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Sonos To Launch a Wireless Speaker That Would Support Multiple Voice Assistants (yahoo.com)
Sonos, a mid- to high-end speaker manufacturer, released an updated privacy policy for its speakers that almost certainly confirms that the company will release a speaker with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant built into the device in the near term. From a report: Though many devices that integrate with Alexa have been announced and are starting to come to market, this is one of the higher-profile examples and could be instructive for smart-speaker designers. The company first announced its intention to add voice-assistant integration to its speakers over a year ago, but didn't give any specific time frame for that step. And an FCC filing from the company that surfaced a few weeks ago showed that it is looking into systems that would support multiple voice assistants, so a user could potentially have the option to choose between Amazon's Alexa or Google's Assistant, depending on what other devices they own and what platform they prefer.
This way, assessing what personal assistant is more useless and downright stupid will be a far easier chore to pull off.
Sometimes trying too hard to be something more than you need to be can be a fatal mistake.
its been said before that AI and devops and the internet of things will all someday obsolete jobs like system administration and software development, but thats only if youre too myopic to see what all this crap really is. In 10 years ill still be a linux sysadmin because most of the office is incapable of interacting with technology at an academic level anymore. despite countless code camps and STEM horse-whipping, the average user will remain. Users dont want cloud SAAS, they dont want to learn PHP, they dont care about systemd. We're talking about the average jane doe or joe, face down in their cellphone in traffic, incapable of using a turn signal, and powerless to do so much as set the clock on the microwave. They want windows to update automatically but cant understand why it has to interrupt their facebook. And most importantly, theyre all perfectly content to log into facebook, post all their pictures, share all their personal preferences, and spend the day barking into a pastic talking tube they call "artificial intelligence."
/.ers and engineers will have the same work we always have. We will be tasked with keeping up appearances as it were. we'll still be "the cloud" and "AI" for the user because its cheaper than spending 60 years undoing user culture and challenging right-to-repair/DMCA. Sure, we'll get TV shows about hackers like mr robot and ncis, but we'll always have things like big bang to quietly remind us that society, average society, truly has no concept of any of the work we do.
all the while,
Good people go to bed earlier.
Why would I want a device listening to everything in my home? Why would I want speakers that integrate such an unwanted feature? Why would I want speakers that can just stop working if I don't go along with their new privacy policy (which no speakers should ever have or need). This product line is on my never buy list, that's for certain.
"Alexa, please tell Siri to shut up."
Table-ized A.I.
The problem with traditional speakers is that they require integration with an AV receiver at a minimum - or choose your more complex option - you could have preamps and amps and source devices to your heart's content. To listen to Pandora or whatever streaming music service, the options out there are:
1) Listen to it on your phone or tablet - mono and shitty
2) Listen to it connected via a phone or tablet on bluetooth to a speaker or a receiver that supports same - stereo and shitty
3) Listen to it connected via a computer using its internal speakers - stereo, not so hot sound quality, but better than bluetooth.
4) Listen to it connected via a computer directly connected to a stereo - stereo, decent sound quality, but not portable
5) Get an all-in-one device along the lines of the old Squeezebox or the Sonos - stereo, decent sound quality and doesn't tie up a computer or phone
So there is your use case. The Sonos is a middling to nice speaker that has the electronics to stream music built in. Why someone would want an Echo is beyond me. I don't want to have to talk to my electronics and have them mistake what I want. F that. Besides, why would I want to talk to it?
Seriously, bad input devices seems to be all we can do in computing nowadays. Where is the innovation?
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
>>>> Support Multiple Voice Assistants
>> "Order Milk"
Alexa: OK, ordered.
Assistant: OK, ordered.
Siri: OK, ordered.
(3 gallons of milk appear in three cardboard boxes mid-morning and are brought just after sunset.)
Man, what will George think of next? Conservatives are going to hate this thing.
Alexa: Pick me!
Google: Pick me!
Siri: Pick me!
If you sell a computer that the user cannot control, and which constantly runs malicious software,
call it a "telephone" because telephones aren't threatening like computers are.
If you sell a constantly-enabled microphone that sends everything to some central headquarters,
call it a "speaker" because speakers aren't threatening like microphones are.
Thank you for your co-operation.
Signed, Ministry of Truth.
nothing turns a goid idea into wtf when something like this is ordered clearly
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=khM3NIh85xg
I was considering getting a Sonos system. But rather than focus on supporting high definition audio standards like DTS-HD by moving away from the S/PDIF cable or figuring out how to make it easier to use their speakers across multiple subnets, they decided to add Amazon/CIA hot-mic technology.
I want Multiple Voice Assassins!
So that I can become an instant criminal mastermind overnight.
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
We need a foundation or foundations to run the server aspect of Voice assistants. Ideally we would move away from central servers entirely. But anyway, foundations for now, because they can use open source everything and elect a rotating oversight committee to ensure some level of privacy. I am leaning towards Wikimedia doing something like this because they have servers and infrastructure or at least would have experience managing something like a cloud service.
Supports multiple government agencies listening to you at the same time you say? Good thing the NSA was an early investor in this beacon of freedom(tm).
Sonos, an overpriced speaker manufacturer,
These people we fuck are usually not geeks and don't like using complicated electronics. I need a system that is usable by the wife. I have downsized all my electronics for this reason. She's far from a moron but prefers MacOS, Sonos and such to having a universal remote that tries to integrate 3 different peripherals and if it goes even slightly wrong, she throws the thing across the room because she has no idea how to fix it. And doesn't want to learn, same as I don't want to learn how to play 10 instruments and what colors go together with others.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
The Amazon Dot is still a good deal.
Do they make a snarky assistant with a HAL9000 voice?
Table-ized A.I.