3 ms·

Google is all talk here and the technology they are talking about produces far worse results than a static display like the "web" used to be. > for example, as

Google is all talk here and the technology they are talking about produces far worse results than a static display like the "web" used to be. > for example, asking “Do I need an umbrella today in Delhi?” rather than typing “Delhi weather forecast.” I routinely ask Google in the USA, "will it snow tonight?" and it is nearly always wrong. I don't mean that the data it accesses is wrong, or that the prediction was wrong. That stuff is usually right. I mean that Google will read the weather forecast's 45% chance of snow and then it will say confidently, "No, it will not snow tonight" as there is a near-blizzard taking place outside my window (because the snow was not "scheduled" to start for another 20 minutes, at a 45% chance, despite the fact that the snow is plowing down outisde). Or if there is a 100% chance of snow for 15 hours in a row, and it starts at 1am, but you ask at 11:55pm if it will snow tonight, it will say "No it will not snow tonight." Or if it is going to snow between 1am and 5am and you ask at 11:55pm the night before if it will snow tomorrow, it will say "No". You have to ask, "Okay Google, will it snow early in the morning tomorrow?" if you want to know if it will snow overnight. Google's example query for the Next Billion needs work. "Okay Google, Weather forecast" and then reading the results like on the web produces a 100x faster experience sometimes with much much much better results. (Aside: has it snowed even once at Google HQ since it was founded?) Edit: And don't get me started on temperature. On the Home Mini, "Okay Google, what temperature is it?" .... "35." 35 what?! Yes I know you have a settings/ units preference somewhere that I cannot see or access right now (that's why I'm asking the magic box for the answer!). But 35 is not a temperature, unless you are giving it to me in Kelvin and choosing to not say the unit, which is WTF too.

Siecje 9y ago
The other day I heard my brother say "Set alarm for 3:15" instead of "15 minutes from now" and when I asked him why he said that latter required Google Now which required additional permissions, so he would rather figure out the time to ask for rather than accept additional permissions. If you say "Set alarm for 7", it will do 7pm, even if you use 24 hours time. And I know no one says 19 o' clock when speaking but it is interesting. "Set alarm for 7 tomorrow" is 7am.
- kageneko 9y ago
  Our Echo is basically a glorified alarm clock/weather checker/music player. If you just give it a number, it'll ask you to clarify if you mean morning or afternoon. "Set alarm for 7" "Do you mean 7 in the morning or 7 in the afternoon?" "AM" "Setting alarm for 7 AM."

Siecje 9y ago

The other day I heard my brother say "Set alarm for 3:15" instead of "15 minutes from now" and when I asked him why he said that latter required Google Now which required additional permissions, so he would rather figure out the time to ask for rather than accept additional permissions. If you say "Set alarm for 7", it will do 7pm, even if you use 24 hours time. And I know no one says 19 o' clock when speaking but it is interesting. "Set alarm for 7 tomorrow" is 7am.

kageneko 9y ago
Our Echo is basically a glorified alarm clock/weather checker/music player. If you just give it a number, it'll ask you to clarify if you mean morning or afternoon. "Set alarm for 7" "Do you mean 7 in the morning or 7 in the afternoon?" "AM" "Setting alarm for 7 AM."