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Voice control is no longer a party trick; it is the glue that holds a modern smart home together. With the right Alexa phrases, lights, locks, cameras and climate systems respond in seconds, often ...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. If you're old enough to remember cartoons like The Jetsons, you probably remember a vision of the future where our lives are fully automated.

Amanda Blum is a freelancer who writes about smart home technology, gardening, and food preservation. Previously, Amanda has worked as a technology strategist specializing in problem solving and ...

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Virtual assistants will soon be as commonplace as smartphones -- in many parts of the world, they already are. Most smartphones have a built-in ...