Virtual Agent Tips and Tricks: Google Now Features Better Than Siri? Better than Cortana?

When we talk about Personal Virtual Assistant, Siri usually is the first name that comes to mind. Although, Siri might be one of the better-known virtual assistants, it certainly is not the only one. 

In the past we have talked a lot about some of the cool features most people didn't know about Siri. For this week's Virtual Agent tips and tricks blog, I wanted to share with you some lesser known features, about Google Now. Here are "9 Things You May Not Have Known About Google Now." (2014, Daniel Bean, Yahoo! Tech)

1. You can ask specific question to bring up information cards.

2. You can say, "Hey, Google" to launch the app.

3. Google can learn your relationships to contacts.

4. There are plenty of fun tricks and Easter eggs.

5. You can make Google Now smarter through a survey.

6. Android Wear watches can run Google Now, too. 

7. It features a handy tip calculator.

8. Google Now is available on your PC.

9. It can identify music and TV programs just by listening. 

As you can tell, some of these features definitely overlap with Siri features such as learning contact relationships, but others are unique to Google Now like being available on wearable devices and using information cards to answer specific questions.  

There is always heated debates about which Personal Virtual Assistant is the best: Siri, Google Now, Cortana, Watson, etc. Just check out the commercial Microsoft put out emphasizing the rivalry between Siri and Cortana. 

What is your opinion on the virtual rivalries? Which virtual assistant do you use, or would you use? Why?

www.nohold.com

Apple's Big Announcement: What Does This Mean For Siri?

"Today, we are pleased to announce the biggest advancement in iPhone." -Tim Cook

The much anticipated Apple event occurred this morning in Cupertino, CA. Here, they announced some of the latest features integrated into the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. 

• Much larger screen.  iPhone 6 has a 4.7-inch display. iPhone 6 Plus has a 5.5-inch display. 
• The cover glass is made up of a Retina HD display.
• There is a updated Home screen for landscape mode.
• iPhone 6 has a 8MP iSight camera, 1.5µ pixels, ƒ/2.2 aperture, with an all new sensor.
• The predictive keyboard learns your conversation style and helps you answer accordingly. 
• The new Health app gives you a detailed look at your health and fitness data.
• See how much faster and easier it is to pay with Apple Pay
• Pre-order your iPhone 6 starting Sept. 12

Not only did they announce all the newest features integrated within the iOS8 platform, they also unveiled the newest addition to their product line, the Apple Watch. Looks like the rumors were right; Apple joined the market for wearable devices. Check out the sleek design.

Photo Credit: Apple.com

Siri also made it's way into the Apple Watch. The iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and Apple Watch all run iOS8, which made some significant updates to Siri. Though, the event did not mention Siri much, back in June at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, they mentioned some of the updates Siri will be getting in iOS8. 

• Shazam song recognition
• Voice activation, all you have to do is say "Hey, Siri."
• Streaming voice recognition
• 22 new dictation languages
• Purchasing iTunes content

Do you think this face lift be enough to keep Apple on top of the Virtual Assistant game, competing with Android's Google Now and Microsoft's Cortana?   

 www.nohold.com

Google's Top Projects That Are Bound to Change the Way We Live

Do you ever think that Google is trying to dominate the World? Lately, they have been getting their feet wet in many different projects. Here is a video talking about the top 5 futuristic Google projects that might improve your life. 

Video Source: cnet.com

1. Google Fiber- speeding up your home internet
2. Project Ara Modular Phone- being able to completely customize the features on your smartphone. 
3. Project Tango- Phone will be able to map out the area around you in 3D. This means that Google Map will finally be complete with 'inside building' information and always be a step ahead in the navigation market.  
4. Project Loons- Getting high speed internet to remote locations, such as the Himalayas. 
5. Self-Driving Car- This has been a long-term project that has been making its way to the streets recently. With these self-driving cars, Google will have better 3D road data and be able to reduce road congestion. 

Google has also been looking into Artificial Intelligence(A.I.) research. With their acquisition of DeepMinds and launching a Quantum A.I. Lab hosted by NASA's Ames Research Center, it seems like Google has some big plans for the future that will include advanced A.I. (Google Buys Artificial Intelligence Company DeepMind).

Their Virtual Assistant, Google Now, is seeing improvements as well. Recently, Google announced the release of Google Now Launcher, a cleaner, simpler, more customizable way to organize your home screen. "On an Android phone, the launcher is basically the maître d': it's the bit of software that welcomes you onto the phone, is in charge of the home screen, and does the behind-the-scenes launching of any apps. It's in charge of the layout of arguably the most important and frequently seen bits of the operating system, and as such is quite important." (Google Now Launcher Explained: What You Need to Know)

What do you think about leaders (such as Google and Facebook) investing in Artificial Intelligence? Do you see a future where Artificial Intelligence is all around you? 

ON ANOTHER NOTE...

Be sure to tune into the Peggy Smedley Show next Tuesday (August 12th, 2014) to hear our CEO, Diego Ventura, talk about his thoughts on the market.  

www.nohold.com

Flashback Friday: The Artificial Intelligence Movement

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is appearing in the tech news more and more. AI is more than just a trend though; it is a growing movement being embraced by the World. Leading analyst are validating the market (BLOG LINK TO GARTNER PREDICTS) and Fortune 500 companies such as IBM with Watson, Apple with Siri, and Google with Google Now, are in agreement that AI is continuing to grow exponentially and has no plans to stop. Now, Microsoft is on board with the AI movement as well. It is rumored that the release of the Windows Phone 8.1 is going to come equipped with an AI virtual assistant (much like Siri) code-named “Cortana.” The name Cortana come from the Xbox game series Halo. Cortana is an AI hologram character used throughout the game as a co-partner to fight off the enemies. Halo fans are very excited to see one of their favorite characters’s become a Virtual Assistant (Microsoft May Breathe New Life into Halo’s Cortana AI).

Microsoft’s co-founder Paul Allen is also on board with the AI movement. He is realizing that AI is not just a childhood fantasy anymore; with today’s technology anything is possible. Allen and others are doing research on developing an AI that can understand language and use reasoning skills to interact with its surroundings (Paul Allen and the Machines: Teaching the Next Generation of Artificial Intelligence).

Due to a busy week, we decided to do Flashback Friday this week. In light of Flashback Friday I wanted to share Microsoft’s early uses of a Virtual Agent.

1    1. We all remember Clippy in the corner of the screen helping users with their PC problems.

2    2. Here is a screenshot or a press release from 2007 announcing Microsoft’s implementation of a Virtual Agent.