Had some more Amazon gift card credit to burn, and I had seen a decent review on this thing. Gonna use it in the kitchen as a glorified bluetooth speaker. Will also come in handy if I want something to read a Wikipedia entry to me :lol:
http://www.amazon.com/oc/echo
Hopefully it recognizes the wife's speech better than Kinect does.
If only it built like this bluetooth speaker...
(https://s.yimg.com/cd/resizer/FIT_TO_WIDTH-w500/39d56a30e8708bb708386bdbc88740aef0ba682f.jpg)
Good idea. Why make corporations work to datamine you when you'll pay them to put a microphone into your home.
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on February 07, 2015, 06:47:23 PM
Good idea. Why make corporations work to datamine you when you'll pay them to put a microphone into your home.
That's a fair point...I didn't think about it at first, but after seeing that Samsung thread in the main forum, I am far more leery.
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on February 07, 2015, 06:47:23 PM
Good idea. Why make corporations work to datamine you when you'll pay them to put a microphone into your home.
I'm getting datamined on my searches regardless of how I'm doing it.
That said, I've canceled my order. Not because of privacy concerns, but because the estimated delivery date is June or July. This thing might be obsolete by then :P
I am thinking about getting one. :hmm:
Quote from: Tonitrus on August 01, 2015, 01:48:06 AM
I am thinking about getting one. :hmm:
I caved. :blush:
Jeff Bezos will now know all my personal habits.
So far, just as a music player/speaker for Pandora and my Amazon music library, it's pretty darn nifty. The timer (since I use a communal coin-laundry here at my condoplex) and alarm functions will also be useful. And Prime Streaming includes a 2-hour rain/thunderstorm track for sleepy sounds music. :)
I recently got the Amazon Dot, so I can have the Echo in my main living area, and use the Dot as a music player/alarm clock in the bedroom.
The Echo, even by itself, makes a good alarm clock/music player/utility device (I got some Philips Hue lights, and now have some in my condo under voice control).
Bezos probably now knows everything I do. :blush:
The Dot is meant to be paired with speakers (though it has its own), and that definitely shows. The built-in speaker is far inferior to the Echo.
Looks neat, but I'm not prepared to pay for something I don't feel like ill get a lot of use out of.
I got it discounted it the beta stage, also picked up a dot. To make it worth it you either need to keep your music on the amazon cloud or have a Spotify subscription. It doesn't work with a lot of the other streaming services. It does work with Pandora. Some of the other functions -- weather, news - are basic but pretty convenient.
I wouldn't worry about obsolescence - it is basically just a speaker in a can - the software behind it is constantly being updated/improved.
Won one from a raffle. Not sure what to do with it really. I make it play music.
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on November 29, 2016, 11:22:28 AM
Won one from a raffle. Not sure what to do with it really. I make it play music.
Can't you ask it?
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on November 29, 2016, 11:22:28 AM
Won one from a raffle. Not sure what to do with it really. I make it play music.
Probably the main functions I use are:
- Alarm clock
- The timer (for short-term things when I need a prompting to remember to do something)
- As a music player (Pandora/my music library)
- I got some Philips Hue lightbulbs, and set up control through it ('cause you cannot be too lazy than to have to get up to flip a light switch).
- I'll ask it for weather forecasts/when sunrise/sunset will be.
- Random functional questions (i.e. measurement conversions, such as in cooking, for us backward imperial users).
You can also hook it up to a Harmony Hub and then use it to give voice commands to your TV although that functionality still needs work
Got an Echo Dot. Kids are mainly using it to search for poop songs.
Sure it is the kids doing it, right Spicy.
At least his kids isn't sending him poop emojis from school.
What less would you expect from Hitler's kids?
My sister gave me a Google Home for Xmas.
Saying "OK, Google" is only marginally duller than saying a stripper/porn name like "Alexa".
They really need to advance this tech to the point you get different voice options. Like a shy Japanese schoolgirl or an old 18th century Scottish landlord. Because mood swings.
I just wish it could understand my accent.
Speak 'Murican. :mad:
Quote from: Grey Fox on December 29, 2016, 01:41:28 PM
I just wish it could understand my accent.
LOL, that's awesome, Chekov
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 30, 2016, 01:56:05 PM
Quote from: Grey Fox on December 29, 2016, 01:41:28 PM
I just wish it could understand my accent.
LOL, that's awesome, Chekov
& it doesn't work in both my languages. I don't sound English enough or France french enough for both settings. I've give up on it.
Yeah, ok google is a pain for that. I tried playing with it a bit but had to put an American accent on to get it to work. It often misunderstood me quite horrifically and searched for stupid things.
Quote from: Grey Fox on December 30, 2016, 03:58:21 PM
& it doesn't work in both my languages. I don't sound English enough or France french enough for both settings. I've give up on it.
Bah, I can understand it having problems with broken English, but broken French?
Seems more and more devices are starting to use the zigbee protocol but I'm not happy with it using the 2.4ghz band.
I already have two wifi access points to cover the apartment, so 2/3 of the spectrum, channels 6 and 11, is already in use. Does anyone know if you can set the channel in zigbee or if it'll jump around like bluetooth?
Quote from: Vricklund on December 31, 2016, 07:36:24 AM
Seems more and more devices are starting to use the zigbee protocol but I'm not happy with it using the 2.4ghz band.
I already have two wifi access points to cover the apartment, so 2/3 of the spectrum, channels 6 and 11, is already in use. Does anyone know if you can set the channel in zigbee or if it'll jump around like bluetooth?
From what I'm reading, most manufacturers don't allow user-configured channel, but manufacturers seem to have taken it upon themselves to not use the conflicting channels (the ones that sit right at wifi 6 and 11). Honestly, I think the congestion is going to stay an issue until there's some acceptance of 802.11ah and we can finally get less devices communicating on 2.4GHz. Reliance on that spectrum has always seemed silly to me, since even at its adoption, there was already heavy interference from 2.4GHz cordless phones and microwaves, especially by IOT makers putting devices into the kitchen where both of those devices tend to be present.
I got the Google Home for Christmas. I'm using it mainly for music, as it doesn't support my Lightify hub yet. Comparing it against the Echo, you can tell the Echo, um, ecosystem has been out longer and that Amazon has put a lot into developing it. By mid-December I was using the Echo Dot to turn on every light on the first floor of the house, including the Christmas tree lights.
Alexa understands my wife better than Google Home, same for the kids. And speaking of kids...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6VXFMqB5-8
Yeah, Amazon has a distrinct head start, but Google could very well have the high ceiling as things progress.