Update: Do you use Alexa Poll

[bingybear]

We were an early adopter. Use it in the kitchen. Our most used features are:
- Hand's free music
- Grocery lists
- Timers

All three are incredibly useful when you have your hands full while prepping meals. DW likes to find "easter eggs." We don't use any advanced features (if this then that, etc)

I can do all this with my cell.

For those on recording background talk, without really knowing the code or or monitoring the data sent from the device. The little blue light is most likely the processor turning the light on. The same could be said for your cell phone or many other devices if they have the requisite capabilities.

I have a friend that has automated much of his house. I just don't see the value or need. For him some of it might be as his wife has trouble getting around. I might find it interesting to write skills for Alexa, but I can thing of more involved technical products to play with.

 

[gromit]

I have 2 Echo Dots and enjoy using them.

Echo recently added a feature that could be useful in some emergencies - Alexa calling and messaging.
I haven't set it up yet, but I think it works as follows: You set up the contacts you want to allow for calling and they need to set you up for calling on their end. You can then do Alexa to Alexa calling by saying "Alexa, call <contact>. The other person's echo announces an incoming call and asks if they want to accept or dismiss. Once accepted your conversation is thru the echo. There is also a phone app for echo to cell phone app calls (I think the app uses data, not cell minutes).
I plan to set up Alexa calling just for personal emergencies. If I ever have an "I've fallen and can't get up" moment within earshot of my bedroom or living room and kitchen area I can still be on the floor and get Alexa to call a friend. The friend can come help or call 911. Otherwise I would need to decide(or guess) where I left my cell phone and then try to get to it.
Even with Alexa set up for calls, I would rather use my cell phone for regular calls. I just think it might help in an emergency.

Note: Currently, Alexa can't directly call 911, and I would be wary of it making a false alarm call to 911 if that was a feature. Alexa accidentally calling a friend is a lot less embarrassing then having the 911 responders showing up at the door for a false alarm.

 

[kcowan]

I have even turned off Siri on all my devices. When a robot will sort and dispose of garbage, I might consider one. Meanwhile I enjoy doing things myself.

 

[Car-Guy]

Zero interest in such devices. Especially after just seeing the movie "The Circle" (2017).

Anyway, I've got the DW to ask since she sees all, hears all, knows all.

 

[sengsational]

We got one as a gift. DW plugged it in and had it on the end table. I noticed she never seemed to be using it, so I unplugged it a couple months ago. She hasn't noticed.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

We got one as a gift. DW plugged it in and had it on the end table. I noticed she never seemed to be using it, so I unplugged it a couple months ago. She hasn't noticed.

Hahahahah

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

I have no Dots, Alexas or Echos and I can still do these things. I can walk into a given room and turn devices on and off using a "switch".

I am guessing that you threw away the remote for the TV because getting up and crossing the room to manually turn a knob/pressing buttons is so satisfying.

I remember my first remote control for the VCR, I paid , drum roll... $600 bucks in 1984. It has a remote, 15 foot wired. I thought it was the greatest thing.
I just did a price check inflation sort of thing, thats $1385.99 now. Wow. I think in my head at the time we had just had the baby , so no more weekly night at movies.

 

[RE2Boys]

Didn't answer the poll.

We received an Alexa Dot as a promotional gift and decided to try it out. Once the novelty of talking to the Dot wore off, it now just takes up counter space most of the time. We currently have little interest in adding automated gadgets to the house. And we have found Alexa to be knowledge-base challenged such that we seldom ask it anything......if we really want an answer, the likelihood getting something useful means grabbing the cell phone or tablet and asking Google, got tired of Alexa coming back with nothing useful.

It is great for streaming music, however, and that is about it's only use currently, and only when I am home alone.

Wished I had not opened the box and just listed it on eBay.

 

[rdy2go]

I don't have one and don't see myself buying one. I have Siri on my phone and very rarely use it for much more than replying to a text message while driving or asking distance to a location while driving. I can see how the Echo could be useful for a disabled or bedridden person where turning on lights or adjusting a thermostat is difficult. I'm not into changing out my light switches and thermostats for a small bit of convenience or being able to turn on a house light when I'm not home. I used the X-10 stuff years ago to switch Christmas lights so I didn't have to go out in the cold to unplug them but it made a horrible amount of radio frequency interference and I junked it.

 

[Fermion]

So not only are you trusting that Amazon is not listening all the time but you are also trusting that the device has not been hacked (because hacking never happens) and you are trusting that the NSA would not have a backdoor to these (essentially bugs) devices people are installing in every home like they do/did with hard drive firmware.

The scary thing is, they could make Amazon install a backdoor and require they maintain secrecy about it.

I am with the guy that turns off the light switch manually.

 

[REWahoo]

This thread reminds me of this joke: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/its-funny-joke-thursday-20756-209.html#post1916455

 

[bw5972]

So not only are you trusting that Amazon is not listening all the time but you are also trusting that the device has not been hacked (because hacking never happens) and you are trusting that the NSA would not have a backdoor to these (essentially bugs) devices people are installing in every home like they do/did with hard drive firmware.

The scary thing is, they could make Amazon install a backdoor and require they maintain secrecy about it.

I am with the guy that turns off the light switch manually.

It is not trust about Amazon listening all the time. Many, including myself have monitored wifi traffic between the Dot/Echo and router while talking nearby. No, I mean, ZERO packets of data transmitted without wake up being triggered. There are many valid points for not using expressed in this thread but can we not drop the paranoia.

 

[Tailgate]

I posted this in the 'Life on Autopilot' thread recently:

We use as much technology as we can understand...

One helpful tech trick for my 87 year old DM who lives in independent living is Alexa. Mom is very forgetful.

I'm able to link a google calendar to Alexa and I put all of her Dr appointments and other timely items onto the calendar (from my phone or computer). I take the monthly activity calendar at the community where she lives and I put social outings and activities that I think she would be interested in on the calendar too.

Alexa is located in her bathroom and the first thing she does every morning (well, maybe the second thing) is to ask Alexa 'What's on my calendar today?'
Alexa recites her list... btw, on the calendar every Monday, i put a item that is a simple list of her appointments that week... so she can get a sense of the upcoming week.

Works great for her.

 

[braumeister]

ZERO packets of data transmitted without wake up being triggered.

Well, of course! All that conversation is simply stored on the device, compressed, and sent late at night when nobody is checking. Once the analysis is done at Amazon's data center, any relevant information is added to your profile awaiting the day of reckoning when the death panel rules on your continued value to the planet.

All this is spelled out clearly in the online supplement to the Alexa user agreement, in Chapter 418, page 12,537. Sadly, many people don't bother to read that far before clicking "Accept".

Seriously though, I know perfectly well that you're right. It's just that some of us are a little concerned that these policies are subject to change in the future and we're just not ready for it yet. I fully expect that someday I'll have some gadget like this sitting next to me and I'll love having it there. Just not today.

 

[growing_older]

We currently have little interest in adding automated gadgets to the house.

Maybe I'm especially lacking in imagination, but I'm having difficulty thinking of what kind of automation I would want to add to my house. I do have some lights that turn on and off on timers. I can play music and watch movies on my computer - although they are not yet voice controlled I don't feel deprived about that. I have a small notepad on my fridge I use to jot down ideas for a shopping list as I think of them. My thermostat (more than 30 years old) has a timer that adjusts heating up and down based on time of day. Am I already as automated as I'm going to get?

I read that Alexa now has some 15,000 "skills" that it can do, but I have no idea what they could be. What 15,000 things am I missing out on by not having one of these gadgets?

 

[aja8888]

If some of you are so paranoid about Alexa and it's database of your "personal stuff", ask her what your social security number is.

 

[bw5972]

Well, of course! All that conversation is simply stored on the device, compressed, and sent late at night when nobody is checking. Once the analysis is done at Amazon's data center, any relevant information is added to your profile awaiting the day of reckoning when the death panel rules on your continued value to the planet...

Sorry, I had to remove my tinfoil hat to reply. The mind reading rays from space and all....

 

[bw5972]

Maybe I'm especially lacking in imagination, but I'm having difficulty thinking of what kind of automation I would want to add to my house. I do have some lights that turn on and off on timers. I can play music and watch movies on my computer - although they are not yet voice controlled I don't feel deprived about that. I have a small notepad on my fridge I use to jot down ideas for a shopping list as I think of them. My thermostat (more than 30 years old) has a timer that adjusts heating up and down based on time of day. Am I already as automated as I'm going to get?

I read that Alexa now has some 15,000 "skills" that it can do, but I have no idea what they could be. What 15,000 things am I missing out on by not having one of these gadgets?

Before:

Wake up at 2:00 AM sweating in my bed.
Get up
Put on slippers
Walk across house
Lower thermostat
Return to bedroom
Try and get back to sleep

After:

Say "Alexia, turn the AC up downstairs"

No need to even roll over in bed. Trivial difference to some. Personally, I like it.

 

[aja8888]

Before:

Wake up at 2:00 AM sweating in my bed.
Get up
Put on slippers
Walk across house
Lower thermostat
Return to bedroom
Try and get back to sleep

After:

Say "Alexia, turn the AC up downstairs"

No need to even roll over in bed. Trivial difference to some. Personally, I like it.

Does Alexa get to chose the A/C set temperature? Not sure how this works?

 

[bw5972]

Does Alexa get to chose the A/C set temperature? Not sure how this works?

The default increment is +/- 2 degrees if you just say raise or lower, but the full skill includes:


Ask about the room’s temperature or thermostat’s target temperature

Alexa, what's the temperature in "thermostat name"?
Alexa, what's the temperature in the house?
Alexa, what temperature is my "thermostat name" set to?

Set a specific target temperature

Alexa, set the “thermostat name” temperature to ___ degrees.
Alexa, change the “thermostat name” to ___ degrees.
Alexa, turn my “thermostat name” temperature to ___ degree
Increase or decrease the target temperature

Alexa, decrease the “thermostat name” temperature.
Alexa, increase the “thermostat name” by ___ degrees.
Alexa, make my “thermostat name” warmer by ___ degrees.

 

[growing_older]

Sounds like a handsfree voice activation thing. I assume this means I also need an Alexa capable thermostat?

 

[REWahoo]

I assume this means I also need an Alexa capable thermostat?

Yes. Here's a list: https://www.amazon.com/works-with-alexa-|-thermostats/b?node=13575749011

 

[Ready]

I use a Nest Thermostat, and I have a bunch of TP-Link light bulbs throughout the house. The light bulbs automatically go on at sunset. The outdoor lights then stay on until sunrise, while the indoor lights will dim down to 10% to act as a night light in the family room. In the bedroom I just tell Alexa to turn off the lights when I'm ready to go to sleep.

The light bulbs have really been great. They always know when sunrise/sunset is so there is no manual programming required. And if we go out for the evening we know the lights will turn at dusk so our dog isn't left alone in the dark. And it always looks like someone is home, which we like for security reasons. Seems like a small price to pay for around $20/bulb. And for a few dollars more you can choose color bulbs, which can be set to any color in the spectrum, with millions of choices. Makes for great mood lighting.

 

[ExitLeft]

There are literally tens of thousands of skills (https://www.amazon.com/b?node=13727921011)
A cool feature if you have 2 or more (also through Fire TV and Fire tablets) is room-to-room calling.
Also, there are special discounts for ordering from Amazon through the Alexa (I got a Fire tablet for $20 through a promo on this during the recent Prime day): https://www.amazon.com/b/ref=sv_gb_6?ie=UTF8&node=16924218011

Our main use is listening to music. We have a dot connected to a nice speaker system in the kitchen and the echo in the bathroom. We find it much more convenient to tell it what to play than messing with a phone to select music/radio stations.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Just out of curiosity, of the folks that have voiced concerns on privacy by using Alexa...do you own a smart phone? Do you use Facebook on your smart phone or tablet? If so, then maybe you should review the permissions you have given to those devices.