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How/for what do people actually use Siri, or Alexa for? I mean I can't think of having seen anyone use them for a long time for anything but to either test the

by rixrax 9y ago

How/for what do people actually use Siri, or Alexa for? I mean I can't think of having seen anyone use them for a long time for anything but to either test them out for curiositys sake, or for demoing their new Alexa controlled drapes. Hopefully this wasn't too off-topic. Maybe HN should have an ability to create a poll and attach them to a thread. ;-)

aetherson 9y ago
I have a couple of Echo devices in my home. I use an Echo Dot on my nightstand to control my LifX lightbulb, adjusting its brightness between 1% and 100%, as my wife and I prefer extremely dim lights right before bed. When my daughter was younger, I also used the same Dot to set timers when we were trying to give her a few minutes to get herself back to sleep when she'd wake up crying. I use a full-size Echo in the kitchen to set kitchen timers, to populate shopping lists, and to check the weather occasionally as we're going out the door. I also sometimes play music on it. Recently, I've started using the Google Assistant on my phone to start music in the car (so as to avoid physically touching my phone while driving), and I've started to decide that it's easier to say, "Hey Google, navigate to 123 main st" instead of using the touchscreen, even when I could use the touch screen.
shaklee3 9y ago
One thing my wife and I use the Google home for constantly is grocery shopping. We had previously used an app called our groceries that synchronizes a grocery list between multiple people. That's a map where to plug in for Google home where you can just say things to it and it adds it to your synchronized grocery list. We use it all the time when we notice we run out of something.
jd20 9y ago
Having two newborns has made me come to appreciate Alexa in a whole new way: my hands are almost always full with one (or both) babies and being able to use my voice to control the lights, play music for them, set reminders or alarms for myself, has been a godsend. While my wife was bedridden after her C-Section surgery, she loved being able to use Echo's ability to call other Echo's in the house (or outside the home) when she needed something. Kind of like an intercom system. The problem with the iPhone is that it was usually either on the charger, or battery was dead, or it was left on vibrate. The Echo was always 100% reliable for her, which is really critical when you can't even get out of bed.

by rixrax 9y ago

aetherson 9y ago

I have a couple of Echo devices in my home. I use an Echo Dot on my nightstand to control my LifX lightbulb, adjusting its brightness between 1% and 100%, as my wife and I prefer extremely dim lights right before bed. When my daughter was younger, I also used the same Dot to set timers when we were trying to give her a few minutes to get herself back to sleep when she'd wake up crying. I use a full-size Echo in the kitchen to set kitchen timers, to populate shopping lists, and to check the weather occasionally as we're going out the door. I also sometimes play music on it. Recently, I've started using the Google Assistant on my phone to start music in the car (so as to avoid physically touching my phone while driving), and I've started to decide that it's easier to say, "Hey Google, navigate to 123 main st" instead of using the touchscreen, even when I could use the touch screen.

shaklee3 9y ago

One thing my wife and I use the Google home for constantly is grocery shopping. We had previously used an app called our groceries that synchronizes a grocery list between multiple people. That's a map where to plug in for Google home where you can just say things to it and it adds it to your synchronized grocery list. We use it all the time when we notice we run out of something.

jd20 9y ago

Having two newborns has made me come to appreciate Alexa in a whole new way: my hands are almost always full with one (or both) babies and being able to use my voice to control the lights, play music for them, set reminders or alarms for myself, has been a godsend. While my wife was bedridden after her C-Section surgery, she loved being able to use Echo's ability to call other Echo's in the house (or outside the home) when she needed something. Kind of like an intercom system. The problem with the iPhone is that it was usually either on the charger, or battery was dead, or it was left on vibrate. The Echo was always 100% reliable for her, which is really critical when you can't even get out of bed.