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So far CES 2018 has been awash with products that are touting voice assistant integration, and when we first heard that there was a smart bathroom range coming from American luxury bathroom manufacturer Kohler we were initially thought it was going to be some pretty unnecessary integration. But we we wrong. The range includes a shower called DTV+ that can have a number of different voice-activated presets, so you can set exactly the water temperature, steam, lighting, and music. So if your partner likes a mood-lit warm shower and you prefer a brisk cold shower with bright lights, you no longer have to physically adjust the settings every time. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ZFLQHCZgFUrVDeDfQL95iX.jpg This is obviously a luxury setup, but every shower we’ve ever used is like cracking a safe trying to get the temperature to exactly where you want it, so if it was able to remember the temperature you like, and automatically adjust to that, we’re in. Alexa, draw me a bathTalking of perfect water temperature, another of the Kohler Konnect offerings is a bath that is able to draw you a tub at your specified temperature and – even more impressively – stop pouring when the bath is full. Moving out of the bathroom for a second, Kohler Konnect also has a voice-activated faucet called Sensate that can draw a set amount of water. In Kohler’s demonstration video it’s used to fill up a baby’s bottle, but could also be used for recipes that call for a set amount of water or refilling tanks on coffee machines that it’s usually laborious to stand and watch re-fill. One of the items that we’re less sure of is the Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror, that allows you to use Amazon Alexa to adjust the lights around the mirror. What is useful about the mirror is that it is able to employ the full gamut of Alexa’s skills, meaning you can get a weather or traffic report while brushing your teeth, which admittedly we probably would end up using. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7VnpEqAtk6ktx56VvWmax9.jpg For the ultimate in luxury, the Numi intelligent toilet allows you to activate a foot warmer, a heated seat, a ‘personal cleansing bidet’, and even lighting and music to get the mood just right for your nightly, erm, ablutions. For those not wanting to go quite so far with their bathroom setup, there is a slightly less luxe toilet on offer that offers the heated seat, and hands-free flushing, which will be a big draw for the hygiene-conscious toilet user. At the moment all there aren’t set dates or prices on the range but expect them to be available later in 2018 and prepare yourself for luxury price tags. To see all of the items in action, check out the video from Kohler below: New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2018Via TechCrunch http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/toIjXSdf7Ro

Amazon's voice-orientated Amazon Echo line-up makes it the perfect gadget for quiz-show style applications, something the company capitalized upon with the release of its Amazon Echo Buttons. The connected push-to-play pucks add a tangible element to interacting with an Alexa device, and at CES 2018 the company revealed that it's got much more planned for the add-on gadgets. Speaking to TechCrunch, Steve Rabuchin, the vice president of Amazon Alexa said that "I think you'll see a lot more games come out this year that take advantage of the buttons." What's next?At £20/$20 a pair, the Echo Buttons are priced at impulse-purchase territory, but the relative lack of Alexa Skills that they can be paired with is stopping them from really taking off. But with Amazon looking to expand the related 'Alexa Gadgets' line (with Amazon creating the hardware with the intention of letting developers experiment to find the best possible software uses), you may soon see more Skills and ideas unlocking the potential of Alexa add-ons. Right now, the Buttons are limited to trivia games. But should there come a day where they integrate as controllers for other Alexa-compatible smart home gear, or are paired with other interesting hardware, they may become an essential component of Amazon's smart home plans. New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2018 straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on Earthhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/5d_8ilZd3_g

Lenovo has unveiled its own Smart Display at CES 2018, throwing its hat in the ring of new display-touting devices backed by the Google Assistant. The Lenovo Smart Display basically looks like a tablet that tapers out to a wedge-shaped stand. It has a 10-watt full-range speaker on the side, and will rely on the built-in Google voice assistant to handle queries and commands you throw its way. It features a Full HD display and will be available in two sizes, 8 inches and 10 inches. The new display joins the JBL Link View as a smart display device featuring Google Assistant. JBL's device has an 8-inch display. Like the Google Home, you can ask the Lenovo Smart Display questions like "what's the weather like outside" and what your schedule looks like for the day. But like the Amazon Echo Show, this information will also be served up on a screen. The Lenovo Smart Display has all the Google goodies, including Google Maps and YouTube. It's backed by the Qualcomm Home Hub Platform, also announced at CES 2018. This means the device has an integrated CPU, GPU and DSP plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. And thanks to this Qualcomm integration, users can control their smart home goods from the display or with their voice, including Nest products, smart lights and thermostats. Want to make a video call? You can on the display through the Google Duo app. Available in two finishes - soft-touch grey or bamboo - the display can be fit either horizontally or vertically. It features a privacy shutter to keep the view private, and when not in use, serves up images from Google Photos. As for price, the 8-inch Lenovo Smart Display will cost $199.99 (about £150 / AU$255) while the 10-inch version costs $249.99 (about £185 / AU$320). The Amazon Echo Show, which features a 7-inch display, costs $229/£199. Look for the new Lenovo Smart Display to go on sale early this summer. This is an interesting time in the smart speaker realm. Where once Amazon's hold seemed secure when it came to display-packing smart speakers, Google has suddenly swooped in, and it's not doing it alone. There are more Google Assistant smart display products to come from even more partners, so Amazon Echo Show could soon be outnumbered. Of course, that doesn't guarantee victory, so we'll have to see how the new devices stack up against Amazon's offering. New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2018 straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on Earth!http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/ii5bE-zbRnk

Facebook is entering the world of hardware manufacture with an Amazon Echo Show rival called Portal. That’s if anonymous sources close to the project are to be believed. Speaking to Cheddar, sources claimed that Facebook Portal will be a chat device with a screen so that users can stay connected with their family and friends using video chat and “other social features”. It is interesting that this information has come to light during CES 2018, when a number of Google Assistant-powered smart speakers with screens have been introduced to the market. Now, it’s not only the Echo Show (and let’s not forget the Echo Spot) that Portal will have to go up against, but a whole range of smart speakers from third-party manufacturers like with the JBL Link View. According to the sources, Portal won’t be a traditional smart speaker, and that’s not totally surprising given that Facebook – for the time being – doesn’t have a voice assistant like Alexa or Cortana that it could use in a ‘traditional’ smart speaker. Looking through the PortalThat doesn’t mean that the possibility of controlling your smart home is completely out of the question though. This is purely speculation, but looking at the fact that companies like Netatmo are starting to use Facebook Messenger to control smart home products, it’s not beyond the realm of reason to think that Portal could have some home hub capabilities. We’d also be very surprised if that screen ended up only being used for social activities, too. Given Facebook’s foray into video content with Watch, we’re expecting this content to find a home on Portal as well. When we first heard the rumors about this device, it seemed like we were going to see it early 2018. What’s looking more likely now is that it’s going to be officially announced in May, with a release later in the year. And the price? $499. Ouch. According to those anonymous sources: “CEO Mark Zuckerberg has told employees that he doesn’t care if the device generates profit but rather wants it to change user behavior and encourage phone-like usage among owners.” New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2018 straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on Earthhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/9gLUHpAf7cQ

Smart home technology – and we're specifically thinking here about white goods – has a problem that no one seems to be talking about. For many years we’ve been hearing keynote speeches at CES about how all of our kitchen devices are going to be able to talk to each other, and it seems like 2018 is the year that a few companies will actually manage to crack it. During its CES keynote, LG showed off a smart fridge that can display recipes on a screen on its door, and, when you start cooking, can automatically turn the oven on and preheat it to the right temperature. Hey Bixby, call the installerSamsung likewise was touting its range of smart kitchen tech that can all be controlled from one slick interface in the Family Hub fridge. This is thanks to Samsung's industry-leading work with its SmartThings hub. It also announced that SmartThings is coming to the Gear S3, so you'll be able to control your home from your watch. Given that it’s Samsung, the announcement mentioned Bixby, its own take on the voice assistant. This means we’re genuinely entering the age where you’ll be able to pop to the shops, and, while you’re there, ask Bixby if you’ve got milk in the fridge. Heady times indeed. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ZijKo6CbbV66WqT2hbtoKF.jpg Samsung's Family Hub fridge The problem is that technology becomes redundant at a far faster rate than the devices it's being put into. If you need to replace your phone every couple of years it’s inconvenient, but it’s not the end of the world. If your oven becomes worthless after four years, that’s a serious problem. Not only is it a significantly bigger financial investment, it requires specialist installation that's a much bigger upheaval than replacing a device you can fit in your pocket. Often a kitchen is designed with your key white goods in mind, so replacing them would mean your kitchen no longer works from a design point of view. We now live in a day and age where white goods shouldn't be considered luxury items, so a malfunction taking an oven or fridge out of action means you're suddenly faced with a major bill to replace something that's essential to your everyday life, so can't be put off to a more convenient time. A modern, modular solutionOne solution is to make these smart goods modular. If it was only the door of your oven that had technology in it, with the rest of it being a standard oven, then you’d only need to replace the door, not the entire unit, which would keep both the cost and the inconvenience to a minimum. Likewise, in the case of your smart fridge, creating a simple pop-out panel that houses the screen and speaker would mean manufacturers would simply have to comply with certain dimensions and coupling requirements when creating updates, and the user won't get saddled with the cost of keeping up with a constantly evolving market. Redundancy is a big issue at the moment, with Apple in hot water as its handling of the iPhone 6's obsolescence comes back to bite it in a big way, so manufacturers need to be giving serious thought to how this issue is going to be tackled. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QWA7RDzsQwhsPSmek3ha4F.jpg A McLaren, running on an Amstrad (no, not really) A couple of years ago it came to light that the McLaren F1 team had found themselves in a situation where their £10 million cars were having to be maintained using a Compaq LTE 5280 laptop from 1996, due to a compatibility issue that meant the computer couldn’t be updated. That's a major organization, with vast amounts of money to invest in keeping modern and a redundant technologies running simultaneously, but the reality for most of us is that once our smart speaker or phone overtakes our over by more than a couple of generations they're simply going to stop being able to communicate with each other. And we won't have McLaren's deep pockets or engineering dream team to fudge together a fix in time for dinner. Manufacturers are surely aware of this problem, so it would be nice to see what efforts are being made (if any) to stop this incompatibility from becoming a major issue in a few years' time. At the moment it's only high-end, luxury items that feature this smart technology, which means it may be a problem that only those that can afford such items will experience. But this technology will in time trickle down to more affordable devices, so the issue needs to be addressed, and soon. The answer may not be modular, but a solution needs to be found. New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2018 straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on Earthhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/zH0IwqJxflQ

After getting started with a camera-equipped doorbell that allowed you to remotely keep tabs on your front door, smart home company Ring is expanding further into home security. New for this year's CES are a pair of cameras, the Stick Up Cam and the Stick Up Cam Elite. The new version of the Stick Up Cam features a 1080p camera, and two-way audio, while the Stick Up Cam Elite includes a Wi-Fi port for a more reliable connection. Along with the two new cameras the company has also announced a number of motion-activated lights that will integrate with the wider Ring ecosystem which will soon include the Ring Alarm system. Despite some concerns over the cost of the Ring Video Doorbell 2's online video storage, we've generally been impressed by Ring products over the years. Although the company's promise to integrate with Apple HomeKit is still MIA (the feature was supposed to launch in 2017 but didn't make it), it already offers integration with other smart home ecosystems like IFTTT and Alexa. The Alexa integration is particularly interesting, as it allows you to broadcast your Ring's camera feed to the Amazon Echo Show or Fire TV's screen. Fingers crossed this same functionality comes to the new cameras. Ring might not support HomeKit yet, but here's a list of products that dohttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/6e4BwYNfZmA

GE Appliances wants you to buy a massive 27-inch tablet called the Kitchen Hub for your culinary sanctum, and no, it's not intended as a replacement cutting board. Instead, the tablet, announced during CES 2018, will sit perched directly above your stove, doubling as an exhaust hood while somehow avoiding heat damage and serving as a central hub for all the smart appliances GE hopes you have. Not only does it provide a one-stop shop for all your various smart gadgets in the kitchen, but it also allows you to look up recipes on the internet, access your calendar and make video calls with an outward-facing camera. Beyond that, you could use it to see who's at the front door with the smart cameras you that you, presumably, have installed. For that matter, if you want to show off whatever it is that you're cooking on the stove, a downward facing camera will let you take a photo or video and broadcast it to Facebook or Instagram. Screening processThe Kitchen Hub isn't expected to ship until sometime later in the year (and likely only in the US), but GE Appliances is expected to put up a display unit this week at CES. We'd love to see it in action, if only to learn if the interface is still reachable if you're less than six feet tall. Pricing is also currently a mystery, but we'll let you know if we learn something later in the week. The GE Appliances Kitchen Hub is but one of touchscreen-toting devices for the kitchen that we've seen at this year's CES. Judging from units like the Samsung Family Hub refrigerator, screens may soon be as common a sight in kitchens as knives and spices. New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2018 straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on Earth! http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/9oTFwLgFxOk

Got one of the latest Samsung smartwatches? Smart home control is headed to your wrist then, as the company has just announced at CES 2018 that it's squeezing its SmartThings smart home management app onto its wearable devices. If you've got a Samsung Gear S3 or Gear Sport, you'll be able to use the app to control all of Samsung's connected devices around your home, getting at-a-glance views of your thermostat, controlling music, tweaking ambient light and more. "We've been leading the wearables journey for four years," said Samsung's Alanna Cotton, Vice President and General Manager Mobile Computing and Wearables, during Samsung's CES 2018 conference. "In 2018 we're taking it to the next level, bringing the SmartThings app to the Gear S3 and Gear Sport. Whether it's dimming the lights to set the perfect mood for dinner, or setting the house to the ideal 71-degrees before I get home, I'll be able to control my environment in new ways, right from my wrist." Wrist actionInternet of Things connectivity and smart home proliferation is a key trend at CES 2018, and Samsung's very much part of the gang pushing connected devices to the fore in our homes. But while other manufacturers are focusing on virtual assistants and voice control (note that Samsung's Bixby has also made an appearance, to be fair), it's interesting to see Samsung give wrist-based functions center stage at its press conference. It seems a pointed swipe at Apple's HomeKit and Apple Watch devices, which both already integrate together in what appears to be similar to what Samsung is set to offer with its wearables going forward. If Bixby doesn't land in quite the same way as Amazon's Alexa and Google's Assistant have, at least those living in Samsung's ecosystem will be able to turn to their wrists for fine control over their future homes. New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2018 straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on Earthhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/OF94GwV4AD4

You've kitted your home out with loads of pricey top-notch smart tech – but what's keeping a smart crook from getting in and pilfering your connected wares? At CES 2018, traditional lock manufacturer Yale is again trying its hand at smart-focussed equipment, this time partnering with smart home veterans Nest for the Nest x Yale lock. A touchscreen deadbolt, it connects up with a whole range of Nest's smart home ecosystem devices, giving you way more options on how to secure your home than you'd get with an old-school lock and key. Flexible securityFor starters, the pin-code locked Nest x Yale can have as many as 250 pin-codes assigned to it, and they too can be assigned different times of the day. So, if you have kids coming home at midday, and a cleaner coming at 5pm, you could give them each individual codes that only work within certain timeframes, adding an extra layer of security to your home. The lock can also be tied to the Nest Secure alarm, deactivating its security protocols when legitimately unlocked, and the upcoming Nest Hello video doorbell, letting you unlock the door if you see a familiar face on the associated video feed. "Bank-level" encryption tech protects the lock from hack attacks, while the lock can still be opened even if its battery dies before you get a chance to key in its code – a 9 volt battery can be inserted into the bottom to jumpstart the lock if power or Wi-Fi powers down. Going up for pre-order in February, expect the Nest x Yale to start shipping in March. Pricing is yet to be announced. New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2018http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/qa5hFUZjLCg

Security company Canary has unveiled a new security camera called Canary View at Vegas electronic show CES 2018. The Canary View is a smaller, more streamlined version of the original Canary camera, for $99 (about £70, AU$120). The original Canary (now being referred to as Canary All-In-One), was a huge Indiegogo success story, managing to secure close to 2 million dollars, 1,962% of its original target. But it’s now finding itself in a market where it’s more expensive than many of its competitors, so it’s not surprising to see a cheaper model hit the market. What's in the packageThe Canary View loses HomeHealth, an air quality sensor that frankly the camera could live without. It's also significantly smaller, which is also a positive change. In order to access the full range of features available on the Canary View, you’ll need to have a subscription to Canary Membership, which allows you to use the microphone and speaker on-board to have a conversation with someone in your house, unlimited downloads, and more. The Canary View is available to buy from the Canary website. There’s no indication at the moment of when the Canary View will be coming to other markets but we’ll let you know more when we have it. Other news from Canary during CES is the integration of Amazon devices, meaning you can request to stream footage from a Canary camera direct to your Amazon Spot, Show, and some Fire devices. There's also a new feature for Canary's outdoor camera called ‘package detection’ that uses an algorithm to identify if a package has been delivered and send you a notification. New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2018 straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on EarthVia TechCrunch http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/sI4dqvmqIno

While having a security camera means that you get a good picture of the person who’s broken into your house, what would be much better is a device that stops them from breaking in at all. That’s the principle that seems to be at work in European home tech company Somfy’s new Outdoor Camera, being sold by Somfy as “The most deterring outdoor security camera on the market”. The camera has motion detection, and the now fairly ubiquitous ‘human identification’ ability that allows cameras to discern a human from any other creature. When a human being is identified in close proximity to the camera, a warning is issued from the onboard microphone. Make some noiseIf enough time passes and the intruder hasn’t left the area, the Outdoor Camera then sets off a 110dB siren to try and scare them off. For reference, 110dB is equivalent to a live rock concert, just on the verge of the human pain threshold. The camera can also control a light, so if it’s not totally sure if it’s starting a fight with your car with its infrared camera mode, it can turn on a light before kicking into full siren. The Somfy Outdoor Camera is currently on display at CES 2018, and will be available for purchase summer 2018. Want to see everything that's being shown at CES 2018? Check out: CES 2018: dates, news, reveals and predictions for tech's biggest showhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/HAjaUHidMWY

European smart home manufacturer Netatmo has used CES 2018 to unveil its new way to control your smart home: Facebook Messenger. By texting Netatmo’s dedicated Smart Home Bot, you can request that your heating be turned up, your lights turned on, and even an update on who’s currently in your home. The new feature uses natural language processing to respond to text requests as if you were having an actual conversation with your home. Who are you texting?While the process of talking to your home as a sentient being may not be a new thing, for many, interacting with a voice assistant (think Alexa, Google Assistant) is still an unusual or disruptive thing. If you’re in the middle of a film and want to turn the heating up, you don’t want to shout at your Amazon Echo and ruin everyone’s movie-viewing experience. The ability to send a message on Facebook Messenger allows for a more discreet mode of operation and means you’re potentially less likely to be misunderstood. The feature works with all the Netatmo range that currently includes security cameras Presence and Welcome, a Thermostat, Weather Station, and an air quality monitor called Home Coach. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6y66amUbs3c5ndBMzEFTWB.jpg Additionally, there’s a new range of products coming in 2018 that bear the 'with Netatmo' branding that you'll be able to control using the Smart Home Bot, including smart lights, blinds, and radiators. This isn’t the first time that you’ve been able to control your smart home by text, as smart home hub Homey has a Facebook Messenger function very similar to Netatmo’s Smart Home Bot, and LG has HomeChat which uses a dedicated app. With the range of products in the smart home market constantly expanding, one of the biggest challenges for the smart home in 2018 is going to be a unifying way of controlling all the different devices in our homes in one easy interface. It will be interesting to see which anthropomorphised smart home entity ends up being on top. Want to check out the Homey hub that offers Facebook Messenger interaction? Check out: Europe's smart home powerhouse Homey heads to US: here’s why you should carehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/jVV7-ehNBR4

Above: Samsung's 2017 Family Hub refrigerator Continuing its tradition of making your icebox one of the savviest devices in your home, Samsung announced at CES 2018 that it's offering improved integration of its SmartThings ecosystem into its line of Family Hub refrigerators. SmartThings is Samsung's connected home hub, allowing various devices to speak to and work with one another. By bringing more advanced SmartThings connectivity to Family Hub, users can now control and monitor all of their home's connected devices from the screen on their fridge's front door. This command extends to compatible third-party devices, like the Ring doorbell, as well as things like thermostats. Users can also view camera feeds from inside their homes to see what's happening in another room. SmartThings integration adds another layer of convenience to the Family Hub experience, even if you aren't spending a ton of time staring at your fridge door (though, admittedly, I do). All in all, this is another step in Samsung smartening up our homes by allowing various devices to connect with one another, and that bodes well for the company's smart home future. Fridgen' geniusSamsung's home intelligence push doesn't stop there. The company behind the Galaxy Note 8 also talked up this year's arrival of its digital assistant Bixby to its smart TVs and Family Hub refrigerators. This will bring voice control to the fridges, so now you really will be talking to the refrigerator the next time someone asks from the other room. What's more, Samsung is also introducing a new SmartThings app in the spring to allow customers to have one central place where they can control all of their various Internet of Things devices. And by 2020, Samsung says all of its smart home-connected devices will not only be IoT ready, but also "infused with intelligence." Our best guess is that Samsung means the devices will rely on Bixby and other artificial intelligence, though it sounds just a tad unsettling. With just about every major company, from Amazon to Apple to Google, bringing their smart assistant to more devices, it's no surprise to see Samsung leading the way. New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2018 straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on Earthhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/AU8rd1yete0

Mark Zuckerberg has made a modest new year’s resolution: to fix Facebook and make the world a better place. “The world feels anxious and divided, and Facebook has a lot to do,” the CEO said in a post on his personal account. “Whether it’s protecting our community from abuse and hate, defending against interference by nation states, or making sure that time spent on Facebook is time well spent.” It’s a sharp change of direction since 2016, when Zuckerberg dismissed the idea that hoax news stories shared on Facebook could have influenced the outcome of the US presidential election. Speaking at the annual Techonomy conference near San Francisco, the CEO called the notion a “pretty crazy idea” . The world feels anxious and divided, and Facebook has a lot to doMark Zuckerberg “There is a certain profound lack of empathy in asserting that the only reason someone could have voted the way they did is because they saw some fake news,” he said in an on-stage interview. Zuckerberg retracted the statement in 2017 following a tweet in which President Trump claimed Facebook had a specific agenda against him. In a post published in September, he vowed to “keep working to ensure the integrity of free and fair elections around the world, and to ensure our community is a platform for all ideas and a force for good in democracy.” Cleaning upAfter the election, Facebook identified at least 470 fake pages and accounts that had spent a total of $100,000 on ads. In a statement, the company said these accounts were likely to be linked and probably originated in Russia. Facebook turned the ads over to US Congress investigators, noting that although they didn't seem to reference a specific candidate, they were designed to spread divisive messages on sensitive topics such as gun rights. Elliot Schrage, vice president of policy and communications at Facebook, said the company didn't act immediately because “[T]here was nothing necessarily noteworthy at the time about a foreign actor running an ad involving a social issue." International organisations, for example, might run an ad addressing women’s rights or encouraging charity donations. Only after the election, Schrange said, did Facebook notice some auto-approved ads might be “problematic”. Following these revelations, Facebook vowed to employ over 1,000 extra staff to review advertising, and invest in machine learning to identify and remove ads that violate its policies. It also said it would require more thorough documentation from advertisers placing political ads on the site Keen to show that it had learned from past mistakes, the company worked with German officials to avoid interference during the country's general election in September. Although it admitted it couldn't have eliminated any false news stories from appearing in news feeds, it worked with legitimate news agencies and the political parties themselves to help minimize the chances of such content rising to the surface. Not just personalUntil now, Zuckerberg’s "personal challenges" have been just that – personal. They began with the humble ambition of wearing a tie to work every day in 2009 “to signal to everyone at work that this was a serious year for us” during the global recession. In 2016 he set himself the challenge of building an AI to run his home and running 365 miles. This year's resolution shows a change of focus, showing the CEO taking Facebook's influential position seriously. With presidential and general elections taking place in Italy, Ireland, Sweden and many other nations during 2018, that commitment will soon be put to the test. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/o3XA15Mi__4

Making the move to a smart home set up just got a little more tempting. Until January 8 you can get your hands on a Google Home smart speaker and the Philips Hue starter kit for just £169.99. Smart lighting and smart speakers are two of the items that have the most obvious mainstream draw at the moment, but making the shift to a smart lighting setup can be a prohibitively expensive proposition, especially when compared to conventional light bulbs. That’s why this is such a great deal. You’ll be getting your hands on a set of three industry leading smart bulbs, the hub to control them, a smart switch, and the top-of-the-range Google Home smart speaker - all for £129 less than you'd usually pay. The deal is available from Currys, Argos, and John Lewis. Make sure you get the right fittingAs the starter kit is usually £169 on its own, you’re basically getting one of the best smart speakers on the market for free. At least, that’s how we’re thinking about it. Just make sure you get the right fitting for your bulbs, there are different versions of the deal for bayonet, screw cap and GU10 (the fitting usually used in small halogen bulbs). Once you're on the bandwagon, you'll want to check out the best smart home devices for 2017http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/BNJ6Ga8VYXE

Apple has finally spoken out on the Meltdown and Spectre security scare which has dominated headlines this week, with the company confirming that all Mac computers and iOS devices are affected – but also that it has already patched macOS and iOS to defend the operating systems against Meltdown. Spectre, however, still looms large… In a statement released on its support site, Apple said that these issues affected all modern processors and ‘nearly all computing devices’ out there, including all Mac machines and iOS phones and tablets as mentioned, although it added that there were no known exploits impacting users at this time. Apple then stated that it has already released ‘mitigations’ for Meltdown in macOS 10.13.2 and iOS 11.2 (as well as tvOS 11.2), so you are protected if you’ve updated your OS appropriately. Indeed, older versions may have also been patched previously, but it’s not clear if that’s the case, and probably best not to take the risk on balance – especially now that these problems have become widespread knowledge. On the subject of the Apple Watch, the firm said it wasn’t affected by Meltdown anyway. Script for SpectreApple said that it’s still working on patching up Safari (the web browser) to protect users against Spectre, observing that this uses two different exploit methods which can potentially be leveraged via JavaScript in a browser. Apple also took the time to remind folks that it “recommend downloading software only from trusted sources such as the App Store” in terms of combating any potential exploits and other nastiness. The company added: “We continue to develop and test further mitigations for these issues and will release them in upcoming updates of iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS.” Intel has already come out in firefighting mode (again) yesterday with a statement saying that its next batch of security updates for its CPUs will make them ‘immune’ to both exploits. It also previously stated that any performance slowdown caused by patching the problems won’t be significant for the average PC user, and will diminish over time at any rate. Meltdown and Spectre is a cross-platform, cross-device nightmare, as we’ve seen this week, and if you’re confused about how to defend against the flaws on non-Apple hardware, check out our full guide on protecting yourself from these exploits. Via MacRumors More than one of Apple’s MacBooks makes our list of best laptopshttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/hRA04j3ZnLs

Voice-controlled devices continue to grow more impressive by the week, and in the latest development, today Amazon announced that its Alexa voice assistant service will soon be able to help out in the kitchen. Specifically, when you need to have something heated in the microwave or oven in the future, you could simply say, "Alexa, heat this on high for one minute." In addition, you could ask Alexa to preheat the oven to 450 degrees. The tools are available from Amazon for developers now, but we'll still have to wait a while to see compatible appliances. The catch, as you might imagine, is that your ovens and microwaves need to support this feature, and almost all "smart" versions currently don't. They'll either need to be updated or built from scratch entirely. Ovens and microwaves are the current focus, but Amazon hopes that other appliances will be compatible beyond that. Only Whirlpool has officially made an Alexa skill for ovens and microwaves at the moment, but we have no timeline as to when we'll actually see an Alexa-capable oven or microwave from the company aside from "soon." In the future, though, Samsung, LG, GE Appliances and Kenmore will also allow their ovens (and, in time, other appliances) to support Alexa. Hands-off approachThe feature seems especially useful if you're in a busy kitchen with your hands full. It also might be useful for when you've put your food in the microwave and are reading the back of the box for directions, which you can then call out to Alexa as you find them. Then again, for more familiar items, it's worth wondering if voice commands will truly be that much more efficient. Even with current technology, it's generally already quicker to set an oven or microwave by hand than it is to call out directions. Plenty of other appliances allow for a connected home, as you'll discover in our guide!http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/2StFfW-U1uo

Last summer Microsoft announced a beautiful Cortana-powered thermostat that looked like something out of a tasteful science fiction film, and now, at last, we have some more details about it. The device, made through a partnership with Johnson Controls, will be available for pre-order for $319 (around £235/AU$406) beginning in March. That's a steep price even in the context of smart thermostats from rivals like the Nest Learning thermostat, which costs $249/£279 (around AU$317), but in this case looks are every bit as part of the appeal as function. By far the most striking thing about GLAS is the translucent glass display that gives it its name, but it's also packed with a host of features (that, mind you, tend to be common with smart thermostats). You can set the temperature, of course, but you can also use the device the check the outdoor weather, ask about traffic conditions or check your calendar. It'll also automatically adjust the temperature according to your usual preferences throughout the day. Again, it's powered by Microsoft's Cortana voice assistant, so you can do all this with voice commands if you wish. It's also compatible with virtually all types of 24VAC heating and cooling systems, so you should be able to install it in your home or office with few complications. If you're interested in more pre-order information, you can sign up for Johnson Controls' GLAS mailing list here. Interested in cameras more than thermostats? Check out Nest's wall cam!http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/jDt6XkfvRk0

Google's streamlined new Calendar layout will be rolled out to all users at the end of February. Google introduced the new desktop design in October, letting users switch back to the 'classic' look if they preferred, but from February 28, that option will be removed. The redesigned web app is bold and clear, with more space dedicated to each time slot (whether it's a day, a week or a month) and fewer buttons. Clicking an event now lets you see all attendees at a glance, along with RSVP status, meeting rooms, video call links and attachments. You can see each event's invitation status without clicking an event, and use the new Density setting to adjust the number of events visible for each time slot. Save the dateIt's not all good news though; the new design does away with the Quick Add function, accessible via the 'Create' button on the top right in the Classic view. Users could type a title like ‘Meet TechRadar 9am next Tuesday’, and the Calendar would parse the time, date and location, and create a new event accordingly. Now, new events can only be created by clicking a time slot or using the orange plus icon in the bottom right. If you're not a fan of some of the changes, Google is inviting early adopters to ask questions and give feedback on the new design on its Help Forums. Via TechCrunch Get more done with the best free time-management softwarehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/xm4OFxHZMFE

Kids are finding it hard to cope with the pressures of social media – particularly as they approach their teens – according to a new report on children’s internet use. The report, Life in Likes, was released by the Children’s Commissioner for England and focuses on social media use among children under 13. It found that although younger children are most interested in games, older ones are more focused on fitting in – sometimes at the expense of their own wellbeing. Older children are particularly worried about their appearance as they approached their teens and face the stress of starting a new school. Staying safeSafety is another major concern for pre-teens – both personal and psychologically. The report notes that "children were very confident to talk about how to stay safe online from a physical perspective, but there was less discussion about what to do when things affect them on a more emotional level." Although most social media services (including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook) set a strict minimum age of 13, three quarters of the children in focus groups reported having their own accounts while others used their parents’ logins, potentially exposing them to unsuitable content. “Sometimes I see stuff when my mum is trying to show me things on Facebook and a rude and horrible thing will pop up, and it makes you feel really shocked,” one 10-year-old told the Commissioner. Social media influencers also have a role in protecting their young audiences. Many of the youngsters interviewed for the report were fans of YouTuber Logan Paul, who faced a barrage of criticism last week for sharing a video showing a suicide victim in a Japanese forest. Users must be at least 18 years old to sign up for a YouTube account, but children as young as 13 can register for limited access with a parent's permission and Paul's video was originally published without an age-gate, meaning it could be watched by anyone. Social media for kidsThe Commissoner advises social media sites should “recognize the needs of children under 13 using their platforms and incorporate them in service design.” That's something Facebook is already working on. In December, it released a new video chat and messaging app, Messenger Kids, designed specifically for under-13s. The app doesn't require a phone number or Facebook account, and lets children connect with a list of friends and family members pre-approved by their parents. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z6oVwBGaoJoArSLCxCnnmB.jpg Facebook itself has a strict age limit of 13 years and up (accounts found to belong to younger children are deleted), but works with schools to help teenagers protect their privacy and wellbeing. “Children today have unprecedented access to digital technology and, like the Commissioner, we are committed to giving schools and parents more help and expertise to support them as they start secondary school [age 13 to 18],” Antigone Davis, head of safety at Facebook, told TechRadar. “That’s why since last year we’re offering digital safety ambassadors to every UK secondary school with Childnet International and the Diana Award, to bring peer-to-peer support and online safety initiatives into the classroom by a trained young person. We continue to develop more resources and tools, like our new Parents Portal, for families and all those who care about children to build safe and positive online opportunities for young people.” Via the Guardian Our pick of the best free parental control softwarehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/kHk_nlsb82o

European smart hub Homey is launching in the US with a big reveal at CES 2018. The smart home is a complicated thing, filled with a vast array of devices that continue to struggle to communicate with one other. This was the exact problem that Homey set out to solve when it launched its Kickstarter campaign in 2014. It seems to have found a great deal of success, unifying a frankly staggering 30,000+ devices in your home, including major brands like Philips, Ikea, Nest, Sonos, and many many more. What’s even more impressive is that the little white orb had infrared connectivity so can control devices like your TV, even if it isn’t a ‘smart’ TV. It has the standard connectivity needed for home automation like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee and Z-Wave, but also supports NFC (the technology used in contactless payments) and nrf24l01+ (a 2.4GHz wireless transmission standard). Go with the FlowIt’s this broad array that allows the Homey to control so much of the technology that makes up a smart home today, and is the reason that the Homey has won numerous awards, including an Accenture Innovation Award Top Five, and the Philips Innovation Award. Much like Amazon’s 'Routines', the device has the ability to perform 'Homey Flows', where commands are given to activate or deactivate elements of your smart home either at a specified time, when given a specific command, or when a pre-decided set of circumstances happens. This last one is the most complicated, but perhaps the most useful. The Homey website gives the example of ‘When: Someone is leaving. And: It’s going to rain in five minutes. Then: Say ‘Take an umbrella’ and set lights to red.’ http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ENFsfeNtcttmiUZPLGNBLh.jpg While these may take a while to set up, it’s this sort of unified home approach that allows the smart home to really live up to its full potential. If you’re able to say to your hub that the news is starting and have the TV turn on, and to the right channel, your lights dim, and your smart heating turn on in your bedroom because you always watch the news before bed, then that’s the sort of smart home we want to see. Homey is compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Facebook Messenger, so you can speak to it through your favorite digital assistant, or send it a text if you’d prefer. While there’s no official announcement of what the price is going to be for Homey in the US, with a UK price of £269, we’re imagining a price around $350. If you'd rather your smart speaker was your smart home hub, check out our Amazon Echo Plus review.Via DigitalTrends http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/MDzZn9bufTY

Would you let Amazon dress you? It's an idea that the company doesn't seem to want to let go of. After launching the eyebrow-raising Amazon Echo Look camera, which took photos of a user before offering fashion advice, a new patent has been uncovered which shows Amazon considering a similar concept within a smart, mixed-reality mirror. It describes a mirror equipped with cameras, projectors and reflective and transmissive display panels to mix the experience of a regular mirror with one capable of augmented reality overlays. Check your look on Amazon's beachSo, you could sidle up in front of the mirror, and check out what an outfit would look like on you, projected over your image in a form-fitting way, without first having to buy the item. A virtual model would be created, tracking your eyes and face, merged between the two panels in as natural a mirror-like experience as possible. Presumably, it'd be tied to some form of Amazon retail system, letting users buy "the look" being trialled, too. In addition, the mirror could recreate different scenes, letting you know how your outfit would go down in different real-world environments. The example given puts the wannabe-fashionista on a digital beach. As ever with a patent, it's not necessarily a sure-fire sign that this product will ever come to market. But there's loads of evidence that Amazon thinks this could be its way into the lucrative world of fashion. It's already launched its own fashion label, which the Look was playing into, even if that gadget's buzz died very quickly after its reveal. Amazon also bought New York's Body Labs team late last year, which creates 3D avatars for gaming and clothing modelling. It sits squarely right next to what Amazon appears to be looking to achieve with this patent product. Clothes that grow with your kids are hereVia: GeekWire (main image USPTO)http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/6umU2G0mehQ

Hive, a company most famous for its smart heating system, has released a new security camera that is quite a departure from most security cameras on the market. A design collaboration with Yves Behar (who designed the Hive Active Heating 2 thermostat), the Hive View comes in a couple of different color schemes: white with “champagne gold” and black with “brushed copper”. We've had some time to see the View close up and it’s one of the first cameras we’ve seen that moves away from the white plastic aesthetic that most security cameras have, that aren’t exactly appealing from a home-decor point of view. 130-degree HD videoOne of the key selling points of the Hive View is a feature called ‘grab and go’ that allows you to remove the camera from its stand, place it at a different point in your house, and it will still work for about an hour thanks to a battery housed in the camera unit. The camera itself has a 130 degree wide-angle lens and can livestream a 1080p HD feed directly to your phone day or night thanks to infra-red. You’ll need an iPhone or iPad with iOS 9 or higher or Android 4.4 or later in order to access the feed. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rYo7jmhhZiMAxj2AXGvaVP.jpg The Hive View popping off its magnetic stand If you don’t want to spend all day watching what’s going on in your home, you can opt to receive notifications whenever there’s motion detected by the camera. For pet owners there is a great feature that allows you to customize notifications so that only human beings set it off, not any figure. Hive let us know that there is a more advanced version of this feature in the works too, that will take a picture of the person’s face and include that in the notification so you can see from a quick glance if the person in your home is someone you recognise. This is coming at some point in 2018. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hmxmbqjv2eFhjsD4WWdj7U.jpg The many angles of the Hive View camera This isn’t the first security camera from Hive, there is already the Hive Camera, but that camera isn’t nearly as stylish, and most importantly it doesn’t work with the rest of the Hive ecosystem. Hive has a wide range of products that includes lights, plug sockets, and sensors. All of these are operated by the same Hive app, but the Hive Camera frustratingly wasn’t. This is rectified by the Hive View and a massive step in the right direction for a more unified smart home experience. This simplification will be very appealing for Hive customers, and Hive is working to improve the collaboration between these products; in February, ‘Hive actions’ will be rolled out that enables you to link different devices together in the app. Hive View availability and priceThe Hive View is available now in the UK and US for $199.99 (£189) for one, or £319 for a pack of two if you're in the UK. The Hive View currently isn't available in Australia, but we'll let you know if that changes. If you’d rather not pay the lump sum, there is an option to purchase a package called ‘Hive close to home’ that includes Hive View, two Hive Active Lights, two Hive Window or Door sensors, one Hive Active Plug, the Hive Hub, and 30-day cloud storage of video footage for $14.58 (£29.99) a month, going down to $5.99 (£4.99) a month after a year. If you want the ability to watch back recordings but don’t want the whole package, you can sign up for Hive Video Playback for £4.99 a month. We have a unit in for review, and will let you know our full thoughts about the Hive View soon. Want to see the rest of the Hive ecosystem? Check out: Hive Active Heating 2 reviewhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/KUDtmoz_sqg

Finding a good Wi-Fi signal to power all of our devices is kind of the contemporary Feng Shui: location matters. The process is usually a matter of trial and error under normal circumstances, but soon it looks as though we’ll be aided in this hunt by our vacuum cleaners, of all things. Starting January 23, a select few members of Roomba’s beta program who own the high-end Roomba 900 series units will be able to try out a new feature that finds your home’s strongest Wi-Fi signals while picking up stray confetti still lurking from New Year’s Eve. Through Roomba’s iRobot app, owners of devices like the Roomba 980 will be able to see a map of their houses showing the intensity of Wi-Fi signals in various spots. A clean sweepMost directly, the feature helps you figure out the rooms where your Roomba might have a bit of a problem staying connected, especially when compared with the app’s normal vacuum coverage maps More generally, it’ll help you decide if the guest bedroom is really as good of a spot for a Amazon Echo as you’d like to think it is. The feature will likely only be available to a couple hundred opt-in Roomba beta testers in the US at first, reports CNET, but in time Roomba may extend that to around 10% to 20% of Roomba beta testers if all goes well. These are the best vacuum cleaners around!http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/kubHQXk9byM

Wordpress turned 10 this year. Primarily created as a blogging platform, it has since been developed into a feature-rich content management system that can be used to power websites of all types. The platform can be downloaded for free from wordpress.org and powers millions of sites across the web. For many businesses, the beauty of Wordpress is in its simplicity. Its benefits are clear, it's easy to setup and it's straightforward to manage. Choosing a hosting provider for a Wordpress site can be more of a task, however, especially for those without expert knowledge or experience of the market. Reliability, support and, of course, price are the big three factors when choosing website hosting for a business. Where Wordpress is concerned though, many hosting providers also offer automated installation, so speed and simplicity of setup are also factors to consider. The best Wordpress Plugins might be a bit of a helpTo help with your decision-making, this article brings together a selection of cheap Wordpress hosting options for UK businesses. Some are based here with others abroad and some focus more on affordability whilst others offer premium features. All of them, however, come with strong reputations and well-priced web hosting packages for Wordpress. Zyma (UK)http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/87f539d1d91d69e5b3e98bf309536eaa.jpg Web: http://www.zyma.com/ Price: From £1.79 per month (approx. US$2.94 or AU$3.22) Zyma is a UK-based hosting provider that launched in 2010. It has developed a reputation amongst both tech writers and users for providing an excellent service and boasts one of the cheapest monthly hosting prices on the market. It also states that 90% of its new users are referred by existing customers. Zyma doesn't offer a specific Wordpress hosting package, but does offer free installation for Wordpress sites. Once signed up, users just have to submit a support ticket and explain exactly where they want it installed. Zyma also offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back guarantee for new customers. TSOHost (UK)http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/b81574be2c9a2747738bab7a738a8f2d.jpg Web: https://www.tsohost.com/ Price: From £14.99 per year (approx. US$24.65 or AU$26.93) TSOHost is another UK-based hosting provider and comes with excellent reviews from its growing user-base. It was set up it 2003 and now claims to host in excess of 230,000 websites and over 10,000 Wordpress installations. Wordpress hosting with TSOHost starts at £14.99 per year (£1.25 per month) for the 'lite' package, which is the cheapest package featured but does require a minimum 12-month contract. That said, it also offers a 60-day money-back guarantee for users who are not happy with the service. One-click installation is available, as are more premium packages and the option to move to a virtual or dedicated server should customers need to scale up their operations. Name.com (US)http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6838632f54719b85c1eb7a5ecee98969.jpg Web: http://www.name.com/ Price: From $29.99 per year (approx. £18.26 or AU$32.78) Like TSOHost, Name.com offers a minimum 12-month deal that works out very reasonably. Its Rapidshare service includes a domain name, a variety of themes and four weeks worth of daily back-ups for $29.99 per year ($2.50 per month). Name.com operates out of Colarado, US and its Rapidpress service is aimed at being cheap, simple and well supported. It website talks of, "a commitment to world-class customer service." Whilst the main focus of Rapidpress is to provide a straightforward means of launching a Wordpress site from scratch, sites can also be migrated into the platform. Bluehost (US)http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/a97113a0ef33babab09120885103fedf.jpg Web: http://www.bluehost.com/ Price: From $4.95 per month (approx. £3.01 or AU$5.41) Bluehost is well known amongst the Wordpress fraternity and has been providing hosting services since 1996. Its Wordpress hosting packages start from $4.95 per month, which is at the top-end of the prices covered in this article, but the company is recommended by Wordpress and has been since 2005. As well as being an experienced and well regarded Wordpress hosting provider, Bluehost offers WordPress specific customer support services, free theme installation and an anytime money-back guarantee, all of which may justify spending the extra dollar or two per month. One-click installation is also available. Dreamhosthttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/f4ae38e96d4e71e5ab7e36a5cb6f94d8.jpg Web: http://www.dreamhost.com/ Price: From $3.95 per month (approx. £2.41 or AU$4.32) Having been set up in 1997, Dreamhost is another veteran of the market and has been a Wordpress partner since 2005. It claims to host the best part of a million WordPress blogs and websites globally and touts itself as delivering great user experience and utilising the best technology available. Dreamhost's standard Wordpress hosting package starts from $3.95 per month and includes a free domain name, one-click installation and a 100% uptime guarantee. A 97-day money-back guarantee is included for those who are not enamoured with the service. Dreamhost also offers a 'Dreampress' package that features dedicated, high performance and high security hosting for $19.95 per month. InMotionhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/76785901fa403e0163ee119ee09eae5b.jpg Web: http://www.inmotionhosting.com/ Price: From $5.59 per month (approx. £3.40 or AU$6.11) InMotion is based in the US and apparently hosts more than 300,000 hosted sites. The company talks about its Wordpress hosting in terms of speed and security with a focus on business clients. Amongst its Wordpress hosting features are free new domain names or transfers for the first year, 24-36 hour data backups and one-click installation. InMotion also offers 90-day money-back guarantee, which compares favourably to many of its competitors. With rates starting from $5.59 per month, this isn't the cheapest Wordpress hosting available, but it is still very reasonably priced and InMotion argues that for the extra cost, customers will benefit from, "one of the fastest and most reliable networks in the world." http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/B11kVcvvWZg