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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

#361

Post by 659087 »

icelancer wrote: post #359
659087 wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have two kids. You should see how they use Alexa. A ton. Amazon thanks you for the data points they've been collecting on your children, and for teaching your children to tell Amazon all about themselves before they're even old enough to realize the possible implications of doing so.

I remember when I used to think such aggregations of data were avoidable, too. Better times.

You think installing these products in your home and teaching your children to use them is "unavoidable"?

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

#362

Post by tedmiston »

lern_too_spel wrote: post #35
discodave wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And Amazon is ahead in cash money dollars, market penetration and app/IoT integrations. Also, don't think for a second that they're lazing about and not trying to figure out how to surpass Google in the areas where they're behind.

I think they're both barely better than useless, but the software for both is only going to improve. Amazon is going to hire the AI people and build up their own knowledgebase in the A9 team over the next few years, and Google is going to make the partnerships to reach third party skills parity over the next few months. The right way to choose between them is by looking at the hardware, and the reviews I've seen say…

This is why the Echo Dot has aux out and Bluetooth built-in for external speakers.

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

#363

Post by corobo »

ehsankia wrote: post #350
lgas wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, why Goole before Amazon?

1. It's far more conversational. It understands vague questions far better, and the speech understanding also works far better for people with deep accents. 2. It has great integration with other Google services if you're already a heavy Google user (maps, mail, calendar, Fi/GV, hopefully Keep soon...) 3. It has fantastic uses with chromecast (netflix, youtube, pause, rewind, volume, etc). Obviously, #2 and #3 will v…

I think the question was more "why invite Google into your home before Amazon" - as in the companies, not the devices

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

#364

Post by tedmiston »

donatj wrote: post #182
m0ngr31 wrote: post #31

Google might be ahead in some conversational things, but functionality wise, Alexa is way better. Probably has something to do with being on the market first, but developing a skill is a much better experience than it is with Google (imo). I think that's a big reason why. I've developed a number of skills for some big companies, and I'm fighting Amazon right now about getting my open source one published ( https://gi…

I find 3rd party skills a painful experience to use. Having to open a skill like an app before asking what I want Alexa to do feels completely wrong. It leads to me basically never using any third party skills. If I wanted to open apps I’d use my phone. I want something more natural.

You can do it all in one command: "Alexa tell SkillX to do ActionY".

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

#365

Post by tedmiston »

simonjgreen wrote: post #142

Several times this last week I got essentially a "sorry, we're busy" message from my echos. I assumed quite a few must have just come online, but of all companies I expected Amazon to have made scale work.

I've been seeing this a lot the past few days as well, even just with some skills while others continue to work: "I'm having trouble reaching Skill X right now".

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

#366

Post by tedmiston »

garybro wrote: post #322

I bought my parents five Dots for Christmas to use as intercoms. They live on a farm, with multiple outbuildings, so if something happened, they can yell at the Echo in the building they are in for help. Any other use they get out of it (my dad uses the music feature a lot) is just an added bonus.

Do they have wifi in all of those farm buildings?

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

#367

Post by corobo »

melling wrote: post #26
icelancer wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It gets OK use I've found from people who are between 28-40 adopting new technology like voice commands. I have two kids. You should see how they use Alexa. A ton. Like we adopted technology in ways the generation before us could never imagine, so will the next. Never forget that we have decades of bias cooked into our souls; the mouse and keyboard being the primary instruments of UI and email being the main method o…

Must be a small window of people. I’m over 50 and have no problem wanting to use voice. I started with computers as a teenager before the Mac was released. Growing up watching the original Star Trek in reruns, I thought we’d all be talking to computers by now.

> Growing up watching the original Star Trek in reruns, I thought we’d all be talking to computers by now.

I thought the same, but I also thought the computer would be a massive box somewhere on site like the Enterprise's computer

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

#368

Post by dao- »

mac01021 wrote: post #151
nugi wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did the math, and found that hiring a local lawn service was even cheaper, more reliable, and used less of my time, the thing I am actually optimising for. Efficiencies of scale still beat gadgets. Not to mention the care, and graceful handling of edge cases. This is to say nothing of the myrid other services they provide. That said, I always dreamed of one, as a kid, who had to mow an acre. But as an adult, its cl…

Around where I live, you probably have to mow about 25 times per year. The lawn care people have quoted me about $70 per time to mow my ~1 acre yard. That's $1750 per year. It looks like, if these robots are able to become 20-30% cheaper then it seems like they'll probably be competitive with those people.

At some point lawn care firms will start to automate and the costs will come down. The idea that every landowner should own those devices that sit idle most of the time is a bit crazy if you think about it.

By the way, why do you /have/ to mow 25 times per year? Is that an actual requirement of some sort or really a personal preference? I live in central Europe (Berlin), haven't mowed a single time this year. Doesn't look particularly classy but it's not a jungle either...

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

#369

Post by tedmiston »

pythonboi wrote: post #212
gh02t wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually find ghome to be better for smart home use. The app is a little more intuitive with organization and it is a lot better with recognizing the names of your stuff. Alexa would have trouble recognizing arbitrary names while ghome almost always gets it right. I started with Echo but ended up replacing it with Google Home because I like it so much more.

Thankfully I am not the only one who thinks this! I had an argument with my brother over IoT devices with Echos vs Google Home products. Google Home still requires you to use 3rd party apps but you are forced to set up the device in a location in your home/apartment. I can walk into my apartment and say "Ok Google, turn on all lights" and not have to worry about which brand of lights turn on. When I used my Echo Dot…

YMMV but "Alexa turn on my lights" works for fine for my Hue lights. I'm using the Hue skill.

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

#370

Post by Pica_soO »

Given amazons spotty history when it comes to quality- product-piracy e.g. - this will be hacked and used to plan burglarys and during extended periods of absence. I shall be interested to see what PR Guns amazon has laying in store for that day.
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