Google’s Annual Big Show for developers, Google I/O, was held this week, with the Keynote address being held in a 7,000+ seat outdoor amphitheater in Mountain View. It was quite a show, with Google introducing several new consumer products, none of which are available now.
That aside, it was obvious that Google is betting heavily on the next big step in computing…Artificial Intelligence. Walt Mossberg said it best in his article on the subject:
“This year’s I/O seemed less centered on Android and more centered on what Pichai called the "pivotal moment" he believes personal computing has reached. It’s the moment when machine learning, speech recognition and natural language processing — coupled with the immense trove of personal and aggregate data Google has collected for years — can make computing more human.”
First product that emphasizes this theme is the new Google Assistant, a next generation voice activated product that goes beyond OK, Google. It give you two way communications and features an artificial intelligence bot that takes searching for information to the next level. It forms the foundation for most of the other other products introduced this day.
Then there is Google Allo, a next generation messenger app that is more personal and integrates Google Assistant. Following that is Google Duo, a video chat app similar to Apple’s FaceTime.
For me, the most interesting device was Google Home, a similar device to Amazon Echo, the very successful device you talk to in your home to ask question, make notes, play music and order products. Google Home will use Google Assistant to supposedly make your life better just by talking to it. It is impossible to tell how it stacks up with the Echo until it actually comes out this Fall. Echo is all the rage this day and Amazon keeps improving its capabilities almost daily.
You can read all about the highlights of the I/O event, complete with videos, in our first story. The second story gives you a good look at Google Home. And there are other great stories and tips here to help make your technology life better.
A quick note before I go: I will not be publishing Rants and Raves for two weeks. I am off to Indianapolis to see the 100th running of Indy 500 Race. It has been a life-long dream of mine to see this race, and now I will finally do it. Its a 4-day celebration of the 100th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, so am looking forward to seeing it all and being with good friends. Will see you when I get back.
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