google home – PSafe Blog

Burger King’s Invasive Google Home Hack

PSafe Newsroom — Sat, 13 May 2017 16:00:56 +0000

With its newest piece of advertising, Burger King was nothing if not creative. In a recent series of commercials, Burger King asked a question of Google Home. When Google Home answered, the 15-second spot was extended and the device answered the question posed by the actor in the commercial: “OK, Google, what is the Whopper Burger?” Google Home looks up a Wikipedia entry for the Whopper and then lists the ingredients in the sandwich, as requested.

Google Home is becoming a more and more necessary as our homes fill up with smart objects. Google Home and Google Home’s Google Assistant help to sync up your devices, connecting your music, your Google search, and even your daily schedule to keep you organized. But do you want your Google Home talking to everyone who asks it questions? Even the friendly Burger King employee on the ad?

Reaction

Some trolls were not happy with the commercial and immediately tried to make it backfire. Wikipedia’s Whopper page was soon changed to include Whopper “ingredients” like toenail clippings, small child, and cyanide. Wikipedia had to lock down the page.

Controversy

Google also wasn’t too pleased with Burger King’s ad. Apparently, they weren’t involved in the production of the commercial series, and after they aired, Google updated their voice recognition algorithms to ignore the commercial. Specifically, Google stopped Google Home from recognizing the first actor’s voice.

But Burger King wouldn’t let its commercials be defeated that easily. In response to Google’s tweaked voice recognition, it dubbed the commercial series with another actor who asked the same question.

Command Devices

With devices like Google Home and Alexa becoming more popular in people’s homes, issues like the Burger King commercial might become more commonplace. For example, a radio host in San Diego recently used Amazon Echo to order doll houses for several residents.

Additionally, as these devices connect smart-connected things in your home — like locks — added security certainly seems like it will need to play an important role. The Burger King ad could be considered a clever way to change up the same old TV spot or an annoying overstep.

Google Home and Amazon Echo: A Smart Alternative to Speakers

PSafe Newsroom — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 21:00:44 +0000

If you’re in the market for new speakers, you’ve likely noticed some of the new and exciting alternatives to yesteryear’s plug-and-play models. As we move forward into the brave new world of the Internet of Things, a broader range of products begin exhibiting these “smart” functions. Speakers are no exception to this phenomenon. In fact, both Google and Amazon have recently released their own smart speakers: Google Home and Amazon Echo. Here we’ll take a look at both products side by side to see what they each have to offer.

Google Home

The Google Home is small and sleek in design, and even offers options for customization with its modular design. The base can be modified with a variety of colors from muted tones like black and gray, to more fun pops of color like purple, blue, and orange. It has a touch pad surface, and voice-activated functionality which boasts long range connectivity. Operate it from the comfort of another room or while running chores without any hassle. Further, if you’re in the mood for higher-quality listening, the top and lower half separate to reveal a high excursion speaker to deliver HiFi sound.

The Google Home is not limited to just music play. Powered by Google Assistant, it can help you get information on traffic conditions, weather updates, and learn about things in your area, like theaters, cafes, or pharmacies, as well as their hours of operation.

Cost: Usually the speaker will run you $129, but if you hurry and catch their limited time only deal, you can snag this awesome find for just $99 starting November 23rd.

Amazon Echo

Much like the Google Home, Amazon Echo is a smart device that offers its users multi-functional, smart capabilities that go beyond simply playing music. Echo is enabled with cloud-based service Alexa, which allows you to ask questions remotely or give a command. If you want to know the latest sports stats about your favorite team, or what goes into a pumpkin pie recipe, simply ask. Need to wake up early for a work meeting? Alexa will help you set your alarm. With the right setup, you can start building your arsenal of Internet of Things products. With compatible products like Samsung or WeMo, you can also control the lights and thermostats in your home.

As far as listening to music goes, Echo’s cylindrical design offers omni directional audio. You can connect seamlessly to your Pandora playlists, Amazon Music, Spotify, and more.

Cost: The product sells for $232.92

Tech Gadgets to Put on Your Cyber Monday Wish List

PSafe Newsroom — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 18:30:08 +0000

The only thing better than Black Friday? Cyber Monday, of course. You can divulge in online shopping without ever leaving the comfort of your couch — or your office — as the case may be. No lines, no panic, no problem. Just start getting your wish list in order now to avoid feeling stressed and overwhelmed on the blessed day. On that note, here are some tech gadgets worth getting excited about on Cyber Monday.

The Google Home

This is not your average speaker. More than just a wireless sound system, it uses voice activation and offers smart options as well. With its built-in Google Assistant, you can voice commands or ask questions, like “What’s the weather forecast for today?” or “Where is the nearest Starbucks?” Normally, the device costs $129, so Cyber Monday is a great time to snag a deal!

The Samsung Galaxy S7

This smartphone is sleek and powerful, with a 12.0MP camera and the option to upgrade the memory an extra 256GB. If you’re in the market for an upgrade, treat yourself this Cyber Monday. If you think the previous generation had a winning design, the S7 made improvements to the screen, camera, and waterproofing.

The Lenovo Yoga 910 Touch-Screen Laptop

Can’t decide if you want a tablet or a laptop? Get the best of both worlds with the Lenovo Touch-Screen Laptop. Named “Yoga” for its convenient flexibility, the pliant bezel allows it to seamlessly fold between tablet and computer. Maximizing on both functionality and portability, the 14-inch display is just the right size to work, play, or watch a movie. Enjoy an Intel Core i7 processor and 8GB RAM for efficient multitasking, too.

The Fitbit Charge-2 Activity Tracker

Get proactive and motivated before setting the hackneyed New Year’s Resolution. It’s the gadget everyone’s using to get in shape, but also to live a more active lifestyle. Wear it on your wrist daily as a reminder to walk more and keep your heart rate up. It tracks calories burned and steps taken, monitors heart rate, and uses smart notifications to make the process fun and easy.

Playstation VR

We saved the best for last. Immersive gaming is the wave of the future, so start riding now. The 3D visual technology makes virtual reality entertainment a must-have right now. Retailing at $400, Cyber Monday would be the ideal time to save while you splurge. While all of the gadgets on our list are exciting, most can be written off as necessities. This is the kind of purchase that is truly for leisure. And you deserve it.

Here Are the Best Features of Google Home

PSafe Newsroom — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 14:00:13 +0000

As the number of smart objects in our home increases, we realize that we need one of the best possible devices to control them all. That’s where Google Home comes in. Thanks to advancements in artificial intelligence technology, Google Home’s Google Assistant can truly help to manage every aspect of your life, from your daily schedule to the music you play to searching Google for an answer. Think of it as a combination of Google Now and Ok Google. That’s in addition to being a smart hub for controlling all of your smart devices. The good news: it will soon be available to purchase, and at an affordable rate of $130. Below are some of Google Home’s best features.

Google Assistant
By far one of Google Home’s best features is its intelligence. Unlike Amazon Echo, Google Home allows you to search Google, control your smart home, and manage your affairs through Google Assistant, the smartest assistant around. Google Assistant can learn your behaviors and preferences (like with Google Now), for a more pleasant and satisfying experience with the smart hub. Those are features that Amazon Echo simply can’t compete with.

Google Assistant can manage your calendar’s events, online orders, travel itinerary, and all of your Google-related questions. Google Assistant understands what you want to know and can provide you with quick answers to your questions (from a Google search), in addition to information from any follow-up questions. It can even read you passages of text from a web page. Try asking it questions about monetary conversions, text translations, or even the schedule of a local movie theater.

Google Home As a Speaker
Google Home works as a Wi-Fi speaker for playing music. Connect your phone to play music from your phone, or ask Google Assistant to play music from services like Google Play Music, Spotify, or Pandora.

Google Home As a Smart Hub
Through Google Home, you can adjust the temperature of your home, change the lighting, and even manage other smart hubs in your home. Further, you can use Google Home to control your smart TV.

Enhanced Voice Recognition Software
Google Home will be able to understand your voice commands even when there’s background noise from music or a TV show.

Different Color Options
Google Home offers a variety of different colored speaker bases, in addition to different types of materials, to ensure that your device matches your tastes or home décor. Few smart hubs offer such customization options.