I'm seeing a lot of complaints about the always-on state of the microphone. Why is this a problem? Because they are telling you it's always on? Right now, there are probably dozens of microphones around you, and you have no idea whether they could be listening to and recording what you say or not, but I guess out-of-sight-out-of-mind feels better if we don't acknowledge that microphones don't have nifty little LED lights to let us know they are on.
I'd be more worried about the fact that Alexa is also the name of Amazon's web analytics subsidiary. Is that some kind of inside joke on their part? Not only are you giving their analytics engine all your queries, you're doing it by name
I'd be more worried about the fact that Alexa is also the name of Amazon's web analytics subsidiary. Is that some kind of inside joke on their part? Not only are you giving their analytics engine all your queries, you're doing it by name
2) I'm amazing at your comments considering it's been mentioned a half-dozen times in this thread, not to mention in their promo video, and the article.
I'm seeing a lot of complaints about the always-on state of the microphone. Why is this a problem? Because they are telling you it's always on? Right now, there are probably dozens of microphones around you, and you have no idea whether they could be listening to and recording what you say or not, but I guess out-of-sight-out-of-mind feels better if we don't acknowledge that microphones don't have nifty little LED lights to let us know they are on.
This is, oddly enough, a very GatorGuy-like comment. His arguments often go something like this:
AppleGuy: Hey, google is sniffing in my private business again. That sucks! GatorGuy: So what, Apple does that too!
As if that's an excuse for poor (or even immoral at times) behavior. It's not.
I really doubt any of us here have "dozens of microphones" in their home, listening to everything that's going on 24/7 while connected to a data-miner's cloud service. It's possible that XBox owners who might (stupidly) leave their machine running day and night with a Kinect attached might have one such device, but again, the fact that one person or company does something stupid doesn't excuse all such behavior.
I understand your fondness for shiny tech gadgets, so it doesn't surprise me a whole lot that you might consider one of these devices for yourself, but seriously, can you not see any problem whatsoever with allowing a known data-miner like Amazon to listen to every single sound and utterance made by anyone in your home 24/7 ?! Are you married? Kids? Have guests over? Are you going to tell them that Amazon has a "listening device" running in your home? Not to mention, Amazon hasn't been nearly as proactive protecting their user data from outside organizations as Apple -- or even google, for that matter.
The old "If you're not doing anything wrong..." line clearly doesn't apply in your own bedroom!
[QUOTE]The old "If you're not doing anything wrong..." line clearly doesn't apply in your own bedroom![/QUOTE]
I use "Hey Siri" in my bedroom right now. I use it to ask what time it is without having to open my eyes to look at the clock. Where is the problem with that over having any other internet connected CE in my bedroom at any one time? I simply can't be certain that it's not somehow listening.
So how does this fit into Amazon's business model? Will this be like having a virtual used car salesman living in your house? I don't get it.
One nice feature is for Amazon Fresh users. If it's in your kitchen you can yell out, "Hey Siri, more [milk] please" which will then add [milk] to the shopping list.
edit: Looks like that's a talked about feature, but I don't see it listed on their site at this point.
I use "Hey Siri" in my bedroom right now. I use it to ask what time it is without having to open my eyes to look at the clock. Where is the problem with that over having any other internet connected CE in my bedroom at any one time? I simply can't be certain that it's not somehow listening.
lol, it's the GG argument again! Okay, not exactly, but close. ;-)
In this case there's clearly a difference between allowing devices in your home/bedroom that might possibly be doing something they're not-supposed-to-be-doing-but-probably-aren't, and something that most definitely is listening to everything by design, and most definitely sending everything you say to a centralized, analyzed, archived, commercial database. One that quite literally has no restrictions on what how it can be used, now or in the future.
Whether or not you like shiny stuff like this, you really must see the difference, right?
And to follow up just a bit more, unless you believe Apple is secretly evil, by default Siri only listens when you double-press, right? You have to take extra steps to enable it otherwise, right? That's kinda/sorta okay in my book, even though I would never use it personally, because it means that you're never sending Apple anything accidentally. Very, very different from this Amazon device.
Also, just to show I'm not hypocritical, I guarantee I don't have any internet-connected listening devices in my bedroom. Laptop could potentially be considered in that category, but I have (multiple) mechanisms in place to prevent it from communicating with unauthorized servers. iDevices almost never connect to the internet at all and are under similar controls, with even tighter rules. I don't just talk the talk.
All these tools like Echo and Siri are amazingly cool, and when they get to the point where you can manage them locally and you don't have to spill your personal life out to commercial (and government) organizations, then I'll be hopping on board faster than you can say "Hey Siri". Until then, no thanks.
<div class="quote-container" data-huddler-embed="/t/183291/amazons-echo-is-a-standalone-siri-like-virtual-assistant-for-the-home/40#post_2636730" data-huddler-embed-placeholder="false"><span>Quote:</span><div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>SolipsismY</strong> <a href="/t/183291/amazons-echo-is-a-standalone-siri-like-virtual-assistant-for-the-home/40#post_2636730"><img src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" class="inlineimg" alt="View Post"/></a><br/><br/>An addendum to my accidentally delated post…<br />
I use "Hey Siri" in my bedroom right now. I use it to ask what time it is without having to open my eyes to look at the clock. Where is the problem with that over having any other internet connected CE in my bedroom at any one time? I simply can't be certain that it's not somehow listening.</div></div>
lol, it's the GG argument again! Okay, not exactly, but close. ;-)
In this case there's clearly a difference between allowing devices in your home/bedroom that <i>might possibly</i> be doing something they're not-supposed-to-be-doing-but-probably-aren't, and something that most definitely is listening to everything by design, and most definitely sending everything you say to a centralized, analyzed, archived, commercial database. One that quite literally has no restrictions on what how it can be used, now or in the future.
Whether or not you like shiny stuff like this, you really must see the difference, right?
1) GG backs up his arguments well so I take that as a complement.
2) With my iPhone plugged-in in my bedroom at night, what's the difference?
It's strange to me how these days voice is considered a big deal.
It’s been around for a while as accessibility; ie, for blind people. I find Siri to be pretty hopeless for anything other than very basic commands; it's also almost always slower than simply typing or using touch. I'm not enthused for the future of Siri, nor do I think it has much potential. Voice is fundamentally inferior for most situations.
Whatever it takes to destroy the Amazon share price more quickly is fine by me...all you PrimeHeads out there buy millions of these things...fine by me.
Whatever it takes to destroy the Amazon share price more quickly is fine by me...all you PrimeHeads out there buy millions of these things...fine by me.
There's a pejorative term for people that sign up for Amazon Prime? :???:
Comments
Saying "Hey Siri" to an iPad isn't an issue, but saying "Hey Siri" to the Amazon Echo becomes a language barrier? :rolleyes:
I'm seeing a lot of complaints about the always-on state of the microphone. Why is this a problem? Because they are telling you it's always on? Right now, there are probably dozens of microphones around you, and you have no idea whether they could be listening to and recording what you say or not, but I guess out-of-sight-out-of-mind feels better if we don't acknowledge that microphones don't have nifty little LED lights to let us know they are on.
I'd be more worried about the fact that Alexa is also the name of Amazon's web analytics subsidiary. Is that some kind of inside joke on their part? Not only are you giving their analytics engine all your queries, you're doing it by name
...I don't want to confuse my 1 year-old since she starts learning to say "hey Siri".
Quote:
That's a not a valid issue.
Riiight, cuz you can choose to name it "Heysiri" instead of Alexa.
LOL I hadn't considered that.
Or "Hey Sir" or "Heeey Siri" or "Hey hey hey Siri" or "No siri-bob" or "STFU [@]dasanman69[/@]" whatever you want.
As previously mentioned, I plan on using "Hey Siri" because my home has iDevices and because it's an already established command.
Saying "Hey Siri" to an iPad isn't an issue, but saying "Hey Siri" to the Amazon Echo becomes a language barrier?
You don't say "Hey Siri" to Echo, but "Alexa"...
Unfuckingbelievable!
Unfuckingbelievable!
YES FUCKINGBELIEVEVABLE, DUMBASS!
On my IGNORE List
2) I'm amazing at your comments considering it's been mentioned a half-dozen times in this thread, not to mention in their promo video, and the article.
I'm seeing a lot of complaints about the always-on state of the microphone. Why is this a problem? Because they are telling you it's always on? Right now, there are probably dozens of microphones around you, and you have no idea whether they could be listening to and recording what you say or not, but I guess out-of-sight-out-of-mind feels better if we don't acknowledge that microphones don't have nifty little LED lights to let us know they are on.
This is, oddly enough, a very GatorGuy-like comment. His arguments often go something like this:
AppleGuy: Hey, google is sniffing in my private business again. That sucks!
GatorGuy: So what, Apple does that too!
As if that's an excuse for poor (or even immoral at times) behavior. It's not.
I really doubt any of us here have "dozens of microphones" in their home, listening to everything that's going on 24/7 while connected to a data-miner's cloud service. It's possible that XBox owners who might (stupidly) leave their machine running day and night with a Kinect attached might have one such device, but again, the fact that one person or company does something stupid doesn't excuse all such behavior.
I understand your fondness for shiny tech gadgets, so it doesn't surprise me a whole lot that you might consider one of these devices for yourself, but seriously, can you not see any problem whatsoever with allowing a known data-miner like Amazon to listen to every single sound and utterance made by anyone in your home 24/7 ?! Are you married? Kids? Have guests over? Are you going to tell them that Amazon has a "listening device" running in your home? Not to mention, Amazon hasn't been nearly as proactive protecting their user data from outside organizations as Apple -- or even google, for that matter.
The old "If you're not doing anything wrong..." line clearly doesn't apply in your own bedroom!
[QUOTE]The old "If you're not doing anything wrong..." line clearly doesn't apply in your own bedroom![/QUOTE]
I use "Hey Siri" in my bedroom right now. I use it to ask what time it is without having to open my eyes to look at the clock. Where is the problem with that over having any other internet connected CE in my bedroom at any one time? I simply can't be certain that it's not somehow listening.
One nice feature is for Amazon Fresh users. If it's in your kitchen you can yell out, "Hey Siri, more [milk] please" which will then add [milk] to the shopping list.
edit: Looks like that's a talked about feature, but I don't see it listed on their site at this point.
An addendum to my accidentally delated post…
I use "Hey Siri" in my bedroom right now. I use it to ask what time it is without having to open my eyes to look at the clock. Where is the problem with that over having any other internet connected CE in my bedroom at any one time? I simply can't be certain that it's not somehow listening.
lol, it's the GG argument again! Okay, not exactly, but close. ;-)
In this case there's clearly a difference between allowing devices in your home/bedroom that might possibly be doing something they're not-supposed-to-be-doing-but-probably-aren't, and something that most definitely is listening to everything by design, and most definitely sending everything you say to a centralized, analyzed, archived, commercial database. One that quite literally has no restrictions on what how it can be used, now or in the future.
Whether or not you like shiny stuff like this, you really must see the difference, right?
Also, just to show I'm not hypocritical, I guarantee I don't have any internet-connected listening devices in my bedroom. Laptop could potentially be considered in that category, but I have (multiple) mechanisms in place to prevent it from communicating with unauthorized servers. iDevices almost never connect to the internet at all and are under similar controls, with even tighter rules. I don't just talk the talk.
All these tools like Echo and Siri are amazingly cool, and when they get to the point where you can manage them locally and you don't have to spill your personal life out to commercial (and government) organizations, then I'll be hopping on board faster than you can say "Hey Siri". Until then, no thanks.
1) GG backs up his arguments well so I take that as a complement.
2) With my iPhone plugged-in in my bedroom at night, what's the difference?
I'm going with Scarlett.
Wondering how fast "bring me a beer" is going to work
It’s been around for a while as accessibility; ie, for blind people. I find Siri to be pretty hopeless for anything other than very basic commands; it's also almost always slower than simply typing or using touch. I'm not enthused for the future of Siri, nor do I think it has much potential. Voice is fundamentally inferior for most situations.
There's a pejorative term for people that sign up for Amazon Prime? :???: