll never need to vacuum for a full hour anyway. That means the battery will rarely get completely depleted as long as you remember to recharge it after every use (which takes 3.5 hours to do, according to Dyson). As for those old, corded vacuums, these aren't going away just yet. So, if you’re not comfortable with the idea of a wireless vacuum, Dyson still has you covered. The company claims that its new Cyclone V10 is just as powerful as any wired model, though, and its founder is confident that consumers will make the leap with him. “Old machine sales are going to fall of a cliff,” he said. Cool reading: our hands on Dyson Pure Cool (2018) reviewhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/YiMQOv2aIss

Microsoft officially pulled the plug on its free video editor Windows Movie Maker last year, and replaced it with a streamlined but simplified app with a touch-first design that misses some of what made its predecessor so popular. However, a recent patent application suggests that something else could be on the horizon. Movie Maker was part of the Windows Essentials suite of apps, which also included such classics as Windows Live Mail (replaced by the Mail app in Windows 10) and Photo Gallery (superseded by Photos). After signing Movie Maker’s death warrant, Microsoft initially vowed to provide a replacement, but those promises vanished from its website until the Windows 10 Fall Creator’s Update finally unveiled a tool called Remix Video (originally Story Remix), which sits tucked away in the Photos app. However, it's quite different to its predecessor – and the changes aren't all for the better. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9Bh8EfaSmb26YQ9gS9yiWj.jpg Remix Video is simple to use and touch-friendly, but lacks the granular control of Movie Maker Remix Video lets you string together video clips, apply themes (preset transitions, titles and effects) and add text and music, but it’s not the evolution of Movie Maker that we’d hoped for. Although it’s easier to use, that convenience has come at the cost of granular control. Gone are the timeline view, the ability to record video directly from a USB device, the option to split video clips, and full manual control over transitions and filters. Overall, Remix Video is more of a step sideways than an upgrade. Fun over featuresThe simplification of Microsoft’s video editor seems to be part of a growing trend. Fully-featured desktop editing software appears to have fallen out of fashion, replaced by quick and easy mobile apps (or mobile-style, in Remix Video’s case). Record a few seconds of footage, add a filter and some quirky stickers, then upload it and watch the likes roll in. Last year, Google killed off its online YouTube Video Editor – a useful suite of tools for trimming, combining and adding effects to footage before uploading them to your channel. Just a few months later, it announced YouTube Stories – its take on Snapchat and Instagram’s super-short format video clips. YouTube Stories is still in limited beta, but Google is investing in it heavily. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7sWhgb5MDt62iyEtFyY2cU.jpg Google is testing real-time background removal for the forthcoming YouTube Stories – a mobile-only platform specifically for short-form videos A few days ago it began trialling a new tool (catchily named YouTube Real-Time Mobile Video Segmentation) that replaces video backgrounds on the fly. Rather than isolating a solid-colored backdrop (as with traditional chroma-keying), Google has trained a neural network to identify faces, hair and clothing in selfies, then mask out everything else. The results are impressive, but it's exclusively for mobile and nowhere near as flexible as true chroma-keying. A new patentHowever, Microsoft might have something more substantial in the works. Last month, it registered the trademark Mixplay, which as Windows Central notes, could well be connected to Microsoft's streaming service Mixer.com. There's definitely a strong connection to gaming in the patent description: "Software-as-a-service (SaaS) that allows users to create, view, publish, produce, broadcast, and play animation, video, sound, and graphics; software-as-a-service (SaaS) for personalizing, designing, and updating text and animation; software-as-a-service for playing video games." http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MacZFPjyGppfg6SSA3R4BJ.jpg Mixplay might be a replacement for the ageing Upload Studio, or it could be a more general purpose video editor for Windows Windows Central also speculates that Mixplay might be an evolution of, or replacement for the simple Xbox One video editor Upload Studio, which relied heavily on Kinect and hasn’t seen an update for many months. However, Microsoft is quite liberal with the prefix 'mix', and the name could equally be a reference to Windows Mixed Reality. Most of the best commercial video editors are now capable of editing 360-degree video, and it would be a great asset if a similar tool was available for Windows users with Mixed Reality headsets to make their own creations. Other optionsIf Microsoft doesn't deliver a true successor to Windows Movie Maker, there are some fantastic free alternatives. Our favorite free video editor is Lightworks, but if you’re looking for a direct replacement for Windows Movie Maker then open source editor Shotcut should be top of your list. It’s as slick and well designed as a premium video editor, but it’s completely free to use with no watermarks or time limits. Its design will feel immediately familiar to Movie Maker fans, but it's far more advanced. Patents don't always lead to anything, but we'll be keeping a close eye on Mixplay and keeping our fingers crossed that it's the powerful Microsoft video editor that we've been hoping for. The best free alternative to Windows Movie Makerhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/NJURifm3grI

When you think of security cameras, you’ll probably think about keeping people out rather than letting them in, but that's not the case with NICE (the Network of Intelligent Camera Ecosystem Alliance). Formed by Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation, camera manufacturer Nikon, iPhone manufacturer Foxconn, communication technology provider Wistron, and intelligent image solution provider Scenera, NICE wants to create a unified ecosystem for security cameras. This alliance aims to bring together what is currently a disparate industry, allowing individual businesses to benefit from advancements by all members of the alliance. All in this togetherWhat this would ultimately boil down to is a better security camera for the end user, through sharing of developments in cloud storage, artificial intelligence, software updates, and the introduction of greater compatibility between different systems. So you could have a Nest Cam IQ in one room, a Hive View in another, and both would be able to upload their content onto the same cloud network, allowing you to view them in the same place. Speaking to Digital Trends, David Lee – CEO of Scenera – who is spearheading this campaign, said that he wants security cameras to have a base platform like Android for smartphones: “If you look at the camera today, all the software is custom-made by the company — it’s really difficult to mix cameras together,” Lee said. “Having a common ground, just like Android for Google, that’s the kind of ecosystem we want to build.” http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hivGaThoKFL8GcKPUowqoJ.jpg The industry-leading Nest Cam IQ It’s interesting that Lee mentions Google as it does seem like the project will succeed or fail based on the uptake by the current leaders in the smart security camera market, and Google is definitely one of those with its Nest camera range. Given that the Nest Cam IQ’s main selling point is its advanced smarts, it’s difficult to imagine Google happily handing over its advances to join the alliance. Add to that the fact that many security camera companies benefit from hefty subscription charges that they'd lose if the cloud service was unified, and the proposition looks unlikely. The alliance is still very much in the early stages, but plans to have specification standards finished by the end of 2018, so we could see NICE products by 2019. Want to know the best security cameras on offer? Check out: Best security camera: keep an eye on your home from your smartphonehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/R5npdVBCoXQ

Dyson vacuum cleaners are recognized worldwide for quality and performance. To prove it's still top of the pack, the company just announced its latest cleaning creation, one so good it apparently convinced James Dyson to stop making full-size vacuum cleaners all together. Unveiled today at three events in New York City, Paris and Seoul, the Dyson Cyclone V10 cordless vacuum cleaner is the next step up from the Dyson V8, and claims to leave its predecessor – and competitors – in the dust. How does it do it? The heart of the Cyclone V10 is Dyson's newest digital motor, fittingly called the V10, which purports to be the fastest and most advanced digital motor ever to come out of Dyson's labs. What's more, Dyson claims the Cyclone V10 boasts the most powerful suction of any cord-free stick vacuum cleaner on the market. The new motor can spin up to 125,000 rpm and weighs just 125g (0.27 pounds). The cyclones and bin assembly can rotate through a full 90 degrees, resulting in a 20% improvement in Air Watts of suction over the Dyson V8. It's a smart motor, too. The V10 is said to factor in altitude, barometric pressure and temperature in its performance. Pressure sensors allow it to know whether you're cleaning upstairs or down, and even when you're vacuuming the floor or a counter top. As for where the dirt and dust goes once you've whisked it away using the Cyclone V10, there's a bin that will dump its contents with a "point and shoot" mechanism. If you have particularly large messes to clean up, the bin can be ordered in a size that's 40% bigger than the standard. The quality of the air that comes out of the new Dyson vacuum is also improved. All of the Cyclone V10's filters are wrapped around the motor, so there's just one sealed unit that filters out 99.97% of allergens, including those as small as 0.3 microns, a size smaller than a human red blood cell. When it's time to replace the Cyclone V10's filter, a new sensor will activate an indicator light, alerting users it's time to swap. Equipped with a new, more energy-dense battery, the Dyson Cyclone V10 is said to last 60 minutes Equipped with a new, more energy-dense battery, the Dyson Cyclone V10 is said to last up to 60 minutes, sans that frustrating step down in power many vacuums run into when they're about to shut down. Outdoing its predecessor once again, the Cyclone V10's maximum run time is 20 minutes longer than the Dyson V8. Like most vacuum cleaners these days, you can take the Cyclone V10 onto just about any surface; two motorized cleaner heads will let you suck up debris on either hard floors or carpets, and it's transportable to the car. Dyson Cyclone V10 price and release dateIn the US, three versions of the Cyclone V10 are available: an Absolute model, an Animal model and a hot rod-red Motorhead model. The Dyson Cyclone V10 price starts at $499.99, which is the same as the launch price of the Dyson V8 (though the Dyson V8 Absolute price is currently discounted by $50). In Australia, two versions are available. The Cyclone V10 Absolute+ price is AU$999, and the Animal price is AU$899. We're awaiting word on UK pricing, and we'll update this article when we learn those details. As for the Dyson Cyclone V10 release date, it's a bit staggered. Today, US shoppers will find it at on sale on dyson.com and at Dyson Demo stores in New York, San Francisco and Tysons Corner, Virginia. Beginning March 13, US residents can buy the new vacuum from Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Target and Amazon. In Australia, shoppers can pre-order the new cleaner from Dyson.com.au beginning March 16. The Cyclone V10 goes on sale on Dyson's website and at major electrical retailers on April 6. We'll update this story when we learn about the Cyclone V10 release date in the UK and where shoppers there can find it. Seeing is believingDyson also unveiled its new Pure Cool and Cool Tower purifying fans today, with an emphasis on showing you what can't be seen. The new fans feature sensors that can detect and display particles and gasses circulating in your home. You'll see this information displayed on an LCD display before the fan gets to work filtering out the pollutants. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FgPcXcTytwpGCN8rzvoGqn.jpg Track indoor and outdoor pollution with the Dyson Link app The fans will sense everything from Volatile Organic Compounds emitted from paint to the relative humidity of the air. Through the fans' filtration system, which includes 60% more HEPA media, allergens, mold and more are filtered out. The Pure Cool fans can rotate 350-degrees, moving more clean air around a room. Together, the expansive oscillation and Dyson's Air Multiplier technology can move at minimum 77 gallons of purified air ever second. Fittingly as parts of the world are snowed in, the latest Pure Cool fans also feature a backward airflow mode, which basically just moves purified air rather than cooled air, so you won't freeze in an effort to breathe better indoors. The Dyson Pure Cool Tower price is $549.99 (about £400 / AU$710). The smaller Pure Cool fan's price is $449.99 (about £325 / AU$580). Replacement filters run $79.99 (about £60 / AU$100) for a bundle. Our recommendations don't suck: these are the best vacuum cleanershttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/wAy11WtgYk4

It’s still early in 2018, technically, and like clockwork the Apple rumors are already spinning away. However, we’ve heard very little about the would be macOS 10.14, which we all assume will be the name of the next version of Apple’s Mac operating system (OS). Short of the rumor that this year’s take on macOS will incorporate iOS apps in some unknown, seemingly impossible way, there simply isn’t much that’s known or at least rumored regarding the OS. This is largely normal, as Apple rumors generally tend to revolve around the hardware, not the software. So, that leaves us with plenty of room to wax philosophic about how we think this year’s release should go down, but more importantly what we want to see from the end result. Enjoy the deep dive you’ll find below, and come on back, as this article will be updated with every sliver of concrete information that comes in to us at TechRadar HQ. Cut to the chaseWhat is it? The 2018 edition of Apple’s Mac operating system, macOSWhen is it out? Likely September or October 2018What will it cost? macOS 10.14 will likely be freehttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4ee3a9c5b4908d724b289a87bb2470ae.jpg macOS 10.14 release dateAt the moment, when Apple will release macOS 10.14 is entirely unknown. However, we can attempt to triangulate a release date through looking back to releases of the past. Since 2013 and the release of OS X 10.9 Mavericks, Apple has teased its latest version of the Mac OS during its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote in early June, followed by a full release September or October of the same year. Apple has also done this completely free of charge since then. There’s currently nothing to indicate that the macOS release cadence or pricing scheme will deviate from this trend. So, that leaves us with the strong expectation that Apple will tease what macOS 10.14 has to offer in June at WWDC, release a public beta test around a month later and drop the final product in September or October for all to enjoy. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/AbLTYRfcQJEfQRfNn4qQsS.jpg macOS 10.14 specificationsKnowing next to nothing about macOS 10.14, it’s tough to say exactly which Mac hardware will support the next version of Apple’s Mac interface. But, again, we can look to the previous year’s requirements for an idea of what to expect this year. First off, prepare for macOS 10.14 to require at least 14.3GB of hard drive space for the installation, as that’s what was required last year. To keep it on the safe side, make it 20GB. Next, Macs that received the 10.13 upgrade were required to be equipped with at least 2GB of memory (or RAM) and running OS X 10.8 or later. Last year, this is what that managed to cover product-wise: MacBook (Late 2009 or newer)MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer)iMac (Late 2009 or newer)Mac Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)So, while these required model years rarely change year-over-year with new releases of macOS, if your Mac model is older than the minimum release year, you might have to buy a new Mac to enjoy this next version of the OS. However, wait until these hardware requirements are published before leaping onto a new Mac! http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jL7pEGbZWQVHXVqUGAdjr5.jpg What we want to see in macOS 10.14Every time Apple releases a new version of macOS is an opportunity for the company to improve on past shortcomings as well as fulfill the wildest computing dreams of its fans. But, mostly, we see Apple simply smooth out proverbial edges and increase quality-of-life in using the OS. With that in mind, here’s what we want to see in macOS 10.14. iOS apps on Mac Now that it’s been rumored about and reported on so long, the idea of iPhone and iPad apps on macOS has grown on us. We’re hyped by the idea of continuing work from our iPhones straight away on our MacBooks – or polishing off that top score upon sitting down at the desk. However, Apple needs to nail how this is going to happen if the odds of a Mac computer with a touchscreen remain slim to none. Will the mouse or touchpad simply stand in for our digits, or does Apple have something clever in its core? More active Siri Honestly, Siri on Mac (much less, iPhone) is only about as useful as how often you remember to ask for its assistance – and even then your mileage may vary. So, we’d like to see Siri on Mac begin to act more like, say, Cortana does on Windows 10. We’ve already given over our permissions to Siri so that it can access our data – whether in Apple’s general end-user license agreement for macOS or when we configured the tool. So, why not leverage that more? A Siri that makes that meeting reminder for you or directs you to a better deal online without your asking is far more helpful than having to remember it’s there first. Deeper ecosystem control Frankly, Apple fans should feel more rewarded for the thousands of dollars or pounds it takes to be such a diehard fan. One fine way of doing that is opening macOS up to control and manage other Apple devices under a particular user’s Apple ID. Imagine being able to see your iPhone’s storage and manage it from your Mac, for instance. Or, on a related note, triggering an App Store download on your iPhone from your Mac – before or after making the space for it from macOS. It’s a small thing, but such a chance would help keep fans feeling rewarded for going all-Apple, as it were. These are the best Macs we’ve tested within the past yearhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/JNJ40xC95Sg

Now that Amazon has finally brought Alexa to Aussie shores, Perth-based IoT company Quantify Technology has teamed up with property developers in Sydney to place its Amazon Alexa-powered Q device into residential units in the suburb of Lindfield, as reported by CRN. The devices will provide residents with Alexa voice-controlled home automation using Amazon Echo Dot hardware and Quantify's own Alexa add-on, Qumulus Skill, which is said to allow for more natural language to be used. “With natural language control, we’re able to deliver residents a truly unique living experience,” said Quantify managing director Mark Lapins. “What sets this project apart are the capabilities our technology can offer the future residents at Lindfield. Combining our platform with a world-class voice solution like Alexa paves the way for us to raise the bar on residential and commercial development projects from here on out.” Like having your own digital butlerThe Sydney-based firm Cambridge Electrical Services will be handling the installations, with founder Tony Sclavos describing Quantify's smart home device as a "feature-rich solution that delivers all of the functionality we could need currently as well as in the future thanks to their modular design, without the complexity and cost of traditional systems we would have used previously.” Whether we can look forward to more Australian property developers implementing smart home tech into their building projects remains to be seen, but it is a good indication of what the future has in store for us. Check out our in depth Amazon Echo reviewhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/6PVvXBqZSF0

There is a great paradox at the heart of globe-trotting: you love the world, and want to see more of it but by travelling you end up massively increasing your carbon footprint, therefore damaging the very thing that you love. If you want to try and minimize your impact, or even do some good while you travel, you're in luck. There's a range of brilliant apps out there that will help you travel a little more eco-friendly. In this piece we've put together some of our favorites that will help you give a little back to the planet while you take in its splendor. Happy travels! http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/oUWsLgWkKeEnVqKgkRoRxg.jpg Green GlobeFreeiOS, AndroidFirst up is Green Globe. This is the app if you're looking to book a hotel, attraction or even a business meeting and you want to make sure you're using a service that is eco-friendly. With destinations all over the world you'll be spoilt for choice, and you can guarantee that your choice is green (figuratively of course) thanks to Green Globe's rigorous checklist of over 40 items, from recycling practices to schemes that pay back to the local environment. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/X2qxDvRvQjZAwTzCeo8mBF.jpg OlioFreeiOS, AndroidOlio is a food sharing app. Don't worry, we don't mean having someone join you for dinner. Olio is for if you're about to set off on your travels and you realise you've still got a carton of milk and a bowl full of fruit that's going to go off while you're away. Pop it on Olio and someone comes to pick it up. No more food waste. The benefit on the other side is that when other people are giving food away, you can get a free meal. So if you're in a strange city on your own and don't fancy eating in a restaurant alone, you just log on to the app and see if any businesses are giving away food at the end of the day. Olio will save you money and reduce some of the ludicrous food waste currently happening. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/znELEKTgH5UWJNLL3XFT4f.jpg SpinlisterFreeiOS, AndroidOnce you've arrived at your destination, the best (and the most environmentally friendly) way to get around is by bike. This is where Spinlister comes in. A peer-to-peer lending app, it shows you all of the people in your local area who have bikes to lend. You can choose from different types of bike and different lengths of loan, then see how much it's going to cost you. Unless you've go for a really high-end piece of kit, it's almost definitely going to be cheaper than any other mode of transport available. Plus, there's the added bonus of no emissions. As an added bonus, Spinlister can also be used to hire winter and water sport equipment, so a day's boarding (whether that's snow or surf) can be accommodated too. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zRhcjfAXfMjqYiWT2xE5Uo.jpg CityMaps2GoFree, with in-app purchasesiOS, AndroidCityMaps2Go is (unsurprisingly) an app the provides maps of cities. The '2Go' bit is the reason we're including it here. What sets this app apart from its counterparts is that you can download maps with a frankly astonishing level of detail, so when you get to your foreign locale, you don't have to purchase a large paper map, a transport map or a guide to local attractions. That's saving a lot of paper. The app is free to download and you get one free city, then you can upgrade to premium for all the maps – and there are lots. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yXMNnsEbZ5WzfisEwYigrn.jpg TripitFree, with in-app purchasesiOS, AndroidOn the subject of reducing unnecessary printing, we also highly recommend Tripit. This brilliant app collates all of your travel information into one place so you don't have to print off numerous itineraries. It's so simple to use, you can forward emails about your trip to an automated email address and it collates your itinerary for you. It also works with other apps like AppInTheAir, which helps you keep track of flights, and PackPoint, which helps you pack for your trip, saving the plane the excess fuel from carrying those four pairs of trousers you're never going to wear. Looking for our collection of our favorite travel apps? Check out: Best travel apps 2018: make traveling a joyhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/Rwwttu65TSc

If you've noticed your Amazon Echo being a little less chatty than usual, don't panic – a spell of downtime in Amazon's cloud servers knocked out the Alexa app for a few hours, but all systems are go again and your Echo should be back to full functionality. Apparently Amazon Web Services was out of action for a brief spell, causing Echos around the world (or at least in the US) to respond with a "lost connection" message whenever their users wanted to know the latest weather or needed to find out just how tall the Eiffel Tower was. Other users reported sluggishness in Alexa's responses, so the digital assistant could still respond to questions, but needed a good long think about them first. Most areas are now reporting that Alexa is back up and running normally. Not-so-smart homesAmazon Web Services, which underpins a host of apps such as Slack as well as everything Amazon does on the web, is responsible for around a third of all cloud services, according to Wikipedia. When it hits issues, chances are you'll see it in more than one app. The downtime actually mirrors the advert Amazon , where a series of celebrities were given the cold shoulder by Alexa, and Alexa users were quick to draw comparisons between the two on social media.It just goes to show: you can put together the most sophisticated smart home setup possible, but if the services it relies on hit the buffers, you're still going to end up switching on light switches manually and looking outside to see what the weather's doing... just like the old days. The best Amazon Echo Alexa skills and commands: The best uses for your EchoVia SlashGear http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/was37HlJo68

Harmon Kardon has used MWC 2018 to unveil its latest offering, a smart speaker that offers high quality audio, and houses Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa. No one could ever accuse Amazon’s smart speaker range of being underdeveloped. There’s the Echo (both in its original version and the 2017 edition), the Echo Plus (which offers smart home hub functionality and better audio), the Dot (which is little), the Show (which has a screen), the Spot (which is little and has a screen), and the forgotten cousin Look (which gives you fashion advice). But even the Echo Plus with its improved audio is no match for Apple’s HomePod with its vast array of tweeters and clever algorithmic calibration that manages directional audio and bass levels. Going toe-to-toe with serious heavyweights So Apple has the HomePod and Google has the Google Home Max, which houses its voice assistant (the imaginatively named Google Assistant). At the moment, the best option for Alexa fans who want a better quality of audio for their music, podcasts and audiobooks is the (very impressive) Sonos One. Harman Kardon’s offering is a partnership with wireless device specialists Brightstar, and offers three 0.75-inch dome tweeters, two passive radiators and three 1.75-inch full-range transducers. This isn’t the first smart speaker available from Harmon Kardon; the Invoke came out in 2017, and was met with a mixed response, but mostly due to it housing Microsoft’s voice assistant Cortana. It will be interesting to see if the combination of Harmon’s expertise in audio and Amazon’s industry-leading voice assistant will make the Astra a hit. At the moment there’s no news about exact price or release date, but it’s expected around the middle of 2018. Want to understand Amazon's own range? Check out: Best Amazon Echo speaker: the Dots, Spots, Shows and Pluses comparedVia Digital Trends http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/NdkYig1h5hk

You've no doubt gotten that sinking feeling before; "Did I close the door on my way out?" We've turned our car around who knows how many times, unable to remember if we securely shut the front door or accidentally left it ajar. Smart lock company August is looking to alleviate this worry with a little help from Google Assistant. The company has expanded Google Assistant support to DoorSense, its door sensing technology that can tell if your door is open or closed. Now, when you ask, "Hey Google, is my door closed?" you'll get a reply that it is... or it isn't. If it's closed, you can ask Google Assistant to turn the lock. DoorSense is available on the August Smart Lock and August Smart Lock Pro, and Google Assistant can be tapped into via an Android phone, the Google Assistant app on iOS, Google Home, Android Wear watches, and other Assistant compatible devices, including TVs. August also announced that it's simplified prompts for Google Assistant. Instead of having to tack "Ask August" to a command, you can (slightly more naturally) say something like, "Hey Google, lock my front door." This is yet one more way voice assistants are making their way into our homes. The number of devices that support Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa is seemingly growing by the day, with deeper and smarter integration – like telling you whether your door is open – following close behind. ICYMI: Amazon snatched up smart doorbell maker Ringhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/Vs5eAt6K99s

Without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most fun things to do with a voice assistant is control elements of your house. Whether that’s turning your Philips Hue lights red, or controlling your Fire TV with Alexa. But imagine if you didn’t even have to open your mouth. If you could just point at your lights and they’d turn off, or gesture to your TV for the volume to turn up. Well, that may well be a reality thanks to startup Piccolo. It’s currently working on what it calls a ‘Vision Assistant’ that controls your home using cameras and an algorithm that can detect specific gestural commands. A house full of camerasNow this is all still very early in the developmental stages (the founders are planning to start a crowdfunding round soon) but it does raise an interesting proposition in the smart home market. With Google taking Nest back under its wing, and Amazon buying Ring, the major companies in the voice assistant market already have cameras that they could put in people’s homes if this was an area they were expanding into. And it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility. Lighthouse already uses gestural commands, and Nest IQ security cameras are able to identify individuals by their face. There’s a fairly thin line between that and Google Assistant being able to see you on your Nest cam and knowing your specific gestures. Whether people will want to fill their homes with (potentially hackable) cameras is another matter entirely. Via TechCrunchWant some more cool camera news? Check out: Facial recognition could be revolutionized by new light-eliminating algorithmhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/cE9Tif-1eqM

Facial identification in images and video is heavily dependent on good lighting, or at least it has been up until now. A team of researchers working out of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has created an algorithm that can actually remove light from an image. What this means is that if the lighting in a scene is coming heavily from behind, or above the source, the camera will still be able to identify the subject. Interestingly for facial identification systems like FaceID, the algorithm can remove light from flat panels, meaning it would be impossible to hack the system with an image of a person on a screen. Turning your camera into an AM radioLIVI eliminates background light, and dynamic light, creating a steady, easily identifiable image, regardless of how erratic the lighting is. It's difficult to picture exactly what this looks like without a demonstration so check out the video demo from the team below: This has obvious application in facial recognition systems used to unlock phones and in animoji, but also in home security where low-light or high-contrast lighting could mean you're left unable to identify a burglar. The algorithm works like an AM radio, effectively 'tuning out' the unwanted signal. Amir Kolaman, the PHD student behind the project explained it like this: "Light intensity can be modulated at different frequencies just like in radio waves," Kolman says. "We turn each camera pixel into an AM receiver that tunes to the flash light and filters out the background lights from the output frames." The team are currently seeking funding for further research, so it's probably going to be a long time before we see it in our phones or homes (if at all) but it's interesting to see what is possible using algorithms in moving video. Want to see some animojis in action? Check out: 48 hours with the Samsung Galaxy S9: our first impressionshttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/z_rHjxk3ops

Your home needs radar, not motion-sensing cameras. And you can ditch those wearables when you’re at home, too. A new imaging sensing concept from Tel Aviv-based Vayyar Imaging is making waves with claims that its radio-based tech can image everything happening – even someone breathing – in a 3D space, and in real time. One obvious target is the cameras in a smart home. Instead of motion-sensing security cameras, Vayyar's 3D imaging sensor tech can track people's minute movements without the need for video. It can even monitor breathing and heart-rate while someone sleeps. Critically, it does all of this without ever identifying someone. This is a tech about practicality, but also about protecting privacy. "So basically we developed a radar, which runs a radio frequency technology – it's 'massive MIMO', just like 5G, and we can control the frequency," explained a spokesman at MWC 2018. "We can use very high frequency for high resolution images, and low frequency for better penetration in a building, and if you increase the number of antennas, your resolution increases." In that way, Vayyer's radio wave 3D imaging chip can be tuned to see through almost any object or material. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5qGWuU9kz7W6FUtoaMVNQn.jpg Walabot DIY in action at MWC 2018 Vayyer's biggest product so far is the Walabot DIY, a smartphone sensor now available on Amazon that finds obstacles in a wall, such as cables, studs and pipes. It's available only for Android phones. Next up is a product for elderly care that can tell if someone has fallen while in the bathroom; not a place where anyone would want a video camera. There are dozens of other possible uses for a tech that can not only detect any slight movements, but identify people by their patterns of movement. "You could use it tell how active someone is, and increase the air conditioning in the room someone is in," said the spokesman. That could be great in a gym. In fact, since it can also track sleep patterns, activity levels, and monitor vital signs, it could kill-off the need for wearables, at least while you’re at home. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3AjKSo2fnUwHr5QZyhAy5m.jpg If it detects that you've gone to sleep, it can trigger the lights to dim, or cease. There are lots of other ways it could bring rooms, walls and doors to life; it could shut the elevator doors as soon as you get in if no-one else if nearby. It can see through walls to detect leaks. With so many potential uses, all Vayyar's tech needs is some impressive AI to make it useful. Imaging on a bigger scaleCue a deal in December last year with Japanese tech giant Softbank to collaborate on internet of things (IoT) projects. Details are brief, but it seems Vayyar’s sensor tech will be used with Softbank's AI to 'create buildings and infrastructure which are safer, more energy efficient and better able to handle large crowds'. One confirmed use is the structural integrity of buildings. Another is analyzing the flow of people using public transport. It's easy to see how being able to track the exact number of people moving through a space, and even monitor how fast they're moving, could have a use on busy thoroughfares, such as metro stations. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4aT4zVXNuGjuBDcZqnyGDm.jpg Like a lot of emerging tech, Vayyer is also aiming at the automotive industry. "We can know the exact position of people in the car, their posture, and whether it's a child or an adult in a seat, so we can control how airbags open," said the spokesman. Its is also being promoted as a technology for parking assistance and obstacle-avoidance. And when you go to open the door of a car, it can tell you if there's an obstacle in the way, including warnings about motorbikes that you might be about to decapitate.Anything that means we don’t have to wear a Fitbit to bed gets our vote. MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2018 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone. Up in the sky! It's our look at the best drones availablehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/A-N2oVzNiis

Smart home devices are a diverse category. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the key component of home automation. It enables all the devices in your home to be connected to internet so that you can communicate with them and issue commands. Some of the products in the market may make sense for India but a lot of them don’t. Issues range from accessibility to awareness. These products can also be expensive so users prefer to go for cheaper alternatives that are easily available in the market. Internet connectivity not always being consistent is another reason that the adoption ratio is skewed. Either way, the products listed below do make viable sense to employ. They address concerns that pertain to the Indian ecosystem in particular. Smart air purifiersAir pollution in India is burning issue on everyone's mind, especially since Delhi has been labeled one of the most polluted cities in the world. The dependence on fossil fuels and ever increasing congestion is the leading cause of this epidemic. Exposure to particulate matter over long periods of time can lead to cardiovascular problems, which is why a lot of people believe that investing in a smart air purifier isn't a bad idea. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/SysowTi7ULs6VFGjGagmAM.jpg Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 2 One of the most affordable and smart air purifiers in India right now, the Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 2 covers an area of 400 square feet and comes with a real-time Air Quality Index (AQI) monitor. This will, approximately, cover the size of a master bedroom or a large hall. Its triple layer filter can block upto PM2.5 (particulate matter). PM2.5 are about thirty times smaller than the size of a human hair. They’re so small that one period at the end of a sentence could fit several thousand of them. Wi-Fi support enables the Mi Air Purifier 2 to be controlled remotely using the Mi Home app (available on both the Play Store and Apple Store). Read the full review: Mi Air Purifier 2 http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2SCQPV5XBrffcNvfJDkDTh.jpg Honey Air Touch S8 The Honeywell Air Touch S8 covers 450 square feet and comes equipped with a bunch of smart features and a high-end air filtering mechanism. There are seven speeds that the user can shift between depending on what noise level is ideal and the intensity of the air quality. The High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter claims to remove all pollutants and allergens above 0.3 microns, which includes PM2.5 and pollen. It’s definitely one of the better air purifiers in the market right now, albeit, a little expensive. Smart streaming devicesMost users prefer to stream their shows and movies online. The issue is that you either have to connect your laptop to the TV with an HDMI cord if you want to watch your shows on big screen else suffice without it. Alternatively, smart TVs aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. They’re big and they’re expensive. Some people just love the TV they have right now and don't want to change it. Enter, smart streaming devices. These powerful, ultra-cheap but pint-sized gadgets can stream and deliver content from Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and a bunch of other hosts. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4oRFMF6z6sFMGKo7WbeGDm.jpg Amazon Fire TV Stick It looks like an over-sized thumb drive but has a lot more power than it lets on.It has an HDMI port one end to connect to the TV and a micro USB port on the other end for charging. The device does need more power than a Chromecast to run but that’s due to its quad core processor and 1GB of memory. That is, it has enough processing power to play H.365 (HEVC) files, which, as of now, only the Chromecast Ultra can manage. Video quality isn’t affected by the heavy compression and shouldn’t hamper the net speed for other users in the house when you’re streaming full-HD videos. The default connection speed obviously plays a part in this, but overall, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Connecting with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, you don’t necessarily need the remote that’s included and you can even connect to a pair of Bluetooth headphones. Read full review: Amazon Fire TV Stick http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3E3YnM9HHYxmA7XxqE9UrH.jpg The successor to the original Chromecast, it enables users to stream content directly from their smartphones on to their TV screens. When you aren’t mirroring your smartphone screen and casting using any compatible app, the smartphone can be used as a remote for the app. It will stream whatever you’re watching as well as leave your phone free to receive calls, text, or whatever else you want to do on your smartphone. This is one of the more compelling arguments of how casting beats mirroring. Smart televisionsDid you know that smart TVs were originally called “connected TVs” by companies such as Samsung and LG? A smart TV is essentially any TV that has access to the internet so that it can connect to streaming services and run entertainment apps, such as Hotstar, Amazon Prime and Netflix. A smart TV can either use Ethernet or built-in Wi-Fi capabilities to connect to the home network to access the internet. Most models, nowadays, rely on Wi-Fi. Operating systems and interfaces differ from smart TV to smart TV. Every manufacturer uses different software and distinct graphical presentation. Even within a certain brand, operating systems and interfaces can vary depending on the model. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ocmGhv4SRJZiyc6p8JfGHD.jpg Xiaomi Mi TV 4 Having won the Red Dot award, the Xiaomi Mi TV 4 is the slimmest TV in the market right. It’s a television set that definitely gives you value for your money considering that most 4K HDR TVs are usually sold for over Rs 1 lakh. TCL’s Android TV may offer picture quality, but without content support that feature can’t be appreciated to its full extent. Read the full review: Xiaomi Mi TV 4 http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/f3tcx4SKLBbqRnxMUnZaE8.jpg Sony Bravia The Sony Bravia is a thin television, though not as slim at the Mi TV 4, with super narrow bezels at the side. It has a minimalist look due to its matte finish. The Bravia has detailed picture quality that shows detailed and vivid colors. There is support for 3D content, but you’ll have to buy your own set of 3D glasses. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/us9YKhcNhhSVHQV2iSniPB.jpg TCL L55P2MUS Android M 4K UHD LED Smart TV The TCL L55P2MUS is another TV that offers value for money. It runs on Marshmallow 6.0 and has access to the Google Play Store. It may not score points in performance but it’s got a lot of features that make the device worth while. If you can’t afford a premium brand and the Mi TV 4 isn’t to your taste, the TCL’s Android TV is the perfect option. It’s easy to set up and comes equipped with a bunch of connectivity options. Smart speakersIf speaker does anything more than play your music, then it can be labelled as a ‘smart speaker’. That’s to say that wireless speakers that feature Bluetooth, NFC and speakerphone capabilities while also having the ability to be controlled by apps make them the bare minimum of what a smart speaker can be. But technology has come very far in recent years. Smart speakers are now wireless speakers that come with voice control. Using the artificial intelligence on these devices you can ask them to do anything from playing a song to setting a timer for your cake or even dim the lights if your house already equipped with smart bulbs. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/beTAk2pn97JPhxReeFi6Ba.jpg The Echo Dot, the successor to the original Amazon Echo, has carried forward most of the features while also reducing the price. The audio output of this device might actually be a tad bit better. The Echo Dot runs of Alexa, the Amazon artificial intelligence (AI). Alexa has been integrated with skills that are unique to India, which unlike what most other smart products have been able to do. The main boon of the Echo Dot is that it can be connected to an external speaker without compromising on its ability to get songs to play quickly or to just let the FM play. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CaBswnSyQeLcjBqQjTWexj.jpg Harman Kardon Allure with Alexa The reason that the Harman Kardon Allure’s is not to everyone’s taste is because they’re so different. From far away, they may look more like a funky humidifier or mini blender rather than an actual speaker. It’s not even that small, being 8 inches tall and over 6 inches in diameter. The only hint of it being a speaker is in the bottom half, where the body is metal and lots of notches are carved out to aid sound travel. What makes the Allure stand out even further are its LED lights. The top half of the speaker is a circular 360 degree LED light cylinder that fluctuates between red, white and blue. Read the full review: Harman Kardon Allure Smart bulbsSmart bulbs can connect to your phone wirelessly and have capabilities that open up a whole range of options for the user. Most people prefer smart bulbs because they have the ability to dim, change colors, and can be controlled from anywhere. That means, in case you’ve left your lights on at home you can always switch them off while you’re on the move. Instead, if you’re on a vacation, you can switch the smart bulbs on at night to keep thieves away. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3XM3cqk3GHcpLKjJ54sWcH.jpg Syska Smartlight Rainbow LED smart bulb Most smart bulbs can change colors but what makes the Syska Smartlight special is that the user can pick a photo off their photo and the bulb will project colors as per the visual perception of the image. The colors are aimed to help elevate the users mood or defining the right kind of ambiance. The bulb is Bluetooth enabled with a clean interface on the smartphone. You can control the bulbs individually or if you have more than one, the Syska app with allow you program entire rooms/zones with a custom lighting. Another feature that stands out is that you can set your bulbs to a timer. That is, you can set your bulbs to turn on and off according to your requirement. The option to set your bulbs to an alarm is also possible, in which your bulbs will be able to simulate the sun rising and circadian rhythm. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7NgatBatcARKf9cPMU5iUR.jpg Philips Hue The Philips Hue may be a little expensive but it can seamless integrate itself with Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Home Kit, and the Google Assistant. Third party synthesis is a real boon if you're using this smart bulb. If you're working towards a complete smart home, then the Philips Hue is the right option. It has a multitude of features that can optimize the users ecosystem. But if you're just looking to start off with a few bulbs to see what the experience feels like, then the Philips Hue may feel like too much of an investment. Read the full review: Philips Hue Smart plugsSmart plugs are the simplest of smart devices. Ordinarily they're only capable of being turned on and off, but integrate smart technology, and they're capable of so much more. Depending on which device you've plugged in, you can schedule those gadgets to turn on and off. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NdJdMn5Zeyx4iQKryAS2wS.jpg Slightly larger than conventional plugs, they're a good way to ease yourself in to smart home ecosystem. Each plug has its own built-in power supply, electronic switch and circuit. The RF radio-controller connects to the hub that's sold with the plus and the trigger switches the power on and off. The smart plug can basically be fitted into any ordinary power socket. They come in two variants, 6A and 16A, depending on the power rating of the appliance that you'll be using. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9T5YKFD4UX5jWP7C6n2BX7.jpg This plug works off of the Kasa application and can be synchronised with Amazon Echo's Alexa so that you can control it using your voice alone. It's one of the more affordable options in the market. You can even carry it around when you're travelling. The main boon of a smart plug being that you can switch it off even when you're away from your home to rake in some energy savings. This smart plug works especially well in India because it has tolerance for extreme temperatures as well as humidity. Even Cortana is trying to integrate itself in to the smart home ecosystem with IFTTT integration.Here's what's need to make a smart home even smarter if adoption is to be increased. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/VFy1I6l27hA

Amazon has bought Ring, a smart home tech company that makes video doorbells and other security devices. The acquisition, first reported by GeekWire, gives Amazon yet another way into your house. The terms of the agreement haven't yet been disclosed, though reports pin the acquisition price at more than $1 billion. As when it bought Twitch in 2014, Amazon is expected to keep Ring running as-is, meaning the brand and its products are sticking around. Amazon will, however, integrate Ring's technologies into other products and services where it makes sense. "Ring is committed to our mission to reduce crime in neighborhoods by providing effective yet affordable home security tools to our Neighbors that make a positive impact on our homes, our communities, and the world," a Ring spokesperson said in a statement to TechRadar. "We'll be able to achieve even more by partnering with an inventive, customer-centric company like Amazon. We look forward to being a part of the Amazon team as we work toward our vision for safer neighborhoods." Opening the doorRing fits well into Amazon's smart home vertical, led by the Amazon Echo smart speaker line. Amazon also has a security camera, the Cloud Cam, which retails for $119.99 (about £85 / AU$150), and a service called Amazon Key. Amazon Key caused a stir when it was announced as it gives couriers access to your home to drop off packages when you're not there. It still has its detractors. Amazon's push into our homes isn't limited to its own products and services, of course. Its Alexa assistant has crossed over to numerous third-party smart home devices, including some built by Ring. In June 2017, Ring announced that select Ring Video Doorbells and Security Cameras could be accessed by talking to an Amazon Echo Show or Amazon Fire TV. To today's announcement, an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement: "Ring's home security products and services have delighted customers since day one. We're excited to work with this talented team and help them in their mission to keep homes safe and secure." Ring isn't the first smart doorbell company Amazon has purchased, either. In December, Amazon bought Blink, a startup that makes wireless video doorbells and security cameras. With yet another video doorbell company under its belt, Google, Amazon's chief rival in the smart home space, is likely looking on with interest. The search giant recently brought smart cam company Nest back under its wing, and the two are poised to develop more ways to integrate the Google voice assistant, Google Assistant, into more products. Which will emerge as our favorite supplier of smart home products, Amazon or Google? The answer isn't clear yet, but these two are taking the fight right to your doorstep. Find a great Amazon Echo deal right nowhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/4-VoU94cjn4

Magix has released the latest version of its home video editing software, Vegas Movie Studio 15. The new release offers faster rendering, enhanced support for videos from mobile devices, and interface improvements that make life easier for new users. Vegas Movie Studio 15 uses technology taken directly from Vegas Pro 15 – the professional version of the software. We spoke to Gary Rebholz, product owner and site manager at Magix, to find out how that system works in practice and what it means for home users. "One of the biggest results is the modernisation of the user interface," Rebholz told us. "The ease of use that we implement in Vegas Pro is all cascaded down to Vegas Movie Studio. For example, we now have hamburger buttons like on a mobile phone. We took the idea and implemented it to clean up the user interface, so new users aren’t overwhelmed by 25 buttons. "The buttons you don’t often need are tucked away in hamburger menus. We’ve made those menus customizable, so you can change which buttons you want to see. We've also developed a new quick start dashboard with five or six numbered steps." Support for mobile devicesThere are also significant updates under the hood. "If you have Intel Quick Sync capability, we can tap into that and use it to speed up the rendering so it’s much faster," says Rebholz. "We do the same with graphics cards from Nvidia, but if you don’t have that, it will work perfectly well with just your CPU. "We've also improved the video encoding that we use for certain common features. We’ve brought that straight down to Vegas Movie Studio. It’s a more modern implementation, with much more support for video from mobile devices. It just works out of the box – you don’t need any plugins to import video from your iPhone." http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/d3H5BPD4hTtJU2z5UkUaGo.jpg Vegas Movie Studio 15 makes it easier to import video straight from a mobile device It's a system that works particularly well if you decide to move up from Vegas Movie Studio to Vegas Pro. "When someone new to video editing starts with Vegas Movie Studio, for some people that’s all they need," Rebholz says, "but some users fall in love with video editing and have aspirations to do more. As those more ambitious users move to the professional software, there's much less of a learning curve than you might expect because the underlying technology is the same. "They already have the basics in Vegas Movie Studio. That’s a big difference from a company that has a pro product and buys a consumer one. It makes transition as easy and painless as possible." Moving on upVegas Pro was originally released in 1999 by a small company in Wisconsin called Sonic Foundry. It was acquired by Sony in 2003, and by Magix in 2016. There were about a dozen new non-linear video editors on the market at the beginning, but Vegas Pro was unusual in its low system requirements. "We knew we were onto something different," says Rebholz. "Ours was the first non-linear editor to not need some sort of special hardware. You could pull any laptop off the shelf at Best Buy. "Vegas Pro showed you the results of your edits immediately. If you added a filter to a clip in one of the other programs, you’d have to render it out. Here you were able to do it and see it immediately. That really changed the paradigm. After the success of Vegas Pro, it became apparent that there was hunger at the consumer end too. "We realised all we needed to do was take the same code and make it more consumer friendly. There are fewer, or simplified features, but in the end they’re the same." It's a strategy that's served Rebholz and his team well for almost 20 years, and we expect to see many more premium tools working their way into the consumer product in future releases. Check out out guide to the best video editing softwarehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/m7mpI_OQTAM

If you’re a user of Amazon’s Fire TV, we’ve got some good news for you. Amazon has announced that from February 27 all UK Fire TV devices will be controllable using 'far-field' voice control. What this means is you can bark a command at Alexa on your Echo, and it’ll be able to control your Fire TV. Up until this point, only users with the top-of-the-range Fire TV setup have been able to use Alexa to control their viewing arrangements, and only using the remote with a button. This update means you’re one step closer to ditching the remote control entirely. A whole range of devicesThe update will work across all Fire TVs, Fire TV sticks and Fire TV-enabled TVs that have Fire baked into them. You'll be able to use the entire Echo range, including the Echo, Echo Plus, Spot, Dot, Show, and even the Tap and Look. You'll be able to activate apps like Netflix and Spotify with Fire TV, but you'll have the greatest level of control over Prime services, including playing, pausing, and even search for content using just your voice. Now Amazon just needs to create a device that can feed us grapes and we’ll be happy. Want more Alexa news? Check out: McAfee enables Amazon Alexa voice commands to secure your Wi-Fihttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/shQyV2eKJ7c

Apple’s HomePod is a musical behemoth, a smart speaker with some of the best audio quality around. If you've decided to invest in the audio powerhouse, you're probably going to want to know what you can do with it - there's a fair amount that you probably aren't aware the HomePod can actually do. So whether you want to be able to change your lighting or just get a bit of privacy, we've pulled together a list of HomePod tips to help you get the most out of your gadget. What’s really fun about Siri is that Apple has clearly put a lot of work into its natural language processing, so you can phrase your request pretty much however you want and Siri will get to work. 1. Set a timer with HomePodNow, we know this is a basic one (don’t worry, they won’t all be), but as the most popular skill across all smart speakers at the moment, it would be remiss of us not to start with it. Setting a timer is blissfully simple, you simply say: “Hey Siri, set a timer for [insert time]”. Once your timer is up and running, you can ask how much longer there is on the timer by simply asking: “Hey Siri, when does the timer finish?” It's worth noting here that you can only have one timer running at once - other speakers can do more, so you'll need to be more discerning with the HomePod. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/JkoLL5yrpKuHc5d2MEkJD.jpg The Philips Hue light is one device you can control with HomePod 2. Control your smart home products with HomePodIf you’re the owner of smart home products like Philips Hue lights, or a Tado heating system, you’re in luck, as the HomePod allows you to control a vast array of connected products just using your voice. This is made possible using Apple’s HomeKit platform; and to help you out, we’ve put together a list of some of the best products that are HomeKit enabled. As the range is pretty broad, we’re just going to make a few suggestions that you can use as a starting point here: “Hey Siri, turn the light in [name of room] on.” “Hey Siri, make the light in [name of room] red.” (this one will require a light that can change color) “Hey Siri, turn the heat up in the [name of room]” “Hey Siri, lock the back door.” 3. Send text messages with HomePodThis tip is being seen as a bit contentious at the moment because HomePod isn’t able to differentiate between voices, so anyone that has access to your home (while your iPhone is connected to the same Wi-Fi router as the HomePod) can send text messages and listen to your most recent messages. If you’re lucky enough to live with people that you trust and don’t have to deactivate this feature it’s another one that’s incredibly easy to use. You simply say: “Hey Siri, send a message to [person’s name].” As long as that person is in your contacts, HomePod will ask what you want the message to be, read it back to you, and then send. One thing worth noting is that Siri doesn’t automatically add punctuation to pauses, so if you wanted to say: “Hello my friend, I’m about five minutes away. Get the kettle on.” You’d actually have to say: “Hello my friend comma I’m about five minutes away full stop get the kettle on full stop.” What’s more, because you can’t see the preview message and Siri’s robotic voice still isn’t totally natural, you do slightly gamble that it’s got the message right. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yTf57jo5yfLfZFxaDNeX8J.jpg 4. Change Siri’s voice on HomePodDepending on your region you’ll have a different preset voice for Siri, but that doesn’t mean you’re stuck with it. You’ve got a choice of male or female, British, American and Australian. To change the voice, open the Home app on your iOS device, and long-hold the HomePod icon. You’ll see a couple of buttons, one to manually set alarms, one labelled ‘details’. Tap 'details'. You’ll see there are a few different options here, you want ‘Siri voice’. Once you’ve tapped on that, you’ll see the options with ticks next to what’s currently selected. Simply tap the options you want. 5. Set location specific reminders with HomePodThis isn’t an exclusive feature of HomePod but is an incredibly useful one. If you want a reminder based on a specific location, like a reminder to double lock the door when you leave the house, or to talk to one of your colleagues about something when you get to work, you can set that up using HomePod. Just say “Hey Siri, remind me to lock the door when I leave the house.” As long as you’ve got the location of your home (or work, or wherever else) saved it’ll be able to remind you when you need it. You can also set reminders for set times, if that’s more convenient for you. Any reminder set will work across all devices connected to your Apple ID. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6b99wQE7YmZpnmoGDtnDWd.jpg Lifx lights are capable of creating some...interesting scenes 6. Activate scenes with HomePodOne of the things that Apple’s HomeKit does best is create scenes, a chain of different smart home commands that all activate at the same time. Say you’re heading off to bed and want all your lights to turn off, your doors to lock, and your heating to turn down, you can do that with a single command. All you have to do is open the Home app, tap on the ‘plus’ symbol, then ‘add scene’, then you have a choice to either go with a suggested scene or a custom one. You add the devices to the scene, and what you want them to do, then save it. Once it’s set and named, all you have to do is say is say: “Hey Siri, activate [your chosen name for the scene]”. 7. Make (and alter) notes with HomePodThis may seem like a fairly insignificant skill, but at the moment it’s one that actually sets the HomePod apart. In order to create a note just say: “Hey Siri, create a note.” If you don’t give it a title, one will auto-generate from the first line of text. You can also add to existing notes by saying: “Hey Siri, add [what you want to add] to my [title of the note] note.” You have to be pretty precise with this command, and we found HomePod struggles if the note you want to add to was made using HomePod, but it's a good place to dictate to if you have a blinding thought and can't write it down. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bR67upszBffjNn8rQ7BwR6.jpg 8. Use the HomePod for callsWhile the option to actually make calls on the HomePod isn’t possible (yet), you can use it as a speakerphone, and control the call once it’s being routed through the smart speaker. Once a call is in progress on your iPhone, tap ‘Audio’, then select the HomePod icon. When the call is finished, a single tap on the HomePod’s ‘screen’ will end the call. As an added bonus, if you’re already in a call and another call comes through, you can either tap the green light on top of the HomePod to put your current call on hold while taking the new call, or long hold to hang up your current call. 9. Get the news with HomePodDon't have time to watch the news first thing in the morning but want to keep abreast of what's happenning in the world? No problem. Just say: "Hey Siri, what's the news?" Siri will give you an update pulled from multiple sources. If you've got a specific source you'd rather Siri gather your news from, you can customize that too. Just say: "Hey Siri, change the news source to [your preferred news source]." http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XjKFVjCe7MrZoFJ4r4oiaB.jpg 10. Stop Siri from listeningWhile it's the inclusion of Siri that makes this speaker 'smart', that doesn't mean you always want it to be listening. There are a couple of different options for how do deactivate Siri. The simplest is by saying: "Hey Siri, stop listening." Siri will then ask you to confirm, you reply with: "Yes." Siri will then be deactivated. To turn it back on using your voice, tap once on the display, it will light up, and then simply say: "Hey Siri, start listening." The other method included the Home app we mentioned earlier. Open the Home app on your iOS device. Long-hold the HomePod icon then tap on 'details' to bring up the HomePod menu screen. You'll now see a toggle next to 'Listen for "Hey Siri". Toggle this on/off to deactivate and reactivate Siri on your HomePod. 10. Change the HomePod's Wi-Fi networkIf you're anything like us you'll have a couple of different Wi-Fi networks in your home. This means that the Wi-Fi network that you originally set your HomePod up with may not always be the best network for it. Changing the Wi-Fi network on HomePod is incredibly easy. Connect your iOS device to your preferred network, then hold it over your HomePod. That's it. Done. Want to know every device that HomePod can control? Check out: Apple HomeKit devices: great smart home appliances that work with iOShttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/ZUleK4nL_uA

Apple is dropping iTunes Store support for Windows XP and Vista, hammering one more nail into the elderly operating systems' coffins. According to a post on Apple's support site, the security changes also affect first-generation Apple TVs, which it calls "obsolete". "After May 25, you'll need to use Windows 7 or later with the latest version of iTunes to make purchases from the iTunes Store and redownload previous purchases," the company said. XP and Vista users can keep running older versions on iTunes, but won't be able to upgrade or receive support from Apple. Beyond the graveAnyone still using XP or Vista has far bigger issues to worry about than their music library. Connecting a PC running Vista or XP to any network is a very bad idea, due to the risk posed by unpatched security vulnerabilities. Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows XP back in 2009, but continued to offer regular security updates until 2014. Versions of XP used in embedded systems (like ATMs) will continue until next year. Support for Vista ended in 2017. Windows Vista only holds a tiny fraction of the market, but XP is still the third most popular desktop operating system according to statistics from NetMarketShare. Due to both operating system's refusal to roll over and die, Microsoft released an patch to protect stalwart Vista and XP users from last year's WannaCry ransomware attack. What are the best free alternatives to iTunes?http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/--OJdl-F4JA

2018 is the year that Google Assistant will go truly global according to a recent announcement from Google. Before the end of 2018, the search giant says its voice assistant will be able to speak 30 languages, which is a big increase on the eight it currently understands. In the coming months, Google says it plans to add Danish, Dutch, Hindi, Indonesian, Norwegian, Swedish and Thai, with others planned to roll out later in the year. When Google Assistant’s language count hits 30, it’ll be able to reach 95 percent of all eligible Android devices worldwide. Not only will the voice assistant be able to communicate in 30 languages by the end of 2018, Google has said it’ll be able to switch between them quickly and easily. In multilingual households, for example, Assistant will be able to immediately respond in the language it’s been addressed in, no setting changes required. A global AssistantThis is a massive improvement, and having 30 languages will mean Google Assistant surpasses Apple’s Siri which currently supports 20. Though Google Assistant won’t be able to detect multiple languages in a single sentence, not having to change the settings to speak to your voice assistant in German at home but English at work, for example, makes it much more flexible and useful to a global audience. While these multilingual capabilities will be limited to English, French and German at first, they’ll expand to include other languages later. These aren’t the only changes Google has announced for Assistant; there will also be Routines and location-based reminders added in the coming weeks. First announced in 2017, Routines will make it possible to control multiple smart devices with a single command. For example, if you say ‘Hey Google, I’m leaving now’ you can have your Assistant turn of the lights, TV and any music that might be playing all at once. Location-based reminders are already available on Google Assistant for phones, but soon it’ll be possible to use them with Google Home. So, if you ask your Google Home to remind you to pick something up at the supermarket, Google Assistant on your phone will flag it up when you arrive there. All in all, these improvements will make Google Assistant a far more flexible and useful service. Google Assistant will also soon respond to any name you decide to give ithttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/XLmaUrSj3oc

MWC 2018 may not have officially started yet at the time of writing, but that hasn’t stopped French company Archos from unveiling its Google Assistant powered smart display that’s going to be on show at the conference. Just when the world was starting to get used to the idea of smart speakers, along come smart displays and upset the market. Essentially a smart speaker with a screen, the smart display is already establishing itself as an essential part of the smart home setup. The first major smart display to hit the market was Amazon’s Echo Show, and even with no YouTube it’s still proving to be a big hit. So it was with bated breath that tech fans waited to see what Google’s answer was going to be. Third-party manufacturersIn an interesting move, Google doesn’t seem to be producing its own smart display, not yet anyway. Instead, it is leaving the job up to third-party manufacturers like JBL and Lenovo. We saw the first wave of these Google Assistant speakers at CES earlier in the year. Now we’re starting to see a next wave, and Archos’ Hello smart display shows just what we’ve got in store. It’s got all the things you’d expect, a screen, a speaker, a microphone array. What’s unusual about the Hello is the fact that it’s running on the Android Oreo operating system. Google has created a platform specifically for smart displays (video below) built on top of Android Things, the platform for internet of things (IoT) products, but Archos has decided to use the version of Android designed for mobile phones and tablets. Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that Archos has chosen to favour the mobile OS, given its background with mobile devices. Inside it’s got 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, which is less than you’d expect from even a mid-range phone, and the touchscreen comes in either a 7-inch or 8.4-inch variant. The design looks slimmer and sleeker than the other Google Assistant speakers we’ve seen so far, and you’ve got the option to place it either horizontally or vertically. Archos is planning for the Hello to be available mid-2018 for €129.99 (about $160, £115, AU$200) for the 7-inch variant and €179.99 EUR (about $220, £160, AU$280) for the 8.4-inch model. Want to keep up-to-date with all things MWC 2018? Check out: MWC 2018: what we want to seehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/XqmSx1sCVWs

Security cameras are getting smarter all the time. It seems like every new camera that comes out is flaunting its ability to identify people from animals, and even in the case of the Nest Cam IQ, identifying familiar from unfamiliar people. But that doesn’t seem far enough for Lighthouse AI inc, the company behind the eponymous Lighthouse AI security camera. Unlike other cameras, Lighthouse has been built with AI as its starting point. What that means is that as well as the ability to identify familiar people, it can also learn patterns and respond to natural speech. What this means is you can ask Lighthouse “What time did my kids get home yesterday?” and it’ll be able to show you only the relevant footage. A whole host of sensorsAs well as a camera sensor capable of delivering a 1080p live stream, the Lighthouse also features a 3D sensor, night vision, a microphone and speaker for two-way audio, and a security siren. That 3D sensor sets Lighthouse apart from other intelligent cameras like Nest’s Cam IQ, allowing Lighthouse to monitor movement, so you can request to see footage of (for example) running or jumping. You can even set up gestural commands, so if the Lighthouse detects waving, it can issue an alert to the main user’s smartphone, which in the promotional video (below) is used to show off a snazzy tin-foil suit, but could have potential life saving applications if you happened to be choking or having a fit alone at home. The company is helmed by industry leaders in the automotive vehicle field Alex Teichman and Hendrik Dahlkamp, and was backed by Android co-founder Andy Rubin’s Playground Ventures fund. Lighthouse is available now in the US at $299 (about £215, AU$380). We’ve no word yet about international availability or price, but will let you know when we have more information. Via: TechCrunch In the market for a security camera? Check out: Best security camera: keep an eye on your home from your smartphonehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/0Lzobdx8Ivw