8 ms·

Having to say "OK, Google" instead of just "Google" (or "Alexa") is a deal-breaker. Google's products don't feel like they are designed by humans.

by dilap 9y ago

melling 9y ago
“Hey Google” is the same number of syllables as Alexa.
- steve_adams_86 9y ago
  Isn't it 'Okay Google'? Either way, I do find Alexa rolls off the tongue a little easier. That may be because I have trouble enunciating verbal transitions.
  - adjkant 9y ago
    It's both. It comes down to the keyword identification algorithm of course, not the design by Google. Google's decision choice was not picking a random name that can be identified but instead working in their brand name. My bet is that give it a few years and we will have custom activation words within some constraints.
    - dilap 9y ago
      Is it both? The Google Home I was playing with at my in-laws house a couple days ago definitely only seemed to respond to "OK" (people kept forgetting and using "hey", which didn't work).
      - adjkant 9y ago
        Works for me, though I've trained my voice on it, so perhaps that helps. I'm 100% it's supposed to be both.
      - Shoue 9y ago
        When you're setting up the Home during the training step it makes you say "Hey Google" and "Okay Google". It's definitely a bit hard to notice considering only a single word changes.
- dilap 9y ago
  The number of syllables isn't the problem, it's that prefixing every request with "OK," feels extremely unnatural -- almost like you're treating the Google assistant in a sardonic or sarcastic manner. (Also, "OK" is a very unnatural prefix! Notice how you accidentally replaced it with "hey". I watched a 7 year repeatedly do this a couple of days ago with Google Home, concluding it was broken. Compare w/ Alexa, which kids pick up on instantly.) Edit: OK, not accidental, apparently "hey" is supposed to work too. Not sure why it wasn't working at my in-laws house! I think "hey" is a better prefix word than "OK" (though still not nearly as nice as no prefix [try always addressing your friends by putting "hey" in front of their name and see how it goes]), so I reduce my criticism by half. :-)
  - jmgao 9y ago
    AFAIK, 'Hey Google' as a hotword was supported on the Google Home from the beginning.
    - dilap 9y ago
      Interesting, someone else said that too. It definitely wasn't working for us though... Maybe something to do w/ whether or not it was trained to our voices?
      - dragonwriter 9y ago
        In principle, training to your voice should only be necessary to get access to personal content and settings, but it probably also improves wakeword recognition (and the training trains with both wakewords.)
    - dawnerd 9y ago
      It's what I started with and didn't even realize okay google was also valid. I wish they'd just let us designate our own, or at least give more choices.
      - ijidak 9y ago
- mewse 9y ago
  Also the same number as "Hey, Siri". And Samsung's "Hey, Bixby". I'm assuming it's not a coincidence. I think it's likely that three syllables just happens to be a nice cut-off point that minimizes the number of spurious activations, and that explains why everybody doing voice control uses that particular threshold to activate their digital assistant. Heck, even Star Trek got it right way back in 1966 with its "Computer" wake word. About the only company I can find that seems to be ignoring the three-syllable rule is Microsoft, who use "Hey, Cortana", which is four syllables. But Microsoft's always been a fan of using really long phrases to identify their products, so maybe that shouldn't be a surprise.
  - linker3000 9y ago
    Just be glad that VMware don't make one. "Hey, VMware vSphere Home Voice Assistant Essentials Plus..."
saalweachter 9y ago
Have you ever been in a room with an Alexa unit when people are trying to talk about it? It's like a comedy routine with the device activating spuriously over and over.
- dilap 9y ago
  I have, and it's pretty funny. We quickly adapted to just saying "A." or "her". Probably in a few years this whole debate topic will seem quant, as devices will be much at figuring out when we're addressing them than the primitive idea of a wake-word. :-)
  - Sephr 9y ago
    This is not feasible with software updates alone on the Echo Dot or Google Home Mini, as it will require better hardware unless you just want your device to constantly phone home everything.
    - robbiep 9y ago
      I think they’re saying they changed to referring to Alexia in conversation to A or Her
      - Sephr 9y ago
        I'm responding to "devices will be much [better] at figuring out when we're addressing them than the primitive idea of a wake-word". That kind of on-device context detection may not be feasible with the currently-shipping hardware.
        antonvs 9y ago
        The manufacturers want you to buy new hardware at least every year, so that's not a barrier to new features unless you refuse to upgrade.
        coding123 9y ago
daveFNbuck 9y ago
"Google" is an extremely common word in casual conversation. Any human who tested a device that activated every time you said "Google" would quickly recommend a change to a less likely phrase.
- icc97 9y ago
  I think the point is that Google shouldn't be in the name at all.
  - dullgiulio 9y ago
    Why, people have been asking Google a lot of questions for a long time. I can imagine the marketing department in Google not loving the idea of another name for Google.
    - icc97 9y ago
      I can see your point. They think that there is enough personality in Google as a thing. That certainly makes the most sense of what I've seen. However I think they missed on how personal a thing it is to talk to someone. I think they should have viewed 'OK Google' as a personality that's like Google's little brother, that will ask Google for you if that's what you need or else will for example check in your diary for you.
      - creep 9y ago
        Google doesn't need a personality. Seeing it as technology works perfectly especially when it goes wrong. It's easy to say something like, "Alexa is stupid, she can't understand a simple command", but referring to Google as tech, it is much easier to move on to reforming the command. It is also less invasive for me, personally. I'd rather refer to AI in personal terms.
  - dustinmoris 9y ago
    You are missing the point. Even a random name wouldn't work when people talk about it. Alexa is the perfect example! Google did the right thing. Google home is what people talk about and "Ok Google" is what activities the device.
untog 9y ago
I feel the exact opposite. "Alexa" feels like a very clunky attempt to humanise something that isn't human.
- bsenftner 9y ago
  My first reaction was "a Russian name?" That's curious...
- dionidium 9y ago
  And "OK, Google" is a really clunky attempt to convince me that I'm having a conversation, when I'm clearly not. It's cringe-worthy, even. It sets off all kinds of, "a programmer nerd made this and thinks this totally abnormal phrase is how real people talk" alarm bells. It's actually embarrassing to say out loud, even if you're alone.
- dilap 9y ago
  we give names to all sorts of creatures that aren't human -- ships, pets, gods, &c. there's a large part of our brain that is basically hard-coded to interact with things assuming they are people-ish, with names and autonomous behaviors. alexa and google home are still super-primitive, but as they get more sophisticated, thinking of them as people will seem like the most natural thing in the world. (i do get where you're coming from, but i think it's a perspective that only makes sense for (1) the very technical and (2) is not long for this world.) (it's sort of analogous to how originally in internet search engines, you had to put in very precise search terms, and unsophisticated people would just put in some sort of sloppy natural language query. but as the search engines got smarter, the precise stuff got ignored and sloppy was the way to go.)
2-4-Flinching 9y ago
>Having to say "OK, Google" instead of just "Google" (or "Alexa") is a deal-breaker. LOL. That is one of the reasons I hated Alexa. She turned on when a podcast said something about her, the TV ad came on, we talked about our friend Alexa and when anything sounded kinda like Alexa. Ended up changing it to Echo, which worked a bit better. Amazon was out of the question when order to much from there and so common conversation have Amazon in them. I enjoy Googles way more and no one I know still uses "OK, Google" its much simpler and rolls off the tongue to say "Hey, Google!". First world problems after all. >Google's products don't feel like they are designed by humans. And Amazons does? Over half of the stuff I said to Alexa comes back as "I don't know how to help with that" even simple facts. Alexa seems to be very limited in researching and answering. While google has there powerful search engine. Also with google I can build shortcuts for even the most advanced, long winded commands and wrap it into "Hey google, protocol seven" or whatever I want.
- eecks 9y ago
  The word Google isn't as nice to say as Alexa. I don't have the problems you seem to have with Alexa. It works perfectly.
  - pavel_lishin 9y ago
    I wonder if your feelings are related to the Bouba/Kiki effect.
    - eecks 9y ago
      Just googled what that is. It could be!
- walshemj 9y ago
  earlier this you I was on a skype conference from home with a colleague called Alex and a client. At one point the conversation triggered alexa and i had to apologise and quickly pull the plug
659087 9y ago
The thought of millions of children growing up in "Google homes" being programmed to yell out a brand name constantly, is incredibly sad.
dilap 9y ago
look how many times the family has to remind their grandma to say "ok" or "hey" in front of google in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2R0NSKtVA0&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2R0NSKtVA0&feature=youtu.be not designed for humans! i rest my case.

Having to say "OK, Google" instead of just "Google" (or "Alexa") is a deal-breaker. Google's products don't feel like they are designed by humans.

by dilap 9y ago

Having to say "OK, Google" instead of just "Google" (or "Alexa") is a deal-breaker. Google's products don't feel like they are designed by humans.

melling 9y ago

“Hey Google” is the same number of syllables as Alexa.

steve_adams_86 9y ago
Isn't it 'Okay Google'? Either way, I do find Alexa rolls off the tongue a little easier. That may be because I have trouble enunciating verbal transitions.
- adjkant 9y ago
  It's both. It comes down to the keyword identification algorithm of course, not the design by Google. Google's decision choice was not picking a random name that can be identified but instead working in their brand name. My bet is that give it a few years and we will have custom activation words within some constraints.
  - dilap 9y ago
    Is it both? The Google Home I was playing with at my in-laws house a couple days ago definitely only seemed to respond to "OK" (people kept forgetting and using "hey", which didn't work).
    - adjkant 9y ago
      Works for me, though I've trained my voice on it, so perhaps that helps. I'm 100% it's supposed to be both.
    - Shoue 9y ago
      When you're setting up the Home during the training step it makes you say "Hey Google" and "Okay Google". It's definitely a bit hard to notice considering only a single word changes.
dilap 9y ago
The number of syllables isn't the problem, it's that prefixing every request with "OK," feels extremely unnatural -- almost like you're treating the Google assistant in a sardonic or sarcastic manner. (Also, "OK" is a very unnatural prefix! Notice how you accidentally replaced it with "hey". I watched a 7 year repeatedly do this a couple of days ago with Google Home, concluding it was broken. Compare w/ Alexa, which kids pick up on instantly.) Edit: OK, not accidental, apparently "hey" is supposed to work too. Not sure why it wasn't working at my in-laws house! I think "hey" is a better prefix word than "OK" (though still not nearly as nice as no prefix [try always addressing your friends by putting "hey" in front of their name and see how it goes]), so I reduce my criticism by half. :-)
- jmgao 9y ago
  AFAIK, 'Hey Google' as a hotword was supported on the Google Home from the beginning.
  - dilap 9y ago
    Interesting, someone else said that too. It definitely wasn't working for us though... Maybe something to do w/ whether or not it was trained to our voices?
    - dragonwriter 9y ago
      In principle, training to your voice should only be necessary to get access to personal content and settings, but it probably also improves wakeword recognition (and the training trains with both wakewords.)
  - dawnerd 9y ago
    It's what I started with and didn't even realize okay google was also valid. I wish they'd just let us designate our own, or at least give more choices.
    - ijidak 9y ago
mewse 9y ago
Also the same number as "Hey, Siri". And Samsung's "Hey, Bixby". I'm assuming it's not a coincidence. I think it's likely that three syllables just happens to be a nice cut-off point that minimizes the number of spurious activations, and that explains why everybody doing voice control uses that particular threshold to activate their digital assistant. Heck, even Star Trek got it right way back in 1966 with its "Computer" wake word. About the only company I can find that seems to be ignoring the three-syllable rule is Microsoft, who use "Hey, Cortana", which is four syllables. But Microsoft's always been a fan of using really long phrases to identify their products, so maybe that shouldn't be a surprise.
- linker3000 9y ago
  Just be glad that VMware don't make one. "Hey, VMware vSphere Home Voice Assistant Essentials Plus..."

saalweachter 9y ago

Have you ever been in a room with an Alexa unit when people are trying to talk about it? It's like a comedy routine with the device activating spuriously over and over.

dilap 9y ago
I have, and it's pretty funny. We quickly adapted to just saying "A." or "her". Probably in a few years this whole debate topic will seem quant, as devices will be much at figuring out when we're addressing them than the primitive idea of a wake-word. :-)
- Sephr 9y ago
  This is not feasible with software updates alone on the Echo Dot or Google Home Mini, as it will require better hardware unless you just want your device to constantly phone home everything.
  - robbiep 9y ago
    I think they’re saying they changed to referring to Alexia in conversation to A or Her
    - Sephr 9y ago
      I'm responding to "devices will be much [better] at figuring out when we're addressing them than the primitive idea of a wake-word". That kind of on-device context detection may not be feasible with the currently-shipping hardware.
      - antonvs 9y ago
        The manufacturers want you to buy new hardware at least every year, so that's not a barrier to new features unless you refuse to upgrade.
      - coding123 9y ago

daveFNbuck 9y ago

"Google" is an extremely common word in casual conversation. Any human who tested a device that activated every time you said "Google" would quickly recommend a change to a less likely phrase.

icc97 9y ago
I think the point is that Google shouldn't be in the name at all.
- dullgiulio 9y ago
  Why, people have been asking Google a lot of questions for a long time. I can imagine the marketing department in Google not loving the idea of another name for Google.
  - icc97 9y ago
    I can see your point. They think that there is enough personality in Google as a thing. That certainly makes the most sense of what I've seen. However I think they missed on how personal a thing it is to talk to someone. I think they should have viewed 'OK Google' as a personality that's like Google's little brother, that will ask Google for you if that's what you need or else will for example check in your diary for you.
    - creep 9y ago
      Google doesn't need a personality. Seeing it as technology works perfectly especially when it goes wrong. It's easy to say something like, "Alexa is stupid, she can't understand a simple command", but referring to Google as tech, it is much easier to move on to reforming the command. It is also less invasive for me, personally. I'd rather refer to AI in personal terms.
- dustinmoris 9y ago
  You are missing the point. Even a random name wouldn't work when people talk about it. Alexa is the perfect example! Google did the right thing. Google home is what people talk about and "Ok Google" is what activities the device.

untog 9y ago

I feel the exact opposite. "Alexa" feels like a very clunky attempt to humanise something that isn't human.

bsenftner 9y ago
My first reaction was "a Russian name?" That's curious...
dionidium 9y ago
And "OK, Google" is a really clunky attempt to convince me that I'm having a conversation, when I'm clearly not. It's cringe-worthy, even. It sets off all kinds of, "a programmer nerd made this and thinks this totally abnormal phrase is how real people talk" alarm bells. It's actually embarrassing to say out loud, even if you're alone.
dilap 9y ago
we give names to all sorts of creatures that aren't human -- ships, pets, gods, &c. there's a large part of our brain that is basically hard-coded to interact with things assuming they are people-ish, with names and autonomous behaviors. alexa and google home are still super-primitive, but as they get more sophisticated, thinking of them as people will seem like the most natural thing in the world. (i do get where you're coming from, but i think it's a perspective that only makes sense for (1) the very technical and (2) is not long for this world.) (it's sort of analogous to how originally in internet search engines, you had to put in very precise search terms, and unsophisticated people would just put in some sort of sloppy natural language query. but as the search engines got smarter, the precise stuff got ignored and sloppy was the way to go.)

2-4-Flinching 9y ago

>Having to say "OK, Google" instead of just "Google" (or "Alexa") is a deal-breaker. LOL. That is one of the reasons I hated Alexa. She turned on when a podcast said something about her, the TV ad came on, we talked about our friend Alexa and when anything sounded kinda like Alexa. Ended up changing it to Echo, which worked a bit better. Amazon was out of the question when order to much from there and so common conversation have Amazon in them. I enjoy Googles way more and no one I know still uses "OK, Google" its much simpler and rolls off the tongue to say "Hey, Google!". First world problems after all. >Google's products don't feel like they are designed by humans. And Amazons does? Over half of the stuff I said to Alexa comes back as "I don't know how to help with that" even simple facts. Alexa seems to be very limited in researching and answering. While google has there powerful search engine. Also with google I can build shortcuts for even the most advanced, long winded commands and wrap it into "Hey google, protocol seven" or whatever I want.

eecks 9y ago
The word Google isn't as nice to say as Alexa. I don't have the problems you seem to have with Alexa. It works perfectly.
- pavel_lishin 9y ago
  I wonder if your feelings are related to the Bouba/Kiki effect.
  - eecks 9y ago
    Just googled what that is. It could be!
walshemj 9y ago
earlier this you I was on a skype conference from home with a colleague called Alex and a client. At one point the conversation triggered alexa and i had to apologise and quickly pull the plug

659087 9y ago

The thought of millions of children growing up in "Google homes" being programmed to yell out a brand name constantly, is incredibly sad.

dilap 9y ago

look how many times the family has to remind their grandma to say "ok" or "hey" in front of google in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2R0NSKtVA0&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2R0NSKtVA0&feature=youtu.be not designed for humans! i rest my case.