Amazon Echo

[derspiess]

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

http://www.amazon.com/oc/echo

Hopefully it recognizes the wife's speech better than Kinect does.

[Tonitrus]

If only it built like this bluetooth speaker...

[Darth Wagtaros]

Good idea. Why make corporations work to datamine you when you'll pay them to put a microphone into your home.

[Tonitrus]

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.

[derspiess]

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

[Tonitrus]

I am thinking about getting one.

[Tonitrus]

I am thinking about getting one.

I caved.   

Jeff Bezos will now know all my personal habits.

[Tonitrus]

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. 

[Tonitrus]

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. 

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.

[Alcibiades]

Looks neat, but I'm not prepared to pay for something I don't feel like ill get a lot of use out of. 

[The Minsky Moment]

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.

[Darth Wagtaros]

Won one from a raffle.  Not sure what to do with it really. I make it play music.

[Liep]

Won one from a raffle.  Not sure what to do with it really. I make it play music.

Can't you ask it?

[Tonitrus]

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).

[The Minsky Moment]

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