4 ms·

Am I the only one that thinks these are useless? I got one last Xmas and stop using it after a month or so.

by gruglife 9y ago

rubatuga 9y ago
They have uses, but some people delude themselves into thinking they make a significant difference in their lives
- eropple 9y ago
  Alternatively, maybe they do make a significant difference in those people's lives. I mean, seriously--who do you think you are to be the arbiter of that for them?
  - tonyedgecombe 9y ago
    Perhaps rubatuga is an observer rather than arbiter?
    - mikeash 9y ago
      An observer wouldn’t describe one of the sides as delusional.
- jhall1468 9y ago
  It does in my case. My entire routine, both morning and night, is set to the Alexa. It's convenient (it reminds me on both my phone and on the device). When I want music, I ask for it. When I'm out of dishwasher pods, I order them. It knows which ones too, because it knows which ones I ordered last time. So yes, it makes a significant difference in my life, as someone with ADD that struggles with these every day tasks. Maybe the delusional one is the person that thinks their particular perspective is the only one.
- mikeash 9y ago
  To think they’re worthwhile, we only have to think they’re making at least a $30 difference in our lives. That’s not a particularly high bar.
mulletbum 9y ago
I got new tires, but didn't buy a car, so they are worthless. That is basically what you are saying here. We both agree, it will tell you the weather, your commute, and play some music. Those are the things you grew tired of, but many people have their entire homes wired to these devices (me included). I don't use them daily, I use them hourly at home. It runs my sprinklers, lawn mowers, vacuums, lights, alarms, timers, starts my car, on and on. You have to invest in things to get the most out of them.
- throwaway30yo 9y ago
  That is the creepiest thing ive ever read on HN. I am 25 so maybe I am just getting jaded but that seems incredibly intrusive.
  - StevePerkins 9y ago
    I don't really feel like it's creepy. But I DO believe that we need to come up with a different word other than "invest" for contexts like this. Because when anyone talks about "investing" in a wifi lawnmower, or any other consumer gadget, I think they're seriously misusing the word...
    - eropple 9y ago
      A wifi lawnmower is literally investment--it is the purchase of what in a business sense would be plant assets. Capital. The up-front expenditure of cash to generate value, in the form of saved time, later. Getting used to the idea of home automation as investment, as opposed to just business automation is something that older folks are going to have to come to grips with. But, like, I have Hue lights at home, I have to be on my wifi network to control them (Hue Pro, not the Philips app, because I like my presets)--say I bought one of these and saved a couple minutes a day just doing that, what's that worth to me? Can I put a dollar amount on it? What's the ROI? (I got one for Christmas, so I guess we'll see.) But this is also why we as software developers are valued: our time creates capital in a way that many (most) other professions do not.
inoop 9y ago
I have a gen1 Echo, and mostly I ask it the weather, the news, play music (through Spotify), and set timers when I'm cooking. Occasionally I'll ask her about my Amazon orders. I've also got it paired to my Fire TV so I can just say things like 'search for the Orville on Hulu' or something, which is easier then typing out what I'm looking for. We got a regular Echo for the in-laws, and they absolutely love it, but mostly use it as a speaker. We got them a Spotify account as well, so my mother in law can just say 'Alexa, play Josh Groban' and it just works. They loved it so much we ordered them a tap as well so they can use it in the garden come spring. So it all depends, personally I think $30 isn't bad even if you just use it as a wireless Spotify player, although you'll have to hook it up to good speakers.

Am I the only one that thinks these are useless? I got one last Xmas and stop using it after a month or so.

rubatuga 9y ago

They have uses, but some people delude themselves into thinking they make a significant difference in their lives

eropple 9y ago
Alternatively, maybe they do make a significant difference in those people's lives. I mean, seriously--who do you think you are to be the arbiter of that for them?
- tonyedgecombe 9y ago
  Perhaps rubatuga is an observer rather than arbiter?
  - mikeash 9y ago
    An observer wouldn’t describe one of the sides as delusional.
jhall1468 9y ago
It does in my case. My entire routine, both morning and night, is set to the Alexa. It's convenient (it reminds me on both my phone and on the device). When I want music, I ask for it. When I'm out of dishwasher pods, I order them. It knows which ones too, because it knows which ones I ordered last time. So yes, it makes a significant difference in my life, as someone with ADD that struggles with these every day tasks. Maybe the delusional one is the person that thinks their particular perspective is the only one.
mikeash 9y ago
To think they’re worthwhile, we only have to think they’re making at least a $30 difference in our lives. That’s not a particularly high bar.

mulletbum 9y ago

I got new tires, but didn't buy a car, so they are worthless. That is basically what you are saying here. We both agree, it will tell you the weather, your commute, and play some music. Those are the things you grew tired of, but many people have their entire homes wired to these devices (me included). I don't use them daily, I use them hourly at home. It runs my sprinklers, lawn mowers, vacuums, lights, alarms, timers, starts my car, on and on. You have to invest in things to get the most out of them.

throwaway30yo 9y ago
That is the creepiest thing ive ever read on HN. I am 25 so maybe I am just getting jaded but that seems incredibly intrusive.
- StevePerkins 9y ago
  I don't really feel like it's creepy. But I DO believe that we need to come up with a different word other than "invest" for contexts like this. Because when anyone talks about "investing" in a wifi lawnmower, or any other consumer gadget, I think they're seriously misusing the word...
  - eropple 9y ago
    A wifi lawnmower is literally investment--it is the purchase of what in a business sense would be plant assets. Capital. The up-front expenditure of cash to generate value, in the form of saved time, later. Getting used to the idea of home automation as investment, as opposed to just business automation is something that older folks are going to have to come to grips with. But, like, I have Hue lights at home, I have to be on my wifi network to control them (Hue Pro, not the Philips app, because I like my presets)--say I bought one of these and saved a couple minutes a day just doing that, what's that worth to me? Can I put a dollar amount on it? What's the ROI? (I got one for Christmas, so I guess we'll see.) But this is also why we as software developers are valued: our time creates capital in a way that many (most) other professions do not.

inoop 9y ago

I have a gen1 Echo, and mostly I ask it the weather, the news, play music (through Spotify), and set timers when I'm cooking. Occasionally I'll ask her about my Amazon orders. I've also got it paired to my Fire TV so I can just say things like 'search for the Orville on Hulu' or something, which is easier then typing out what I'm looking for. We got a regular Echo for the in-laws, and they absolutely love it, but mostly use it as a speaker. We got them a Spotify account as well, so my mother in law can just say 'Alexa, play Josh Groban' and it just works. They loved it so much we ordered them a tap as well so they can use it in the garden come spring. So it all depends, personally I think $30 isn't bad even if you just use it as a wireless Spotify player, although you'll have to hook it up to good speakers.