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Why do those "smart speaker" thingies exist?


Yukle

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57 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

Been using Echo for about six months now. I'm struggling to recall the last time Alexa tried to flog me anything. I do have ad-blockers running on all my computers and tablets though. As for all the spying, I feel sorry for the poor fucker who has to sift through the inane bollocks that my brother and I chat to each other each and every night.

How hilarious.

Ok - so is Alexa the only time you ever use anything affiliated with Amazon?

Actually, scratch that - is Alexa the only internet enabled thing you possess?

 

 

Why, thank you :)

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Gotta love the fact that the only people questioning the worth of these devices are people who don't actually own one.

Quote

Like, how busy do you need to be to want to save seconds on some of your most mundane actions (like putting music on?). 

If I'm chillin' in my living room and decide that I want to listen to some music, I can either:

A. Get up out of my comfy chair. Walk the fifty or sixty paces to my upstairs bedroom. Wake up my PC (where all my music is stored). Open a music streaming app. Choose Some Tunes. Select The Big Speakers in the living room. Click play. Walk back downstairs, and another fifty or sixty paces back to the living room. Sit down and Enjoy Music.

Or

B. "Alexa, play Some Tunes on the big speakers."

I mean, that's not even remotely worth the hassle of buying one of these devices and taking the five minutes it takes to set it all up. Nope. You'd have to be mad. Or Just Extremely Fucking Lazy!

 

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19 minutes ago, Which Tyler said:

Ok - so is Alexa the only time you ever use anything affiliated with Amazon?

Actually, scratch that - is Alexa the only internet enabled thing you possess?

 

 

Why, thank you :)

I use the Amazon Fire TV stick every single day.

That, and my Echos are the the only internet connected devices that don't have adblockers running.

I'm not even sure what your point is.

 

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31 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Why would I spend more money on similar tech which from my experience doesn’t work well?

Well, yeah, anyone who spends over £300 on Apple's Homepod wants their head looking at.

But both Google and Amazon's voice recognition tech is really quite good. I don't have any problems being understood by either.

So, in summary, just so we're clear, your proclamation that these devices are nothing but an "absolute waste of electricity" is based on nothing but your feeble attempts to verbally communicate with your iphone? Is that about right?

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2 minutes ago, Which Tyler said:

I know you're having a bit of a sense of humour failure today, but I'm pretty sure that that's not true.

Well, it is Monday*.

I'm afraid you'll have to spell it out. Am I some kind of mug because I'm allowing myself to be exploited and spied upon by Amazon?

*I didn't realise this was supposed to be a parody thread, with the OP not intended to prompt any kind of serious discussion.

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17 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

Well, it is Monday*.

I'm afraid you'll have to spell it out. Am I some kind of mug because I'm allowing myself to be exploited and spied upon by Amazon?

*I didn't realise this was supposed to be a parody thread, with the OP not intended to prompt any kind of serious discussion.

Thread title: Why do those "smart speaker" thingies exist?

My first contribution (which you quoted): Well, the principal (and boring) point, is to sell targetted advertising,

 

Are you mug? Meh, no more than anyone else at a guess; possibly more so, possibly less so; having an Amazon Echo isn't what would define it though.

I'm not sure it is supposed to be a parody thread (though I reserve the right to be wrong) - but tht doesn't mean that humour isn't allowed anyway.

 

ETA: http://www.rugbyrebels.co/board/download/file.php?id=447 ;)

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27 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

Well, yeah, anyone who spends over £300 on Apple's Homepod wants their head looking at.

But both Google and Amazon's voice recognition tech is really quite good. I don't have any problems being understood by either.

So, in summary, just so we're clear, your proclamation that these devices are nothing but an "absolute waste of electricity" is based on nothing but your feeble attempts to verbally communicate with your iphone? Is that about right?

Siri is my exposure to voice recognition tech.  It has not given me any desire to spend money on it in other contexts.

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1 hour ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Siri is my exposure to voice recognition tech.  It has not given me any desire to spend money on it in other contexts.

I also don't see how this tech would be very helpful to me personally, but it seems kind of odd to say you've tried only the lousiest version of voice recognition and then assume that it's all worthless.  From what I've read and heard Google and Amazon have avoided most of Siri's faults.

 

Seems kind of like driving an old diesel truck around and then condemning a Prius because the only automobile you ever drove was too loud and bumpy.

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So much snippiness in this thread! Cut it out!

(see what I did there? :P )

I have purchased the new Alexa, which is still sitting there in it's box. I will set it up one day, probably after tax time when my dining room table is finally cleared off. 

I bought it because I regularly forget to do stuff. I live alone. When I have entered appointments on my iPhone, if they are months away they have disappeared off the phone. I figure if I never miss a doctor's appointment again, and don't have to pay the $50 penalty my doctor charges, it will soon pay for itself.

Does music have to be on a device for Alexa to play music? Or do I now have to buy a service, like Spotify?

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1 hour ago, Spockydog said:

What does that even mean? Is it supposed to be funny, or just allow you to feel all superior?

Do you run Linux by any chance?

It means "lighten up"; but if you don't get a recent film reference, then explaining it isn't about to help.

 

Would you care enlighten me as to what I feel superior about? As a rule of thumb, feeling superior really isn't something I'm known for - quite the opposite in fact.

FTR we have an Echo at home - I don't find it particularly useful, but Ali uses it a fair bit. I don't feel superior to peope who use one, who have one but don't use it, or who don't have one in the first place. Possessions don't lead me to feeling superior or inferior to anyone else.

 

Nope, never used Linux. Whilst I (just about) understand what Linux is; I guess this is my turn to not-get a reference.

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8 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Does music have to be on a device for Alexa to play music? Or do I now have to buy a service, like Spotify?

Depends. You can use Alexa to stream music files directly from your PC, which is where most of my music lives. You can play these on the Echo itself, or use Alexa to pump your tunes to your smart AV receiver.

If you've got Prime you'll have automatic access to Amazon Music, which is pretty comprehensive in its selection. 

 

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8 minutes ago, Which Tyler said:

It means "lighten up"; but if you don't get a recent film reference, then explaining it isn't about to help.

 

Would you care enlighten me as to what I feel superior about? As a rule of thumb, feeling superior really isn't something I'm known for - quite the opposite in fact.

FTR we have an Echo at home - I don't find it particularly useful, but Ali uses it a fair bit. I don't feel superior to peope who use one, who have one but don't use it, or who don't have one in the first place. Possessions don't lead me to feeling superior or inferior to anyone else.

 

Nope, never used Linux. Whilst I (just about) understand what Linux is; I guess this is my turn to not-get a reference.

Don't worry about it. Yeah, i was probably a little grouchy earlier. Mondays. Grrr! 

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42 minutes ago, larrytheimp said:

I also don't see how this tech would be very helpful to me personally, but it seems kind of odd to say you've tried only the lousiest version of voice recognition and then assume that it's all worthless.  From what I've read and heard Google and Amazon have avoided most of Siri's faults.

 

Seems kind of like driving an old diesel truck around and then condemning a Prius because the only automobile you ever drove was too loud and bumpy.

I find voice activation to be cumbersome.  Typing, for me, it allows me to streamline what I'm attempting to search for.  I can look back at my prior search attempts and see what I might be able to change to get better results.  I don't have a way to look back at my prior attempts.  

I'm being a fair bit tongue in Cheek when I damn voice recognition tech, but, it isn't what I prefer to use.  I don't find that it makes my life easier, and as such, I'm not going to use it.  YMMV.

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21 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

I find voice activation to be cumbersome.  Typing, for me, it allows me to streamline what I'm attempting to search for.  I can look back at my prior search attempts and see what I might be able to change to get better results.  I don't have a way to look back at my prior attempts.  

I'm being a fair bit tongue in Cheek when I damn voice recognition tech, but, it isn't what I prefer to use.  I don't find that it makes my life easier, and as such, I'm not going to use it.  YMMV.

I hear ya.  My example was certainly hyperbolic.

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