Stories by Blair Hanley Frank

OK Google, let's get personal

A hotly anticipated upgrade to Google Home will let users train the company’s virtual assistant to recognize different voices and provide personalized responses to each person.

Facebook launches tool for capturing 360 video inside VR

Facebook is giving VR developers the ability to embed 360-degree photo and video capture in their experiences with a new software development kit made available Wednesday.

Here's everything announced at Wednesday's AWS Summit

AWS unveiled a smorgasbord of new functionality, including new billing for software-as-a-service applications, a new continuous integration tool, and enhancements to the company’s database services. Here’s the rundown of what got announced.

SnapLogic's AI simplifies enterprise software connections

SnapLogic wants to make it easier for users of its enterprise software integration platform to connect components of their business systems. The company unveiled a new feature on Tuesday that uses machine learning to suggest what users may want to do...

Docker wants to help put old enterprise apps into containers

Docker is offering enterprises an easier on-ramp to using containers with a new consulting program aimed at taking a legacy application and migrating it to a container in five days.

Can the enterprise save Facebook bots?

Facebook’s bumpy introduction of bot capabilities inside its Messenger service may be saved by an unlikely candidate: business users.

Facebook wants you to hang out with your friends in VR

Facebook is making it possible to hang out with your friends in virtual reality using Spaces , a new app the company launched Tuesday for the Oculus Rift. The app will allow people to join a shared, immersive video call, represented by a personalized...

Facebook aims to crush Snapchat with augmented reality

Facebook's efforts to embed camera functionality in all the apps it runs isn’t just a push to crush Snapchat. The company will be using those cameras as a way to create a developer platform for augmented reality, CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed Tuesday.

Facebook levels up its identity tools for developers

Facebook’s popular app login tools are getting an update to better serve international users, the company announced Tuesday.

Facebook will let companies map online browsing to real-world sales

Retailers who want to know what brought people to shop in their physical retail stores have a new tool to try. Facebook has revised its analytics tools for businesses to show how user behavior online translates into brick-and-mortar purchases.

Uber offers new dispatch service for businesses

Uber wants businesses to do away with shuttle buses for customers, and has launched a new service aimed at making it easier for companies to hail cars on other people’s behalf. Called Uber Central, the software lets users request cars even for people...

Slack makes it easier to say you're out to lunch

Slack is making it easier for coworkers to see what other people in their organization are up to, thanks to a new status messages feature unveiled Thursday.

Microsoft to host education event May 2

Microsoft is hosting an education-focused event in New York on May 2, where the tech titan is expected to reveal new software and hardware.

Microsoft's new software tool helps enterprises evaluate cloud move

IT professionals who want help getting a handle on a potential cloud migration have a new tool from Microsoft. The company released a new Cloud Migration Assessment on Wednesday, which walks customers through understanding what resources they current...

Dropbox Paper's mobile apps now work offline, support new languages

Dropbox Paper users will now be able to edit their documents offline while using mobile devices, thanks to an update released Tuesday. The change means that people can work on the documents they have stored in the service while on a plane and riding ...