51–60 of 414 posts
Ok, it is cheap. It is also cool. But does the techies here find it really useful? If so, why?
being able to turn the lights on and off is fun, too.
That happens when you lower the crap out of the price. For 30 bucks with a freebie, I even bought one. And a google home mini. In the same room.
Google is miles ahead in terms of a conversational assistant. There is a lot of friction in using voice activated services. If I have a choice of typing "Weather in XXXXX zip" in the address bar vs. asking an assistant, I choose the former. Therefore, every time I use anything else but Google, I am afraid it won't recognize my command and I immediately feel like throwing that thing out of the window. I need to be 100…
Having to say "OK, Google" instead of just "Google" (or "Alexa") is a deal-breaker. Google's products don't feel like they are designed by humans.
Ok, it is cheap. It is also cool. But does the techies here find it really useful? If so, why?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Out of curiosity, why Goole before Amazon?
A level of trust from past actions and comparing each, the branching out of Amazon and Bezoz with media, grocery stores, tech with AWS, and more is scary as well as how many industries they have killed / absorbed. I realize Google is doing this a bit as well, but it feels much less sinister. A friend of mine walked past a brick and mortar Amazon bookstore, which is really surreal to me. Amazon's work culture philosop…
Am I the only one that thinks these are useless? I got one last Xmas and stop using it after a month or so.
I got new tires, but didn't buy a car, so they are worthless. That is basically what you are saying here. We both agree, it will tell you the weather, your commute, and play some music. Those are the things you grew tired of, but many people have their entire homes wired to these devices (me included). I don't use them daily, I use them hourly at home. It runs my sprinklers, lawn mowers, vacuums, lights, alarms, time…
Ok, it is cheap. It is also cool. But does the techies here find it really useful? If so, why?
Google is miles ahead in terms of a conversational assistant. There is a lot of friction in using voice activated services. If I have a choice of typing "Weather in XXXXX zip" in the address bar vs. asking an assistant, I choose the former. Therefore, every time I use anything else but Google, I am afraid it won't recognize my command and I immediately feel like throwing that thing out of the window. I need to be 100…
Having to say "OK, Google" instead of just "Google" (or "Alexa") is a deal-breaker. Google's products don't feel like they are designed by humans.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A level of trust from past actions and comparing each, the branching out of Amazon and Bezoz with media, grocery stores, tech with AWS, and more is scary as well as how many industries they have killed / absorbed. I realize Google is doing this a bit as well, but it feels much less sinister. A friend of mine walked past a brick and mortar Amazon bookstore, which is really surreal to me. Amazon's work culture philosop…
Google literally makes its money from advertising directly keyed on your personal information and searches. Amazon makes money because you buy things from it. Google can't not share your information with advertisers if it wants to survive. Amazon, on the other hand, is extremely protective of private information to the point of defying law enforcement in a murder case ( https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/28/tech/amazon-echo…
I'm looking more at how much I trust the company to not leverage the data they have to give to NSA, turn the world into 1984, etc. Apple did the same type of legal protection of personal device data as Amazon, and I expect Google to do the same if asked, which will likely happen soon enough. What worries me about Amazon/Bezos in this regard more than Google is Amazon + WaPo + Whole Foods, all the industries they have swallowed and replaced, etc.
Again, both have that concern, and in the end I'm cautious but not really expecting either to turn like that. But it's one small data point. The Chromecast hookup is much more heavily weighted in this decision, but I think the psychology behind the argument above def nudges more towards Google as well.