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Alexa+

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Re: Alexa+

#201

Post by TeMPOraL »

happyopossum wrote: post #161
mikestew wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every time I hear that, I think “you mean like I’ve been doing for, what, the last five years?” How does Siri not know that I know this already? Does its little pea brain have no persistent storage ?

> Does its little pea brain have no persistent storage ? Essentially, yes - for various privacy/marketing/whatever reasons what information Siri collects is heavily anonymized and can't be tied back to you.

Which is really stupid, because this wouldn't be a problem if they weren't sending that data back to themselves in the first place. They found that good UX is incompatible with telemetry, so they chose to... degrade the UX.

Re: Alexa+

#203

Post by tokioyoyo »

reaperducer wrote: post #154
tokioyoyo wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn’t take much effort to verify and cross reference check in most of the scenarios. But I have no idea how they will fight against LLM-optimized SEO-hell. Like I could see products flat out flying in the ads, hoping for LLMs to pick that up and suggest to users. Source of truth will matter even more.

It doesn’t take much effort to verify and cross reference check in most of the scenarios. And yet people still drive into rivers because Google Maps tells them to. Never underestimate the power of "computers are never wrong."

How many times has that happened? Those cases make the headlines, but it’s so rare that, in my opinion, they can be disregarded. Nothing is perfect, just assess your risks and tolerance to error. That’s subjective, so one acts accordingly.

Re: Alexa+

#205

Post by TeMPOraL »

cyberax wrote: post #176

I can't care less about Alexa ordering me something on Amazon or booking tickets. I can do that better from my computer. I want it to be able to deal with home automation. It looks like even simple: "turn off the light at 9pm" is not going to work. Or setting up something like "on sunrise, open the window shades".

Home Assistant has been doing it for a while. All it takes is to add OpenAI or Anthropic integration, plug your API key, and you have a better voice assistant than anything Google, Amazon and Apple have offered so far.

Re: Alexa+

#206

Post by dangus »

Arthanos wrote: post #152

>Let’s say you need to get your oven fixed—Alexa+ will be able to navigate the web, use Thumbtack to discover the relevant service provider, authenticate, arrange the repair, and come back to tell you it’s done—there’s no need to supervise or intervene. This is a disaster waiting to happen. I don't trust an LLM to choose between two brands of dish soap for me let alone pick a contractor, schedule a repair, and make a…

It also seems like it's ripe for just being an outright lie. People will pay Amazon to be ranked as the preferred service provider. You won't get the best service provider, you'll get the one that paid Amazon the most money.

Re: Alexa+

#207

Post by olyjohn »

_DeadFred_ wrote: post #164
daveguy wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I stopped shopping at Amazon about a year ago. Too much overhead figuring out the good products, vs the scam products, vs the mediocre but pushed products. Been using Newegg/BestBuy for electronics, Costco/Target/Walmart for home goods, local grocery stores for food, and Barnes and Noble for books. I used to be good at picking out the gems from the cruft on Amazon, but either it's gotten more difficult or I've lost m…

I can't believe that in 2025 BestBuy is my go to for electronics. Wild times.

I'm so horrifically disappointed every time I go in there. Their monitor selection is all super low-end trash, as is most of their electronics they sell (TVs, stereos, computers etc). You're lucky if they have an actual PC component in the store, there are bare shelves everywhere. They don't even offer a good selection of phones, accessories or memory cards. It's starting to feel like Fry's right before they went out of business. Overall, it feels like a store for people who need to buy an electronic item without knowing why or what they're gonna do with it.

Re: Alexa+

#208

Post by TeMPOraL »

jazzyjackson wrote: post #116
hbosch wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Custom bedtime stories will make every night in my house more pleasurable!

I don't know why I have such a visceral gut turning reaction to the idea of a bodyless voice synthesizing a bedtime story to a child. I don't have children, but always thought the whole bedtime story thing was meant to be time spent with the parent.

In a perfect world, yes. In the real world, some nights the parents are not able to read/tell the story. The children don't care, they want the story anyway.

Audiobooks are a godsend.

Re: Alexa+

#209

Post by dangus »

kemitche wrote: post #194
65 wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never understood how people find setting a timer on their phone so excruciatingly difficult that they need to buy a $100+ device they can speak to to do it for them. Or perhaps it's another case of shiny object syndrome.

Here's a few dozen use cases based on my own use of smart home devices: - Hands are full or dirty while cooking. Voice activation is more convenient. True for not just timers, but every other aspect - music playing, controlling home devices like lights, watching something on YouTube, etc. - The above also applies to any case where my hands can't readily access my phone, such as wanting to listen/change music when sho…

Smart speakers just don't solve a problem. Period.

- Don't need to control home devices or watch shit while you're cooking. If I really want to queue up a video I just do that before I start cooking.

- Don't need music while showering, who cares, showering takes 5 minutes

- Again just like "oh it's for music"

- Yes I like controlling smart lights but I can just hold the power button on my phone and tell it what to do instead of bothering with a speaker in every room

- I just put the remote nearby? or use the remote on the phone? What's so hard about pausing TV with a phone/TV remote?

- Basic internet queries, a.k.a., the smartphone I always have on me

Re: Alexa+

#210

Post by nix0n »

theultdev wrote: post #182
65 wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never understood how people find setting a timer on their phone so excruciatingly difficult that they need to buy a $100+ device they can speak to to do it for them. Or perhaps it's another case of shiny object syndrome.

would be nicer if there was a cheaper / simpler alternative (offline voice recognition, just timers and clock, possibly weather) but it's nice to use your voice so you don't contaminate your phone. (preparing chicken and such) the kitchen is pretty much the only use-case for voice assistants imo.

If all you really need is a timer, you can just use a digital watch.

I don't worry about getting mine dirty because I just wash the watch when I watch my hands.

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