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Amazon Alexa is Coming To Headphones, Smart Watches, Bathrooms and More (cnbc.com)
An anonymous reader shares a CNBC report: Amazon announced new tools on Friday that will allow gadget-makers to include the smart voice assistant in a whole array of new products. Alexa is Amazon's smart voice assistant and it has slowly made its way from the Amazon Echo into third-party speakers, refrigerators and, soon, even microwaves. Now, with Amazon's Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit, device makers will be able to build Alexa into headphones, smart watches, fitness trackers and more. That means you may soon be able to look down at your wrist and ask Alexa the weather, or to remind you to pick up eggs at the grocery store. CNET reports Kohler, a company that makes plumbing products, wants to bring Alexa to your bathroom as well.
"Isn't it time you booked a new holiday with Kuoni?"
Piss off, Amazon, and stick Alexa up your arse while you're at it.
"Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"
Alexa do I have a small ....
It's hard to put into words how much I do not want this.
"Alexa, order same day delivery of toilet paper. Add instructions to enter the house and deliver to second bathroom on the right."
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
https://www.penny-arcade.com/c...
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
"Would you like me to order a laxative, such as Metamucil?"
Check your premises.
Why do you have to say that? Is someone trying to force you to buy these things?
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
President Skroob: [Commanderette Zircon calls him on a video monitor in his bathroom] I told you never to call me on this wall! This is an unlisted wall!
Not buying one will not help with most people's privacy concerns.
There is no real expectation of privacy when in public, already. That's not changing. In your own home, where people tend to have the greatest expectation and desire for privacy, obviously not buying a device with a built-in voice assistant is a perfectly reasonable and effective solution against being listened to by a voice assistant. In the homes of others, you can still make your own decisions about how much you want to participate by either not voicing anything you wish to keep private, or just not going to someone's home who uses such devices.
But if we're being honest, privacy is mostly illusory these days before even considering Alexa and similar services. There are some things you can do to try to preserve it, but privacy is already pretty much gone.
Your ISP knows what you do online. Unless you use a VPN service, in which case, they know what you do online.
Your phone carrier can track you location, even (though less precisely) if you don't use a smart phone.
Your bank/card issuer knows where and how you spend your money.
And so on.
Perhaps.
But - I am an old geek. And I still see value in maintaining control over whom I share intimate information with, where intimate in this case is defined as that which I would not declare publicly in the town square in a loud voice.
There is something about that choice that gives value, that makes one free-er, if you will. And losing it, I think, diminishes us all.
Check your premises.