Tech Talk Today 277

The world is freaking out about Google Duplex, new features coming to Google Photos we like and Android P promises to improve your "well being".

Plus Apple deals a blow to GrayKey, our Kickstarter of the week, and sending ultra sonic commands to Alexa.

Sponsored By:

• Ting: Take $25 off a device, or earn $25 in service credits if you bring a compatible one! Promo Code: Visit LAS.ting.com

Links:

• iOS 11.4 Disables Lightning Connector After 7 Days, Limiting Law Enforcement Access — The iOS 11.4 update, currently being beta tested, includes a USB Restricted Mode that introduces a week-long expiration date on access to the Lightning port on your iOS devices if your phone hasn't been unlocked, which has implications for law enforcement tools like the GrayKey box
• Steam Link App to Bring Steam Games to iOS & Android-Based Phones, Tablets and TVs — The Steam Link app will be available for Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and TV devices as well as various smartphones, tablets and STBs running Google’s Android.
• Google Photos will add more AI-powered fixes, including colorization of black-and-white photos — Now the company is making it even easier to fix photos with a new version of the Google Photos app that will suggest quick fixes and other tweaks – like rotations, brightness corrections, or adding pops of color, for example – right below the photo you’re viewing.
• Exclusive: Android P is Google’s most ambitious update in years - The Verge — Android P, due out later this year, will have a new dashboard that tells you how often, when, and for how long you are using every app on your phone. It will also allow you to set limits on yourself. You could give yourself a half-hour of Instagram per day, for example. Once your 30 minutes is up, the icon will go from its usual eye-catching gradient to a dull grayscale.
• Google Grapples With ‘Horrifying’ Reaction to Uncanny AI Tech — At its I/O conference on Tuesday, Alphabet Inc.’s Google previewed Duplex, an experimental service that lets its voice-based digital assistant book appointments on its own. It was part of a slate of features, such as automated writing in emails, where Google touted how its artificial intelligence technology saves people time and effort. In a demonstration on stage, the Google Assistant spoke with a hair salon receptionist, mimicking the "ums" and "hmms" pauses of human speech. In another demo, it chatted with a restaurant employee to book a table. The audience of software coders cheered.
• Alexa and Siri Can Hear This Hidden Command. You Can’t. - The New York Times — The technique, which the Chinese researchers called DolphinAttack, can instruct smart devices to visit malicious websites, initiate phone calls, take a picture or send text messages. While DolphinAttack has its limitations — the transmitter must be close to the receiving device — experts warned that more powerful ultrasonic systems were possible.
• SpeakEasy by Como Audio with the Google Assistant Built-in by Tom DeVesto — Enjoy music and more with voice command. SpeakEasy™ is Como Audio's newest hi-fi music system with the Google Assistant built-in.