Alexa

[MontyVeda]

Same here

Unwanted xmas gifts?

 

[teeonethousand]

We have one in the room we call a gym. I switch it off at the wall in between sessions so if it listens I guess it thinks we spend all our time huffing and puffing and groaning😂😂.

 

[biggs682]

Unwanted xmas gifts?

Yes it was , evidently it was going to change our lives

 

[Electric_Andy]

The privacy concerns are there but I think the genie is already out of the bottle on that one with cookies, T's&C's etc. to which we willingly grant permission.

Maybe Alexa just takes it to a different level.. 🤷‍♂️

I agree. A friend of mine asked me if I'm happy "giving my details to China" because I buy things occasionally from Temu. Whilst he merrily uses FB every day.

In some ways you really need to accept some data harvesting if you want to benefit from the smart things it can do. I've also just remembered that one of our friends uses Alexa a lot to turn the music up or down, which does save you getting up out of your chair, but I still find it weird that within a social gathering, she seems to be shouting to an assistant to do things, which isn't really very British unless you're of a certain social standing!

 

[annedonnelly]

When listening to the radio they sometimes refer to the "smart speaker beginning with A" because of they mention it by name it makes people's tech do things they don't want. I guess that means that people won't be able to name their child "Alexa" for fear that talking to the kids will turn the lights off or something.

 

[sevenfourate]

In some ways you really need to accept some data harvesting if you want to benefit from the smart things it can do.

I'm not into all this and possibly don't pretend to understand. But i vote, i have Bank Accounts, I'm on a Forum or two, i have a FB account, i pay Council Tax, Car Tax etc, i own various Apple products...........Like "most" (?) or at least many UK Citizens.

I'm never going to stand any hope of being anonymous. There's electronic traces of me everywhere. I'm not sure an Alexa would make or break me any more than it would those 'others'..........

 

[PeteXXX]

When listening to the radio they sometimes refer to the "smart speaker beginning with A" because of they mention it by name it makes people's tech do things they don't want. I guess that means that people won't be able to name their child "Alexa" for fear that talking to the kids will turn the lights off or something.

You can change the activation word, apparently. I might name mine, if I get one, 'Oi dickhead'

 

[Electric_Andy]

I'm not into all this and possibly don't pretend to understand. But i vote, i have Bank Accounts, I'm on a Forum or two, i have a FB account, i pay Council Tax, Car Tax etc, i own various Apple products...........Like "most" (?) or at least many UK Citizens.

I'm never going to stand any hope of being anonymous. There's electronic traces of me everywhere. I'm not sure an Alexa would make or break me any more than it would those 'others'..........

no I agree, you're either off-grid or you're not. I don't think there's any way of not sharing data about yourself if you visit even 1 website

 

[Drago]

no I agree, you're either off-grid or you're not. I don't think there's any way of not sharing data about yourself if you visit even 1 website

Unless you use someone elses computer and false details. I use the one down the library and give Accy's name

 

[Alex321]

I had one free from Kwik-fit with a set of tyres, 3-4 years ago.

Had it running for a few weeks, then realised I really wasn't using it for anything much and put it back in the box.

But my blind grand daughter uses hers all the time, and it really does make a difference for her.

 

[Legs]

I have mine set up to turn on the fan when I'm turbo training, and to remotely turn on my slow cooker when i need it to.

 

[Katana]

If Jeff Bezos wants to listen to me farting or talking to my dogs he can be my guest. I never have a substantive conversation in the same room.

😂

 

[Electric_Andy]

I have mine set up to remotely turn on my slow cooker when i need it to.

That's actually a good use for it. I did use to have smart plugs in the garage for turning on the table saw and dust extractor, but it became a bit of a faff using the phone in a woodworking environment, and also when I got a new phone I couldn't then get the plugs to work. I can actually see now how Alexa could have been useful in that scenario. Maybe it's the type of thing where once you start using one, you wonder how you ever functioned without it?

 

[Legs]

That's actually a good use for it. I did use to have smart plugs in the garage for turning on the table saw and dust extractor, but it became a bit of a faff using the phone in a woodworking environment, and also when I got a new phone I couldn't then get the plugs to work. I can actually see now how Alexa could have been useful in that scenario. Maybe it's the type of thing where once you start using one, you wonder how you ever functioned without it?

With the slow cooker on the smartplug, I can turn it on when I'm away from home using the Alexa app. TBF I could probably do it using the smartplug app. But (DAMHIKT) it only works if the slow-cooker itself is turned on.

Sometimes I'll want to ventilate the Zwifting shed for a while after I've gone in for breakfast, so I'll leave the door open and say "Alexa, turn off fan in ten minutes".

 

[Ajax Bay]

I met a lovely Norwegian lady who, when I asked her name, felt she had to apologise before telling me it was 'Siri'.
I assume the rate of babes being named 'Alexa' in UK has plummeted in this decade.