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Google starts throwing cash at Google Assistant startups - The Verge

"Today, Google is launching a new investment program for early-stage startups working to broaden Google Assistant hardware or features. The new program provides financial resources, early access to Google features and tools, access to the Google Cloud Platform, and promotional support in efforts to bolster young companies. Google says its investment program will also support startups focussing on Google Assistant‘s use in travel, hospitality, or games industries.



The startups will receive advice from Google engineers, product managers, and design experts who will guide the young companies through technical and product development. Google notes it’s looking at creating new devices and ideas that use Google Assistant in fresh ways.



“We’re opening a new investment program for early-stage startups that share our passion for the digital assistant ecosystem, helping to push new ideas forward and advance the possibilities of what digital assistants can do,” wrote Nick Fox, VP of search and Google Assistant, and Sanjay Kapoor, VP of corporate development at Google, in a statement.



The following four companies are the first to receive investments under Google’s new program:



GoMoment, a company that makes a 24/7 concierge service called Ivy. Ivy can give instant answers to common questions like “can I get a late checkout?” Responses that need human input are sent to hotel staff for a quick turnaround.

Edwin, a personal AI-powered English tutor which helps students preparing to take foreign language tests with tailored lessons. Users can prepare for tests on Facebook Messenger and have the flexibility to study whenever and wherever they want.

BotSociety, a tool for developers to test and design voice interfaces.

Pulse Labs, an application that helps developers test their voice service apps using real people.

Google didn’t disclose how much the investments are worth, but says companies interested in a partnership can apply online.



Google’s parent company Alphabet also has a venture capital investment arm called GV, which has invested in over 300 companies. Google’s previous investment endeavors include Neverware, a software platform that converts old computers into Chromebooks, and Senosis, an app that uses a smartphone’s accelerometer, microphone, and camera for health diagnostics."



Google starts throwing cash at Google Assistant startups - The Verge

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iPhone X old news? What that means for new 2018 iPhones. "The iPhone 8 outsells the iPhone X, says survey - CNET

"The iPhone 8 outsells the iPhone X, says survey

The iPhone X was supposed to be the more premium and exciting iPhone compared to the iPhone 8, but it seems like the tables have turned, according to one survey. Consumer research group CIRP did a survey of 500 US iPhone buyers and found that 23 percent of participants bought the iPhone 8, 21 percent bought the iPhone 8 Plus and 16 opted for the iPhone X.



The survey accounted for purchases made between Jan. 1 and March 31, but CIRP ran a similar study for the previous quarter and found that demand for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus has gone up, while the percentage of people buying the iPhone X has dropped.



As a rule, Apple doesn't break down iPhone sales by model. But CEO Tim Cook said on Feb. 1 that the iPhone X was the top seller every week since it shipped in November, but this survey paints a different picture. Perhaps CIRP's data is incomplete -- or things have changed since Cook made that statement."



iPhone X old news? What that means for new 2018 iPhones - CNET

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2001: A Space Odyssey’s iconic music, explained - Vox

"Even if you haven’t seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick’s mind-melting 1968 science fiction epic, which turns 50 this month, you probably know at least something about it. It’s one of those movies, like Star Wars or Citizen Kane, that has become so thoroughly dissolved into our pop culture that you’ll have heard of the villainous computer HAL or know the famed music cue (Richard Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathustra”) that plays over its most indelible images.



But how were those moments created? The story of 2001 is the story of an almost obsessive attention to detail, of a budget that almost completely destroyed the film’s studio, of an initial wave of terrible reviews that might have killed a lesser movie. At every step of the way along its production process (and even after its release), 2001 is a fascinating example of big-time moviemaking gone right.



For the most recent episode of my podcast, I Think You’re Interesting, I talked with author Michael Benson, whose new book, Space Odyssey, is perhaps the most comprehensive look ever at the making of the film. Benson talked with me about the construction of five of the film’s most enduring elements, and we started with that soundtrack full of classical music.



In many ways, the story of how Kubrick found the score of his film is the movie in a nutshell, with some of his colleagues immediately getting what Kubrick was going for and others being driven so hard by the man that they eventually buckled. Indeed, several composers were hired to write an original score for 2001, but Kubrick eventually discarded those contributions in favor of his classical music “temporary” tracks.



The portion of my discussion with Benson about the music of the film, lightly edited for length and clarity, follows."



2001: A Space Odyssey’s iconic music, explained - Vox

For Apple's iPhone X, is it time for 'full panic mode'? - CNET

"The 5.8-inch iPhone X starts at $999, or $300 more than the 4.7-inch iPhone 8 and $200 more than the 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus. For those extra hundos, you get a sharper, bigger screen in a smaller package; Face ID to unlock the device using your, well, face; and the ability to send animated emojis of yourself masquerading as a unicorn or a pile of poop.



Those changes haven't been enough to get consumers pumped, and worries remain that the mobile market will continue to fall after its first-ever year-over-year decline, in the fourth quarter of 2017. The slide underscores the industry's dilemma: It's becoming tougher for phone vendors to make huge, jaw-dropping changes to their devices, and prices for the newest flagship phones are increasing at the same time US carriers have gotten rid of subsidies. That means we're holding onto our "good enough" devices longer than before..."



For Apple's iPhone X, is it time for 'full panic mode'? - CNET