@rdsmart Yeah but the Google Home speaker is way better than the Dot. Unless you have your dot hooked up to a speaker system. I also prefer Google’s assistant features to Alexa’s.
@narfcake That’s the most foul, cruel, bad-tempered rodent you’ve ever set eyes on… He’s got a vicious streak a mile wide. He’s a killer!
Look at the bones, mahn!
@versabox I have them throughout my house. We use them to play music (sometimes on the Home, sometimes on my receiver) and to control lighting via SmartThings. Also to quickly settle fact-based arguments or ponderings (e.g. how old is [insert actor name]?).
@versabox Mainly music. It’s a surprisingly good sounding speaker even if it doesn’t get really loud. Right now I have one of these and 4 Chromecast Audios. With them I’m able to play the same music all over my house at the same time. Plus my kids love it for asking it to make random animal sounds and answering random trivia questions.
@moondrake SmartThings is a hub device that plugs into your network and can have its service connected to Google Home (or Alexa, etc.). It controls devices using a wirless protocol called “Z-Wave” (or another called “Zigbee”).
I actually just have regular (LED and CFL) light bulbs in my house, but to control lights with Google Home I have Z-Wave light switches that can be manually operated or controlled via SmartThings. This is an example of one such switch: https://www.amazon.com/GE-Wireless-Lighting-Control-12722/dp/B0035YRCR2/
@moondrake The white Phillips hue bulbs work well with Google Home. The white bulbs are only $15 each. But if you are going to go that route you should pick up the with the starter kit first that includes several bulbs and the required Hub.
Okay, so my first meh purchase in a long while, and my first mehrathon purchase is a fragile-wishful-plot. I have been interesting in these but not sure how much use it would be, I hope the order name isn’t predictive.
@RedOak I use my phone for most of what this thing can apparently do. Light control is the only thing I see so far that would be extra. I’m reading articles now on capabilities. There are some neat things, but many of them are too new for my 105 year old house and its antiquated hvac system. Looks like the fates are pushing me to get a Chromecast, though.
@moondrake These combined with the Chromecast Audios is a perfect combo. I have one Google Home and 4 Chromecast audios and I love being able to play music all over the house.
@moondrake , I live in a building built in 1860s, with window ac units. I bought a few cheap smart plugs, and now I can set my window ACs on a geofence, so that they start cooling my apartment when I leave work. You can certainly get an older house on some automation. A nest thermostat isn’t too hard to swap in for the old thermostat, and things like smart plugs and bulbs are incremental expenses you can add with time, as I have.
@smerk85 I don’t have a modern thermostat. I have this slide bar type. My gas heater is in a grate in the floor between the living room and dining room. It might be possible to replace that with a modern electronic one, but electricians are expensive. I would like to get the smart plugs instead of the smart bulbs for my lamps as then I can use my existing bulbs. Figuring out compatibility is confusing. Everything says it works with Alexa, not much mentioned Google Home. I was just reading stuff on Chromecast and I can’t figure out what it would offer as it seems to just be a way to get my tablet to talk to my TV, which it already does via Samsung screen mirroring. I thought it was supposed to provide gateways to specific content like my Roku does, but that doesn’t appear to be true. I have officially passed my technobabble limit for this morning.
@RedOak That’s the joy of the Google Home and Chromecasts… they stream the audio themselves. They basically just use your phone as a remote control. I can start music playing and leave the house or just turn off my phone and it doesn’t miss a beat.
@Lokiparts I am a heretic. I rarely play music except in the car. My house is small, so when I’m hosting I can play music from my home theater and hear it throughout. I heard Chromecast gave broad access to video streaming content, but it seems really to just be a convenient pairing device for my existing array of Android devices.
@moondrake So pick up a Chromecast Audio, hook it up to your home theater and then you can control your home theater audio with your voice using the Google Home.
The Chromecast Audio streamers are such wonderful and underrated little devices. Just keep in mind the Chromecast audio is not the same as the normal Chromecast. These are for audio only, and to me much more useful because you can hook them up to anything with an audio input.
@Lokiparts too many specialized and “moving” hardware parts. No need for a phone or chrome cast to be in the mix when at home for music.
No need for multiple devices for streaming audio (music and radio) when echos can do it.
Already have smart TVs, laptops, desktops and Roku that stream the video we need.
While I’m not under the illusion that virtually all of these devices are not tracking behavior, for our family I strive to diversify our online provider eco-system. (Acknowledging we are giving up some google-amazon-et all cross-integration benefits vs single vendor.)
@RedOak I rarely have power problems with my pixel, I plug it in bedside at night and use it off and on all day for games, music, videos. If I do get low, I have cables all over the house and in the car. I’ve had complaints about the pixel, but battery life isn’t one of them.
@Brasssong This is why despite being horribly expensive, I’m somewhat interested in the HomePod. I want one of these but Amazon and Google have horrible track records for privacy. Apple does not. I feel like these are cheaper than they should be because they’re subsidized by data collection and advertising. Google sells data, Apple sells products.
Specs
What’s in the Box?
1x Google Home
1x Power adapter
Warranty
1 Year Google
Estimated Delivery
Tuesday, July 14th - Monday, July 20th
I thought these sold out last time
Still not buying one.
/image he’s already got one animated gif
A buck cheaper than last time. Maybe some indication how narrow the margin is on this one.
@ruouttaurmind seems purely like symbolism - just to say it is lower.
/giphy equitable-conniving-shaman
I missed this last time, I thought they sold out, it looks like someone was holding out…
@Lamario Mehbe a return
@Lamario Mehbe another batch
No thank you, my Echo Dot for $49 is a better deal.
@rdsmart Yeah but the Google Home speaker is way better than the Dot. Unless you have your dot hooked up to a speaker system. I also prefer Google’s assistant features to Alexa’s.
I would totally buy this if I didn’t already have an Echo that I didn’t barely use.
Just gave my echo dot to a family member, this should do to replace it.
/giphy nominal-delightful-blackberry
@dzieciom Except that’s a raspberry…
@baqui63
True
/giphy blackberry
@dzieciom Looks like blood on that bunny’s lips.
/image rabbit of caerbannog
@narfcake RUN AWAY!!!
@narfcake That’s the most foul, cruel, bad-tempered rodent you’ve ever set eyes on… He’s got a vicious streak a mile wide. He’s a killer!
Look at the bones, mahn!
@meverett
https://www.teeturtle.com/products/adorable-monstrosity
Got one this time! Now I can do that thing where Alexa and Google have a conversation.
/giphy scarce-distinct-rod
What do people who aren’t in commercials use these for?
@versabox Practicing for when they get to be in a commercial.
@versabox We ask it to make animal sounds. It knows quite a few of them!
@versabox I have them throughout my house. We use them to play music (sometimes on the Home, sometimes on my receiver) and to control lighting via SmartThings. Also to quickly settle fact-based arguments or ponderings (e.g. how old is [insert actor name]?).
@versabox
@versabox Mainly music. It’s a surprisingly good sounding speaker even if it doesn’t get really loud. Right now I have one of these and 4 Chromecast Audios. With them I’m able to play the same music all over my house at the same time. Plus my kids love it for asking it to make random animal sounds and answering random trivia questions.
@The_Tim What is SmartThings (obviously not me, lol)? Can you recommend compatible light bulbs? Daylight if possible, no color change desired.
@moondrake SmartThings is a hub device that plugs into your network and can have its service connected to Google Home (or Alexa, etc.). It controls devices using a wirless protocol called “Z-Wave” (or another called “Zigbee”).
I actually just have regular (LED and CFL) light bulbs in my house, but to control lights with Google Home I have Z-Wave light switches that can be manually operated or controlled via SmartThings. This is an example of one such switch: https://www.amazon.com/GE-Wireless-Lighting-Control-12722/dp/B0035YRCR2/
@moondrake The white Phillips hue bulbs work well with Google Home. The white bulbs are only $15 each. But if you are going to go that route you should pick up the with the starter kit first that includes several bulbs and the required Hub.
@Lokiparts This?
@The_Tim Thanks! I use lamps, so it looks like the Hue stuff is more in my zone.
@moondrake Maybe? The link goes nowhere for me. But if the kit you linked looks like this then you’re in good shape.
https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Equivalent-Starter-Compatible-Assistant/dp/B016AEHV24
At this price I just could not pass up the opportunity to snap up another one of these.
Our home devices answer to the “A” word.
Okay, so my first meh purchase in a long while, and my first mehrathon purchase is a fragile-wishful-plot. I have been interesting in these but not sure how much use it would be, I hope the order name isn’t predictive.
@moondrake Even if you don’t go all home automation crazy, they’re surprisingly handy for streaming various stuff.
@RedOak I use my phone for most of what this thing can apparently do. Light control is the only thing I see so far that would be extra. I’m reading articles now on capabilities. There are some neat things, but many of them are too new for my 105 year old house and its antiquated hvac system. Looks like the fates are pushing me to get a Chromecast, though.
@moondrake These combined with the Chromecast Audios is a perfect combo. I have one Google Home and 4 Chromecast audios and I love being able to play music all over the house.
@moondrake Oh how I wish my phone could spare the battery juice to do audio streams when not plugged in.
@moondrake , I live in a building built in 1860s, with window ac units. I bought a few cheap smart plugs, and now I can set my window ACs on a geofence, so that they start cooling my apartment when I leave work. You can certainly get an older house on some automation. A nest thermostat isn’t too hard to swap in for the old thermostat, and things like smart plugs and bulbs are incremental expenses you can add with time, as I have.
@smerk85 I don’t have a modern thermostat. I have this slide bar type. My gas heater is in a grate in the floor between the living room and dining room. It might be possible to replace that with a modern electronic one, but electricians are expensive. I would like to get the smart plugs instead of the smart bulbs for my lamps as then I can use my existing bulbs. Figuring out compatibility is confusing. Everything says it works with Alexa, not much mentioned Google Home. I was just reading stuff on Chromecast and I can’t figure out what it would offer as it seems to just be a way to get my tablet to talk to my TV, which it already does via Samsung screen mirroring. I thought it was supposed to provide gateways to specific content like my Roku does, but that doesn’t appear to be true. I have officially passed my technobabble limit for this morning.
@RedOak That’s the joy of the Google Home and Chromecasts… they stream the audio themselves. They basically just use your phone as a remote control. I can start music playing and leave the house or just turn off my phone and it doesn’t miss a beat.
@Lokiparts I am a heretic. I rarely play music except in the car. My house is small, so when I’m hosting I can play music from my home theater and hear it throughout. I heard Chromecast gave broad access to video streaming content, but it seems really to just be a convenient pairing device for my existing array of Android devices.
@moondrake So pick up a Chromecast Audio, hook it up to your home theater and then you can control your home theater audio with your voice using the Google Home.
The Chromecast Audio streamers are such wonderful and underrated little devices. Just keep in mind the Chromecast audio is not the same as the normal Chromecast. These are for audio only, and to me much more useful because you can hook them up to anything with an audio input.
https://www.google.com/chromecast/audio/
Honestly I only have one normal Chromecast but I have 4 of the Audio versions. It basically works like a poor man’s Sonos.
@Lokiparts too many specialized and “moving” hardware parts. No need for a phone or chrome cast to be in the mix when at home for music.
No need for multiple devices for streaming audio (music and radio) when echos can do it.
Already have smart TVs, laptops, desktops and Roku that stream the video we need.
While I’m not under the illusion that virtually all of these devices are not tracking behavior, for our family I strive to diversify our online provider eco-system. (Acknowledging we are giving up some google-amazon-et all cross-integration benefits vs single vendor.)
@RedOak I rarely have power problems with my pixel, I plug it in bedside at night and use it off and on all day for games, music, videos. If I do get low, I have cables all over the house and in the car. I’ve had complaints about the pixel, but battery life isn’t one of them.
@Brasssong This is why despite being horribly expensive, I’m somewhat interested in the HomePod. I want one of these but Amazon and Google have horrible track records for privacy. Apple does not. I feel like these are cheaper than they should be because they’re subsidized by data collection and advertising. Google sells data, Apple sells products.
@telepheedian assuming, of course, that hackers don’t decide to go after your iCloud account…
broad-amiable-blueberry
Yay! I’ll bite at this price. I missed them last time.
I guess people buy these if they are worried their phone does an inadequate job of spying on them?
I wanted it last time and didn’t get it. I guess I will take google home.
Wake me if they list an Echo Dot for less than $30.
/giphy weird-tangible-knight
What’s the “D+”?
@jzmacdaddy …concerning. But not concerning enough to keep me from ordering one.
@jzmacdaddy That’s the rating meh staffers give the model number. (it’s a running gag)
I want this
@shannonbartucca You’re in luck, kinda. Morningsave has some here for a little bit more.
@shannonbartucca head to meh.com asap and get your Google home before they’re gone