Talk me into an Echo

[Bklynracer 1,265]

1 hour ago, 1LtCAP said:

loose lips sink ships.

and for the record.....the kind of stuff we're talkin' 'bout here is why i don't want a smart tv

Soon all your be able to buy is a smart TV. They won't make other ones to save money. 

[1LtCAP 4,264]

22 minutes ago, Bklynracer said:

Soon all your be able to buy is a smart TV. They won't make other ones to save money. 

i'll probably end up getting a smart one. i'll also keep it disconnected from the interweb, and if it's got any kind of camera, i will tape that over regardless of interweb connection. same with mic if i can find it. ,ight even go to the point of puting a whitenoise generator right near it too.

[voyager9 3,434]

1 hour ago, 1LtCAP said:

 ,ight even go to the point of puting a whitenoise generator right near it too.

You mean leave MSNBC on?

[BobA 1,235]

18 hours ago, 1LtCAP said:

it is what we stand a good chance of becoming in the next 20-30 years. totally govt controlled, drugged society.

20-30 years?!  Where have you been?

[1LtCAP 4,264]

6 minutes ago, BobA said:

20-30 years?!  Where have you been?

well we're on the brink...but not quite there as yet. they're not able to force the meds on us yet, and they've not really convinced all kids to rat out their parents for being different but still legal......

[leahcim 680]

I own an echo and a dot.  I changed my wake word to "Computer" so my house is now that much more like the Enterprise ;-)

Problem is, I find myself at work or at stores--generally out in public--sometimes I will say "Computer, what time is it" or "Computer, what is the weather for tomorrow."  People give me weird looks--but I am used to that already.

Mostly what I use it for is timers, alarms, home automation, and cooking.

I love the fact that I can say "computer, remind me to check the rice in 20 minutes"  and 20 minutes later it will tell me "check the rice"  So I can set multiple reminders and I don't have to try and figure out what each one was for.  I also tend to weigh a lot of ingredients and usually the recipe gives a volumetric measure.  So I can say "Computer, how many grams in 2.5 cups of water" and it will tell me.

I also listen to music, podcasts and radio.

I like the fact that I can just say "Computer, play KCIS radio" or "computer, play WPHT radio" and I can listen to any radio station.

 

[leahcim 680]

I did have what I thought was a great drinking game.  Change the wake word to "Computer" and watch star trek.  Any time the echo responds to the crew saying "Computer", take a drink.  Any time it responds with an easter egg, or tries to buy something from Amazon, down your entire glass.

I did a dry run (literally--I really don't even drink, but I like games) and found that it really did not respond very well to voices off the TV--I got maybe 10-12 responses per season of STTNG; pretty sure the game would end in lots of sober people holding glasses of flat, warm beer.

[voyager9 3,434]

It was well reported a while ago that it will act on commands over the TV. Like you showed there was an example where it bought something from amazon based on cues from the TV. 

My favorite was the guy who bet his neighbor that the neighbor couldn’t get past the Internet-enabled lock he had on his door. The neighbor walked up to the window nearest the echo and yelled “Alexa, unlock the front door”. 

[BobA 1,235]

3 hours ago, 1LtCAP said:

well we're on the brink...but not quite there as yet. they're not able to force the meds on us yet, and they've not really convinced all kids to rat out their parents for being different but still legal......

I don't think Government is nearly the threat.  I don't think they're that smart (or rich).  After all you're talking about cluster fu*ks that couldn't hack an Iphone.  No I think it's worse.  I think (pause here for dramatic music - da-da-da-dum) big business (gasp).

[Barms 98]

Okay tell me more about connecting a phone to it?   My landline or just mobile?

how does the shopping list get stored?   What app does it go to?

[voyager9 3,434]

6 minutes ago, Barms said:

Okay tell me more about connecting a phone to it?   My landline or just mobile?

how does the shopping list get stored?   What app does it go to?

I think it uses your mobile. I haven’t done it but it can be set up from the Alexa app. Bottom row, middle is a little voice balloon

[leahcim 680]

You can use the echo connect to use echo with your mobile phone or some VOIP like Ooma.

I thought about it, read some reviews and decided not too

[leahcim 680]

2 hours ago, voyager9 said:

It was well reported a while ago that it will act on commands over the TV. Like you showed there was an example where it bought something from amazon based on cues from the TV. 

My favorite was the guy who bet his neighbor that the neighbor couldn’t get past the Internet-enabled lock he had on his door. The neighbor walked up to the window nearest the echo and yelled “Alexa, unlock the front door”. 

Yes it will pick up commands over the TV but I found that with Star Trek ( using the"computer" wake word, it was pretty inconsistent).

I did have one instance where it tried to buy something-it always asks for confirmation, so I stopped it. It would pick up the word about half the time but usually it would just light up but do nothing, sometimes it would all to repeat, or say it could not do that.

I have also tried activating it by calling my home phone and say the wake word in a message-i have an old machine that plays the message over a speaker that sure next to the echo. I have never been able to get a response that way though.

[Howard 538]

Okay tell me more about connecting a phone to it?   My landline or just mobile?
how does the shopping list get stored?   What app does it go to?

They have an add-on device called the connect but I don’t know exactly what it does. You could go to amazon and read about it. Not sure why you would need it though. I can just say call “joe smith” and if that name is in my contacts it will cal that person over Wi-Fi and their phone will ring and it is like talking on any speaker phone with no phone service needed. If they are not in your contact list you just speak the actual phone number and it will call.

[CAL. .30 M1 2,101]

12 hours ago, Howard said:

Echo only records what you say immediately following the activation word, it does not record any other time.

Yep it listens for a wake word, keyword being listens,  then Transmits the recording to centralized servers etc. for processing.

So let's say somehow someway, a series of wake words are somehow embedded in the listening stream.....  then what?

See there are these places called fusion centers, they listen, they parse data based on keywords, those recordings are analyzed etc.

There is at least one in NYC - all they do is listen - listen, encapsulate and ship the data off to other centers for analysis.  Their motto - Carpe Datum.

'Innocuous' open mic listening device waiting for 'wake' words in my home?  Eh not so much.  You have fun with it.

Also watch what strings of words you use in texts or phone conversations. ....

 

 

Paranoid and distrusting - yeah you betcha.  Cause when you know what other levels they are capable of doing, the paranoia isn' so far fetched or ureasonable.

[Barms 98]

34 minutes ago, Howard said:

 

They have an add-on device called the connect but I don’t know exactly what it does. You could go to amazon and read about it. Not sure why you would need it though. I can just say call “joe smith” and if that name is in my contacts it will cal that person over Wi-Fi and their phone will ring and it is like talking on any speaker phone with no phone service needed. If they are not in your contact list you just speak the actual phone number and it will call.

 

Okay so somehow in the setup you linked your mobile phone to it?   Then the echo just acts like a tether to your phone?

[voyager9 3,434]

Reminds me of the fun you could have with Emacs

M-x spook adds a line of randomly chosen keywords to an outgoing mail message. The keywords are chosen from a list of words that suggest you are discussing something subversive.

The idea behind this feature is the suspicion that the NSA¹ and other intelligence agencies snoop on all electronic mail messages that contain keywords suggesting they might find them interesting. (The agencies say that they don't, but that's what they would say.) The idea is that if lots of people add suspicious words to their messages, the agencies will get so busy with spurious input that they will have to give up reading it all. Whether or not this is true, it at least amuses some people.