Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Amazon Echo Dot

amazon.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 410 posts

Re: Amazon Echo Dot

#121

Post by wmeredith »

fluxquanta wrote: post #80
caractacus wrote: post #63

When did I turn from the enthusiastic kid who dreamed of audio-controlled personal assistants like this to a cranky old man who doesn't want anything remotely spy-possible in his house?

I think when we were kids we didn't think that the personal assistant would have to communicate with the outside world via the internet in order to perform its function. If all of "Alexa" was included in a disconnected local database I bet it would still be as appealing. Rosie on the Jetsons didn't have to "phone home".

This is exactly it for me. I'd buy an echo and a dot for every room if it didn't phone home.

Re: Amazon Echo Dot

#122

Post by AndrewUnmuted »

jallmann wrote: post #111
AndrewUnmuted wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Allow me to be pedantic and say it is that being fully immersed in the context of the movie that really matters. I hope to not be a super pedantic ass for pointing out that the 'immersive' media in films is the audio, not the visual components.

> the 'immersive' media in films is the audio, not the visual components That's a non-falsifiable opinion, really (even if it does apply to the majority of the population). I'm living proof you can enjoy movies without the audio. It's the sum of our experience that colors our perception -- almost irrevocably in this case, since I imagine it would be difficult for the typical person to really be able to enjoy somethin…

> I'm living proof you can enjoy movies without the audio.

I am not looking to equate immersion with enjoyment, and by no means do I intend to disrespect the manner by which you enjoy a type of media. My apologies for coming off that way!

When I refer to 'immersive media' I am referring to the 360-degree omnidirectional dispersion pattern of sounds and our similarly omnidirectional hearing of those sounds. This is 'immersive experience' as opposed to a 2-dimensional or stereoscopic experience, which is what we get with visual media. Television/film screens fire light directly at the eyes; even in iMax situations the film is never experienced behind us. That isn't immersive, whereas say a VR headset can potentially offer this type of immersion. But since this technology is still in its infancy I think it too early to call it fully immersive like audio is.

Re: Amazon Echo Dot

#123

Post by [deleted] »

pierrebeaucamp wrote: post #64

I would love to have something similar as open source software. How can I trust this device if I can't examine the code used for hotword recognition? Also, it would be great to be able to put the software on different hardware - something with digital audio output for example. The concept of Alexa is amazing, but distributing it as properitary software limits its potential.

[deleted]

Re: Amazon Echo Dot

#124

Post by ghaff »

arien wrote: post #107
ghaff wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sorta agree. I got the original Echo for $100 when they had a special deal for Prime members. The timer is handy. The shopping list is handy. It's occasionally vaguely useful to ask it questions about the weather or other things--though it's not like my phone is that far away. I do use it for Amazon Music when I can't be bothered finding something to play on my stereo. Potentially, the ability to interface with hom…

The thing is, you can ask Cortana or Google Now or Siri about the weather, shopping (at least Cortana has reminders, not sure about the other two) and the other things you mention. So, at the moment it's feels like a redundant device that one has to purchase in order to do the same thing I can do with the phone and/or computer that I already own. I mean, I find it kind of cool (except for the creepy "I'm listening to…

I don't really disagree which is why I'm pretty ambivalent. The original Echo does have a decent Bluetooth speaker and I find the voice recognition a lot better than Siri's. And it's available in my kitchen/dining area when I need to add something to a shopping list or ask a question with greasy hands. But I certainly wouldn't try to convince someone that it's a "must have."

Re: Amazon Echo Dot

#125

Post by criddell »

Jack000 wrote: post #102
startupfounder wrote: post #14

The transition from primarily visual UX towards an auditorial UX is really powerful. Looking at screens to get key information distracts me from my surroundings and seems archaic. My wife is a sound designer who has opened my eyes to the importance of sounds both in film and in the world. It's not that I was unaware of sounds, but I didn't realize how important they are to centering me in this world and the made up w…

I think the main problem with voice interfaces is that it's not discoverable. You need a good understanding of what the system can and cannot do, its current state etc before even speaking. CLI has the same issue, but at least you can man-xxx, which I imagine works a lot better in text than it does in audio.

I think the goal is that the system gets to be good enough that nobody worries about discoverability any more.

I think Google is quickly getting there with their search interface. I'm always amazed at what a good job Google does when I ask it a question like "what's the name of the instrument powered by steam" and milliseconds later it's showing me info about calliopes.

Re: Amazon Echo Dot

#126

Post by roymurdock »

rogerb wrote: post #38

I would not be surprised if it turns out that Alexa is the biggest thing they've ever done, including AWS.

Alexa requires AWS to run. It's a symbiotic relationship, and Alexa is the consumer-facing AI extension. They've marketed it better than Watson and Siri so far, giving it new hardware to live in and opening it up to developers. But without AWS, there is no Alexa.

Re: Amazon Echo Dot

#127

Post by kayoone »

runholm wrote: post #89
rogerb wrote: post #38

I would not be surprised if it turns out that Alexa is the biggest thing they've ever done, including AWS.

While voice assistants are likely to become a big industry, I don't see such a limited solution as Alexa stealing any large spotlight. They are too heavily locked down to be able to gain any traction in the big picture.

They are connecting more and more services, you can train your own "skills" and i am pretty sure they will open the platform up at some point. Could be huge. Remember, the first iPhone was totally locked down as well.

Re: Amazon Echo Dot

#128

Post by rpgmaker »

ausjke wrote: post #49

My FireTV is also upgraded to Alexa silently recently and it's fun to play with. Is it possible for me to upload my own content, say an audio book, some music I own etc so I can use Alexa as a voice command to fetch my own data too? be it on the cloud or my local NAS/DLNA box.

My dream is to have some kind of android TV box that performs this.

Re: Amazon Echo Dot

#129

Post by IgorPartola »

Hmm. The Dot might be a good addition, but it's too expensive. I want to put several mic & speaker combos around my house, but I don't want to pay $90 per room. Something in the $25-$40 range would do much better, even if it was a simple relay to the main Echo.

Re: Amazon Echo Dot

#130

Post by jbob2000 »

Somewhat related, but if I don't subscribe to any of the services listed, this is a pretty useless product for me. I don't listen to internet radio, I don't stream music, I don't order delivery, I don't use uber, there's already 10 million ways to check the weather, and my life isn't busy enough to need a voice-activated calendar.

Is this the future of tech? Like do I need to have some kind of urban-go-getter lifestyle to find use in any of this? When can I get something useful, rather than "thing I already do, but in a new package"?

Post reply on HN