Skip to main content

Amazon offers free sound effects to Alexa skill creators

© Provided by Engadget Amazon is making it easier for developers to add a variety of sound effects to their Alexa skills. The tech giant has launched a library full of built-in audio clips people can use to add -- in Amazon's words -- "unique sounds" to their creations. Of course, by the time most developers are done tweaking their skills to add the audio clips, they'll no longer seem unique. In fact, you should probably probably get used to hearing the same thing again and again. But developers do have quite a wide selection to choose from with 14 categories that include sounds you'd usually hear in cartoons and sci-fi shows, as as well as sounds of nature, humans and animals.

Amazon says developers can use those effects, say, to add applause for correct answers in a trivia game or spooky ghost-like moans for a horror/adventure game. The whole library is free for skill-makers, who can use the sounds on their own or combined with other files. If you'd like to get an idea of what could hear on your Dot or Echo on a regular basis, check out the full collection on Alexa's Skills Kit page.

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

R. Tiglao Exposed LTO Records Showing Aquino Never Bought or Sold a Porsche

Veteran columnist Rigoberto Tiglao exposed the Land Transportation Office (LTO) records of former President Benigno Aquino III showing that he never bought or sold an expensive Porsche car. The LTO records proved that the former President did not sold his Porsche 911 Carrera car which he claimed he bought for P5 million. The controversial Porsche car of the former President made headlines just months into his presidency but he explained that he bought the luxury car with the proceeds he got when he sold his BMW. Because of the furor from such display of opulence, Pres. Aquino claimed to have sold it six months later for exactly the same price. According to Tiglao during that time he asked through his column the LTO to release the car's deed of sale and registration to prove that it was not a gift from a Chinese-Filipino tycoon as rumored by some individuals critical to the President. The only possible way to discover whether the Porsche luxury was indeed sold was through ...
Read more

You can pay at a restaurant by smiling at a camera

© Provided by Engadget As easy as it is to make purchases in the era of tap-to-pay services , it's about to get easier still. Alipay (which handles purchases for Chinese shopping giant Alibaba) has launched what it says is the first payment system that uses facial recognition to complete the sale. If you visit one of KFC's KPRO restaurants in Hangzhou, China, you can pay for your panini or salad by smiling at a camera-equipped kiosk -- you need to verify the purchase on your phone, but you don't have to punch in digits or bring your phone up to an NFC reader. The system (Smile to Pay) is purportedly resistant to spoofing with photos and other tricks. It relies on both depth-sensing cameras and a "likeness detection algorithm" to make sure it's really you. Reportedly, the technology is good enough that it can accurately identify people even when they're disguising themselves through makeup or wigs. You shouldn't have to worry about someone buying ...
Read more

Tesla cloud account hacked to mine cryptocurrency

© Provided by The Hill An unidentified outside hacker infiltrated Tesla's Amazon cloud account and used its systems to quietly mine for cryptocurrencies, a cybersecurity firm announced Tuesday. The hack also potentially exposed the electric car company's data. Researchers for RedLock found that Tesla's credentials on an IT administrative console were not password protected. They made the discovery while trying to track down which organizations had left their Amazon Web Services (AWS) credentials openly exposed on the internet last month. The hackers quietly hijacked the console and began running scripts to generate virtual currency like bitcoin, the latest in a series of "cryptojacking" attacks. The researchers also found the hackers used "sophisticated evasion measures" to go undetected. A spokesperson for Tesla said the company learned about the breach in a company-sanctioned bug bounty program that pays outside hackers to discover vulnerabilitie...
Read more