TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2015

Amazon’s gizmos Review aim to be assistants for your abode NEW YORK: When I brought home review models of Amazon’s Echo speaker, a sort of smart, voice-controlled speaker, and two Dash buttons that reorder household prod- ucts with a single touch, I wasn’t convinced I’d find them all that useful in my daily life. I was half right. In many respects, it was surprisingly easy to get sucked into Amazon’s services. Before I tried out the Echo, for instance, I wouldn’t have dreamed of spending $180 on the device. After having it around, I might still pause, but I would put it high on my Christmas list. The Dash buttons didn’t do so much for me, although I can see how they might be useful for some. Amazon began rolling out the Echo in late 2014 and start- ed selling it broadly in June. It’s one more way for Amazon to entice people into its $99-per-year Prime loyalty program and to buy more stuff from the online superstore. Although File photo shows the Google Chromecast device in San Francisco. Amazon said it will stop allowing the sale Echo doesn’t require a Prime membership, some of its func- of Google and Apple video-streaming devices on its site as it focuses on its own Prime Instant Video stream- tions - such as, naturally, reordering products from Amazon - ing service. —AP won’t work without one. The black, cylindrical Echo device can sit unobtrusively on a kitchen counter or table. Setting it up takes a few minutes, during which you connect it to your home Wi-Fi network using a phone app. After that, it’s all about voice commands. The app keeps a handy record of Alibaba makes offer for everything you ask the device - which answers to “Alexa,” though you can change it to “Amazon.”

Google Now YouTube, Youku Tudou In many ways, the Echo’s Alexa is similar to Apple’s Siri and the Google Now voice assistants. But when my phone is in Youku Tudou-China’s equivalent of YouTube my hand, I find it easier to just type. On the other hand, it feels more natural, and even fun, to speak to the Echo from SHANGHAI: Chinese e-commerce giant television company at more than $4.0 “It is inaccurate to think that the slow- around the room. And it seems to understand my voice more Alibaba yesterday made a multi-billion- billion, it said. The offer represents a 30.2 down of the Chinese economy means often than Siri or Google does, although the Echo still had dollar offer to buy the outstanding percent premium over the stock’s clos- that Chinese people are unwilling to problems occasionally. Although Echo has an “always on” shares of online video company Youku ing price on Thursday, said Youku spend.” In a statement announcing the functionality, Amazon says it’s not really listening until you Tudou-the country’s equivalent of Tudou, which described the “going pri- offer for Youku Tudou, Ma said his com- say “Alexa” - an assertion you basically have to take on faith. YouTube-the firms said, in its latest push vate” proposal as preliminary. But the pany aimed to develop the firm as A blue ring appears at the top of the cylinder to let you know into entertainment. Alibaba, often statement added that Youku Tudou’s China’s leading digital entertainment it’s ready to take commands. You can then ask the device to described as China’s eBay or Amazon, is chairman and chief executive officer platform. Most of Youku Tudou’s online perform any number of tasks. king of e-commerce in the Asian coun- Victor Koo and other major shareholders video offerings are professionally pro- When you’re cooking, it’s a snap to set a timer. Just say, try, but is making a string of acquisitions supported the deal, making it likely to duced content licensed from copyright “Alexa, set timer for 10 minutes,” and the timer starts. You can as it seeks to develop beyond its tradi- go through. holders. “Youku Tudou’s high-quality ask it how many minutes are left, too. It can also convert tional transaction platforms into a “Alibaba needs more media video content will become a core compo- measurements, such as ounces to cups. Saying “Alexa, play broader Internet company. resources to induce more traffic in the nent of the digital products of Alibaba’s WNYC” gets me my local public radio station online through Analysts said the deal could help next quarter and it also needs a strong e-commerce (business),” Alibaba chief TuneIn. The Echo syncs with Prime Music, too, so you can play Alibaba draw more traffic to its sites and leader to integrate the media assets executive officer Daniel Zhang said. any song in that library. Request an artist, like Beyonce, and it offer a vehicle to integrate its media and under its name,” Guotai Junan Securities Alibaba’s Taobao platform holds picks a Beyonce song from Prime Music at random. Echo can entertainment assets. The firm, which analyst Ray Zhao said. “But Alibaba still more than 90 percent of the consumer- also give you a quick snapshot of the weather before heading already owns 18.3 percent of the New needs to integrate all the resources it to-consumer market in China, while its outside. It can answer queries with information retrieved from York-listed target company, is offering has now to make it work,” he said. The Tmall platform is believed to command Wikipedia or add items to shopping or to-do lists. $26.60 in cash per American depositary stock price of the firm, also listed on the more than half the Chinese market for Amazon is adding new features and functionality almost share (ADS), a Youku Tudou statement New York Stock Exchange, has fallen business-to-consumer transactions. But weekly, so you can tailor the device to your tastes, by said, without giving a total value for the around 40 percent from its peak in Alibaba has also invested in its first enabling services via the app, no matter how esoteric. For deal. Each ADS represents 18 ordinary November, as a proxy for China’s slow- Hollywood film, “Mission: Impossible - example, you can enable a “Cat Facts” skillset that provides shares in Youku Tudou. Alibaba had ing economy. Founder Jack Ma has Rogue Nation”, acting as promotional cat trivia. Alexa can even tell Donald Trump and Hilary offered $3.6 billion for the remaining sought to reassure investors. “I do not partner in China with Paramount Clinton jokes taken from Seth Meyers’ and Jimmy Fallon’s stake in Youku Tudou, Bloomberg News agree with the notion that consumption Pictures for the movie. Last month, late night shows. Amazon recently extended its Alexa soft- reported, quoting a person familiar with will decline as economic growth slows,” Alibaba also set up a new company to ware to additional devices, including the Fire TV streaming the matter. he said in a letter to shareholders earlier focus on professional sports, including TV gadgets. —AP The deal valued the entire Internet this month. media, events and ticketing. —AFP

Back off, tablets: PC companies plan a $70 million ad campaign SAN FRANCISCO: So many people have gone so long without Microsoft bills as its best operating system yet. “With this per- Worldwide shipments of PCs fell by 8 percent from the previ- buying a new personal computer that the industry’s biggest fect storm of innovation, we felt it was the time to tell our sto- ous year during the three-month period ending in players are trying something different: a quirky advertising ry,” said Steve Fund, Intel’s chief marketing officer. “People September, according to the research group Gartner. Lenovo, campaign. The $70 million marketing push aims to highlight think having something good is good enough because they HP and Dell were the top three PC makers in the quarter. how much better PCs have gotten since smartphones and are unaware of how much better the PCs are now.” But the pendulum may be poised to swing in the other tablets came along. Rival PC makers Hewlett-Packard, Dell and The campaign, scheduled to begin Monday in the US and direction. About half the consumers polled in Gartner’s per- Lenovo are joining forces with Microsoft and Intel to revive China, will include TV commercials on major networks and sonal technology survey said they plan to buy a new PC dur- languishing PC sales with ads that don’t promote specific online ads. The participating companies will split the $70 mil- ing the next year, compared to just 21 percent who said they brands. They’ll be punctuated with the slogan, “PC does lion cost of the campaign, which will run through November have a tablet on their shopping list. In an effort to reverse a what?” in an effort to entice holiday shoppers. The ads are primarily recent decline in iPad sales, Apple introduced a larger version It’s a concept similar to earlier campaigns by beef and targeting consumers who haven’t bought a new PC in at least of its trendsetting tablet that’s designed to behave much like dairy producers that sought to extol the virtues of their prod- four years - a potential audience of about 400 million people, a laptop. The iPad Pro will sell for $800 and an accompanying ucts. The PC campaign will tout the increased versatility of estimated technology industry analyst Patrick Moorhead. keyboard will cost an additional $169. Consumers who have laptops that have slimmed down while adding more powerful The PC push comes amid a 3 1/2-year decline in sales that owned the same PC for several years can now buy a vastly chips, longer-lasting batteries and higher resolution screens has been driven by a shift to smartphones and tablets able to improved model for $500 to $700, Moorhead said, making it that also respond to touch commands. Many of the screens handle many of the tasks that previously required desktop more likely the marketing campaign will win converts. “I think also detach from keyboards so they can function as tablets, and laptop computers. Even the late July release of Microsoft’s the PC might have its best hand in the past five to seven too. Most new PCs are now powered by Windows 10, which Windows 10 operating system couldn’t reverse the slide. years,” Moorhead said. —AP