Amazon echo - this is the future

[olliebean]

The only use I've found for Siri is that when I'm steaming an egg I can tell it "Six and a half minute timer," whereas doing it via the screen I can only set it to an exact number of minutes.

[Replies From View]

I sometimes use Siri to set my alarm clock, as it's a simple instruction that saves me opening up the application and then scrolling around clicking stuff.  Everything else is easier when done manually, especially since absolutely nobody can talk to a phone (as opposed to into a phone) without looking like an utter prick.

The image of a single man staring into a mirror and saying "House, do you think I could get way with not shaving today?" is surely one for the desolation thread.

"House, I have started to vaguely feel like I could do with a shit.  Please let me know when it becomes actually urgent that I go."

[shiftwork2]

^ if you're on iOS8 try 'what song is this?' as it integrates with Shazam.  Probably my only daily use of Siri.

[falafel]

Voice activation looks good on TV and in films, it gives the actor something clear to do instead of sitting at a keyboard ambiguously tapping away. Similarly those big holographic interfaces where the user waves their arms about.

Both methods are completely useless for the real world. They lack accuracy, strain parts of our body that aren't designed to work that way, and are security nightmares.

Now enter upper management, they're too old to understand this computer stuff, and even if they not, they don't use it properly for anything more complicated than browsing the golfing section on Amazon. They have no ideas about how to create a useful technology, but what they have done is seen lots of TV and films with pretty looking gadgets being used as described, so that's the plan now, make the magic boxes do that! Never mind that any voice activated system capable of reliably understanding you would pretty much have to have above human level of intelligence[nb]Bare in mind the amount of communication failures between humans, a reliably system would have to be able to model the person commanding it and predict their intentions. At that point, might as well just let it get on with things on it's own[/nb] thus making the human redundant. Never mind that holding your arms up in the air for hours on end would tire them quickly. Management went to the pictures this weekend, make the pretty thing happen, it looked cool.

This.

Ditto iPads in the office. Just... no. Clueless people earning more money than you can imagine who don't actually have to use any of this stuff to a substantial degree because they spend their lives schmoozing, flying around the world giving motivational speeches and sending single-word email responses.

[biggytitbo]

Computer, play OK Computer, OK?

[BPFHAY]

I sometimes use Siri to set my alarm clock, as it's a simple instruction that saves me opening up the application and then scrolling around clicking stuff.

This is exactly the one use that voice control offers.

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This is exactly the one use that voice control offers.

It is, but most applications are quicker to use directly than faff about with voice control, which as well as requiring a capacity for willingly looking like a dickhead as you speak sternly at your handset, needs a good internet connection to respond at a half decent speed.  It's much quicker for me to open - whatever - the calculator or the web browser and use it, than it is to ask Siri to answer a sum or run an internet search.

With the alarm clock, I can ask it to set the alarm while I'm in no desperate hurry, and it doesn't matter if it takes a minute chugging away at the task before it's done.

[Buttress]

But if its a choice between shambolic voice control and Google has a permanent copy of the contents of your brain.. then I guess I'd pick the first one. But of course it isn't a choice and we'll get both at this rate.

[BPFHAY]

The best voice control thing on my phone is answering calls or snoozing alarms with your voice, because you get to have a shouting battle with the ringtone/alarm noise so the phone can actually hear you.

[biggytitbo]

The radio?! What possible use could that be! I'll never use it thats for sure!
Television?! What possible use could that be! I'll never use it thats for sure!
The computer?! What possible use could that be! I'll never use it thats for sure!
The internet?! What possible use could that be! I'll never use it thats for sure!

And repeat forever. This will happen, so lets return here in 10 years time where you will laugh at your absurd past selves, whilst telling your computer to put the tea on, play some smoochy jazz and fellate you.

[Replies From View]

Yes, because all vaguely futuristic novelties catch on in the long term, don't they.  All of them.  Especially when people are sceptical about how they might aim to collect and store private data.

[BPFHAY]

The difference between all of those things is that they are incremental updates to the way you can access information. Voice control is simply a convenience. It doesn't give you access to things you couldn't get to before.

[biggytitbo]

Yes, because all vaguely futuristic novelties catch on in the long term, don't they.  All of them.  Especially when people are sceptical about how they might aim to collect and store private data.

Yes a novelty that's already used on hundreds of millions of devices every day.


Of course this is the man who thinks touch is a novelty!

[BPFHAY]

Can you show me an example of a novelty that nobody has seen or used? Or haven't you seen or used it?

Also this stuff is installed by default. Of course people give it a shot. Phones could come with with party poppers attached by default and they would ALL get used. They would still be novelties.

[biggytitbo]

The difference between all of those things is that they are incremental updates to the way you can access information. Voice control is simply a convenience. It doesn't give you access to things you couldn't get to before.

Of course it does. It'll be in cars soon. Cooking in the kitchen. Exercising. Having a poo. In the bath. Having a lie down. There are many, many occasions where you'd want hands free control.

[Consignia]

And repeat forever. This will happen, so lets return here in 10 years time where you will laugh at your absurd past selves, whilst telling your computer to put the tea on, play some smoochy jazz and fellate you.

Thing is, voice control is here and now and nobody really uses it. It may catch on, but it'll be through existing devices such as the smartphone rather than a separate device.

[BPFHAY]

Of course it does. It'll be in cars soon. Cooking in the kitchen. Exercising. Having a poo. In the bath. Having a lie down. There are many, many occasions where you'd want hands free control.

There are many occasions where people will want a Findus Crispy Pancake, but that doesn't make them the future or guarantee that they'll be in every home.

Voice control was on car phones in the 90s. And it worked! It just turns out that nobody cares, or a few people use it as the boring utility it is.

[Replies From View]

Meet biggytitbo Jetson.

[biggytitbo]

Thing is, voice control is here and now and nobody really uses it. It may catch on, but it'll be through existing devices such as the smartphone rather than a separate device.

There's 2 reasons it's not used as much as it will be - 1) it's in phones. It needs to be hands free and always on, eg like he Echo and 2) it's not powerful enough. But the accuracy and effectiveness are developing so fast that won't be the case for very long.

[BPFHAY]

You're right. The big difference between now and the future is having to press a button to make the computer listen to us.

[BPFHAY]

Sarcasm aside, if I had an Amazon Cylinder, I would definitely change the listening trigger from "Alexa" to "Ooooooh, Amazon". Ooooooh Amazon, set me the nicest alarm you can think of.

I still really love the original promotion video for this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkOCeAtKHIc

In my mind it's called "Poor Man's H. Jon Benjamin Hates His Wife". I love how they've perfectly captured the zeal of a man excited about useless gadgets entirely by accident, especially given that's the worst possible thing for them. Really, nobody has ever acted "man has stupid thing" better than this.

[Consignia]

I'm pretty sure you can configure Google Now to be always listening on Android.

[BPFHAY]

You actually don't have to yell at it, okay?

[Consignia]

Sarcasm aside, if I had an Amazon Cylinder, I would definitely change the listening trigger from "Alexa" to "Ooooooh, Amazon". Ooooooh Amazon, set me the nicest alarm you can think of.

I'd like to see the future of voice control require everyone to do weak Kenneth Williams impressions.

[BPFHAY]

You actually don't have to be camp towards it, okay?

[BPFHAY]

Alexa, who is the ginger father of my children?

[biggytitbo]

I'm pretty sure you can configure Google Now to be always listening on Android.

Yes some android devices can be always on now, but it's still not really optimised for it. Same with Siri, it can be always on if you have an ios8 device plugged in. I imagine it's only a matter of time before they both bring out their equivalent of echo, with proper omni directional microphones and dedicated functionality (Apple could tie it into home kit for instance).

[Replies From View]

"House, please let my family know if I die in my sleep."

[biggytitbo]

"House, please let my family know if I die in my sleep."

"Finish him off, girl".

[syntaxerror]

I sometimes use Siri to set my alarm clock, as it's a simple instruction that saves me opening up the application and then scrolling around clicking stuff.

This is basically the only time I use Siri. I go to bed, then tell it to set an alarm and go to sleep. If I'm awake in bed I'll ask it the time, but this only works because I sleep in a racing car on my own and not in a big bed with my wife.