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Let The Right One In (NOT Alexa)

meh .. I'll just switch her off when we're not using her .. droids.

Is it even possible to do that ?

Maybe the machine just lets you think it is off.

At least in '1984' one knew that Big Brother was ALWAYS watching and listening.
 
Is it even possible to do that ?

Maybe the machine just lets you think it is off.

At least in '1984' one knew that Big Brother was ALWAYS watching and listening.

I have an Alexa on my bedside table but I have just subscribed to the music service which apparently gives me 50mn songs to choose from. I have only found one so far it doesn't know being Cacharpaya by Incantation.

The sound quality is excellent and I am very happy to lie in bed and listen to the BBC World service most nights. It is also an alarm clock which is cool.

I bought mine in Australia so it has a female Aussie accent.

Mine was very cheap and I find it excellent value.

I regard it as a radio alarm clock with a huge CD collection on tap controlled by voice.

All in all it is a welcome addition to my bedroom.
 
Can I use Alexa as an alarm clock?

Yes you just say "Alexa set the alarm for 7am" or whatever time you want.

Alexa then replies "Alarm set for 7am" - it also makes quite a nice relaxing sound.
 
Things like Alexa put me in mind of Anne Reid's speech in Years & Years, where she essentially says we allowed it (the ruination of the world) to happen by buying t-shirts that only cost 99 pence.
 
Things like Alexa put me in mind of Anne Reid's speech in Years & Years, where she essentially says we allowed it (the ruination of the world) to happen by buying t-shirts that only cost 99 pence.

The world looks just fine to me. Where are you?

maximus otter
 
I have to admit, I've got Alexa switched off at the moment for 'security reasons'. I'll be asking her to play me a Motown mix in a bit.
 
I have neither Ciri nor Alexa, and I have Google voice switched off as its a goddamn nuisance. I'll get Big Brother to take an interest in my life when I'm good and ready, i.e. in my dotage.

No Siri/Alexa/etc. Apart from the glaring possible privacy issues, we just don't need it and its added expense.

If Google wants to listen in via our phones (even though we don't use Google voice assistance thingy) then that'll be their problem. Just don't hold us responsible when the Google AI can't handle the stream of conversational nonsense, goes mad and renames itself "Skynet".
 
I find it interesting that much of the fancy tech innovation is in the realm of consumer goods, when we really need innovations in how to deal with climate change, mass extinctions and massive social issues (mass violence, mass displacements—refugees and the homeless—accerating income disparity, drug crises, waste disposal, . . . ).

Anyway,
Yes you just say "Alexa set the alarm for 7am" or whatever time you want.

Alexa then replies "Alarm set for 7am" - it also makes quite a nice relaxing sound.
Can you tell Alexia "set alarm for 20 minutes from now"? Without the relaxing sound? I'm not saying it's bad to have a relaxing sound, but if I need to stay awake to take dinner out of the oven 20 minutes from now, it's probably not such a good idea to drift off. Just saying.
 
Yes you just say "Alexa set the alarm for 7am" or whatever time you want.

Alexa then replies "Alarm set for 7am" - it also makes quite a nice relaxing sound.
I'm so old school low-tech (by choice, not due to either poor finances or ARTI, Age-Related Technological Incompetence!), that when the alarm button on my small battery-operated alarm clock broke earlier this year, instead of replacing it I just began a daily ritual of advancing the alarm hand on the clock face a few times a day in order to avoid hearing the alarm go off when the hour and minute hands meet up with it. No plans to get a new one... (I rarely need to make use of the alarm, so its being broken is of no great consequence.) I did purchase a nice purple Adidas watch – which I have no great need for – on sale recently, though, because... how often do you find a purple watch on sale?!
 
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Yes you just say "Alexa set the alarm for 7am" or whatever time you want.

Alexa then replies "Alarm set for 7am" - it also makes quite a nice relaxing sound.

Yes, but is it really so difficult to actually set your alarm clock/radio/phone manually?
I AM CARTRIVISION!

This obsession with 'must have' SMART technology is getting utterly crazy. I find Siri and Alexa bad enough, and would never have one, in fact I read somewhere recently (sorry cant remember where), that some home insurance companies in the US were reviewing wether or not to cover homes that had them because of the potential for thieves and house breakers to hack into them and find out when the house was empty. Anything that is connected to the internet can be hacked. As far as I'm concerned SMART is an an acronym for Surveilance Marketed As Revolutionary Technology.
Unfortunately the majority of people love the latest gadget and technology, and big business is happy to oblige with the most ridiculous consumer products, a SMART shower head......here you go!........a Smart frying pan,......ok....no prob.......have a look at this BBC link to see just how mad this has become, and it's going to get worse. It's all linked to the Internet Of Things, which is one reason for the massive roll out of 5G, all these SMART devices need constant and fast connection to the internet, so they'll continue to cut down much needed urban trees, and have 5G relay boxes every few hundred yards just so as your SMART frying pan can tell you when to flip your eggs.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50952021
 
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Yes, but is it really so difficult to actually set your alarm clock/radio/phone manually?

This obsession with 'must have' SMART technology is getting utterly crazy. I find Siri and Alexa bad enough, and would never have one, in fact I read somewhere recently (sorry cant remember where), that some home insurance companies in the US were reviewing wether or not to cover homes that had them because of the potential for thieves and house breakers to hack into them and find out when the house was empty. Anything that is connected to the internet can be hacked. As far as I'm concerned SMART is an an acronym for Surveilance Marketed As Revolutionary Technology.
Unfortunately the majority of people love the latest gadget and technology, and big business is happy to oblige with the most ridiculous consumer products, a SMART shower head......here you go!........a Smart frying pan,......ok....no prob.......have a look at this BBC link to see just how mad this has become, and it's going to get worse. It's all linked to the Internet Of Things, which is one reason for the massive roll out of 5G, all these SMART devices need constant and fast connection to the internet, so they'll continue to cut down much needed urban trees, and have 5G relay boxes every few hundred yards just so as your SMART frying pan can tell you when to flip your eggs.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50952021

I don't own an alarm clock and the alarm facility on my phone is very fiddly so the Alexa is great as it is just a simple voice command.

I use mine as a music machine, radio, alarm clock it is also set up as an emergency telephone to contact my elderly parents if required. I do not carry out internet searches or buy stuff with it.

It was an absolute bargain at AU$ 30
 
The Mrs discovered that Alexa has a selection of fart sounds if you ask her "Alexa, do a fart", she'll even keep asking if you want to hear different types of fart which is amusing enough for a minute or two. We also asked her to give us a quiz although the questions were too easy. She'll tell you a joke if you ask her. If you ask her who the MP for North Norfolk is, she'll wrongly tell you it's Norman Lamb who resigned a month or so ago.
 
Yes, but is it really so difficult to actually set your alarm clock/radio/phone manually?

This obsession with 'must have' SMART technology is getting utterly crazy. I find Siri and Alexa bad enough, and would never have one, in fact I read somewhere recently (sorry cant remember where), that some home insurance companies in the US were reviewing wether or not to cover homes that had them because of the potential for thieves and house breakers to hack into them and find out when the house was empty. Anything that is connected to the internet can be hacked. As far as I'm concerned SMART is an an acronym for Surveilance Marketed As Revolutionary Technology.
Unfortunately the majority of people love the latest gadget and technology, and big business is happy to oblige with the most ridiculous consumer products, a SMART shower head......here you go!........a Smart frying pan,......ok....no prob.......have a look at this BBC link to see just how mad this has become, and it's going to get worse. It's all linked to the Internet Of Things, which is one reason for the massive roll out of 5G, all these SMART devices need constant and fast connection to the internet, so they'll continue to cut down much needed urban trees, and have 5G relay boxes every few hundred yards just so as your SMART frying pan can tell you when to flip your eggs.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50952021

We have just bought a new clothes dryer ( a Samsung heat pump dryer) and whilst reading the instructions manual to find what a particular button did, I was astounded to find out that it also had Wi-Fi and that I can control it from my smart phone. I haven't yet discovered that I have the need to know exactly when our clothes are dry when not home, but I can choose to be notified if I wish. So long as they're dry when we return, I'm fine with that. I wonder who uses such features?
 
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We have just bought a new clothes dryer ( a Samsung heat pump dryer) and whilst reading the instructions manual to find what a particular button did, I was astounded to find out that it also had Wi-Fi and that I can control it from my smart phone. I haven't yet discovered that I have the need to know exactly when our clothes are dry when not home, but I can choose to be notified if I wish. So long as they're dry when we return, I'm fine with that. I wonder who uses such features?
What end can such an item possibly serve? I mean, you have to physically load a drier, so why not take the 3 seconds necessary to turn it on manually?

"No, I'd rather have people be able to hack my drier remotely thanks."-Nobody, Ever.
 
What end can such an item possibly serve? I mean, you have to physically load a drier, so why not take the 3 seconds necessary to turn it on manually?

"No, I'd rather have people be able to hack my drier remotely thanks."-Nobody, Ever.

Insane isn't it? I get enough notifications all day long for all sorts of things. I do not want my clothes dryer sending me messages to let me know my undies are dry. Not do I wish to remotely start it. You are 100% correct. We're on the brink of insanity here.
 
Insane isn't it? I get enough notifications all day long for all sorts of things. I do not want my clothes dryer sending me messages to let me know my undies are dry. Not do I wish to remotely start it. You are 100% correct. We're on the brink of insanity here.
In all seriousness, I wouldn't be at all surprised if you discovered that it also had a small microphone in there somewhere, of course this would be to let you give it voice commands. We are living in the last few years of freedom from The Internet Of Things, it's not a conspiracy, this is what is comming, it's well documented and the powers that be make no secret about it, why should they, it's marketed as all being a new world of convenience and efficiency, but for whom I wonder?
 
In all seriousness, I wouldn't be at all surprised if you discovered that it also had a small microphone in there somewhere, of course this would be to let you give it voice commands. We are living in the last few years of freedom from The Internet Of Things, it's not a conspiracy, this is what is comming, it's well documented and the powers that be make no secret about it, why should they, it's marketed as all being a new world of convenience and efficiency, but for whom I wonder?
I'm starting to feel like a tin foil hat wearer myself, we had an unpaid for hub delivered to our house, fibre broadband that the Mrs has set up .. Boris pm's promise of faster internet apparently .. it starts on the 22nd of March she says .. Silver Shamrock ?..

 
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  • Effort:
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'Hello Alexa'

Hello Mrs Swifty, have you had a good day at work?'

'Yes I have, thank you for asking'

Did Mr Swifty get to his appointment on time ? I did give him plenty of warning.

'what appointment was that, Alexa ?'

The one where he was to meet your sister. Same time same place.

'errrr, I'm not sure. I'll have to ask him when he returns'

OK Mrs Swifty. If you need it, I have the full recording of the conversation. Shall I replay it to you ?

'Not now Alexa, let's wait until he comes home. Sort of surprise him'

Very well. I'm sure he will be surprised.
 
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