Google Launching Home AI Competitor To “Accidental Winner” Amazon Echo This Week

If growing up on Star Trek: The Next Generation reruns taught us anything, it’s that the future would be brought to us by computers that could recognize our voice commands and do whatever we asked. And while none of the products on the market today sound like the late Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, we are still surrounded by machine-generated female voices that answer our questions, queue up our favorite tunes, and dim our room lights on request. But the dominant player in that space is one that, just a few years ago, nobody would have expected — because it’s Amazon, not Google, connecting homes.

Google is planning to unveil its connected-home, smart, talking hub — Google Home — on Thursday. But, as the New York Times reports, Amazon has spent the last several years getting there first… and that puts Google in the rare position of trying to play catch-up on intelligent tech.

It all started with the Amazon Echo. The smart speaker, which showcased Amazon’s Alexa “assistant” software, launched just in time for holiday 2014 and proved surprisingly popular. Since then, Amazon has consistently added new features and skills to Alexa’s repertoire. Amazon also continues to expand Alexa to new devices and to enter partnerships with other companies, like Sonos, to bring their devices into Alexa’s purview.

Amazon has also been expanding its hardware into teeny tiny Echo Dots that can be put basically anywhere in your home. Since September, Amazon even sells them in six- and 12-packs — yes, like beer — so that you can put one in every room fairly effortlessly.

That means Amazon has a two-year head start on Google, which is officially unveiling Google Home in an event on Thursday. (The company first announced back in May but it is the modern way of things that the first tease is not the true unveiling.)

Google Home, which the NYT describes (not inaccurately) as looking “a little like an air freshener,” is expected to go on sale in the coming weeks in order to be on store shelves and in Christmas stockings for holiday 2016.

Rather than picking a lady-name — like Cortana, Siri, or Alexa — Google for now is calling its AI “The Assistant.” (If this calls to mind for you images of Doctor Who companions, well, you’re not alone.) The Assistant has already been built into one Google messaging app, and the company plans to continue to add it to new hardware going forward.

Experts, though, are kind of baffled that Amazon managed to beat Google to the punch. The retailer, the NYT notes, has a “notoriously uneven” track record. For every success like Kindle or Prime, there’s a whole trash heap of unwanted Fire Phones.

That leads one expert to call Amazon the “accidental winner,” in connected digital assistants, adding, “Amazon got there first, which is superimpressive, and it has been a huge hit.”

Google hasn’t necessarily been resting on its laurels, analysts note, but it is facing strong competition on almost every front: self-driving cars, web-hosting services, home entertainment tech, phone hardware — in basically everything except search, someone, somewhere, is queuing up to take a bite out of the tech giant’s plans.

Google, Lagging Amazon, Races Across the Threshold Into the Home [New York Times]

Comcast Fights Back Against Washington State’s Potential $3.6B Deceptive Service Plan Lawsuit

Toyota Introduces Adorable Cupholder-Size Robot To Make You Less Lonely

Car rides are more fun with a companion, as is life in general, which is why Toyota has introduced a new palm-sized robot meant to spark parental feelings, stave off loneliness, and hang out with humans. The robot, Kirobo Mini, is based on an astronaut character, yet meant to give people the good feelings of caring for a baby without the massive workload.

“[Kirobo] wobbles a bit, and this is meant to emulate a seated baby, which hasn’t fully developed the skills to balance itself,” the product’s chief design engineer explained at an event. “This vulnerability is meant to invoke an emotional connection.”

Japan has growing demographic problems, with a low birth rate, a resistance to allowing immigration, and a large population of elderly people who need care. Robots have been working in Japanese factories for a while, but now they’re moving into other jobs like shop assistant or hotel concierge, and gaining the ability to read humans’ emotions.

The robo-astronaut-baby will go on sale next year, costing 39,800 yen ($392). Other adorable robot friends aimed at lonely people are also scheduled to hit the market soon, including a robot seal.

Toyota unveils robot baby to tug at maternal instinct in aging Japan [Reuters]

Facebook Creeps Into Craigslist Territory With “Marketplace”

You’ve like seen it for years: “friends” using Facebook as their own personal garage sale to persuade you and others to purchase their belongings, apartments, cars, and other items on Facebook. Now, instead of seeing those posts littering your news feed, or in area “buy, sell, or trade” groups, the social media giant has created its own dedicated Craigslist clone, dubbed Marketplace. 

Facebook launched Marketplace in the U.S., U.K, Australia, and New Zealand on its mobile app Monday, creating an alternative area for the more than 450 million people who visit buy and sell groups each month on the site.

Unlike those sites, which are often dedicated to a user’s geographical location, Marketplace does not require that a prospective buyer or seller receive approval from a group moderator.

“Marketplace makes it easy to find new things you’ll love, and find a new home for the things you’re ready part with,” the company said. “We’ll continue to build new options and features to make this the best experience for people.”

Marketplace can be launched by tapping on the shop icon at the bottom of Facebook’s app. From there, users can search for specific items and filter results by their location, cost, or category.

Once a desired product is found, users tap on the photo for additional details, including product description, the name and profile photo of the seller, and their general location. Item can also be saved to easily find it later.

To purchase an item listed on Marketplace, buyers send a direct message to the seller and make an offer. From there, the buyer and seller work out their own sale, as Facebook notes that it does not facilitate the payment or delivery of the items listed in Marketplace.

Posting items for sale is just as easy, Facebook notes. Sellers simply take a photo of the item, enter a description and price, confirm the location and select a category, and then post. To reach more prospective buyers, Facebook allows sellers to post their times to Marketplace and specific buy and sell groups at the same time.

Illinois, California End Some Business With Wells Fargo — At Least For Now

The fallout from the Wells Fargo fake account fiasco continues to pile up, with state officials in both California and Illinois announcing they would stop doing business with the bank for the time-being.

The California state treasurer took an unusual step last week and suspended its ties with San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, while the Illinois state treasurer is expected to announced Monday that the state will suspend billions of dollars in investment activity with the banking giant, the Associated Press reports.

Illinois treasurer Michael Frerichs plans to provide details about the moratorium on business with the bank later today.

The New York Times reports that California treasurer John Chiang has already announced a suspension of state business with Wells Fargo for at least a year, citing the bank’s “venal abuse of its customers.”

Chiang said the suspension revolved around the bank’s “most highly profitable business relationships.”

“How can I continue to entrust the public’s money to an organization which has shown such little regard for the legions of Californians who placed their financial well-being in its care?” Chiang wrote in a letter on Wednesday to the bank.

Additionally, Chiang said the state would suspend any investments with Wells Fargo securities and the bank’s work as a broker-dealer hired to buy investments on the treasurer’s behalf.

The NY Times estimates that the move by California — the largest issuer of municipal debt in the country — could cost Wells Fargo millions of dollars in banking fees.

Wells Fargo released a statement on the action, saying it had “ diligently and professionally worked with the state for the past 17 years to support the government and people of California. Our highly experienced and proven government banking, securities and treasury management teams stand ready to continue delivering outstanding service to the state.”

The Illinois and California decisions are in response to the recent revelation that thousands of Wells Fargo employees opened up more than two million fake accounts in customers’ names without authorization.

Workers at the bank say this fraud — for which Wells has already agreed to pay $185 million, but which could end up costing the bank a lot more — was the result of pressure from management to meet unrealistic sales goals and quotas.

Wells CEO John Stumpf, whose total compensation has been slashed by at least $41 million, recently told Congress he first heard about this bad behavior in 2013, and that the bank is now reviewing records going back to 2009.

Last week, Rep. Caroline Maloney (NY) presented Stumpf with evidence indicating that this sort of chicanery may have been going on even earlier than 2009, and that employees claim they were retaliated against for filing ethics complaints.

Illinois treasurer: State will suspend Wells Fargo business [The Associated Press]
California Suspends Ties With Wells Fargo [The New York Times]

Sonic Drive-In Fires Worker Over Receipts With Offensive Language

A Sonic Drive-In in Fort Worth has fired an employee after two customers said their lunch receipts included offensive language.

A man and his coworker stopped at the restaurant on Friday for lunch, and ordered on the patio, where usually, he says, workers take his name, reports FOX 4 News. This time, however, no one asked his name.

It wasn’t until they had finished their meals that the man noticed his friend’s receipt read “Mexican.” On his own, a variation of the n-word. He says he pointed out the receipts to a Sonic worker, but she seemed to shrug it off.

He says the carhop responsible for the slurs on the receipts is also black.

“I try not to use that word, and I know where it comes from,” he said. “It kind of bothers me for your own kind to call you that. Especially at a place of business. Especially where I spend my money at.”

Sonic said in a statement that the carhop is no longer employed at that location.

“We understand that a carhop wrote an offensive word on one customer’s receipt and a different offensive word on another customer’s receipt,” the company said. “The franchisees who own and operate this drive-in consider such behavior to be completely unacceptable. They have already investigated the matter and report that the carhop is no longer employed by the drive-in.”

Sadly, this is far from the first time we’ve heard of restaurant workers adding racist or offensive things to receipts: there were the Virginia diners surprised to find nasty comments about them at the end of the meal; a New Orleans restaurant that fired a server for adding a racist slur to customer’s receipt; the restaurant that claimed an offensive comment on a receipt was a joke meant for the kitchen staff; the Red Lobster server who landed in hot water for posting a photo of a receipt with a racial slur; and those are just a few examples.

Despite all of that, we can’t help but hope this will be the last time we have to report about such a lack of basic human decency and respect for one another.

Fort Worth Sonic customers shocked over ‘racist receipts’ [FOX 4 News]

Bass Pro Shops Reels In Cabela’s For $5.5 Billion

A year chock-full of mergers, acquisitions, and bankruptcies in consumer-facing businesses is chalking up another deal. This time, it’s the realm of the outdoors: Bass Pro Shops is dropping several billion dollars to snap up competitor Cabela’s.

The companies formally announced today that they had entered into a purchase agreement. Bass Pro Shops is acquiring Cabela’s for $65.50 per share in cash, to the total tune of $5.5 billion.

The goal, the statement says, is to bring a bunch of “highly complementary business philosophies [and] product offerings” under one roof. It also helps out with geography: although both chains operate in several states, Bass Pro Shops has more presence in the northeast and Cabela’s is stronger in the northwest.

Cabela’s also backs a credit card, through Capital One. The statement from Cabela’s promises that upon completion of the deal, Bass Pro Shops will begin a multi-year agreement with Capital One to maintain the Cabela’s CLUB credit card. “Bass Pro Shops will maintain a seamless integration between the credit card program and the combined companies’ retail operations and deep customer relationships,” Cabela’s promises.

All loyalty points and programs at both stores will also be unaffected by the merger, the statement says.

The really amazing part is how long it took for the two companies to reach a deal: Reuters first reported last November — yes, 11 months ago — that Bass Pro Shops was considering the acquisition. At that time, the deal was valued at closer to $3 billion.

So it’s not a shock that Cabela’s finally, after a year of thought, chose to sell itself off. After all, as we noted back in April, it’s a tough market out there for sporting goods retail. If the two biggest names in “experience”-based outdoorsy retail want to pool their resources, it’s not terribly surprising.