Home Smart Devices - Your Opinions?

[Not_Sean]

Now first off Not talking about all home smart devices just don't know what bracket these things fall into, I wanted to know from people who have bought one, Things like Alexia and those things,

 

what the hell the point of it? like what do you use yours for? I get that hey can just yell out questions and get answers but after that, I can't really see any use for it? I'm genuinely asking as seeing them become super popular and struggling to figure out how it has a practical use in my house. Hell I've never bothered with Siri as often i like to type it out instead of yelling things out and getting a stupid voice to read it to me, maybe I'm a bit private of a person, but seeing people saying things to their phones 4 times before it works just seems stupid 

[Dissitesuxba11s]

I was gifted the Google Home Mini for secret Santa, and I mainly use it for alarms and knowing the weather. I've also used it to make calls, and whenever I'm really lazy and don't want to turn around, I ask it for the time.

[Totallycasual]

I think until most appliances are smart/connected by default and there's some unified means of linking them all up they'll always just be a gimmick.  I look forward to that time coming though  

[geo3]

They seem like a useless gimmick to me. 99% of what they do my phone already does, so whats the point?

[TH3M4DR4TT3R]

I have an Echo and two Echo dots and we use them all the time, my wife listens to music , gets ideas for dinner based on what we have in, gets pressure cooker recipes and ideas, gets the weather, uses it for a shopping list, and several other things.

I tend to use the Echo 90% of the time and rarely use the dots, I can talk to the dots (downstairs) from my echo (which is upstairs), a bit like an intercom, I can ring anyone in my mobile from my echo if they have the Alexa app on their phone, I can listen to two million songs plus upload my own collection to a limit of 250,000 (I think!), I use Alexa for all my appointments, I control all of the house lights using smart bulbs or smart plugs that link with Alexa, I get a daily news and sport briefing, I get an alarm, do shopping lists, put the kettle on at home when I leave work and loads more.

My kids use Alexa for loads of things including historical, philosophy, sport, wiki stuff, jokes, fart noises, their homework and so much more..........What we use Alexa for increases week by week as more apps are developed, even my kids, aged 9, 10 and 12, add apps at a rate of 3-4 a week. I'm also in the process of setting up Alexa to open the curtains, the list of things we use Alexa for just keeps growing...

[TH3M4DR4TT3R]

7 minutes ago, geo3 said:

They seem like a useless gimmick to me. 99% of what they do my phone already does, so whats the point?

I see your point but I can say "alexa, bedroom lights on" a lot quicker than you can use the app on your phone and I think the ease of doing things is what appeals to people.

I use my phone as a storage medium I suppose but do use apps to put the kettle on when I leave work or look at the CCTV when I'm on holiday but in the house it's so easy to use Alexa.

[divito]

56 minutes ago, Fooshi said:

I find it seriously disturbing that more people aren't skeptical towards having a literal always-on, always listening device by two of the most data-hungry collectors out there.

 

Why the fuck would I want Google and Amazon monitoring me when I'm not even using their services? One little nasty exploit and people not only have the ability to listen to your every move, but also to a certain degree of access to your electronics. 

 

This is already scary enough with your smartphone.

 

Then there's HomePod or whatever the useless thing Apple shat out that literally ruins your furniture.

 

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/14/17012382/apple-homepod-white-ring-wooden-table-staining-issue-problem

 

What do you assume is going to happen as a result of people knowing this information? Of the millions of users, someone is going to target you and turn your lights on and off? Or know that you asked about quiche recipes?

[divito]

Just now, Fooshi said:

Fuck privacy, right?

This whole notion of "we need privacy" is some self-aggrandized behavior that I can't really understand. 

[Not_Sean]

1 hour ago, TH3M4DR4TT3R said:

I see your point but I can say "alexa, bedroom lights on" a lot quicker than you can use the app on your phone and I think the ease of doing things is what appeals to people.

I use my phone as a storage medium I suppose but do use apps to put the kettle on when I leave work or look at the CCTV when I'm on holiday but in the house it's so easy to use Alexa.

I agree with you to some extent, but honestly the light switch is right by the door, its really not much effort, and I like the smart houses that monitor your movement and I'd be fine for a system that uses Hand gestures, I just don't get the talking to them part. 

That said on the music front, thats standard now days, My spotify I can play off my TV or Speakier systems and control them from my phone. I don't have to yell Alexia, next song. I tap one button on my phone even when its locked and its all managed through spotify, playlists everything all sorted. 

 

My issue isn't with smart homes, its voice activated ones, I'd rather have a system that knows my preferences and makes my life more convent but without me having to interact with it. 

 

I've also got zero issue with the privacy aspect. 

[TH3M4DR4TT3R]

I think there are pros and cons with most of the systems out there at the minute but once you start investing in a smart home system before long the cost of changing becomes just too much. I will say that I think I jumped on this particular bandwagon too early and I wish I'd waited.

With Alexa I tend to find a use for it because it's there as opposed to having got it with a definite use in mind, I was a bit caught up in the hype and as an Amazon Prime customer was bombarded with Alexa ads and emails for weeks, thinking back it was a pretty relentless campaign from Amazon but it worked.

All that aside if the whole set up was gone tomorrow my family and I would not miss it that much and the idea of moving away from voice activated to gesture activated seems a great idea with maybe a touch screen as back up or to enter new gestures. I'm gonna look into this now and see what kind of things are available along those lines.

[Contreramanjaro]

We have a Google Home Mini in our kitchen. 99% of what I use it for is a hands free music player. It's nice that I don't need to use touch my phone when I have food on my hands or I am trying to keep my hands clean while cooking. Sure a Bluetooth speaker does largely the same thing but then I'm using more battery on my phone and I have to re-pair it when I use my car's Bluetooth. It's simply a minor convenience. The other 1% of the time I ask if there's going to be precipitation.

 

1 hour ago, Fooshi said:

 

Fuck privacy, right?

I totally get this sentiment and mostly agree with it. Mostly I don't like having increasingly narrow types of information sent at me be it through ads or even search results. I know they sell the notion to people as something beneficial, for example the "why would you want to see ads that aren't relevant to you?" Because I'm not part of your marketing team and I don't benefit from this. The government already has every bit of data they desire on me and the hackers get it from them (or Equifax or Anthem), so that's not really my major concern. It's just how my brain must be affected by constant targeted messages. Wouldn't you believe that it makes you a less objective thinker?

[Vynro]

I use a google Home mini in every room of the house, all connected to chromecasts in each room. I also have my google home linked to my lighting system as well as thermostat and home theater system using Logitech Harmony. PHENOMENAL. It started out as just being able to dim the lights in my room to watch tv ( so that my lazy a** didn't have to get up ) but now I am able to voice control every unit in my home theatre, set individual settings by voice on my receiver/TV/(Appliance), once my receiver turns on, it also will dim the lights automatically. I also use it to cast music. Whenever i walk into a room, the music will follow me ( after being prompted by voice ). I can make speakerphone calls to any contact at anytime, from anywhere in my house, read my text messages, send text messages, tell google that I am cold and it will turn up the heat. I also use google shopping list, allowing my family to just add things to the shopping list as they come up, from home or out of home. Broadcast is a very handy feature for me, as my dog is diabetic, so to let the whole family know he has been fed and given his needle on time, all i need to say is "dog fed" and it will broadcast it to the house. it is also personalized for each family member's voice. so when my sister asks for music it automatically knows to pull up her music. all-in-all. its minor conveinences that are taken for granted, but sorely missed when the wifi goes down ( happened frequently enough that i upgraded router/ISP ). You can also ask google to remember where you put stuff, and then ask it later, and it will tell you where you told it would be

[wasab]

Until these devices can chat with me, I will not consider them smart

[Beef Boss]

I have a Google home and echo, the idea is neat yeah yell out a question and it might do what you want. Compared to Amazon echo, the Google home blows it out of the water. Ours we have to enable something before we use it. I wouldn't pay full retail for them, and I didn't. Call me stingy with money but I'd rather not spend money on something that I can get on an app for free. If you have lights, TV and computers all hooked up then yes, they're useful. But without having them wired to anything they're useless. 

[HTWingNut]

I just like my Alexa for music and setting timers and such. My kids love it too. I am a bit concerned about the whole privacy thing, but nothing goes on in my life that I have to worry. If someone wants to listen in to our daily boring conversations, go ahead.

[Guest]

The HomePod (And maybe Alexa, Google home etc probably can too) connect to WEMO devices, so like you can tell it to turn on the lights or heating etc, or anything connected to a plug really. Pretty useful for some people I guess

[79wjd]

I have a Home Mini and honestly, it is kind of useless, but I would still want to buy one if I didn't have it. 

 

I use it to set alarms, check the time/weather, ask random questions when I don't feel like finding my phone, and for controlling the tv when I don't feel like walking across the room for the remote. I also suspect it would be awesome in a bathroom since you would have access to the internet/notes for all the amazing shower thoughts/ideas you come up with but traditionally can't do anything about. 

[DildorTheDecent]

"Alexa, send a 55 gallon drum of lube to some stranger"

 

If only...

[aezakmi]

we have no "smart" devices here, just two regular computers and a wired NAS, not even wifi because my sis says being close to the router gives her headaches so I returned it and that was ages ago when wifi was a new thing, as long as we live together that kind of stuff is a no go, I do have a digital cam just in case I need to take a picture of my rig or the xmas dinner

[Apepa]

I got an Echo Dot for Christmas. Used it for the novelty for a few days and then unplugged it one day because I wanted to use the Micro usb for something else.

 

Still haven't plugged it back in.

[Beef Boss]

1 hour ago, aezakmi said:

my sis says being close to the router gives her headaches so I returned it 

You should have gotten her either of these:

Beanie

Or 

HAT

Just to be safe

[Not_Sean]

Seems most people are as confused by them being so hyped up as I am. 

 

I wonder @LinusTech you got one? Find it useful at all? 

[aezakmi]

21 minutes ago, BadluckBrian said:

You should have gotten her either of these:

Beanie

Or 

HAT

Just to be safe

can't believe that hat is a real thing lol $15

 

getting some ethernet cables worked tho

[Ithanul]

On 2/14/2018 at 10:48 PM, Not_Sean said:

I agree with you to some extent, but honestly the light switch is right by the door, its really not much effort, and I like the smart houses that monitor your movement and I'd be fine for a system that uses Hand gestures, I just don't get the talking to them part.

Or, the already in existence motion lights.  Walk in, lights turn on, walk out, lights turn off.  No IoT device required.

 

Myself, I have no plans to every get any of these devices as the security on such devices are crap.

On 2/14/2018 at 10:40 PM, divito said:

What do you assume is going to happen as a result of people knowing this information? Of the millions of users, someone is going to target you and turn your lights on and off? Or know that you asked about quiche recipes?

The time the request where made.  With that info, an individual knows a probability of when someone is in the house and depending on the info, an individual can figure out how many, what the family interests are, and what the family is doing.  Sure easier way to do targeting of product sells, or, in the case of criminals, far higher accurate targeting to scam or target an individual.

[Eduard the weeb]

On 2/14/2018 at 3:25 PM, Not_Sean said:

what the hell the point of it? like what do you use yours for?

Okay so I own 1 google home mini with plan to buy more for my room and kitchen

 

okay so heres why I use them, first off there great for home control with things like nest thermostats and when I get Philips hue later this year they will be nice that also. Second music playing, it's not the best speaker but I like the option of using chomecast audio for using other speakers if I want to. 3rd being able to set alarms/ timers, call people, just get random info I want, and being able to beam over Netflix streaming to a tv with a chromcast in it.