Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Leisher
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Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Post by Leisher »

Your discussion on the Harmony Universal Remotes has me curious about Alexa.

Why do I want one? What are the perks? What can it really do? Are there negatives?
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TheCatt
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Alexa

Post by TheCatt »

So, we have a Google Home + Alexa.

We use both, we have Prime, and we subscribe to Google Music. Google, as you might expect, is about 100x smarter than Alexa. Alexa loves to tell me what she cannot do. Google is very good at answering questions, but not quite as good as Google search. We keep the Google Home in the kitchen to answer questions, and it can tell us about our schedules (Google Calendar), etc.

They both do simple things like "set a timer for 30 minutes," etc. Both will tell you about the weather, or what time it is.

Honestly, until the Harmony integration, the Alexa was pretty worthless. If I hadn't won it in a raffle, I wouldn't own it. I probably used it more yesterday than since we got over the "Alexa, tell me a joke" stage.

It can mute my TV, control all the devices (including Fire TV). "Alexa, pause the movie" and it does. "Alexa, unmute the TV" and it does. "Alexa, watch Fire TV" and it fires everything up, using the Harmony, and sets the TV to the write inputs, etc. So far, home automation via voice seems to be its best feature, to me.

Google Home can apparently do all the Harmony stuff to: https://support.myharmony.com/en-my/har ... -assistant

Both devices can also do phone calls now, if you want that. Haven't used it on either.
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Leisher
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Alexa

Post by Leisher »

Home sounds like the better product.

Wondering if I should wait and see if I get one at Dell EMC World next year.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TheCatt
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Alexa

Post by TheCatt »

They are both nice to have... but I wouldn't say either one is required yet.
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Alexa

Post by GORDON »

I haven't seen the need for one yet.

Integrating the TV remotes makes me think I will look at it again... but still skeptical as to my personal practicality.
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Alexa

Post by TheCatt »

Yeah, if I didn't already own it, I wouldn't buy it for these features yet. But if I had more home automation (lights, etc), I might.

I have Arlo cameras to provide video of the porch, etc. Right now, those integrate into the Alexa, uh, camera/tablet version, but no other device. Supposedly coming to the Fire TV soon, which makes sense SINCE IT'S CONNECT TO A GIANT FUCKING SCREEN.
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Leisher
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Alexa

Post by Leisher »

“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TheCatt
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Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Post by TheCatt »

Shame I cannot have Amazon's devices with Google's AI + services
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Leisher
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Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Post by Leisher »

“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TheCatt
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Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Post by TheCatt »

I'm assuming she accidentally triggered a keyword to call their friend or send them a message.

I mean, we accidentally trigger google a fair amount of the time. Alexa was worse about accidents.
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Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Post by TheCatt »

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Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Post by TheCatt »

Amazon said the Portland incident involved a series of such misunderstandings. It said the Echo woke “due to a word in background conversation sounding like ’Alexa.’ Then, the subsequent conversation was heard as a ’send message’ request. At which point, Alexa said out loud ’To whom?’ At which point, the background conversation was interpreted as a name in the customers contact list.” Amazon said Alexa then asked for confirmation and interpreted further background conversation as giving it.
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Leisher
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Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Post by Leisher »

So the Alexa innocently listens to everything being said all the time and just misinterpreted what it heard?

Oh, that's fair. Let me now buy a bug...I mean an Alexa for every room in my house!
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
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Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: So the Alexa innocently listens to everything being said all the time and just misinterpreted what it heard?
That's how these things work. But yeah, chances of things like this go up. And if your Alexa is quiet, and you don't hear it over other things, you won't hear the confirmation prompts.
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Cakedaddy
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Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Post by Cakedaddy »

Mine will occasionally say "I'm sorry, I didn't understand that request" while I'm playing games with voice (D&D, League, etc) and she thinks I'm talking to her.

Pretty much anything that sound like "Alexa" will trigger her.

"Alex, uh, casts Magic Missile. . . ."
"I'm sorry, I don't understand what you are asking for"

There was something in an Archer episode that would always trigger her as well.

Lastly, you can mute the microphones. But that kind of gimps her pretty hard.
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Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Post by GORDON »

"Ok, casting Magic Missile."

Then really fucked up things start happening in the family room.
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Troy
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Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Post by Troy »

Someone ask an Alexa to roll for initiative and see what happens.

Can it do dice rolls?
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Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Post by TheCatt »

Troy wrote: Someone ask an Alexa to roll for initiative and see what happens.

Can it do dice rolls?
Google just rolled an 8. I hope BB didn't die.

But yes, you can ask google to roll an arbitrarily large die.

But you cannot roll a 0-sided die.
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Cakedaddy
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Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Post by Cakedaddy »

ME: "Alexa. Roll for initiative."
ALEXA: "Rocks fall. Everyone dies."
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Troy
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Echo/Home/Alexa/Siri/Etc.

Post by Troy »

Cakedaddy wrote: ME: "Alexa. Roll for initiative."
ALEXA: "Rocks fall. Everyone dies."
I want that to be real so bad. Is it?
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