'Google Now' Commands that you should try on your Android Phone : Tried & Tested

As most of us are aware the command 'Ok Google' on an Android phone invokes an interactive voice assistant that can understand a vocabulary of commands. So when you pick up your Android phone and say “OK Google” your phone goes in a listening mode and you can do things without touching the phone. So what do you say to your phone? What can you say to your phone? What all can Google assistant do for you?

I tried exploring the commands and here’s a list of just about everything you can say to Google Now. Another interesting thing, if Google Now doesn’t get your spoken commands right, you can correct it by saying “No, I said...” and trying the phrase again. The text in braces [] can is not part of the command and can be changed to customize the command.

General Commands

• How old is [Donald Trump]?
• Where was [Donald Trump.] born?
• Define [colloquial] (Or “What does [colloquial] mean?”)
• What time is it in [Mumbai]?
• Search for [photography tips]
• Show me pictures of [the Leaning Tower of Pisa]
• Do I need an umbrella today? What’s the weather like? What’s the weather in [New Orleans] [this weekend]?
• What the [Google] stock price? What is [Apple] trading at?
• What’s [182 yards] in [miles]? What is [12 ounces] in [liters]?
• What’s [135] divided by [7.5]? (A great many types of math equations will work.)
• Search [Tumblr] for [cat pictures] (more apps are added to this search-within-apps function all the time)

Device Control Commans

• Open [apple.com]
• Take a picture (“Take a photo” also works)
• Record a video
• Turn [on/off] [Bluetooth, Wi-Fi]
• Turn [on/off] [Flashlight] 

Productivity

• What’s the tip for [123 dollars]?
• Set an alarm for [1:30 am]
• Set a timer for [20 minutes]
• Create a calendar event: [Dinner with Ajay, Saturday at 9pm.]
• Remind me to [buy coffee at 7am] (try locations! Remind me to [buy coffee filters at BigBazar])
• What is my schedule for tomorrow? (also: What does my day look like [Friday]?)
• Where’s my package? (tracking confirmation must be in Gmail)
• Make a note: [update my router firmware] (also try “Note to self:” This works with multiple apps, and you can even email yourself!)
• Find [Anne Besant’s] [phone number] (Works with all info in your contacts - addresses, birthdays, etc.)
• Show me my bills. (or: My bills due this week.)

Communication

• Show me my last messages. (Then follow voice prompts)
• Call [John] (also works with relationships: Call [sister])
• Call [Mom] on speakerphone
• Text [Sister] [great job on that feature yesterday] (also works with relationships: Text [mom] [I’m not going to be able to pick you up from the airport, period, I’m a bad son, period])
• Send email to [Milind P], subject, [hunting], message, [I don’t think you should drink so much when you go hunting, period]
• Post to [Twitter]: [Oh its raining again!]
• What is French for [My name is Donald]?
• [Send a Hangout message] to [Dad].
• Send a [Viber] message to [Barak]: Hang on, I'm going to get more coffee. (works with WhatsApp, Viber, WeChat, Telegram, and NextPlus)

Navigation and Travel

• Where is the nearest [chinese restaurant]?
• Navigate to [Nariman Point, Mumbai] 
• Directions to [Fisherman’s Wharf] by [bike] (also try “Directions to home” or “How do I get home?”)
• Where is [the Louvre Museum]?
• Show me the menu for [Hell's Kitchen]
• Call [Salarjang Museum]
• Show me my flight info
• Where’s my hotel?
• What are some attractions around here?
• How do you say [good night] in [Chinese]?
• What is [50,000 yen] in [dollars]?
• What’s the flight status of [Jet flight [735]?
• Show me restaurants near my hotel -or- Give me directions back to my hotel (this works if your hotel confirmation was sent to your gmail account)

Entertainment Commands

• Play [solitaire] (also try tic-tac-toe)
• Play some music (opens “I’m feeling lucky” radio station in Google Play Music)
• Next Song / Pause Song
• Play [Happy] (songs must be in Google Play Music on your device)
• Watch [The Lego Movie] (movies and TV must be in your Google Play account)
• What’s this song?
• Listen to TV
• What songs does [Pharrell] sing?
• Read [Hunger Games]
• Did the [Giants] win today? What’s the score in the [Warriors] game?
• What movies are playing [tonight]? Where is [Toy Story] playing?

Sports Commands

• Say a team name to get the latest score during the season.
• When is the next [Warriors] game?
• Where are the [Giants] in the [MLB] standings?
• Who does [LeBron James] play for?
• Who won [the Superbowl]?
• When is the [Stanley Cup final]?

Must try Fun Commands...

Many of these deliver funny voice responses, but normal search results. Turn up your sound!

• What sounds does a [tiger] make?
• Flip a coin
• Roll dice (rolls a single six-sided die)
• What is the loneliest number?
• Do a barrel roll!
• Askew / Tilt
• Go go Gadget [Spotify]
• When am I?
• Make me a sandwich
• Who’s on first?
• Who are you?
• Beam me up, Scotty!

17) Smarter Border Security using Big Data

I have worked on designing Big Data solutions for various industries. My area of particular interest has been Border Security Solutions. There is immense scope to improve the border security solutions by use of various traditional & Big Data sources & make the security solutions smarter, more robust & predictive.

Any country's border can be penetrated by land, air & water through legal and illegal means. So a border security solution needs to consider more non-traditional data sources apart from the existing data sources.

1) Collection of critical surveillance data using sensor technology - Today various types of sensors, videos camera and connectivity solutions have become far more affordable and the data can be collected remotely, transmitted to a central server and processed in a speedy manner to get insights into various security factors that need to be analyzed for security of borders.

2) Telecom Data- Call Data Records,  Tower Data & User Data from telecommunication providers can be monitored and analyzed for identifying and tracking 'potential security threats'.

3) Voice & Data Analysis - Analysis of voice & data in the border areas can provide information about potential threats and breaches in the border area and most of the borders area already use this data for intercepting threat
communication.

4) Social Media Data- Analysis of data from social-media, blogs and internet call services can help in identifying discussions and profiles that could be involved in objectionable activities related to border areas.

5) Transport Data - Knowledge of vehicle owners & tracking of vehicles in the border areas can provide additional data that can be related to various security breaches and identify any new vehicle in the area. Will this information a mechanism can be defined to sanitize vehicle moving in and across borders.

6) People Data - Biometrics data of the residents of border areas should be used to identify 'new people' who have moved in the area. People movement along with various other threat data can be used to identify security threats and also help predict potential security breaches in border area

7) GPS data is collected by border security agencies and used for various objectives. A big Data solution can help analyze the GPS data to potential security threats as well as to help position security personal on the border thus enabling optimum use of security infrastructure

) Finally Big Data Analytics of the said data sources should help build a comprehensive analytics dashboard that can be used by border agency as well as the security personal that protect  the borders using hand held devices.  I would like to discuss Big Data Analytics and Mobile devices in more detail because this is one of the fastest growing areas of Big Data & Mobile.