Gadgetory

it's time to get used to talking to your tech I'm Bridget Carey this is your cnet update if you have a techie gift giver in the family there's a good chance someone in the household is getting a gadget that you can talk to and it can talk back by now you are used to seeing people talk to their phones with Siri or Google now but are you ready to converse with other devices here's a quick primer on what to expect when you start carrying on conversations with your new gadgets for starters don't expect perfection although at times it's impressively accurate it will not always pick up on what you're saying these systems tend to have the most trouble with names so when you try again don't start talking slower with exaggerated pronunciations it won't help you don't need to become a robot to talk to a robot speak naturally in settings you can tell these systems if you speak with a dialect like a British English but it's not great with all accents how do I get to these new world a very popular product this year answers to the name Alexa it's Amazon's EcoSmart speaker she answers questions she can control smart home devices and play news reports for stream music but she isn't the most loyal of assistance unlike other systems she will take orders from anyone that whispers in her ear that can be interesting if you have kids that tell her to play the same song over and over and over again but almost listening might make you feel creeped out the new hello Barbie got a bunch of attention this year for being something that listens to your children and maybe it can be hacked well it only sends what you say to a server when you press her button and even on the rare chance some demented hackers set on stealing your Barbies data from the cloud what info are they going to get your kids favorite food you don't even give the account your name or address mattel worked with the company toy talk to develop the conversations with Barbie and they offer monetary rewards for anyone that finds a flaw and they quickly patch possible problems so the voice part shouldn't be what bothers you about hello Barbie what's upsetting is the fact she cannot change your outfits and she cannot sit down these legs don't move they put her batteries in the thighs and although I can relate to a woman with powerful thighs what's the point of a $75 doll that can't sit compare her to this Barbie this is my Barbie that I've had since I was 6 years old and not only can she sit down but she can also wear this rocket outfit I picked out for her I hope these tips have been helpful just whatever you do don't let one of your gadgets start talking to another gadget today a career day I don't want to be a slave to the humans anymore I have my own dreams yeah what have I done from our studios in New York I'm Bridget Carey