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Amazon Echo

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Re: Amazon Echo

#381

Post by lsaferite »

trevor-e wrote: post #166
cfeduke wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is in the same vein as the question "why would I want a web browser on my phone? Why wouldn't I just use the web browser on my desktop computer?" As to why you'd want a device that is listening - and does something when its triggered - is that you can arbitrarily activate it with your voice. For example, if your hands are full, or dirty, because maybe you're cooking or changing the oil in your car, or cataloging…

But will those use cases be frequent enough to make someone want this? Probably not. Don't be surprised when this turns out to be the next Fire Phone.

I'm sure a few people thought the same about smart phones.

Re: Amazon Echo

#382

Post by stronglikedan »

meepmorp wrote: post #367
stronglikedan wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While we're being positive, I absolutely do not think Amazon would be stupid enough to shoot themselves in the foot sending all recorded data up to the cloud. I'm certain that within a few hours of release, someone will have a network monitor hooked up. Their findings will be widely known almost immediately, and this thing would be dead in the water if they were sending everything up. They know this already.

There's no way this thing has the power to do adequate voice recognition on device for arbitray speakers and queries, even given a limited domain. It's sending everything to Amazon for processing. The only thing it probably recognizes by itself is "Alexa."

Right, so it sends the commands that you give it only after it recognizes a pre-programmed word. It will likely not send up casual conversation surrounding the command, as there would not be a non-nefarious reason to do that.

Re: Amazon Echo

#383

Post by jonaphin »

I personally just marvel at the implications of opening up an API for it. Imagine playing Youtube workout playlists, or powering up other devices through it, it could certainly be the voice hub of the house. It's one giant step towards the enablement of the "internet of things" for the household.

Re: Amazon Echo

#385

Post by lsaferite »

filereaper wrote: post #269

'Alexa' as a trigger word... I'd be curious how it responds if 'Alexa' is contained in the actual music its playing, this immedieatly came to mind: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Downeaster_Alexa I'm not an expert in voice recognition, this might just be a silly thing that has been long addressed...

More than likely the noise cancelling is also cancelling out the music it's playing, so I think it wouldn't matter.

Several years ago I was playing with a USB speakerphone module from Yamaha that had hardware noise cancelling. It was so good that even with loud music playing via the device the party on the other end only heard my voice and it was crystal clear. It was cancelling out the music totally.

Re: Amazon Echo

#386

Post by izacus »

irishcoffee wrote: post #281
pwnna wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone is like that. I personally have a build of Android with most of Google stripped out and the rest semi-disabled and it should have a minimum amount of tracking. I also don't install social networking apps, or at least deny them access to my personal data on Android. Yes, people carry smartphones, use social networks. However that doesn't automatically disallow them from worrying about privacy, as they sim…

Maybe my point was unclear. Anyone who elects to put their personal information in a public forum or any kind has willingly surrendered that information. They made a choice to make private information public. How then, can they be concerned about privacy?

I think you're (either willfully or out of ignorance) ignoring the most imporant aspect of privacy: it's about CHOOSING what to share.

I CHOOSE what to share on a social network. Devices spying on me rob me of that choice and my ability of filtering what public knows about me.

Re: Amazon Echo

#387

Post by bryanlarsen »

gisely wrote: post #362
stronglikedan wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While we're being positive, I absolutely do not think Amazon would be stupid enough to shoot themselves in the foot sending all recorded data up to the cloud. I'm certain that within a few hours of release, someone will have a network monitor hooked up. Their findings will be widely known almost immediately, and this thing would be dead in the water if they were sending everything up. They know this already.

Doesn't mean the NSA or Chinese equivalent won't figure out how to hack Echo to plant a little piece of stealthware on it that records all conversations of suspects in "terrorism related" investigations. Such stealthware might get detected once or twice (though not often-- it won't be ubiquitous), but such detections will easily covered up by forcing Amazon to announce a rare and obscure firmware bug backstory. Actua…

The NSA could also do the same thing to a phone.

Re: Amazon Echo

#388

Post by IgorPartola »

blumkvist wrote: post #376
IgorPartola wrote: post #320

I recently bought into the Sonos ecosystem. While it is pretty limited in some ways (I can't just stream stuff playing on my phone to the Sonos speakers, for example if I am playing a random YouTube video), it has one really good thing going for it: it can sync playback between an arbitrary number of speakers. This is my new standard for this type of thing: speakers that cannot do this are inferior to Sonos. In that…

> well, I can always unplug it. And how long until this is the norm and we stop even talking about the privacy implications? How long after that point the notion of privacy stops existing?

Yes, this is the slippery slope to 1984. Do you carry a cell phone? Do you use a computer? Do you have windows? Do you ever leave your bunker with 4 foot concrete and steel walls? Yeah, your privacy is compromised already.

No, we won't stop talking about privacy because I said I can unplug this thing. Yes, I am excited about a new type of device coming out that is actually as cool as an iPad, or the Nest.

Re: Amazon Echo

#389

Post by egsec »

At a macro vantage point, this is cool and great. On a micro-economic standpoint I don't need the convenience and I don't want the privacy risk. I would rather download all of wikipedia weekly and pay $500 for the voice recognition software under my control. I think there is some great first world problem potential, but it auto updates and I have little control. If something went screwy on Windows, people would notice it very quickly - there are suits in corporations watching and reviewing these things. On consumer grade electronics only enthusiasts and security researchers would know if something went funny.

Re: Amazon Echo

#390

Post by Throwaway12928 »

aragot wrote: post #313
Throwaway12928 wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The scary part is that you can't protect yourself easily from those around you. For example, let's say you like to maintain your privacy, and you're careful about anything you post online, you're careful not to have an always on microphone, such as the Echo, you're careful not to have a smart television with a video camera connected to the internet in your living room, etc. That's great, and up to you to decide, but…

> Eiffel tower (...) southern France (...) Italy You have an excellent comment, but you fail at ponting at how this info may be used against you and providing usecases. Should sound like: "On Feb 1st your car is recorded on the leftish party's parking lot" "On Feb 2nd you are arrested in person at a friend's place for the speed excess of Jan 26th. Police automatically suponead your network's Echos".

I'm not concerned about it being used against me. Like most people, I'm not going around committing crimes on a daily basis or trying to hide nuclear launch codes. I just like to have a right to some privacy in my daily life, and I don't think every detail needs to be logged and available to the world.
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