Yesterday, Reuters ran a story with the headline “Weeks after Amazon’s Alexa+ AI launch, a mystery: where are the users?,” in which it detailed its difficulty locating first-hand accounts of the AI-upgraded assistants’ use online. The Verge asked Amazon about the story, and the company has responded to say that the idea that Alexa Plus isn’t available is “simply wrong.”Here’s the company’s full — and rather strongly-worded! — statement on the matter, provided by Amazon spokesperson Eric Sveum via email to The Verge:It’s simply wrong to say that Alexa+ isn’t available to customers—that assertion is false. Hundreds of thousands of customers have access to Alexa+ and we’re constantly inviting more customers that have requested Early Access.Sveum also shared the below screenshot of what the email invite should look like.Alexa Plus is Amazon’s generative AI-updated version of Alexa, which it announced in February is free to Amazon Prime subscribers or $19.99 a month otherwise. While Reuters doesn’t say Alexa Plus isn’t available to customers yet, it does quote an analyst who said, “There seems to be no one who actually has it.” The outlet also reported that its efforts to find any real-world Alexa Plus users came up empty, writing that it had “searched dozens of news sites, YouTube, TikTok, X, BlueSky and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, as well as Amazon’s Twitch and reviews of Echo voice-assistant devices on Amazon.com.” It added that it spoke with two people who’d posted on Reddit claiming to have used Alexa Plus, but that they “did not provide Reuters with hard evidence and their identities could not be corroborated.”Still, Engadget reported today that a wave of emails had gone out on Friday, inviting Amazon Alexa users to try out Alexa Plus. The outlet also reported that an Amazon spokesperson had told it “hundreds of thousands” of customers have tried the assistant. Amazon started rolling out its early access program to a few customers at the end of March. At the time, it was missing features like the ability to order takeout from Grubhub using conversational context, or identify family members and remind them about chores. A page on Amazon’s website notes that some features are still “coming soon,” like being able to access Alexa Plus in a web browser or on a Fire TV or Amazon tablet. The company has said it’s prioritizing those who own certain Echo Show devices above others.

Ever since I built my first gaming PC, looked at the underperforming Intel stock CPU cooler, and realized I needed to buy yet another component, I've been using AIO liquid coolers of one size or another. At the time, it was a Corsair 240 mm AIO, as there weren't many options. That actually didn't fit my motherboard properly, so I got a Swiftech model, and to cut a long story short, it leaked. Not once, not thrice, but four times, leading them to send me a completely different model to replace it.

Well, it's finally out. After months of waiting, people have gotten their hands on Doom: The Dark Ages. We even reviewed the game and gave it a shining 9/10 score, praising the satisfying combat and gorgeous visuals.

The fighting game genre is filled with many crossovers. Characters from popular and iconic game series are often pitted against one another in exciting and interesting mashups that get fans very excited. Some of the best fighting game experiences have come from this, and have even led to the creation of new ongoing franchises. However, with as many crossovers we see within the genre, there are those few dream matches that we continue to think about seeing become a reality.

Nothing truly lasts forever. That's a universal law when it comes to all things in life, especially with the video game products we love to enjoy. New systems eventually get older and the support for them is taken away, leaving online servers and functionality completely abandoned. The digital storefronts for those consoles eventually become dormant, and prevent anyone from buying games through them, forcing players to move on to newer platforms. This is something, as a Nintendo 3DS owner, I'm very familiar with. And I could see an eventual repeat of what happened with the 3DS down the line for the future of Nintendo Switch 2.

It feels like everything comes with some level of 'smart' features, but smart home or IoT (Internet of Things) devices areat the top of the list for actual usefulness. But these devices have a terrible reputation for security, and you might be wondering how to securely add them to your home network. Even something unassuming like a smart bulb or temperature sensor could be a potential threat, but you can mitigate this risk by keeping on top of updates and keeping them away from the rest of your network.

As some of you may know, I recently began my NAS and self-hosting journey by installing Proxmox and TrueNAS on a mini PC. TrueNAS has become a truly amazing part of my setup thanks to all the apps I can install on it with the ability to connect to them and sync data across my devices without relying on big third-party cloud servers.

The M4 Mac Mini is pretty tiny, but how would you feel about bringing it with you as you travel? Well, it turns out that some people don't just want to make their M4 Mac Mini a portable computer; they want the rest of the desktop to come with it, too.

NotebookLM is a great tool for generating ideas, summarizing content, and providing various ways to study certain material. But when I learned about its Audio Overviews feature, which creates AI-generated podcasts from your sources, my expectations were low.

When you're buying a new CPU, what should you focus on: spec sheets or reviews & benchmarks? The answer lies somewhere in between. Of course, you should refer to third-party reviews before making a purchase decision, especially since there's a lot of reliable content available these days. However, looking at some crucial specs is also necessary to avoid making a bad decision.

The Legend of Zelda series is a pillar of gaming at this point, with nearly 40 years' worth of games. What started on the NES with 8-bit graphics has gone to fully open-world games with Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild. With the Nintendo Switch 2 looming, which will feature paid upgrades for both Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild and GameCube classic Wind Waker on NSO, which makes now a great time to walk through the evolutions of the series has seen since the 80s. Originally an 8-bit game on the NES, there are a few major evolutions you can mark, most of which come with improvements to the technology, or in the case of our first big change, a new place to play.

My workflow includes a plethora of productivity tools, each promising to streamline my workflows and boost efficiency. However, I often found myself juggling multiple platforms for tasks, notes, and project management. I wished for a more unified system, and that’s when I came across the world of Obsidian and its incredible community plugins.