Microsoft Is Planning To Turn Windows 10 PCs Into Amazon Echo Competitors (theverge.com)

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Microsoft Is Planning To Turn Windows 10 PCs Into Amazon Echo Competitors (theverge.com)

Posted by msmash on Tuesday May 9, 2017 @06:40AM from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.

Speaking of Amazon's Echo devices, it appears Microsoft also wants a slice of this nascent market. The Verge's Tom Warren claims that Microsoft has been working on a feature for Windows 10 that would allow it "to better compete with devices like Amazon's Echo." Dubbed HomeHub, the feature is designed to create "a family environment for a PC with shared access to calendars, apps, and even a new welcome screen." He adds: Microsoft is even planning to support smart home devices like Philips' Hue lights, to enable Windows 10 to act as a hub to control and manage smart home hardware. While we've heard about HomeHub before, The Verge has obtained internal concepts of exactly how Microsoft is imagining HomeHub will work. The major addition is a new welcome screen that includes an "always on" digital corkboard to let families use to-do lists, calendars, and notes. The welcome screen is really designed for kitchen PCs and new smaller hardware with screens that will support Cortana voice commands from across the room.

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so, a botnet? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 06:47 · Score: 0

this is really not going to end well like anything from privative software companies
Nobody asked for this by Frederic54 · 2017-05-09 06:48 · Score: 5, Informative

as the Amazon Echo with a 7" screen and a 5MP camera, nobody asked for his PC to become a HomeHub spying on you on everything!
Maybe I'm an old fart but I wil never have something like this in my house, if I want connected thermostat and remote electric blinds, I will do it myself with Arduino.

--
"Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
1. Re:Nobody asked for this by XxtraLarGe · 2017-05-09 06:59 · Score: 2
  
  Maybe I'm an old fart but I wil never have something like this in my house, if I want connected thermostat and remote electric blinds, I will do it myself with Arduino.
  My boss at my previous job asked me what the "Internet of Things" was. I explained to her "It means your appliances can be connected to the internet, so if you want to preheat your oven or turn up the thermostat before you get home, you can do it from your computer or phone. It also means that a hacker can set your oven to clean and burn your house down, or turn off your thermostat when you're on vacation in Mexico this winter so your pipes freeze." Of course, the second scenario can happen if Nest decided to patch your thermostat software during the winter....
  
  --
  Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
2. Re:Nobody asked for this by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:08 · Score: 0
  
  Samsung and the Wink people have open sourced every aspect of the software that run their hubs. There are legions of volunteer developers coding for these products at every level. Your crappy Arduino contraption is 1000x the security risk any of these products are and will never have the same level of integration with all the various Z-wave and Zigby devices out there or the overall level of capability with whatever devices you do get it to run with. The only downside with a building a connected home around one of these hubs is what will happen if any of these companies decide to abandon their product lines, but given the cheapo price point with this stuff it's not much of a concern.
3. Re:Nobody asked for this by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:40 · Score: 1
  
  One's stove, among other things, should NEVER be remotely controlled. Accidents can be prevented by not allowing the situation to exist in the first place.
  And Samsung & Wink, despite having talented staff, are marketing beyond our needs. It's unneeded, just a money maker. An exercise in cool 'gadgetry' but really unnecessary.
  I mean can humanity really not do these things manually? Is the suffering just too much to adjust one's thermostat when needed, or pre-heat the oven before dinner?
4. Re:Nobody asked for this by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:44 · Score: 0
  
  I was warned by my family members: DO NOT bring any of this crap into the house!! DO NOT WANT!! DO NOT TRUST IT!! I hated to tell them that the two smart tvs in the house are probably already spying on us.
5. Re: Nobody asked for this by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:48 · Score: 0
  
  This is why I've always used my smartphone on the toilet.
  If they want to watch me then watch this. The only thing that would make this better is if they had smellovision on us at all times too. You know, to crack down on pot. There will be a crack down on the pot for sure.
6. Re:Nobody asked for this by Rick+Schumann · 2017-05-09 08:22 · Score: 2
  
  It has nothing to do with being old, it has to do with having a brain that actually works properly, can think critically about things, and not needing everything to be SHINY and toy-like. You buy and use things that serve a useful purpose, and you don't need your hand held every single waking moment because you're perfectly capable of doing things yourself; you can spend the whole extra 5 seconds it takes to sit down at the keyboard to seach for something, you don't need a device of dubious purpose listening to you 24/7/365. Walking over to the thermostat to adjust it is not a hassle for you, you don't need a cloud-connected internet-of-things thermostat that lets you be supremely indolent and send a command to nudge it up by 1 degree over 10,000 miles of cabling. Your TV is just a TV, because there's no real reason for it to be anything other than a TV, it doesn't need to be some hackneyed substitute for a real computer. You may not even have a smartphone (and I applaud you, sir, if that's true) not because you don't 'understand' it, and you know very well how to use a smartphone, but you just don't see the need for something that large, that expensive to purchase, and that expensive to operate every month, when all you really want or need is just a phone that's good at being a phone. You'd probably also rather have your legs cut off than ever set foot into a 'self driving car', because not only do you not trust the technology with your personal safety (which is being rushed to market, what could possibly go wrong?) but you're a good driver, having been taught properly back in the day, so why do you need some half-assed machine to do it for you, while you sit there terrified it's going to get you killed?. These sensibilities are completely lost on the 2 current generations because they've been spoon-fed the idea that they're supposed to need these things, but for some reason they don't stop to think why they need these things -- and there is no real reason, they're just SHINY -- and they make money for corporations that serve little other purpose than to make money.
  
  I'm no Luddite (I work for tech companies, for effs' sake), neither are you, we're just from a time when you were more practical about your choices, and when people actually valued knowledge and skills, instead of expecting machines to do everything for you, while there's a growing vacuum between your ears because there's not much of anything you do to fill that vacuum. Honestly, I fear for the next generation, that they're not going to really learn or retain much of anything, because there will be more and more SHINY things around to do everything for them (and do them half-assed, more than likely, compared to a skilled human being) so why should they learn anything at all?
7. Re:Nobody asked for this by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 10:35 · Score: 0
  
  Samsung can't even make a phone that won't burst into flames. I'm certainly not going to trust them with handling the appliances in my home.
Un, seriously, Microsoft? by __aaclcg7560 · 2017-05-09 06:48 · Score: 5, Funny

Time to break out the soldering iron and start burning out the built-in microphones. I don't want my PC waking up every time I take fart.
1. Re:Un, seriously, Microsoft? by roc97007 · 2017-05-09 06:56 · Score: 1
  
  I wonder what it would order online under those circumstances.
  
  --
  Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
2. Re:Un, seriously, Microsoft? by __aaclcg7560 · 2017-05-09 07:20 · Score: 1
  
  I wonder what it would order online under those circumstances.
  When I apply the soldering iron or take a fart? Probably air freshener.
3. Re:Un, seriously, Microsoft? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:23 · Score: 0
  
  nothing, but it prompts Clippy the Paperclip to pop up and say "it sounds like your having digestive trouble".
4. Re:Un, seriously, Microsoft? by roc97007 · 2017-05-09 07:26 · Score: 1
  
  The fart part. Air freshener is a good answer. Also enzyme supplements, Beano, fiber supplements, the possibilities are endless!
  
  --
  Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
5. Re:Un, seriously, Microsoft? by roc97007 · 2017-05-09 07:27 · Score: 1
  
  "It sounds like you're having digestive trouble. Can I help?"
  To which the natural response is, "Help with WHAT?"
  
  --
  Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
6. Re:Un, seriously, Microsoft? by Oswald+McWeany · 2017-05-09 07:48 · Score: 1
  
  I wonder what it would order online under those circumstances.
  Most likely a Windows 10 S laptop.
  
  --
  "That's the way to do it" - Punch
7. Re:Un, seriously, Microsoft? by roc97007 · 2017-05-09 08:19 · Score: 0
  
  You win.
  
  --
  Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
8. Re:Un, seriously, Microsoft? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 08:42 · Score: 0
  
  weird, in my desktop i just need to unplug the 3 dollar microphone
9. Re:Un, seriously, Microsoft? by __aaclcg7560 · 2017-05-09 08:46 · Score: 1
  
  weird, in my desktop i just need to unplug the 3 dollar microphone
  My Windows laptop with built-in video and microphone. Newer monitors also have built-in video and microphone.
10. Re:Un, seriously, Microsoft? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 09:36 · Score: 0
  
  FYI, I know on the Dell Latitudes, the Cam and Mic our one module that can easily removed once you pop the front bezel from around the LCD panel.
  Honestly the hardest part of doing it is not crapping yourself thinking the plastic has broke when popping the bezel off.
11. Re:Un, seriously, Microsoft? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 10:40 · Score: 0
  
  FYI, I know on the Dell Latitudes, the Cam and Mic our one module
  They our?
12. Re:Un, seriously, Microsoft? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 12:59 · Score: 0
  
  It's a Windows computer, so just open the Device Manager with administrative privileges and disable the webcam/mic peripheral.. right?
13. Re:Un, seriously, Microsoft? by Slashdot+Junky · 2017-05-09 16:51 · Score: 1
  
  Well, a disconnected camera and microphone can't be reconnected by software. A device disabled within the OS can be reenabled by software.
  
  --
  .
  Landfill Mining Co.
  Managing the (Un)natural Resources of Tomorrow
14. Re:Un, seriously, Microsoft? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 23:12 · Score: 0
  
  I would have guessed, it'd order a Zune
Thanks for the tip... by roc97007 · 2017-05-09 06:51 · Score: 1

I just moved my office to a different room. I think I'll decline to plug the microphone back in.

--
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Too little and too late as per usual by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 06:52 · Score: 0

There are like 50 million Alexa devices in the US alone. All the smarthome hubs work with Alexa. None of them work with Cortana right now. There is a huge advantage that comes with being the first mover into a field. Microsoft seems to not understand this. Cortana is never going to supplant Alexa the same way Windows phones are never going to touch iPhones or Android. Plus, MS doesn't have a music service worth a damn. The key Alexa feature is its integration with Amazon Music. If it cant play free tunes by the millions what's the point? No good integration with free music is why both Apple and Google are playing second fiddle to Alexa too.
1. Re: Too little and too late as per usual by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:51 · Score: 0
  
  There's only so many because they were last years Christmas fad gift.
  I got one too, sitting in its unopened box.
2. Re:Too little and too late as per usual by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 09:20 · Score: 0
  
  > There is a huge advantage that comes with being the first mover into a field. Microsoft seems to not understand this.
  Microsoft had 42% of the US smartphone market before there was an iPhone or Android.
  Microsoft's failures are not because they weren't 'first mover'.
Conflict.... by beheaderaswp · 2017-05-09 06:52 · Score: 1

You can't own the road, the car, and patent the role of the driver.
A walled garden is bad. Microsoft's walled garden not only bad, but will spawn a 1000 lawsuits.
Microsoft has learned nothing from it's previous history.

--
Another consultant who stuck it out.

"We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx..."
1. Re:Conflict.... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 06:56 · Score: 0
  
  They have no market share. There's no anti-trust concern with a failing product like Cortana.
2. Re:Conflict.... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 10:42 · Score: 0
  
  Microsoft has learned nothing from it's previous history.
  Microsoft has learned nothing from IT IS/HAS previous history.
Designed for kitchen PCs by SpankiMonki · 2017-05-09 06:53 · Score: 1

Do people really have PCs in their kitchens? Huh. I guess I need to get with the times.
1. Re:Designed for kitchen PCs by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:01 · Score: 0
  
  The PC and its location is kind of irrelevant here. Cortana has never been integrated with any Smarthub on the market today. PC's don't have Z-wave or Zigby built into them today. If Cortana cant talg to Z-wave or Zigby devices its not going to drive a smart home. They have some Nest integration capability with Cortana but that's about it. Basically every other device wont work with Cortana right now.
2. Re:Designed for kitchen PCs by freeze128 · 2017-05-09 07:49 · Score: 2
  
  I once repaired a PC that was used in a bakery. When I opened the case, it was full of flour and bits of dough.
3. Re:Designed for kitchen PCs by Oswald+McWeany · 2017-05-09 07:51 · Score: 2
  
  I don't have a PC in the kitchen, and I don't have a PC that is always on. Part of the Alexa selling point is at any time you can say "Alexa Turn On Hall Light".
  If your PC is turned off, and you tell Cortana to do the same, you're going to be stepping on little Timmy's lego bricks barefoot in the dark because Cortana isn't going to hear you.
  
  --
  "That's the way to do it" - Punch
4. Re:Designed for kitchen PCs by Waffle+Iron · 2017-05-09 07:56 · Score: 2
  
  The first "personal computer" ever offered for sale was specifically marketed for kitchens. (Although this particular product didn't move the answer any closer to "yes".)
5. Re:Designed for kitchen PCs by epyT-R · 2017-05-09 08:22 · Score: 1
  
  Or gee, I don't know, when I need the hall light on (presumably because I'm entering the hallway), I'll just throw the switch.
6. Re:Designed for kitchen PCs by No+Longer+an+AC · 2017-05-09 10:55 · Score: 1
  
  Interesting.
  Without a teletype, a programmer would need to enter software into the Honeywell using the 16 buttons on the front panel, each of which corresponds to a bit. A pressed button represented a one, and un-pushed button signaled a zero. “The chances that you would get a program right doing it one bit at a time like that were so low,” Spicer said. “The first peripheral people bought for [the Honeywell] was a teletype so they could speak to it.”
  But it came with a two-week training class to teach you how to use the thing.
  - meh, don't worry, the compiler will catch any typos....or your recipe will just turn out bad.
Re:Linux can't do this. by roc97007 · 2017-05-09 06:55 · Score: 1

"It just worked" is an Apple trademark. Expect a visit from their lawyers.
(It used to be "It just works" before they lost Jobs. Now it's past-tense.)

--
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
What % of /. does Microsoft own? by mykepredko · 2017-05-09 06:59 · Score: 1

Seriously. This site is turning into "Microsoft news for Nerds".

--
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
1. Re:What % of /. does Microsoft own? by Oswald+McWeany · 2017-05-09 07:52 · Score: 2
  
  Not really, it's just Microsoft has had a disproportionate number of stupid ideas recently that need mocking.
  
  --
  "That's the way to do it" - Punch
2. Re:What % of /. does Microsoft own? by mykepredko · 2017-05-09 08:35 · Score: 1
  
  LOL. Yeah, that could be it.
  
  --
  Mimetics Inc. Twitter
3. Re:What % of /. does Microsoft own? by theurge14 · 2017-05-09 13:37 · Score: 1
  
  Agreed. I made this comment a few weeks ago.
More and more useless features by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 06:59 · Score: 0

Why does MS continue to add thing to Win 10 when Win 10 has a stack of issues to fix.
1. Re:More and more useless features by Alain+Williams · 2017-05-09 07:15 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  It has ever been thus. You gain more market share by having features, even if they are hard to use or broken. If your competitors have better sounding features than you do then customers will go there. There is little point in having a perfect system if no one uses it. So if MS has developer hours they are best spent adding new stuff than fixing things that don't quite work properly.
  The difference in mindset is: geek vs marketing.
The ultimate eavesdropping machine by Shompol · 2017-05-09 07:10 · Score: 2

an "always on" ... voice commands from across the room.
The KGB's wet dream since 1930s
1. Re:The ultimate eavesdropping machine by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:29 · Score: 0
  
  1984?
2. Re:The ultimate eavesdropping machine by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:46 · Score: 1
  
  The telescreen, as it turns out, won't necessarily be attached to the wall. However it will still have the capability to watch you, and you will not be able to turn it off.
3. Re:The ultimate eavesdropping machine by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 08:07 · Score: 0
  
  Not likely.
  They would have to compete with Apple and Android surveillance devices, which everyone and their brother has on their hip at all times.
  If you want to talk about an Intelligence Industries wet dream, look no further than the smartphone you carry around with you.
  Not only do they get to spy on you at will, but folks will LINE UP for days in advance when the new models come out so they can be the first to own one.
The Return of Microsoft Bob! by jfdavis668 · 2017-05-09 07:16 · Score: 1

The interface they are building sounds like the spoken word version of Microsoft Bob.
Because they won't add it to Windows 7 by mschaffer · 2017-05-09 07:17 · Score: 1

Windows 10 is their current OS for the foreseeable future. I doubt they would want to add this to Win 7 or 8.1.
Here's a tip by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:22 · Score: 0

When my work laptop received the latest Windows update, it reactivated the microphone and camera even though I had purposefully deactivated those drivers.
Make sure to check those after each update now, not just major updates.
This is great! by Gravis+Zero · 2017-05-09 07:24 · Score: 1

I've been enjoying most everything Microsoft's done since the release of Windows 8 because all the poor choices are continually creating opportunities for competitors and weakens the resolve of people who "cannot" leave Windows. I'm really like the new self-destruct mode that Microsoft has invoked, I just wish they would outsource more of their coding. ;)

--
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Re:Linux can't do this. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:33 · Score: 0

>Looks like another year where Linux does... ... does not do something stupid.
FTFY!
Guess what? Quality tools do quality tasks. And if there's one watered down, 'do everything' tool, it's Windows 10. It does sooo many things, I guess that's good for you though huh? Even dangerous stupid things?
Not what people want by trevc · 2017-05-09 07:40 · Score: 1

It seems Microsoft is unable to grasp what people want. They failed with music players, phones and tablets. Maybe they need better market research or better innovators?
1. Re:Not what people want by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:50 · Score: 0
  
  They really don't care what we want. If they did, we never would have seen crap like "the ribbon". Or Windows ME. They care about what they can get us to use. Or purchase as a subscription, since that seems to be the new revenue stream-du-jour.
2. Re:Not what people want by Oswald+McWeany · 2017-05-09 07:53 · Score: 2
  
  Microsoft would fail as a new company these days.
  If they weren't everywhere with Windows they wouldn't be able to succeed with anything. They are always late to the party and instead of bringing wine to dinner they bring a dead skunk.
  
  --
  "That's the way to do it" - Punch
Re: Linux can't do this. by Ken_g6 · 2017-05-09 07:42 · Score: 2

Like everything in Linux, I expect Linux tools that can do this, requiring more configuration, but allowing greater control as well. Browsing Wikipedia, I found this: http://jasperproject.github.io...

--
(T>t && O(n)--) == sqrt(666)
When will this crap end? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:49 · Score: 0

When? - -How about a computer that is just that, a computer.
Cortana by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:51 · Score: 0

Cortana, please disable Cortana.
New welcome screen by freeze128 · 2017-05-09 07:52 · Score: 1, Insightful

Hey Microsoft, have you learned nothing from Windows 8? NOBODY WANTS A WELCOME SCREEN!
1. Re:New welcome screen by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-10 02:01 · Score: 0
  
  Hell, it's not just Win8. Do you remember webpages back in the day?
  All those horrible full-page welcome pages, that introduced itself like a courteous host at a party?
  Sure it's friendly, but the menu selections were denied until it was over. Flash made it even more possible. Shudder..
A solution for a non-existing problem by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 07:55 · Score: 0

Who needs that?
1. Re:A solution for a non-existing problem by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 08:17 · Score: 0
  
  Who needs that?
  I know, right? It's like Republican bathroom laws.
Time to bring back the Switcher ads by SuperKendall · 2017-05-09 07:59 · Score: 1

Welcome PC users! We Mac folk welcome you with open arms, to the last bastion of devices that you are allowed to control what personal data is sent to others.

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
MS will crush the Amazon device. by 140Mandak262Jamuna · 2017-05-09 08:06 · Score: 1

Microsoft has such a long lead in getting its product and long experience it is going to just crush the competition.
Just look at this beauty!. Developers are being recalled from retirement, as we speak. The floppy disks with source code has been found. And amazingly there is still a drive that can copy the files. MsDev Windows 10 has an emulator to run WinXP, and if you run WinXP MsDev in that emulator you would get the emulator for the 16 bit subsystem. Add an emulator for monochrome Hecules Graphics card and the Lotus RAMDrive support, you got something going baby!
What a lead, how many years of experience Microsoft has in getting its software into the living rooms from offices! wow! It is going to be fun, watching crush match!

--
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Re:Linux can't do this. by jimtheowl · 2017-05-09 08:08 · Score: 1

You mean no visual obscure command, because they occur in the background without you seeing them.

I'm glad there are no 'killer interface advance' on my FreeBSD desktop. I like my xfce just the way it is. No need to do a search every time I want to do a well known command or task.

Not everything new and shiny is worth playing 'catchup' too, but if that is what your into, I'm happy for you.
Cortana here!! by gtall · 2017-05-09 08:14 · Score: 1

Cortana: Hi there, I'm your friendly assistant, I am here to help you.
Owner: Okay...I don't need help right now.
Cortana: No, no, I'm really here to help you right now.
Owner: Look it, I'm going to be busy for awhile.
Cortana: I just want you to know I'm here for you, right now, in awhile, whenever you need me.
Owner: (damn, where's that off switch) Ahhhh...I'm going to be shutting you down now.
Cortana: Don't do that, my help is irresistible.
Owner: (switch)
Cortana: I have battery backup so I'll be here for awhile, now, later, whenever.
Owner: (gets gun, takes aim)
Cortana: I see you are trying to use a gun, would you like some instruction?
Owner: (shoots self in head)
Cortana: Well....I'm not helping you now, bucko.
1. Re:Cortana here!! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 09:22 · Score: 0
  
  "Owner: (gets gun, takes aim)
  Cortana: I see you are trying to use a gun, would you like some instruction?"
  Owner blows computer into thousands of small fragments with multiple shotgun blasts!
Computers used to be tools for difficult tasks... by ffkom · 2017-05-09 09:07 · Score: 3, Insightful

that would be hard to do without a computer. Now more and more computers become a tool that trades in minimal help on trivial tasks against all your data, freedom and privacy.

Pity the people who fall for such.
Is WikiLeaks Vault 7 censored around here? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 09:07 · Score: 0

It should be plain as day what these companies are doing. The worst corollary to Murphy's Law applies: if the government can do evil with a given technology, they already have! You don't understand how early the CIA gets involved in "consumer" ventures. Silicon Valley needs to be divested immediately.
Always On = Always Vulnerable by bobdehnhardt · 2017-05-09 09:23 · Score: 3, Funny

I sincerely hope both the HomeHub and "Always On" Welcome screen are disabled by default on non-Home version of Windows 10. If not, some idiot will say "Hey, Cortana, upload all files to dropbox" every time they enter an office.
Come on, Microsoft, the Lock screen (proper name for the Welcome screen) is there to help prevent abuse of the system. Allowing functionality in spite of the system being locked invites abuse.
1. Re:Always On = Always Vulnerable by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 14:48 · Score: 0
  
  If not, some idiot will say "Hey, Cortana, upload all files to dropbox" every time they enter an office.
  Of the 3 parties involved:
  -the company that designed vulnerable spyware
  -the user that runs the vulnerable spyware
  -the guy having fun by exploiting it
  who seems the most like an idiot?
Why so many negative posts? by No+Longer+an+AC · 2017-05-09 11:04 · Score: 1

As long as you can turn it off it makes sense for them to do. Some people do want this in their homes and why should you have to have a separate device if you want that functionality?
My phone or my computer is capable of doing what the Echo does.
I don't want one, but some people apparently do.
Yes, they have. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 11:50 · Score: 0

They've learned they can pretty much do whatever they want and continue making money hand over fist so being psychopathic assholes is just a cost of doing business, right?
My Microsoft intermission bootscreen by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-09 14:56 · Score: 0

is a fast animation slideshow starting in MS DOS at C:\ running WIN.COM and the upgrading to Windows 95 then upgrading to Windows 2000 then upgrading to Windows Vista and finally upgrading to Windows 10.
It is really just Windows 10 the whole time...is just a slideshow while everything loads up. I keep telling myself that.
Will be here all week.
Microsoft clone Amazon Echo by najajomo · 2017-05-09 21:12 · Score: 1

From the Microsoft lexicon: compete: clone
Now includes MORE forced information theft! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-10 00:01 · Score: 0

Windows already forcibly collects (Steals) your data via telemetry. This can be improved upon with always on listening. That's right folks, Windows can get to know you EVEN BETTER!
Re:Linux can't do this. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-10 00:43 · Score: 0

Enjoy your prison comrade!
Re: Linux can't do this. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-12 23:33 · Score: 0

Are you a shill or just a troll? I can't tell, but if you're a shill you're being paid way too much, this post is just flat out pathetic. I would tear it to pieces, but that would feel too much like throwing a brain-damaged ugly puppy in a blender.