29-12-2017, 06:38 AM
1
Amazon Echo Dot
I got one of these for Christmas, and within 2 days my wife wanted a second one for upstairs! This idea of hands free interaction is fantastic. They are only $49 (Canadian). The one on the main floor is in the kitchen and within earshot of the front hallway. We are able to check the local weather while rushing to go out the door (no stopping to look it up on my phone), and I am always asking it to play some music (soft jazz, punk, 70s soft rock, whatever) when I am in the kitchen even just for a few minutes...something I would never take the time to do on my phone. I have learn what else I can do with it (add items to a grocery list, control my thermostat, etc.) just by voice commands as I am busy doing other things.I did not mean to go on and on about this like some sort of fanboy, but for so little money, this thing promises to revolutionize my life around the house...making things easier even if it is just playing music or setting a timer without having to stop what I am doing to actually press buttons on one device or another.
As I learn what else I can with it, I would love to hear what other people might be doing with it.
29-12-2017, 07:44 AM
2
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
They are cheap because they are spying on you. They are like those Flybuy cards they record everything you do in return for doing trivial jobs like dimming your lights or turning on your stereoi.Google and Amazon are ahead at the moment but you can be sure lots of companies want to get in on this act.
I'll wait until a open source version appears before I will get one and then I might not bother - I can control my stereo from my tablet without anyone knowing about it.
29-12-2017, 12:00 PM
5
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
I think this will get interesting when you couple it with smart devices - your TV, lights, heating, coffee machine and so on - then you can just tell it what to do. I'm not sure how the coffee machine will work - after all the coffee is still on the other side of the room as the machine and milk's in the fridge.I'm still getting used to the fact I can talk to my normal android phone and ask it pretty much anything you can type into google and you get spoken answers or worst case a list of answers on screen. Oh and it calls people for you hands free and sets directions when you are driving etc.
There are a ton of articles on what your device can do - I just did a search on "what can amazon dot do". At the moment I don't have one but do have voice operated kids that can do washing up, fetching, carrying, bring me a cuppa in bed from time to time and so on. I guess the DOT doesn't answer back which could be an advantage.
Sadly my kids seem to be going through some auto update process which means the voice recognition isn't as responsive and quality of jobs is slipping a bit
29-12-2017, 12:16 PM
6
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
Originally Posted by effingpot
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I think this will get interesting when you couple it with smart devices - your TV, lights, heating, coffee machine and so on - then you can just tell it what to do. I'm not sure how the coffee machine will work - after all the coffee is still on the other side of the room as the machine and milk's in the fridge. I'm still getting used to the fact I can talk to my normal android phone and ask it pretty much anything you can type into google and you get spoken answers or worst case a list of answers on screen. Oh and it calls people for you hands free and sets directions when you are driving etc.
There are a ton of articles on what your device can do - I just did a search on "what can amazon dot do". At the moment I don't have one but do have voice operated kids that can do washing up, fetching, carrying, bring me a cuppa in bed from time to time and so on. I guess the DOT doesn't answer back which could be an advantage.
Sadly my kids seem to be going through some auto update process which means the voice recognition isn't as responsive and quality of jobs is slipping a bit
29-12-2017, 01:17 PM
8
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
Originally Posted by Tedc
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How much of what you need (Music, etc) comes for free and how much do you have to keep paying for?
29-12-2017, 01:20 PM
9
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
The music is Amazon Music. If you have Amazon Prime you get a music service included, which you can use, or you can upgrade to Unlimited for yoru Echo Dot. Though they charge £7.99 a month for prime members or £9.99 for others. Seems a lot on top of Prime.Some details here
Some Q&As here
29-12-2017, 01:49 PM
10
Re: Amazon Echo Dot
YupAll this voice controlled stuff, just spyware.
Machines like this just teach you to be lazy and a useless human being.
I mean when did writing a shopping list become such a chore that it needs a mechanistic solution???
When did pressing a button to play a piece of music become such a chore that it needs voice control?
Like all global agendas it starts small and innocent, creates the dependency on the technology and then later it all evolves.
I presume OP will be one of the first to get an RFID chip embedded under the skin because it's "cool" and makes buying things so much easier ! lol
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