Amazon Brings Alexa To Hotels Slashdotby msmash on privacy at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at June 19, 2018, 11:04 pm)

Amazon is finally bringing Alexa to the hotel room. The e-commerce giant announced Tuesday the launch of Alexa for Hospitality, a specialized version of the voice assistant that integrates into popular hotel software systems for guest services. From a report: Housed inside of an Echo device, Alexa for Hospitality is functionally identical to the Alexa used in homes, except tailored to a hotel's service options. Guests can tell Alexa to order room service, book a spa appointment, call for housekeeping, provide directions, or play music in their room, for example. On the privacy side, Amazon said hotels will not have access to voice recordings of Alexa interactions or responses, and recordings of Alexa commands are remotely wiped when the guest checks out of the hotel. However, hotels can use Alexa for Hospitality to "measure engagement through analytics and adapt services based on guest feedback," Amazon said. Alexa for Hospitality is available to hotels, vacation rentals, and other hospitality providers starting today, with Marriott International signed up to deploy the service across its hotel portfolio this summer.

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5 Star Trek Shows in Development, 1 Could Star Patrick Stewart, Reports Say Slashdotby msmash on scifi at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at June 19, 2018, 10:34 pm)

An anonymous reader writes: In the wake of shocking allegations against Star Trek: Discovery's showrunners, producer Alex Kurtzman recently took over the role of showrunning the latest Trek series' sophomore season. But according to multiple reports today, he's just signed a new deal with CBS that could usher in multiple new Star Trek shows. Variety reports that Kurtzman has inked a $25 million deal with CBS as part of a five-year plan to bring more Trek shows to TV in the wake of Discovery's success. According to the site, five series are currently in early development: A teen-oriented series set at Starfleet Academy from Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz, the duo behind the recent Dynasty reboot and Marvel's Runaways adaptation. A limited series with a currently confidential plot. A limited series based around the beloved character Khan, from the original Star Trek and the classic film The Wrath of Khan -- something that's been rumored for a while as being spearheaded by Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer. An animated series with another currently confidential plot.

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Mali says troops implicated in killings after mass graves found AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at June 19, 2018, 10:30 pm)

Defence minister orders inquiry as 25 bodies found after a military crackdown on suspected fighters and ethnic militia.
Mo Salah on target but Egypt lose to Russia in World Cup 2018 AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at June 19, 2018, 10:30 pm)

Hosts Russia on the brink of progress through dominant performance while Egypt all but out of the tournament.
Cord-cutting Report: Streaming Services Will Be 25% of the Pay-TV market by 2023 Slashdotby msmash on tv at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at June 19, 2018, 10:04 pm)

UBS is increasing its outlook for streaming TV services such as Sling TV and DirecTV Now, estimating that such services will make up 25% of the pay-TV market in five years. Meanwhile, USB expects traditional TV subscriptions to decline 4.1% over the next year alone. From the report: Here are some other takeaways from UBS's report: Although Google hasn't disclosed subscriber numbers for YouTube TV, UBS estimates that the service has 750,000 subscribers after one year. That would put it just behind Hulu (800,000 subscribers), which launched around the same time. Sling TV remains in the lead with 2.3 million subscribers after three years, and DirecTV Now is catching up with 1.5 million subscribers in 16 months. PlayStation Vue still has just 700,000 subscribers after three years. A survey by UBS found that one in three respondents were likely or very likely to subscribe to a streaming TV bundle. (Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV were the top two potential picks among these respondents, suggesting that they'll play catch up with their rivals over time.)

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Perl-Critic-Policy-Variables-RequireHungarianNotation-0.0.3 search.cpan.orgby Mario Zieschang at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at June 19, 2018, 10:03 pm)

Critic policy for hungarian notation.
Deadly flood hits Ivory Coast AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at June 19, 2018, 9:30 pm)

Hundreds have been forced to leave their homes due to severe flooding in the economic capital, Abidjan.
Italy's Salvini causes outrage over Roma census plan AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at June 19, 2018, 9:30 pm)

Far-right interior minister defends position as opposition politicians slam idea of registry as 'racist' and 'fascist'.
No breakthrough in Turkey-Iran-Russia talks on Syria constitution AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at June 19, 2018, 9:30 pm)

Tripartite meeting in Geneva ends with 'some common ground was beginning to emerge', UN envoy says.
Kenyans lose appeal to block deployment of Cuban doctors AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at June 19, 2018, 9:30 pm)

Kenyan union complains of unemployment crisis as about 100 doctors from Cuba deployed across the country.
All you need to know about Yemen's Hudaida offensive AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at June 19, 2018, 9:30 pm)

The clashes risk escalating the dire humanitarian crisis in the country, where eight million are at risk of starvation.
Lebanon: Single By Choice AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at June 19, 2018, 9:30 pm)

Why are so many Lebanese women single? Five women share their stories of love, life and marriage in Lebanon.
[no title] Scripting News(cached at June 19, 2018, 9:03 pm)

Poll: Who are the vermin infesting our country?
White House Issues Strategies To Combat Growing Orbital Debris Risks Slashdotby msmash on usa at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at June 19, 2018, 8:34 pm)

White House space officials have explicitly ruled out international treaties to combat hazards from orbital debris, even as they roll out strategies to revamp U.S. responses to the growing problem. From a report: President Donald Trump on Monday signed a directive formally establishing the Department of Commerce as the lead agency in providing collision-risk data to commercial satellite operators. The order, as expected, also calls for stepped-up efforts to develop voluntary industry standards covering satellite construction, orbit locations, and de-orbit plans -- all intended to reduce collision risks posed by aging satellites and thousands of pieces of debris circling the earth. Mr. Trump said the changes, among others he is championing, aim to ensure that "America will always be first in space" in both military and commercial arenas. The Pentagon will continue to maintain the central catalog of orbiting spacecraft and debris posing potential hazards to U.S. government and private satellites. But commerce department officials will have the authority to pass on that information to the industry, combined with data gathered from private or foreign government sources. Further reading: President Trump Directs Pentagon To Create New 'Space Force' Military Branch.

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'No easy way out': In Germany, a political mutiny over migration AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at June 19, 2018, 8:30 pm)

A mutiny from within her own government leaves Angela Merkel scrambling for a joint migration policy in a divided EU.