processors running with gobs of excess computing capacity You're right about the CPU. However, it's possible that good voice recognition also requires gigabyte

processors running with gobs of excess computing capacity You're right about the CPU. However, it's possible that good voice recognition also requires gigabytes of data. That wouldn't work so well for a tablet. Or maybe there is some custom hardware (like DSP chips) in the data center that is used? I don't know, I'm just playing devil's advocate. I do agree with your sentiments. I'm not about to opt in to this garbage. I came of age in the era of the mainframe and I despised the lack of personal control. I won't willingly return to that. Today's cloud is just yesterday's mainframes and time-sharing by another name.