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The Google Home Mini Is Google’s $49 Answer to the Echo Dot

arstechnica.com

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Re: The Google Home Mini Is Google’s $49 Answer to the Echo Dot

#31

Post by CobrastanJorji »

Klathmon wrote: post #9
melling wrote: post #3

Is Google twice as smart as Siri? https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/02/google-ai-has-almost-twice-t... I’m considering adding one of these to my family of iOS devices. Siri is cool when it works, but I’d like something a little better. That, and I won’t have to watch my watch, phone, and tablet competing to answer my questions. Finally, and most importantly, according to the article, Google appears to be improving the fas…

I love and use our 2 google homes on a daily basis, but they get significantly more useful if you are in google's ecosystem and have home automation. For me, i'd give a super rough guess at my usage like this: * 60% home automation (turning on and off lights when hands are full, ensuring doors are locked and garage door is closed, running "shortcuts" like "i'm leaving" which will lock up and arm the alarm in 5 minute…

Can you tell me more about this "ensure garage door is closed" thing? Is there something I can buy to make that happen, or do you have some sort of home brewed thing?

Re: The Google Home Mini Is Google’s $49 Answer to the Echo Dot

#32

Post by kurtpara »

StringyBob wrote: post #19

Does it have a headphone socket? All I want from my google home devices is better control over the audio, and it seems the only way I can do that is plug it into my own amp. Edit. Nope. However the latest software lets you change default audio device for media playback to a chromecast audio. That's halfway there - what I'd like is to redirect the entire audio stream (so spoken answers too!) Alternatively, can we get…

I want to use my Google Home more but don't because of the bass. Its been a year and the most basic features aren't even out there yet. (I should have known better)

Re: The Google Home Mini Is Google’s $49 Answer to the Echo Dot

#33

Post by mikeash »

r00fus wrote: post #20
Klathmon wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love and use our 2 google homes on a daily basis, but they get significantly more useful if you are in google's ecosystem and have home automation. For me, i'd give a super rough guess at my usage like this: * 60% home automation (turning on and off lights when hands are full, ensuring doors are locked and garage door is closed, running "shortcuts" like "i'm leaving" which will lock up and arm the alarm in 5 minute…

Sorry to be the luddite, but these devices just seem like first-world-only interest to me. I have no desire to automate my house (I can see why others do). I don't have a home alarm. I have one TV in the house for several kids. The day planner/shopping list is good, but I pull out my phone instead and speak to it (when I press home button). Finally, is everyone really comfortable having always-on listening in their h…

What's the difference between having something like Google Home in your home and carrying a cell phone in your pocket, other than the fact that the cell phone can listen in on you even when you're away from home?

I really don't get why everyone carries listening devices 24/7 and then freaks out about these smart speakers.

Re: The Google Home Mini Is Google’s $49 Answer to the Echo Dot

#34

Post by Klathmon »

CobrastanJorji wrote: post #31
Klathmon wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love and use our 2 google homes on a daily basis, but they get significantly more useful if you are in google's ecosystem and have home automation. For me, i'd give a super rough guess at my usage like this: * 60% home automation (turning on and off lights when hands are full, ensuring doors are locked and garage door is closed, running "shortcuts" like "i'm leaving" which will lock up and arm the alarm in 5 minute…

Can you tell me more about this "ensure garage door is closed" thing? Is there something I can buy to make that happen, or do you have some sort of home brewed thing?

Well there is at least one "off the shelf-ish" solution from Chamberlain's "MY-Q" system.

But i'm using a z-wave garage door opener (there are tons of them that hook into most garage door openers) running off a system called "Home Assistant" which is an open-source python-3 based hub for home automation stuff.

The google home can then send commands to home assistant which can do whatever i want there.

So I just have a command for "open the garage door" and a command for "close the garage door" (open as well because your phone can run them as well via Google Assistant there, so I use it as an opener when I'm on my motorcycle via a bluetooth headset in my helmet)

And doing it that way I can also integrate a "close garage door" command into other commands (like "i'm going to sleep" which ensures everything is locked up, or "i'm leaving" which can open it now, then close it again in 5 minutes if I forget to, or other fancy stuff like if there is no movement in the house for an hour, lock up the doors/close the garage if I forgot.)

Re: The Google Home Mini Is Google’s $49 Answer to the Echo Dot

#35

Post by NocturnalWaffle »

deskamess wrote: post #29
StringyBob wrote: post #19

Does it have a headphone socket? All I want from my google home devices is better control over the audio, and it seems the only way I can do that is plug it into my own amp. Edit. Nope. However the latest software lets you change default audio device for media playback to a chromecast audio. That's halfway there - what I'd like is to redirect the entire audio stream (so spoken answers too!) Alternatively, can we get…

Google Home Max : "it also has an auxiliary port so you can connect it to a turntable or other speaker".

No, that's only for audio in to play with the Max's speakers. What he wants is audio out to play google's responses on something else (Which is a feature of the Echo Dot, so you can use a better speaker)

Re: The Google Home Mini Is Google’s $49 Answer to the Echo Dot

#36

Post by WrkInProgress »

Klathmon wrote: post #27
casey_lang wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it have a good shopping list? I've had a Home since they were released and used to use the shopping list feature all the time when it was backed by Keep. At one point they moved it into some web app that I could only access from my phone by spelunking through the Home app. Has that changed? When it worked, it was great.

It's in the "Google Express" app now (both a web app, as well as a "native" app). I didn't like that change, but it does work just as well now, and keeps all the same features (checking it off, manually adding stuff, sharing with friends/family members, etc...). I do wish they kept it in keep, and even allowed more "lists". Being able to tell it to add a book to my "reading list" would have been fantastic...

I had no idea this Google Express app existed (It's not available in my region of the world).

It's a shame they force you to use it, over just adding to a shopping list in Google Keep.

I was considering getting the Home Mini but now I'm not so sure (grocery list, weather check, and general help (timer/conversions) while cooking would have been my main usage)

Re: The Google Home Mini Is Google’s $49 Answer to the Echo Dot

#38

Post by r00fus »

mikeash wrote: post #33
r00fus wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry to be the luddite, but these devices just seem like first-world-only interest to me. I have no desire to automate my house (I can see why others do). I don't have a home alarm. I have one TV in the house for several kids. The day planner/shopping list is good, but I pull out my phone instead and speak to it (when I press home button). Finally, is everyone really comfortable having always-on listening in their h…

What's the difference between having something like Google Home in your home and carrying a cell phone in your pocket, other than the fact that the cell phone can listen in on you even when you're away from home? I really don't get why everyone carries listening devices 24/7 and then freaks out about these smart speakers.

One is designed to be listening at all times, the other one may not even have the explicit capability (I turn off voice-activated Google/Siri on all my devices).

Trigger words can be accidentally spoken, they can be spoken by other devices, etc. Hidden trigger words can exist.

I think it's logical fallacy of extremes to say that carrying an e.g. iPhone is an equivalent security exposure to having GoogleHome/HomePod/Echos littered around your house, just because they both "could" be hacked/backdoored.

Re: The Google Home Mini Is Google’s $49 Answer to the Echo Dot

#39

Post by [deleted] »

deskamess wrote: post #29
StringyBob wrote: post #19

Does it have a headphone socket? All I want from my google home devices is better control over the audio, and it seems the only way I can do that is plug it into my own amp. Edit. Nope. However the latest software lets you change default audio device for media playback to a chromecast audio. That's halfway there - what I'd like is to redirect the entire audio stream (so spoken answers too!) Alternatively, can we get…

Google Home Max : "it also has an auxiliary port so you can connect it to a turntable or other speaker".

[deleted]

Re: The Google Home Mini Is Google’s $49 Answer to the Echo Dot

#40

Post by Klathmon »

WrkInProgress wrote: post #36
Klathmon wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's in the "Google Express" app now (both a web app, as well as a "native" app). I didn't like that change, but it does work just as well now, and keeps all the same features (checking it off, manually adding stuff, sharing with friends/family members, etc...). I do wish they kept it in keep, and even allowed more "lists". Being able to tell it to add a book to my "reading list" would have been fantastic...

I had no idea this Google Express app existed (It's not available in my region of the world). It's a shame they force you to use it, over just adding to a shopping list in Google Keep. I was considering getting the Home Mini but now I'm not so sure (grocery list, weather check, and general help (timer/conversions) while cooking would have been my main usage)

There are ways out there using 3rd party services to get the old way back, but I haven't messed with them.
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