Issue 729

Amazon unleashes over a dozen new Alexa related piece of hardware

Amazon announced heaps of Alexa-related gear overnight:

• Echo Input - kinda like a Chromecast with a mic, but for Alexa. Will turn any speaker into a smart speaker.
• 2nd-gen Echo Show - bigger screen, better sound compared to the previous one.
• 3rd-gen Echo Dot - the Dot you know and love, but louder and a new case design.
• 2nd-gen Echo Plus - like the previous Echo Plus, but better quality audio, built-in temp sensor and the same new case as the Dot.
• Echo Sub - pair it with two Echos for a wireless 2.1 setup that apparently sounds the same as a single Apple's Homepod.
• Echo Link - if you've already got a fancy speaker setup, plug this in and it'll work with your other Echo speakers for high quality music playback.
• Echo Link Amp - the same as the Echo Link, but an actual amp. Hook up your own speakers.
• Amazon Smart Plug - a smart plug that'll automagically join your Echo setup.
• Echo Auto - clip it to your car's sun visor and connect it to your smartphone & car stereo so you can use Alexa in any old shitbox vehicle.
• Fire TV Recast - a DVR with Alexa built-in.
• AmazonBasics Microwave - a microwave with Alexa built-in
• Echo Wall Clock - literally a clock, with an hour & minute hand, that goes on a wall, with Alexa built-in.
• Ring Stick Up Cam - an updated version of the popular Ring doorbells and security cameras.

Unfortunately, most of this stuff isn't coming to Australia. Just the Echo Dot, Plus, Show & Sub. No fancy Alexa microwave for us Aussies. Dunno why the Input in particular isn't coming here. The Echos will also gain a new feature called Alexa Guard that can detect sounds like shattering glass and alert users to a possible break-in.

GoPro has new gear too, the Hero 7

GoPro chose the wrong day to announce a new product, with Amazon flooding all the tech blogs - but they did and it's the GoPro Hero 7. The Hero 7 Black is the flagship unit, using GoPro's own custom designed GP1 processor. The cheaper and less cool Hero 7 White and Hero 7 Silver use some other company's processor that isn't Ambarella, but GoPro isn't saying who. That custom processor gives the Hero 7 Black some cool features, "including live-streaming, a slick in-camera time-lapse feature, a Google Pixel-like smart HDR photo mode, and the headliner: a remarkable in-camera digital stabilization algorithm". The Verge as an interesting article outlining GoPro's struggle to remain relevant and turn a profit.

The Assistance and Access bill submitted to Parliament is slightly different to the draft

iTnews has compared the Assistance and Access bill draft to the one that was introduced into Parliament this week, to see what, if any changes were made based on the 14,000 pieces of feedback the government received. They found a dozen differences. I won't go through all of them here, but it's pretty clear that the feedback government received hasn't really been listened to. There's attempts to clarify technical assistance advice versus technical assistance requests, as well as trying to ensure the government's requests don't implement "systemic flaws" into a service. I would love to know what made the government change their mind about not using this new bill for "protecting the public revenue".

Facebook's rolling out its "context button" feature to Australian users

Facebook is rolling out its "context button" feature to users in Australia. The button, which has been running in the UK and US for a few months, "shows what a publisher has previously posted, its Wikipedia page and where the post has been shared". I don't know if this would make a real difference to the amount of bullshit on Facebook. If you're a kook that believes some dubious outlet's article in the first place, you're hardly going to go "oh, this wasn't in the mainstream media, so it could be fake", you're gonna double down on your belief that the mainstream media is corrupt and selling lies for clicks, making this "context" thing kinda useless.

More news too small for its own bit, but interesting enough to be mentioned

• The EU has cracked the shits with Facebook not updating its terms & conditions to outline what it does with user data.
• Tesla's Model 3 got perfect marks in the NHTSA crash tests. It's a very safe automobile, probably the safest on the road.
• The RIAA reckons that 75% of music industry revenue comes from streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and VEVO.
• Twitch is now blocked in China. Not harmonious enough I guess. I'm actually surprised it wasn't blocked earlier.
• A life insurance company in the US is making it mandatory for policy holders to use a fitness tracker like an Apple Watch or Fitbit.
• Facebook has a dating app (aka Tinder competitor) now. Launching in Colombia first, so if it's a gigantic dumpster, it happened in a place nobody important pays attention to.