Amazon echo

Alexa gets a new handle: "Computer"

Gear up on five IoT news bites for Tuesday

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Waking Echo There's a new way to wake up your Amazin Echo or Amazon Echo Dot. Instead of just calling out Alexa, Amazon or Echo you can now get your hub to answer by saying "Computer." Yes, that sounds like Captain Picard from the "Star Trek" series. (And maybe that was the point.) But remember: Echo is always on listening to you waiting to hear the wake word. So if you're screaming about your computer because of some gremlin in the machine, note that Echo may now respond. (Via The Verge)

Military Grade Would the U.S. Military consider buying consumer-grade drones instead of constructing their own? Potentially, says a new story in Wired magazine, which says small drones—the size people like to fly in their background—could be helpful. While the magazine says that the Military has yet to use commercially available drones—but could one day.

Test Sites The Department of Transportation gave the thumbs up to 10 new test sites for autonomous car testing. Included are sites in California, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. More than 60 sites applied—and all had to agree to share their information.

Google Voice Does anyone remember Google Voice? (Or still use it?) The online-based voice app got a little facelift with a new look that's a bit more streamlined. A few new features as well including group texting and Spanish voice mail transcription. (Via Engadget)

Portal Wi-Fi Portal's sleek new design may be enough to get you to turn your head, but will that inspire you to buy one? We spent some time with the router, and you might be surprised by what we found.

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