Update: Do you use Alexa Poll

[NYEXPAT]

I do not use alexa other than to know the popularity rating of various websites.

After reading here it sounds like an internet clock radio of some sort.

I remember reading awhile back that once penetration of the" internet of things" reaches a certain level in the USA, that nefarious actors will be infecting your refrigerators with a virus that will allow them to mine bitcoin at virtually no cost! I guess this would be beneficial in that it would probably lower transaction costs for the rest of us.

 

[audreyh1]

I talk to my watch and phone - anywhere I am too, not just inside the house. I don't have Alexa.

 

[imoldernu]

Update: Update

The new Tech thread reminded me of this thread. Sheesh... 2 years ago.

I wonder if anything has changed since you posted here?

For me, have added an Echo Show... really like it.

 

[RonBoyd]

I use it more now than two years ago. I use it, for instance, to turn on (or off) my TVs --even from another room -- and adjust the sound level. "She," also, times (reminds me of) the stages during that 18 hour period of yogurt making. I probably use her an average of 2-3 times a day.

I have three of them; office, living room, and kitchen.

 

[CardsFan]

I, personally, refuse to talk to any device and address it like it is real. Don't have any of the "helpful" assistants, and will not talk to "Siri" on my phone. Just me.

And. GET OF OF MY LAWN!

 

[ERD50]

I occasionally use the google assistant, but infrequently enough that I just don't think of it, it hasn't become habit.

My DD and Son-In-Law use Alexa a lot, the are always setting dinner timers and such. And our 17 month old Grandson uses it indirectly - he points to it and says "Shaaaa - Shaaaa", then his Mom says "Alexa, play "Baby Shark"" (an annoyingly cute song that little kids love).

-ERD50

 

[Katsmeow]

I almost have an Alexa for every room. Well I have one for all the rooms we routinely use. 4 of them are Echo Shows (the original ones not the new version) and then I have a couple of Echos. I find them useful. We use as an intercom system a lot.

 

[HadEnuff]

I just use it for requesting music.

"Alexa, play Paul Desmond Radio from Pandora"...
We had to unplug it when the grandchildren were visiting. I could not stand to listen to my granddaughter playing "This Girl Is On Fire" one more time. The first 5 or 10 times it was cute.
Then, "sorry sweetie, Alexa is broken right now".

I would have never bought it, but DW bought it for me for my birthday. I like it for the music. She actually bought me two, so I have one next to the bed for beddie-bye music.

 

[Montecfo]

Do not use. Privacy is a concern.

 

[COcheesehead]

We were given one. Used it as a timer, for weather and to tell us jokes. Finally sold it on eBay. Just didn’t find the value in it.

 

[EarlyBirdly]

It's really only listening for the word Alexa. Otherwise it can't hear anything you are saying because it's in sleep mode until it hears Alexa. You can see when it's listening because a blue light comes on.

Just keep telling yourself that...Say it enough times and it becomes true.

 

[RonBoyd]

I just use it for requesting music.

Oh! I forgot that. In the living room and my office we have Internet radio but not in the kitchen.

"Alexa, play WWOZ radio" or "Alexa, play KUVO radio" works well in that environment... and doesn't take up any (extra) space.

FWIW, I am unconcerned about the "privacy" rumor... even if true, I can't imagine my saying (or listening to) anything that would be of interest to someone else (but accept that might not be true of some others). Beside, I don't know of any part of my life that isn't already well-known by lots of other third-parties.

 

[Which Roger]

I got a great deal on Amazon Echo on Prime Day. I use them mostly for music, and have discovered some nice features. You can set up a stereo pair, they have a voice-activated equalizer, and you can change the trigger word so only one Echo responds to a command. And I've learned how to add skills like SiriusXm so I can voice-activated that streaming.

 

[RonBoyd]

I, personally, refuse to talk to any device and address it like it is real. Don't have any of the "helpful" assistants, and will not talk to "Siri" on my phone.

Reminds me of a guy I once knew who (he said to me) "would not use the telephone because he would not speak to a machine."

 

[EarlyBirdly]

"...do you own a smart phone? Do you use Facebook..? "

No.

And,

No, not anymore.

 

[EarlyBirdly]

Alexa, Echo, Dot - all these "services" are FREE.

Isn't that great?

Wonder why that is?

Because, YOU are the product.

 

[RonBoyd]

Do not use. Privacy is a concern.

Surprising Things the US Government Knows About You

In 1967, Stephen Stills sang the words “Paranoia strikes deep, Into your life it will creep,” in the hit song “For What It’s Worth,” which he penned for the band Buffalo Springfield.

 

[Kwirk]

Siri is always with us and Alexa (belonging to other household members) isn't far away. Cortana lurks near the Xbox. If anybody is bored enough to want to listen to us then that's fine by me. If they want to try to feed us ads that are more interesting to us then that's fine also.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Big fan of Alexa. We have dots on the back patio (great for listening to music while in the pool), bedroom (great alarm clock, too!), one in my office and one in the kitchen. Also have one that is part of a sound bar on our living room TV which comes in very handy for turning the sound up/down when not near the remote.

Are there privacy concerns, perhaps, but not for me. Most folks who have smart phones (or tabs) have given the microphone all sorts of permissions that they are probably not even aware of.