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The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season

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Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season

#291

Post by jimmaswell »

JulianRaphael wrote: post #121

Very revealing discussion. Most of the participants just argue about Amazon vs. Google here, some fear surveillance, some consider the devices useless, a few want to understand if the HN crowd finds it useful. This is something I notice here on HN in product-related discussions more and more: people just say what THEY think about product X (typically a negative opinion or complaint), rather being creative, constructi…

I truly don't understand how so many people could buy something that literally does nothing their phone couldn't already do. Maybe it was marketing.

Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season

#292

Post by CaptSpify »

illumin8 wrote: post #278
CaptSpify wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Meanwhile, most seem to have no problem carrying smartphones on them 24/7, which have the same capability of recording microphone input, but in public spaces disconnected from an AC outlet. I never understood using this as an argument in favor of always listening devices. Just because someone is invading your privacy in one way, doesn't mean you should just open the floodgates and let everyone invade your privacy.…

I agree, if you are the type of person that refuses to use a smartphone on anti-surveillance principals, however, the same people that say they would never buy a digital assistant have one on their phones already.

My point is that those can be two different things, and it's possible to be upset at both. I have to have a smartphone for work, but that doesn't mean I am not outraged by the fact that I can't find one that is not a surveillance device. The day that a quality open-source smartphone becomes available, I'll buy one.

But in the meantime, since I have to have a smartphone, you are arguing that I should just get any device that listens without regard for privacy. That doesn't make any sense.

Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season

#293

Post by e40 »

JulianRaphael wrote: post #121

Very revealing discussion. Most of the participants just argue about Amazon vs. Google here, some fear surveillance, some consider the devices useless, a few want to understand if the HN crowd finds it useful. This is something I notice here on HN in product-related discussions more and more: people just say what THEY think about product X (typically a negative opinion or complaint), rather being creative, constructi…

Why do you think millions of people bought an Echo Dot or a Google Home?

In general, I think people have a lot of tendencies to follow the crowd, or follow what they perceive as cool. I also don't think people think about the ramifications of what it might mean for the future (and surveillance).

This leads into a much bigger conversation about people's view of the future. I feel very few (percentage wise) are thinking about the next generation. There was a great interview with Jane Goodall on Startalk. She latched onto this, as well.

The whole climate change debate is so strange to me. People seem to get angry that scientists say it is caused by humans. To me, that doesn't matter at all. We are clearly warming and we should take measures to reverse it, no matter what the cause.

As Goodall said, we don't look at decisions in our time and ask: is this good for future generations? That is rarely part of the conversation (it might be introduced, but it's quickly swamped by other things).

Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season

#294

Post by creep »

coolso wrote: post #242
endorphone wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>General public has probably been sold on the potential & novelty of the device, without realizing how little there is to it (feature wise). There is an outrageous amount to it, feature wise. Voice is the holy grail for a pretty large amount of the public, and it is finally there. The setup is surprisingly unintuitive (even the simple step to connect to a specific wifi network is beyond many users, and it is notable…

> but I'm sure the techie niece will do it for most. For most it would probably instead be a techie nephew. Very cool that you (I’m assuming) have a techie niece though! Always great to see that sort of thing.

Your comment strikes me as odd and unnecessary.

But so does mine.

Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season

#295

Post by jimmaswell »

Johnny555 wrote: post #86
gruglife wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't find it useful at all. The things it's good at (timer, lights, playing music, etc) are not hard to do to begin with.

They aren't that hard if you have an interface nearby to do it - my phone usually sits upstairs in my bedroom after I come home from work, so the Echo is a convenient voice interface to do exactly that set of things (timer, lights, playing music, etc). One thing it's super convenient for is when I'm upstairs and going to bed and I realize that I left the lights on downstairs, I can just call down "Alexa, turn off dow…

>my phone usually sits upstairs in my bedroom after I come home from work

Why is it ever not in your pocket?

Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season

#297

Post by EADGBE »

francisofascii wrote: post #250
throwaway9980 wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Servants? Alexa, wash the dishes! Alexa, change my kid’s diaper! Alexa, pickup my kid from school! Alexa, vacuum the living room! Alexa, take out the trash! She can’t help me with any of that. I guess everyday people need to have lower barriers to interacting with computers, but I’m good. I like to read HN the way I would have read the newspaper. I listen to some podcasts the way I would have listened to the radio. B…

Actually, there are a few robotic vacuums that can be controlled with Alexa.

When I was reviewing robotic vacuums for potential purchase I was disappointed to understand that most of these (if not all of these) are for the "maintenance" use of cleaning a floor.

By that I mean, they will run a rather random route, and may or may not get to that spot on the rug you'd rather them clean, which would harken the "Alexa, clean the rug".

These things, although still very cool, seem kinda useless for anything other than once-a-day scheduled routines for keeping dirt, hair, and other messes down to a minimum.

Ironically each commercial will show the robot cleaning up a spilled mess with easy, none can actually "see" these messes. But you know, marketing.

Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season

#298

Post by tkxxx7 »

wepple wrote: post #276
31reasons wrote: post #253

Title should be this: "An always listening device that record all your private conversations, that may or may not have been compromised (or will be compromised) by the private and government entities for surveillance and profit purposes has been the best selling product in the USA (where people refuse to give-up rights to own guns because they don't trust the government)"

Ok, I’ll bite. How does Alexa/home/whatever differ from your laptop? your laptop has a 10x more dangerous attack surface with a full featured web browser and a load of internet-connected apps, and yes it has a microphone too.

Laptop will differ in how much control you have over security. Attack vectors are less likely to be replicable across all users. Smart phone/watch would work better in your point vs Alexa.

Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season

#299

Post by coolso »

tkxxx7 wrote: post #282
coolso wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but I'm sure the techie niece will do it for most. For most it would probably instead be a techie nephew. Very cool that you (I’m assuming) have a techie niece though! Always great to see that sort of thing.

I think part of the point of such phrasing is to stop letting what has been typical, stay typical.

I'm all for that, but the parent/GP took it a step further by stating a niece - the non-"typical" - would do it for "most", and I just don't think that's an accurate implication for most at all, based on anecdotal experiences in real life & on the internet, and also based on statistics.

Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season

#300

Post by EADGBE »

figgis wrote: post #39
lgas wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, why Goole before Amazon?

Personally I resent the fact that Amazon has done everything in their power as a company to make it so I cannot stream amazon prime to my chromecast. That alone has tarnished my opinion of the company.

Personally I resent the fact that [Google] has done everything in their power as a company to make it so I cannot stream [YouTube] to my [Fire Stick].

That alone has tarnished my opinion of the company.

They had a nice YouTube app, too. Then, just took it away. Even has casting from the YouTube iOS app.

__________________________________________

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