No one needs any of what those things offer, it’s just a gadget to keep up with the Jones’.
Fair enough, people will invent things for the sake of it but keep that shit on a Tomorrow’s World episode not in everyday life.
when i’m cooking alexa is easier to change the music without my phone getting covered in nonsense. also good for asking for measurement differences.
and she can do fart noises.
we use it as a glorified soundbar - everyone in the family can go ‘Alexa, connect to my device’ and share their tunes. This is the cheapest and easiest way to do this on a budget.
its in the kitchen - so timers are actually pretty handy.
My daughter is pretty badly dyslexic, and asks it ‘how do you spell’ quite often. It’s good for that.
Ended up getting a Google Home Mini, free, with a Spotify account. It’s been pretty cool for just asking it to play whatever music, or asking it the news etc in the morning when I’m having breakfast etc. My girls ask it all sorts of random questions too. I’m sure the novelty will wear off, but, privacy issues aside, it’s okay for now.
plus, all your iOS and Android devices are listening and watching if they want to be anyway.
I think consumer tech owes so much to star trek - communicators = mobile phones, etc.
Once voice recognition gets to the point of ‘if there’s any updates in the footy thread on ukskate, play them on the big telly’
that will rock - we have to teach the ML how people use language first.
plus this is now a thing:
I doubt my 3310 is listening in
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So Alexa, etc. is a radio. Gotcha.
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A radio with your own personal DJ, who will google shit for you, has an accurate watch and a photographic memory, is endlessly patient, and will do other shit too.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
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Nope, you’re not selling it to me, ha. The digital radio in my kitchen, which I connect a phone or ipad to play 6music, soundcloud or whatever does that too.
Oh, I totally admit I’m a sold-to sheeple.
I just don’t GAF, unfortunately - and I know enough to know that I should.
it’s a bit shit.
Pretty weird. And that’s on top of the data capture stuff
I had an Amazon dot, pretty much useless unless you subscribe to amazon music, ended up sending it back. I do have a google home speaker that I can control to some extent the sonos system, but is useful for setting alarms when cooking, weather, random factchecking etc.
You can listen to ALL your google voice searches, dating years back, it’s fucking terrifying.
Have two Google home devices - one we got for free via spotify and one through work. been a lifesaver in terms of acting as a white noise machine to help our baby through her first few months of sleeping, playing her nursery rhymes and now it’s on a constant fucking repeat of the Moana soundtrack. Like others have said it’s good for changing music while cooking and just doing stuff you’d normally do on your phone (besides texting) without having to stop and type. Give me convenience or give me death, I guess. And also, listen to what my conversations are about, I’m as interesting as a rotten knot in an old piece of driftwood.
Looked at both of the Google and Amazon offerings recently and neither have any value for me.
I’ve got Bluetooth speakers and network connectivity around the house with other things anyway.
It would just be a novelty purchase and I suspect the novelty would wear off very shortly.
We even travel with one. We’re locked in, ha.
4 hours at work tomorrow then off to Marseille till Monday, vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv stoked
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