Category Technology/Electronics

Google says it only records interactions with connected devices like the Google Home speaker when we use the “wake word,” of “Hey, Google,” or “OK, Google.” But when using many of the Google smartphone apps with a microphone for voice search, or even Google on the desktop with voice commands, it can actually record every word you say to it—whether you use the wake word or not.

The fine print is that you have to click on the microphone in the apps to communicate with Google. (For queries like “Hey, Google, find Italian restaurants near me.”) Once you do that, Google will start transcribing you, word for word, and storing your commands, in text and audio, as U.S. TODAY discovered in tests this week.

This is similar to Google’s monitoring of our keystro...

Imagine having access to a battery, which has the potential to power your phone for five continuous days, or enable an electric vehicle to drive more than 1000km without needing to “refuel”.

Monash University researchers are on the brink of commercialising the world’s most efficient lithium-sulphur (Li-S) battery, which could outperform current market leaders by more than 4X, and power Australia and other global markets well into the future.

Dr...

Photonic crystals are predicted to be one of the wonders of the 21st century. In the 20th century, new understanding of the electronic band structure-the physics that determines when a solid conducts or insulates-revolutionized the world. That same physics, when applied to photonic crystals, allows us to control light in a similar manner to how we control electrons. If photonic crystals live up to their promise, all-optical transistors that consume little power and enable even more powerful computers could become a reality.

But, that destination isn’t in sight yet. The problem is one of control...

On a hillside above Stanford University, the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory operates a scientific instrument nearly 2 miles long...