Bob O'Donnell, Special for USA TODAY 12:49 p.m. EDT May 18, 2016 People wave while waiting to take their seats to hear the keynote address of the Google I/O conference in Mountain View, Calif. (Photo: Eric Risberg, AP)FOSTER CITY, Calif.—Computers as we know them are about to disappear.Well, okay, they won’t completely disappear, but they will take on a new form that makes them very difficult to distinguish from everyday objects all around us.This transformation is part of a bigger, longer term trend that some have dubbed “ambient” computing. The idea is that computing capability will end up being embedded in devices ranging from speakers to automobiles, and will provide capabilities and services to us throughout the day via the environment around us.“The difference between receiving useful information or performing specific actions automatically, as opposed to instigating the efforts on our own, is profound”Bob O'DonnellThe most obvious example of ambient computing to date is Amazon’s Echo line of products. Echo and Tap integrate the company’s Alexa digital assistant into what appears to be a Bluetooth speaker. Amazon’s Dot integrates only the microphone and works with existing Bluetooth speakers. While Echo got off to a bit of a slow start, it’s picked up a fair bit of steam recently and is now considered by many to be the darling of the tech world.At Google I/O later this week, Alphabet (the parent company of Google) is expected to unveil its own ambient computing device [1]leveraging the Google Now personal assistant architecture. Many others have speculated that Apple will eventually launch a similar product, using its Siri personal assistant, and that Microsoft will turn its Cortana feature of Windows 10 into a more full-fledged ambient computing platform.As interesting as these devices may prove to be, however, the most fascinating thing about ambient computing…

LikeSo and Ummo are two new applications that analyze your speech and can help you improve your diction. So we put a movie famous for its speech - Clueless - to the test. Ed Baig for USA TODAY. LikeSo lets you choose the words to look out for.(Photo: LikeSo)NEW YORK--“So, ya know, like, frankly my dear, I totally, just don’t give a damn.” OK, so that’s not quite the way Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) delivered his famous parting words to Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) in Gone With The Wind.My exaggerated rewrite of a classic movie line is meant to illustrate the problem that the two new self-described personal speech coach apps I’ve been checking out on my iPhone are attempting to address: notably to eliminate the “filler” words that all-too-frequently populate our speech. I ran the apps through another movie, Clueless, known--"as if"--for its unforgettable take on the vernacular. I’m speaking of LikeSo (99 cents from Say It Media) and Ummo ($1.99 from Ummo Inc.), and you can use them to practice and, to varying degrees, analyze your speech. The goal is that these iOS apps may improve your confidence and prospects, if say, you have to give a presentation, nail a job interview, or impress a date. Android versions are in the works.You'll find several apps these days that purport to improve your oratorical and pronunciation skills and they're all considerably less expensive than spending upwards of $500 for a one-hour session with a professional speech coach. Relatively recent advances in speech recognition help make such apps possible. Machine learning may also play an increasing role.In LikeSo and Ummo, I tried two of the latest speech coach entrants. Regardless of how well they may do at changing your speech patterns over the long haul, I thought the pair were,…

Google's logo is seen at its headquarters in Brussels.(Photo: AP)Q. I do a lot of Google searches for broad topics. How can I narrow down my results?A. You can always make your searches more specific, but sometimes you want to see everything but one type of result. That's when you use the minus sign. For example, if you want sites about puppies, but aren't looking to buy or adopt, simply search for "puppies -sales -adoption" and Google won't include the sales and adoption results. Learn 9 more cool Google features and tricks you might not know about[1].Speed up your computer startupQ. My computer takes so long to start I forget what I was planning to do on it. Can I speed it up?A. Computers naturally get bogged down over time, but you can get some speed back. The first step is to us a program like Autoruns to cut down on the number of programs that are trying to start with the computer. Many of them don't need to.Watch out for hidden feesQ. I took a good look at my cellular bill and I don't know what half the charges are for. What do I do?A. Call your cellular provider and go over the charges one by one to find out why you're paying them. In some cases, you might be able to drop a feature you aren't using, or they'll just waive the fees to keep you as a customer.Essential gadgets for an RV adventureQ. My husband and I just got an RV and plan to travel the country. What cool gadgets should we take along?A. There are tons of cool RV gadgets, from portable washing machines and portable coolers that double as an a/c unit to solar-powered rechargers, flameless candles, lumbar massagers and more.Know your texting abbreviationsQ. I'm…