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Amazon Echo Show

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Re: Amazon Echo Show

#91

Post by problems »

rkangel wrote: post #87
odonnellryan wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder, why go this route instead of creating a device to add to your TV? My echo is right next to the TV.

Because this way the screen can turn on and off dynamically. Also, it doesn't tie you to having to have a TV in a location you want one.

HDMI-CEC allows similar on most modern TVs.

As for not being tied to where you have a TV, for $200 you can buy a 40"+ 1080p TV, for $100 you can have a really nice IPS 22" 1080p monitor. Probably better than this tiny thing.

Re: Amazon Echo Show

#92

Post by vthallam »

FLGMwt wrote: post #3

Any echo owners feel like they would get additional value out of this? 90% of my interaction with my standard echo has been "what's the weather". Even when I want visual controls for music, I'd rather pull out my phone than walk over to a screen.

I use solely for weather, music & to control my room's lights. It basically sucks at recognizing my voice commands 50% of the time, sometimes i just pull out my phone to do that.

On the other hand, Google Assistant is unsurprisingly better at recognizing voice, give more information about everything. I am going to soon dump my echo for a home, just waiting for the Google IO to see if there will be a home-2.

Re: Amazon Echo Show

#93

Post by uptown »

“The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug into your wire whenever they wanted to.”

-Orwell, 1984

Re: Amazon Echo Show

#94

Post by lsaferite »

ashark wrote: post #77
deong wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there are certainly reasons to have your "hands-free conversational interaction" device also be able to show you things. It seems like the big pitch they're making right now is on communications, but there are loads of reasons why I can imagine it being useful. Most mornings, I ask Alexa about the weather. Usually, the voice response is all I need, but occasionally, there are storms in the forecast, and there…

> Traffic is another good example. You want to know that there's a 30 minute delay on your route to work, but it's more important to know where so you can plan your route around it. Back when I used Android, Google Now seemed to really do this right (if creepily): it figured out when/where you commuted and would give you a heads-up before you left, offering to plan a route around the trouble. More useful since you ta…

Did you ever take a look at the location tracking info google keeps on you? They know everywhere I've been for the last several years or so.

I just checked, they list location data back to 2009.

https://www.google.com/maps/timeline

Re: Amazon Echo Show

#95

Post by scotchio »

Love that Amazon is throwing a lot of options out there.

Only wish the outer shell on this one looked a bit nicer / slicker.

Really want an "Alexa" type replacement for smoke detectors. Location seems perfect for speakers / music in a house.

Scary to think that privacy for average consumer is basically dead.

Re: Amazon Echo Show

#96

Post by vthallam »

This is more like an iPad with a better Siri. I guess talking to parents, watching child cams are the target audience for this. A device which sits in living room or bed room need not show me CNN in there.

Re: Amazon Echo Show

#97

Post by veli_joza »

noonespecial wrote: post #75

Why does it have to be a tiny self contained screen? Until I can say "Alexa, on the main view screen" (right after "Alexa, Earl Grey, hot" of course), we've got progress to make. Which reminds me, I've got a Keurig to hack...

You hit the nail on the head. Back in 90s we could connect any audio/video device to any other device, because manufacturers agreed on basic analog signals. Now, everything is "smart" and isolated. Is it too much to ask to be able to route audio/video/other signals from sources to sinks regardless device boundaries?

It's not helping that big companies like Amazon want to establish themselves as _the_ hub for IoT.

Re: Amazon Echo Show

#98

Post by sailfast »

thatwebdude wrote: post #86
odonnellryan wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder, why go this route instead of creating a device to add to your TV? My echo is right next to the TV.

Doesn't the FireTV/Stick do full-on Alexa now?

Yes - though it's not listening and you need the voice remote to be in your hand and/or you need to spin up the app on your phone. While that doesn't sound like a barrier to much, it definitely has been for me asking for simple things especially from across the room. Voice interfaces are good for hands-free action, which FireTV doesn't really allow.

Re: Amazon Echo Show

#99

Post by tsunamifury »

mikeash wrote: post #90
eclipxe wrote: post #21

People are missing this: "With the Alexa App, conversations and contacts go where you go. When you’re away from home, use the app to make a quick call or send a message to your family’s Echo. Alexa calling and messaging is free—to get started download the Alexa App." Alexa is now in the messaging and communication game. https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/09/amazon-enables-free-calls-...

Are we ever going to see unity between these services, or are we doomed to have little walled-off fiefdoms forever? A phone number works anywhere in the world, to anywhere in the world, with anyone who has a phone. All e-mail providers work with each other. I don't care who you're with, and I wouldn't even have to know except it's usually part of the address. SMS works no matter which provider we both have. It feels…

This isn't that complicated or sad. You can still call anyone in the world and still text anyone in the world. Its that the remaining spaces to compete in are feature based, and features don't move forward quickly on open standards.

There are plenty of working open standards to do the basics, its if you want to do anything beyond the basics that you end up in a walled garden.

Re: Amazon Echo Show

#100

Post by tyingq »

FLGMwt wrote: post #3

Any echo owners feel like they would get additional value out of this? 90% of my interaction with my standard echo has been "what's the weather". Even when I want visual controls for music, I'd rather pull out my phone than walk over to a screen.

>my standard echo has been "what's the weather".

A 7 day forecast is probably better with the screen.

>Even when I want visual controls for music, I'd rather

Clearly it's for the Karaoke capability :)

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