Voice assistants like Echo?

[jyl]

Does anyone have an Amazon Echo, or Google Dot, or other "voice assistant"?

How do you like it? What do you use it for? What don't you like? Is it a must have, a really nice to have, a nice to have, an okay to have, briefly interesting, wouldn't notice if it was gone . . .

Any (legitimate, researched) concerns about privacy?

Recommendations?

I am sort of interested in these. I don't really know what I'd use it for - telling it to play music, sure, what else - but perhaps it's something that you don't know you want until you have it. I don't have much home automation - Blink internet security cameras and a Nest thermostat. I could definitely see using a fair number of smart LED bulbs when they are significantly cheaper. However, these "connected home" devices seen to be Balkanizing, with Blink bought by Amazon, Nest by Google, and I'm unclear on how one can run them all in a single simple interface. I'm also distrustful of the security aspects.

I see Apple is coming out with HomePod next year. I've never been impressed with Siri. In fact, every time I try to use it, I'm frustrated by its limitations and puzzled why it isn't better. Is it so hard to let the user spell out a proper name or word? However, it can understand instructions about playing music, at least, and Home Pod is supposed to have good sound quality.

[wildthing]

I received an Echo Dort as a gift for Christmas. Setup was relatively painless. Although 3 days in, I haven't really found any utility for it. My kids love asking it silly questions. I did try the questions from the Alexa is a SJW thread here) and they seem to have updated the algorithms...

I connected my personal calendar but so far have not tried to set anything up. My social calendar is bare! (I doubt my work calendar would be allowed without additional security.)

I set up one flash briefing hoping I could ask it for a quick news update, but so far, have not felt the need.

I turned off ordering via Alexa (with 3 kids, can't take the chance of something showing up at my door).

I connected it to a Bluetooth speaker and have so far used it for listening to music, instead of my phone. That's it.

If I ever get around to buying smart light bulbs and smart thermostat/temp control and smart door locks and cameras, maybe I'll connect them...

And yes, security is a concern. It does claim that it only sends your message to the server after the wakeup word, but it still always listens for the wakeup word and discards the audio (I hope) if it doesn't pick up. Still, there's a mute button.

[biosurfer1]

Briefly interesting at best. If you don't have multiple "smart" things in your house already, then it's just a dumb cylinder that can tell you the weather. Fine for alarms, timers, general info, but can't do anything my cell phone doesn't already do.

Mine was a gift and collects dust now.

[ckissick]

My daughter bought me one for Christmas. It's just a novelty. It's fun to ask it stupid questions and insult Alexa - for a while - then that gets old. But while cooking yesterday, I simply said, "Alexa, play the Kingston Trio." Et voila, all the Kingston Trio I cared to listen to. If it came to a song I didn't like so much, I just said, "Alexa, skip this song." I'd like to figure out how link it to the numerous speakers that are hooked up to our wifi. Other than music and weather, I can't think of anything else to use it for.

[legion]

Originally Posted by jyl

Any (legitimate, researched) concerns about privacy?

You have to assume that any data that is gathered about you--the temperature in your house, what time of day you talk to the device, what questions you have asked, conversations that took place in the room with the device--is stored. That information may used to target advertisements at you. It's amazing what they can reasonably derive based on seemingly unrelated information. It's pretty well documented that they can discern your political leanings. They may also figure out that your teenage daughter is pregnant and start marketing baby products to her. (There is a real case where Target did this a few years ago with purchase history at the store.) But this can range from amusing, to creepy, to downright intrusive.

The really worrying part is that Amazon, or Google, or whoever can be presented with a "national security letter" demanding the company hand over all information about you. No warrant, just a quasi-legal demand. They don't even have to name you. They can say: "Give me all of the names, home addresses, and recorded conversations of people who listen to Dave Brubek between midnight and 4:00 AM. The fun thing is a gag order accompanies these demands, so you won't be told that your data has been handed over.

I must have missed the part in the Constitution that authorized secret courts to blanket-authorize law enforcement agencies to print their own general warrants.

[Gogar]

"Wiretap! Change the channel to CNBC. Wiretap! What's a good Italian restaurant in the area? Wiretap! Where's the closest place to buy CCI stinger rimfire cartridges in .22LR?"

[GH85Carrera]

One of my nephews has one. He also has a son in the first grade. The kid love it for helping him with homework.

[Nickshu]

We have an Echo dot in nearly every room in the house and an Echo show in the kitchen. The main reason we ended up with one in every room is we use it for an intercom through the house. It works very well for this...no more yelling for the kids or trying to yell up the stairs to my wife two floors up. In my garage and kitchen we use it to play music (mostly Pandora). The Echo Show in the kitchen is useful for recipes too.

[motion]

Originally Posted by Nickshu

We have an Echo dot in nearly every room in the house and an Echo show in the kitchen. The main reason we ended up with one in every room is we use it for an intercom through the house. It works very well for this...no more yelling for the kids or trying to yell up the stairs to my wife two floors up. In my garage and kitchen we use it to play music (mostly Pandora). The Echo Show in the kitchen is useful for recipes too.

OMG, the Feds must be positively salivating at all the intel they get from your family. Google and Amazon, too. You might also actually receive intelligent recommendations for products that your family could actually use when you browse the web. Crazy!!!

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by motion

OMG, the Feds must be positively salivating at all the intel they get from your family. Google and Amazon, too. You might also actually receive intelligent recommendations for products that your family could actually use when you browse the web. Crazy!!!

Yes... Because we're soooo interesting. The NSA agents assigned to monitor us probably died of boredom in their cubicles months ago.

Sent from my Galaxy S7 using Tapatalk

[JavaBrewer]

Cold day in hell when I knowingly place devices like these in my home.

[Jim Richards]

We received the small google home as a gift. I have a separate part of my wireless network for IoT thingies and set up the google thingie on that. I keep our important stuff (pcs, tablets and phones) on their own wireless network. Of course, all of this will be moot when Skynet...

[URY914]

If it can't bring me a beer while watching TV I don't need it.

[Jim Richards]

Why is your response in green? I think that requirement is completely legit!

I'm anxiously awaiting the time when I can have my own personal humanoid robot.

[wildthing]

Meanwhile, if you can afford it, certainly you can advertise for something like this:

Hire Society

[Jim Richards]

Human servants are just so 20th Century!

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by URY914

If it can't bring me a beer while watching TV I don't need it.

[Jim Richards]

Brilliant!

[Jim Richards]

Hmmm, sometimes our google home responds to "giggle."

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by jyl

Does anyone have an Amazon Echo, or Google Dot, or other "voice assistant"?
How do you like it? What do you use it for?

Alexa will play Jeopardy...uses that days categories. Sports Jeopardy is fun, but difficult.
Other than that, mine gets used mostly for info..instead of using the phone or computer.