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Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit

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Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit

#11

Post by Nursie »

king_magic wrote: post #2

Alexa is a glorified lighting management system for me. Given it’s current capabilities, that’s all it’s going to be for the foreseeable future. Oh, I’ll ask it the weather sometimes, but come on - what can Alexa really do that’s all that compelling, that already isn’t a capability of Siri/Google?

  "Alexa set a timer for 15 minutes." (She's a cooking timer)
  "Alexa what time is it" (She's a clock)
  "Alexa switch the tv off" (She can't switch it on)
  "Alexa, meow meow/Pika/fart" (Novelty nonsense)
  "Alexa, turn the heating up in the living room" (Nest integration)
Yeah that's about it. The only really useful thing she does for us is music control on our sonos system - "Alexa, play the album X by Y in the kitchen". That's quite neat.

Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit

#12

Post by steeve »

I have several, along with Google Home too. They all suffer from the same issue: it's awkward to use with third party skills. Unless they are the highly integrated ones (Spotify, Logitech Harmony) in which case it's great.

It's the same for Siri, the API is so restrictive.

The whole "tell XX to YY" isn't convenient.

One workaround on Google Home is to use IFTTT, and in that case you can customize the whole phrase and response, and then it's pretty nice, even though the latency is high.

"-Okay Google, open the blinds -Sure thing Commander" never gets old.

Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit

#13

Post by mcny »

bemmu wrote: post #3

How is the discovery of Alexa apps? Other platforms often had hits because they had some viral component that helped the apps spread.

Skills targeted at children are the worst. I am not a child! Why should I have to jump through hoops because other people have children?

Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit

#15

Post by deanclatworthy »

steeve wrote: post #12

I have several, along with Google Home too. They all suffer from the same issue: it's awkward to use with third party skills. Unless they are the highly integrated ones (Spotify, Logitech Harmony) in which case it's great. It's the same for Siri, the API is so restrictive. The whole "tell XX to YY" isn't convenient. One workaround on Google Home is to use IFTTT, and in that case you can customize the whole phrase and…

Absolutely. Until the voice assistants become a bit more intelligent with the language used to activate them, it feels so rigid and un-natural communicating with them.

I don't see a great future for voice assistants in the near future, until we truly solve the problem of intent (in a natural way) and accordingly can respond.

Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit

#16

Post by giancarlostoro »

melling wrote: post #9
king_magic wrote: post #2

Alexa is a glorified lighting management system for me. Given it’s current capabilities, that’s all it’s going to be for the foreseeable future. Oh, I’ll ask it the weather sometimes, but come on - what can Alexa really do that’s all that compelling, that already isn’t a capability of Siri/Google?

Two timers at once. Great in the kitchen. But you’re right... Why can’t Siri do that? A device with multiple microphones is more useful from the couch, especially when I need to yell into the kitchen. I don’t want to feel the need to keep my phone within earshot at all times. I wish Apple had such a $30 device for Siri but it’s unlikely.

Yeah they instead have a $349 speaker with Siri. I rather just buy two Mycroft Mark 1's for that chunk of change.

Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit

#17

Post by russfink »

aqzman wrote: post #5
king_magic wrote: post #2

Alexa is a glorified lighting management system for me. Given it’s current capabilities, that’s all it’s going to be for the foreseeable future. Oh, I’ll ask it the weather sometimes, but come on - what can Alexa really do that’s all that compelling, that already isn’t a capability of Siri/Google?

I don't have an Alexa myself, I'm a Google Home user. One thing that's always impressed me is the ability of Alexa to order things from Amazon just by issuing voice commands. Although, I'm sure that comes with its own host of problems, especially if you're not just ordering a generic product.

> comes with its own host of problems

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/21/african-grey-parrot-rocco-wa...

Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit

#18

Post by StevePerkins »

My Echo was an interesting novelty at first. But a couple years in now, it is essentially (in order of usefulness):

1. An alarm clock / kitchen timer

2. A thing that tells me the weather report during morning coffee, so I know what to wear

3. A DJ that my kids yell at to play pop music

If it died tomorrow, I'd probably just go back to using my phone for these 3 things rather than buy a new one. I can't imagine getting into it enough to explore third-party "skills".

Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit

#20

Post by gdne »

The problem is the interface. Voice commands and their responses are linear, one dimensional. It’s difficult to represent complex interaction within that scope. Think of all the investment that has gone into telephone based automated customer support. The best interface conceived so far is the dreaded phone tree. That’s essentially the same interface smart speakers are exposing.

The opportunity is to figure out how to better utilize the voice based medium. No one has done it yet. When they do, it will also likely improve the experience around screen readers and accessibility.

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