intrigued by this but a bit nervous about privacy.....the amazon echo

so from what i am reading this is a 'voice' operated device that pretty much does anything.

the things i dont like about it is that is is ALWAYS on and listening. you can shut it off but then it still listens to the 2 words that activate it which are amazon and alexa.
i dont like that it stores commands as well as things you say in the cloud so that the device can get smarter and predict things you are going to say.
im not hip to having a device in my house that is always listening to commands.

the flip is, it sounds pretty awesome.
hook it into your network and say 'alexa, what is on my schedule for today? get an answer
when is the jets game on? what channel? get an answer

it says you can access wikipedia and other sites as well.

another cool, but not needed part is it integrates with phillips hue, belkn, smart things, etc etc.

so you change out all your bulbs or switches. youre in bed reading something but dont want to get out of bed to hit the switch. alexa, shut the lights off. and theyre off.

this is some crazy # to me. i love tech advancements. i love tech gear but some of this stuff does not sit well with me.
there are 7 microphones that are always listening. it sends things you say to the cloud.

i want to know about all the # they store but dont tell you about. it has to have location on so you get accurate answers about doctors in town and restaurants and such.
so right away they have your name and address.

i think tech is moving way too fast.
when people start moving these things into their homes then i think # will really get crazy.
a lot of people are already constantly connected. laptop, google watch, smart phone. drive soft a microsoft in the car. connect 7 wifi enabled devices to your friggin car.

there is a new e cig that you can get apps and get on facebook with.
fridges have wifi and touch screens. need to buy milk, push the button.

www.amazon.com...

mazon Echo is designed around your voice. It's hands-free and always on. With seven microphones and beam-forming technology, Echo can hear you from across the room—even while music is playing. Echo is also an expertly tuned speaker that can fill any room with immersive sound. Echo connects to Alexa, a cloud-based voice service, to provide information, answer questions, play music, read the news, check sports scores or the weather, and more—instantly. All you have to do is ask. Echo begins working as soon as it detects the wake word. You can pick Alexa or Amazon as your wake word.

Always be heard. Tucked under the light ring on Echo is an array of seven microphones. These sensors use beam-forming technology to hear you from any direction. With enhanced noise cancellation, Echo can hear you ask a question even while it's playing music.

just ask

Echo uses on-device keyword spotting to detect the wake word. When Echo detects the wake word, it lights up and streams audio to the cloud, where we leverage the Alexa Voice Service to recognize and respond to your request. Learn more about voice recognition on Echo

Ever-evolving. Alexa—the brain behind Echo—is built in the cloud, so it is always getting smarter. The more you use Echo, the more it adapts to your speech patterns, vocabulary, and personal preferences. And because Echo is always connected, updates are delivered automatically.

..and adding new skills We are always adding new capabilities to Echo. Recently, we’ve added streaming music from Pandora, audiobooks from Audible, Google Calendar access, live sports scores and schedules, traffic reports, Amazon.com re-ordering, control of connected devices with WeMo, Philips Hue, SmartThings, Insteon, Wink, and more.

..for all of your music Echo provides hands-free voice control for Amazon Music, Prime Music, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. Plus, Echo is Bluetooth-enabled so you can stream other popular music services like Spotify and iTunes from your phone or tablet

Don't lift a finger. Use Echo to switch on the lamp before getting out of bed, turn on the fan or space heater while reading in your favorite chair, or dim the lights from the couch to watch a movie—all without lifting a finger...or even raising your voice.

and now we have key features.....

Easy setup Connect to your home network with a simple setup, guided by the free companion app on Fire OS, Android, iOS, and desktop browsers.

Echo is always ready, connected, and fast. Just say the wake word, "Alexa,"

NEW – Audible: Play audiobooks from Audible with Echo. Plus, Echo supports Whispersync for Voice to continue right where you left off.

NEW – Calendars: Check your upcoming schedule by asking what’s on your Google calendar.

NEW – Connected home: Control compatible WeMo, Philips Hue, SmartThings, Insteon, and Wink devices with your voice

NEW – Sports: Ask for sports scores and schedules from the NFL, NBA, MLS, MLB, NHL, NCAA, WNBA, and more.

NEW – Pandora: Listen to and discover music from Pandora's library of over 1 million tracks. Music: Listen to your Amazon Music Library, Prime Music, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio. News, weather, and information: Hear up-to-the-minute weather and news from a variety of sources, including local radio stations, NPR, and ESPN from TuneIn. Questions and answers: Get information from Wikipedia, definitions, answers to common questions, and more. Alarms, timers, and lists: Stay on time and organized with voice-controlled alarms, timers, shopping lists, and to-do lists. More coming soon: Echo automatically updates through the cloud with new services and features

Wi-Fi Connectivity Dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi (MIMO) for faster streaming and fewer dropped connections than standard Wi-Fi. Supports 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi networks. Does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks.
Bluetooth Connectivity Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) support for audio streaming from your mobile device to Amazon Echo and Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP) for voice control of connected mobile devices. Hands-free voice control is not supported for Mac OS X devices.
Audio 2.5 inch woofer and 2.0 inch tweeter
System Requirements Amazon Echo comes ready to connect to your home Wi-Fi. The Alexa App is compatible with Fire OS, Android, and iOS devices and also accessible via your web browser

en.wikipedia.org...

Echo offers weather and news from a variety of sources, including local radio stations, NPR, and ESPN from TuneIn.[11] Echo will play music from owner's Amazon Music accounts and built in support for the Pandora streaming music service was recently added,[12] as was support for IFTTT (If This, Then That).[13] Echo can also play music from streaming services such as Apple Music, and Google Play Music from a phone or tablet. Echo maintains voice-controlled alarms, timers, shopping and to-do lists and can access Wikipedia articles. Echo will respond to your questions about items in your Google calendar

i am intrigued by this. i go not like a connected device in my house to be always on. it would be able to just ask a question about this or that....info on whatever i want to look up.

im going to start asking around.
big thing for me is it would need to play all my ripped music.


man, tech is moving so fast.
you go to best buy this year and all you are going to see are the 4k ultra hd tv's with curved screens. the plat panels that most of us use are already on the way out.

i love tech and want to embrace it but i do not need to turn my lights off with a bluetooth device.

it would be cool to be able to check on wait times at local restaurants and such.
im huge on factoids. i look up hundreds a day. it would be nice to have the wiki on call when i want to get into something.

anyway sorry for the long winded thread.

wondering what you all think

I agree with you on both counts ! It's really cool but invasive.

However, my lil bro had his cornia replaced and he can't see like he used to. I see the benefits for these products for these instances. Elderly, sight impaired, dyslexic etc. Even though I hate "okay google" ( it doesn't like my voice!) I see how this has changed my lil bros ability to use technology.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Already reviewed here .... www.theregister.co.uk...

a reply to: TinySickTears

Mankind's laziness will ultimately enslave us all.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

ultimately

??? look around.... happened long ago....

Can we, please, lean to capitalize the first word of sentences.