Be forewarned - if I am invited into your home for any reason, and I see an Alexa device, I will vocally add a large shopping list of nonsense to your Amazon cart :)
"Alexa, order 12 gallons of milk"
Amazon Echo Dot
131–140 of 410 posts
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
#132As usual, all goodies are US only :(
I want Alexa for my home automation, and I don't mind speaking English to her. But tough luck in Switzerland.
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
#133I would not be surprised if it turns out that Alexa is the biggest thing they've ever done, including AWS.
Zero chance of that. AWS will likely be a $100-$150 billion market value business in five years, with $6-$8 billion in operating income. They're tracking to $3.x billion in operating income in the next four quarters. It'll be valued as highly as Intel and Oracle. A device that tells you the weather, orders an Uber, or orders more low margin merchandise off of Amazon, is not going to generate that kind of massive fina…
You need to think outside the box. I'm sure you are completely wrong.
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't forget the harried parent of a child with low impulse control. These things would be a lot less "Big Brother" for me if I had a mic key in my pocket that would only turn the mic on when I squeezed it.
Hey buddy want to bet that Amazon is using this massive collection of voice to text to sell to other companies like Apple and Google?
Riight, because Siri doesn't generate enough voice data for apple.
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
Almost. More specifically, we didn't think that the personal assistant would have to communicate with a corporation that wants our info to make (more) money. The government option doesn't sound any better, either. I think they are rather creepy, because it's so obvious there is (or, could be) a hidden agenda.
While indeed creepy, I ordered the original Echo as soon as it was made available, but I'm probably a special case. I live by myself and barely even speak out loud at home. If Amazon can somehow monetize my primary use of Echo as a glorified kitchen timer I will be impressed.
$180 for a kitchen timer seems a bit steep.
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
#136When did I turn from the enthusiastic kid who dreamed of audio-controlled personal assistants like this to a cranky old man who doesn't want anything remotely spy-possible in his house?
We'll be dead soon. Enjoy the little things.
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
#137Echo Dot ($89.99) is available exclusively for Prime Members through Alexa Voice Shopping. To order your Echo Dot, use your Echo or Fire TV and just ask: “Alexa, order Echo Dot.”
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
#138My problem with Alexa is, I don't want to invest in a new ecosystem. I'm fine with Amazon being the hub that connects all of my services, but I don't want to use Amazon To-Do List, Amazon Prime Radio, Amazon Traffic, Amazon Sports, Amazon Calendar, Amazon Weather. That being said, they announce partnerships with more and more services every month. Things are looking up.
There is an api where you can build your own integrations (skills).
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The transition from primarily visual UX towards an auditorial UX is really powerful. It's also less accessible. I'm sure auditory UI is useful in many cases, but it also seems to be more cumbersome in others. In any case, I hope that pervasive auditory UI doesn't become any sort of standard without an accompanying visual/physical interface. > Try watching a scary movie with the sound turned off, it turns into a com…
>It's also less accessible. For whom? To the blind this would be a godsend. From a practical medical perspective, audio is superior because we have decades of experience with effective ear implants to help the hard of hearing and the deaf, but the visual equivalent still eludes us.
> To the blind this would be a godsend
For sure. Different interfaces disadvantage different classes of people. There is no silver bullet; I'm trying to point out that an exclusively audio/voice-driven UI would not be desirable.
> we have decades of experience with effective ear implants
The problem is multi-faceted. Hearing loss, especially from a young age, often leads to difficulty speaking -- it is no use if a voice-driven system can't understand you in the first place.
And while cochlear implant technology has helped a lot of people, it is by no means a cure, and there are many, many others that don't benefit enough from assistive technology to achieve functional equivalence (which is the key phrase when talking about accessibility). I have a cochlear implant and haven't worn it in years, because it really doesn't help.
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
#140I think the number 1 use for voice control is the car. The current (Apple Car/Android Auto) are good but I would be interested in a better experience. Would like for Amazon Alexa to work in auto.