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Comment by timdavila | Hacker News Reader

Maybe it's not for everyone. We were given an Echo Dot for Christmas. By itself, it's at best a toy, I agree. I didn't use it after the first couple days.

A couple weeks ago my perception changed when I got a Fire TV Stick, and paired it with Alexa. It feels really futuristic to be able to say "Alexa, play Psych" and see the TV change and start where we left off. I can control Netflix and Amazon streaming with only my voice. Now I'm looking for ways to be able to turn on/off the TV, and volume with Alexa.

I think integrating with real world items is where Alexa shines. And as far as your comment on syntax, I've found it very intuitive, and it's only getting better every day.

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I would love all of that, but I don't want it connecting back to the cloud. And understanding some of the inherent necessities these things have with the cloud, I understand I am not the target market.

Which is a shame. If there's another HA device out there that in convenient form factor that communicates with my LAN and gives me greater granular control over what it talks to, I'd be buying three right now.

That's a hint to anyone who may be working on a product, or know of a product that fits the niche of the perpetually paranoid :P

https://mycroft.ai/

It has features that will use the internet, but I don't think it's required to be given internet access.

...and they even sell a 3-pack ;)

Ohh it sounds like Jarvis (okay not really, I'm an uncultured yank, sue me, haha)

I'm going to take a close look at this, cheers!

This looks great! I’ve been interested in playing with a voice assistant but prefer not to give my data to amazon. Will definitely be giving this a try.

Google Home + Chromecast can turn the TV on and off. If you're Chromecasting, you can say "set the volume to 60%" or "rewind 35 seconds". When you use the trigger word, it even turns down the volume automatically so it can hear you better.

The great thing about Google Home + Chromecast is that it provides playback controls even for sources that don't have direct Google Assistant integration (so even if you have to start the stream manually, you can control playback with your voice.)

It has IR? I don't have a smart TV.

Infrared? No. It uses HDMI-CEC for power commands, so your TV has to support that (most do). Volume control and seeking is done directly through the Chromecast.

I've got two Fire TV devices. The novelty wears off, especially for browsing content (you can't) and the remotes have the voice function built in anyway.

Maybe if I had a full smart home with lights and whatever. But then I always think 'please, no more bloody cables, power bricks or extension cords'.

Maybe I really am just getting old.

> Maybe if I had a full smart home with lights and whatever.

Even though I love my Echos - I've never gotten the appeal of the current "smart home". Sure, controlling some lights that aren't convenient to reach is helpful, but not a major selling feature. Turning on the TV is great, but rarely can you change the volume, and if you could, you're talking over the show. As I jokingly called it in another thread, "a fancy expensive Clapper". Otherwise...you get what, ability to turn them off and on remotely? Again, not useless, but also not a big deal.

When they are SMARTER I'm all aboard. Recognize who I am, the volume level I like, and adjust for whatever volume is coming out of the TV. Give me 'mood lighting' on command. The ability to get answers to even marginally complex questions. Read my email and tell me when her flight is coming in. Know to remind me to clean the place up a day in advance without me explicitly setting it to do that. Generate playlists dynamically based off of more than one term, and build up further definitions based on my reactions. ("No, that was too mellow. Something calming, but still with a beat" results in it adjusting what I meant by 'easy-listening' compared to what others might mean).

I can be excited about the potential, but not about the reality of this aspect.

I have most of my lights and TV's hooked up and although I wasn't sure we would use it often, we use it all the time. The biggest thing is being able to turn of lights after I am in bed. Or on the way out, turning everything off without hunting for remotes. And adjusting the thermostat by voice is something we do on a regular basis. We also use it to play music in whatever room, ask it the time, weather and set timers, the usual stuff.

I don't know how many times before getting it that I was about to doze off and then had to fully ransack the bedroom just to find the tv remote to turn off the TV.

We also use it as an intra house intercom and just today when I was out shopping, I needed to ask my spouse about an item and she didn't answer her phone. But I just piped in directly to the living room and got the answer I needed.

I definitely am getting my $35 worth. Although I never buy things with it, so I'm not sure Amazon is making out too well.

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