I followed and even used the tool StoryLine (which is now the enterprise tool https://www.invocable.com/). They had a very active Facebook group that I watched for awhile. The problem I found was that the tool made it too easy to build apps for Alexa. People would put out really junky apps that were the equivalent of fart apps long ago. Now some may argue that all app platforms need to go through this stage but I'd argue Alexa is different. The iPhone, pre app store days, provided other utility that was the driving force behind buying the phone. Alexa is seemingly reliant on 3rd party apps (with a few very minor exceptions ex. timers, weather etc) and therefore if there is no "killer app" what is the motivation to buy one?
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
#102* Setting a timer or an alarm * Asking for the weather * Play some (desired) music Are there other things that these devices ("smart speakers") are really useful for? A voice activated browser or computer, on the other hand, is extremely useful for those who don't know to type or to use a browser (or a computer). It could be people who are not privileged enough to learn or people who find these very difficult to lear…
For me the big one is easily adding items to lists (e.g., Wunderlist) without having to stop what I'm doing.
Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit
#103The problem is that Alexa is just a consumer voice command line. UI discoverability is impossible, and everything that you can do is just a utility that does something else. There are no native apps because everything that it can do is just an IO to something else. If they actually get conversational, this will change, but until then, it’s just a command line with no man page.
> The problem is that Alexa is just a consumer voice command line. UI discoverability is impossible, and everything that you can do is just a utility that does something else.
In a way, I think it's even worse than that. I've used Alexa since the Echo was a relatively new product. Back then, I experimented with new phrases and commands often, but was frequently greeted with wrong answers or "Sorry, I don't know how to help with that." Over time, I stopped trying those commands. Skip forward to today--the backend has been improving for years, and many of those commands now work, but it's too late. Their users have already been taught that they don't, so folks stop trying to use those features. Not only can you not discover new commands easily, you might mentally blacklist useful commands permanently.
Perhaps more frustratingly, the "What's New" emails they send out don't help with this. They never say "Hey, we know you tried to ask your Echo to report its volume level before and it didn't work, but it does now." They always say "Ask Alexa to tell you an Arbor Day joke!" -_-
Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit
#104* Setting a timer or an alarm * Asking for the weather * Play some (desired) music Are there other things that these devices ("smart speakers") are really useful for? A voice activated browser or computer, on the other hand, is extremely useful for those who don't know to type or to use a browser (or a computer). It could be people who are not privileged enough to learn or people who find these very difficult to lear…
* unit conversions
* controlling smart-home stuff
* child/baby monitor
* intercom
* home telephone
Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit
#105Anecdotally a developer friend of mine strongly suspects, most people, are like him and not actually using these home speakers very much. I’ve been working on a an Audio App that reads any articles to you for iOS/Android and planned to bring it to the Echo and he seems to suggest my efforts are totally wasted. Although their market reach seems to be massive, likely related to their cheap price, not surprised by this…
As a counterpoint, thanks to an Echo in most rooms of my house and Hue lights everywhere I almost never touch a light switch. Likewise I generally use the Echo timers instead of oven timers for cooking, and I like using them as Spotify speakers. And I can't remember the last time I left my house before I asked the Echo about the weather. Sometimes my wife even uses it as an intercom if I'm in my office, but I concede…
My favorite behavior was setting up a lamp near the downstairs landing with a smart bulb, and a motion sensor in the upstairs hallway/landing (through SmartThings). When someone approaches the stairs from either direction, the lamp flips on with a low brightness (in red), allowing easy navigation of the stairway.
Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit
#106* Setting a timer or an alarm * Asking for the weather * Play some (desired) music Are there other things that these devices ("smart speakers") are really useful for? A voice activated browser or computer, on the other hand, is extremely useful for those who don't know to type or to use a browser (or a computer). It could be people who are not privileged enough to learn or people who find these very difficult to lear…
Though it's in the same vein as "Asking for the weather" I find a lot of use for finding out when my next bus is coming, how the traffic is, and other things related to my commute. And calling for Ubers.
But as I said, they all fall under the category of "mildly useful" and not "ground breaking"
Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
Either of which could be done just as quickly by setting a timer on your oven/microwave or pulling out your phone.
Using Alexa for tasks like this is a qualitatively different experience. Hands-free/voice control can be very useful in that your hands can be busy, and you don't need to find or walk to and manipulate a device or remote.
If you're cooking, the timer on your oven should literally be right in front of your face.
Every use case I hear parroted to justify the installation of audio surveillance devices in our homes sounds like a solution desperately in search of a problem. What do you plan to do with the milliseconds of time you may have saved?
Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
But the mouse does have a runaway hit: Microsoft Windows. That being said, it took 22 years to get from Engelbart's original mouse to the first version of Windows that really took off (3.0), so perhaps we're just too early on in this product cycle for the hit to have emerged yet.
I'd say the Alexa is more like birth of the personal computer. Computers weren't very good in the mid 1970's. Now that companies realize there's a product here, there will be an arm's race. Look for big improvements in next decade. Lots of people and billions of dollars are about to go into making these products better.
It isn't that revolutionary. When they can do all that processing locally, without cloud assistance, then maybe...
Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit
#109We use it to "set a timer for 10 minutes" when cooking something and "what's the weather for tomorrow" to know whether to bring a coat or not.
Either of which could be done just as quickly by setting a timer on your oven/microwave or pulling out your phone.
Sure, but I can ask Alexa what the weather is like while actively doing something else, like say before brushing my teeth or while in the shower. Or while in my kids closet, picking out clothes for the next day.
And while I can set a single timer on my microwave/oven, or set them on my phone, being able to set a timer, hands free, while cooking is pretty damn convenient. I can set a timer while my hands are dirty from mixing meat for meatloaf or handling chicken.
There's something to be said about the convenience factor, and that's what most technological innovations are about, making life easier or more convenient.
Re: Amazon’s Alexa Has 80k Apps and No Runaway Hit
#110I couldn't name a "runaway hit/killer app", but my gf and I get plenty of use from our Echo(s). Nothing we couldn't or didn't do prior to getting them, but we genuinely find the voice interface often wins out over reaching for our phones. We use it:
• as an alarm clock
• as a radio in the morning, podcast/audiobook player in the evening
• arithmetic - e.g. when planning trips we might ask "Alexa, what's 100 Malyasian Ringgit it pounds sterling?", more conveniently than flipping to xe.com or a phone app and an answer we both hear. When cooking we might ask for weight conversions, during DIY we might ask for cm to inches, etc
• to control Hue lighting in two rooms
• to control our TV/amp/satellite ("Alexa, pause|mute the TV/set TV to channel 503/etc"). I used to love my Harmony universal remote but found it pretty cumbersome to manage, and my gf could _never_ get the hang of it like she can "Alexa, turn on/off Sky"
• to play music when I'm wfh
Rather than a hit skill/application, I'd say voice is a superior interface when doing other, dextrous stuff - getting dressed, using the hair dryer, feeding the cat, cooking, washing up, gardening, DIY, etc. Asking for the lights to turn on (the switches are not near the front door) when arriving home in the dark, saying "Alexa, goodnight" rather than turning off 4 lights and 3 devices, etc.
The only thing I dislike about it is how it fires up I'm watching WWE and the commentators use Alexa Bliss's name.