My new best friend! Alexa Echo and me!

@f00l Also add the Huffington Post skill. Alexa will read you the headlines and then ask if you want the whole story. Today I bypassed all the Trump news and learned that a Magic Mike show will be coming to Las Vegas. They made the announcement with shirtless men and puppies. PUPPIES!

@oldcatlady Just going to add the link here.

@djslack

Ok, this depends on you and your fiance. In some cases the engagement might go south.
::::::
But...she said those speakers look tacky. So you could dress them up by decorating them with cute little tacks!

If she objects, point out that you were just a genie granting and enhancing her wish!

::::::
YMMV, use at your own risk. i am not responsible for any violence, loss, bodily harm, or you winding up homeless/fiance-less/friendless with a strong negative social Q.

@f00l That is totally something that a) I would do, and b) she wouldn't appreciate :)

If i find some cute tacks I'll let you know how it goes!

@djslack
I admire your courage.

You could decorate the speakers, put them out, explain the decoration scheme, and then RUN?!!!!

Are you fast? Can you dodge incoming missiles? Can she wipe out your bank accounts?

@f00l I'm pretty awesome but I'm slow, and she runs so she can probably catch me easily. I'm also too lazy to look for tacks, but if I just happened to stumble upon some, i'd do it.

@f00l @djslack This sounds like a catackstrophe waiting to happen.

@brhfl
@djslack
Periscope!
Should do wonders for your future marriage.

@brhfl -Good point. It could lead to a really sticky situation.

@djslack Backup plan - use a sharpie

@DaveInSoCal It's awesome to wake up in the morning and ask Alexa what the weather is like.

I have a feeling this is the gateway drug to home automation for me. I've wanted to set it up since i learned about castleos years ago.

Now i live in a rental so any automation will have to be removable to take with me, but I've already had my eye on an ecobee thermostat system and smart switches are easy now, so I might take the plunge.

@connorbush it is super easy. You need an app from amazon to set it up. Any Bluetooth or 3.5mm speaker will work, so just pick one you like the sound of for music. Put the speakers away from dot if possible, it's hard for alexa to hear you call her if the music is up and speakers are too close.

@connorbush
You set it up w a phone. DL and install app. Connect phone to wifi home network. Follow app instrctions, during which your phn will connect wifi to Echo/Dot, and back to home network. Then echo/dot will hookup wifi to home network.

After that, use app to configure bluetooth if wished.

After it's setup, i think you can use it thru yr phone even when away from home, using app.

Now amazon will know everything spoken aloud within echo/dot mic range. They will use this info in nefarious ways.

Congrats. All your base belong to Bezos.

Once setup, say:
Alexa, weather.
Alexa, time.

Then get creative.

@f00l all good. Google, the government, and my neighbors already know more about me that i care to think about.

@djslack thanks!

@f00l I bet it also listens to what other media is played around it - for example, what tv shows do you watch?

@djslack
i assume they track and sell/use/profile everything they can get, and share w NSA.

People have remarked that i should become far more paranoid. That above is just baby steps.

@kevlar51
Such a willing target, Alexa is!

@rockblossom try variations on “Alexa, please self destruct” (e.g. “Start the self destruct countdown” …) my teen son has been amusing himself seeing how many variations he can get (I’ve heard 3)

@mikibell Need? Not so much. If you're paranoid you probably don't want one, or a smart phone either. But I love the hands-off timer feature, and she knows what kind of music I like.

@sammydog01 not paranoid..just curious at the perception of privacy..

@mikibell I have no perception of privacy. Every time they catch some predator or hit and run because they have cameras on every street corner I cringe. They can already track me through my phone. I just hope that I'm innocuous enough that I won't be a target. Nothing to see here, NSA.

@mikibell
I assume all is tracked and saved and used. And yes, sooner/later, NSA, seems likely.

Re your phone mic...how do you know Apple/Google/MS/Samsung/LG/whoever isnt doing the exact same thing.

Want privacy? Dump the smartphone...then dump the cell.
Or get a pager. Get a phone w removeable battery. Pull battery. When you get a page, or when you need to call, power up phone, do whatever, power down phone, pull battery.

So no Google Maps and no apps.

Even then....

::::
Use a browser? Do you know all the tracking techno used, and how to disable it all? Use Windows8/Windows10? Ha ha ha say hi to Microsoft. Oh yeah, your isp tracks you, or tries to. Your dns server likely tracks you. You cell co tracks every call, every tower connection, every text, data req. Do you use a logless vpn every time? They can still try to track you, even so.

Use a badge at work or elsewhere? Use a tolltag? Use credit cards or personal id stuff or innocent looking cards w rfid tech in them? I hear rfid tech can be woven into fabric.

And public cameras/audio recorders, satellites, drones, and who knows what else. So say hi to any corp or govt agency that wants to follow you around.

Oh yeah, some cars are wired to do all this. Even more if car has internet or Onstar. Next, your household appliances and furniture will rat you out. Or the walls. Or new tech.

@f00l I was just shaking my head at the person for whom I purchased the echo..she won't buy stuff online because she is paranoid, yet she will put one of these in any room in her house. Also, I was curious if it stored info - haven't done the research...

@mikibell Good question. My Dot lights up when I say "Alexa". They claim that it saves a bit before and after the wake word. Here's an article from the Washington Post (if you take Amazon's word for it):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/11/11/how-closely-is-amazons-echo-listening/

By the way, I made my daughter cover up the camera on her laptop. Mostly since I don't understand technology that well.

@sammydog01 hehhehe..I covered mine for work after we had a "townhall" and one guy appeared in less than appropriate clothing and was scratching private parts..for the entire company's viewing pleasure! Considering when I work from home, I am normally in jammies, I figured it was in my best interest to cover it just in case..

@mikibell The way these things are supposed to work is they continuously listen for their "hotword", keeping a few seconds of recording at a time, and processing it offline. They start uploading their recordings the moment they detect the trigger.

Making the online part as short as possible saves the company money (and keeps them out of legal trouble) and a lot of research has been done on doing this efficiently.

Of course, there will be no warning if the device suddenly decides to just record everything, which it's obviously capable of, and certain parties are obviously interested in the data as they've been doing the same thing with cell phones for more than a decade.

@mikibell The new Tap is just like the Echo without the far field listening thing- you have to push a button for it the hear you. That might be a better option for the security conscious.

@trisk
With my phone(s), and with Alexa, and with MS, and other potential tracking tech (which means an enormous # of common items and software), i never read the entire legalese user agreement. If i had read it, i'm sure it's written to obscure, not illuminate (see most privacy policies for examples). I gather the gist of most of these agreements indicate that they can gather all the data they want and use it just however, within that business or organization, and all partner businesses and orgaizations. The "partner" part seems to allow them to do almost anything they want, tho they could be liable for certain sorts of harm if they got caught and the damage could be tracked in a proven way back to them.

As regards the big Silicon Valley data warehouses and data massage parlors, i assume most companies who gather data have contracts with at least one of them, and we get profiled down to how often we bite our fingernails. I assume those profiles are for sale.

The NSA can likely purchase, crack, hack its way to most of what it wants. The NSA is going jto have a tougher time outside the 1st world, but can probably still get almost anything digital thats tracked any many cases. I would assume the most impenetrable problems for the NSA are darknets, China, and countries that were once part of the USSR, where digital sophistication is high, and the political/business climate is not so friendly. The NSA prob has tracking issues in less techy world regions where there is less digital data, and disposable tech is easy to come by with fake ids.

I have zero security expertise, but my wild guess would be that the NSA's biggest probs involve finding the needle in the haystack, not in buying or stealing the haystack, with some notable exceptions re China, Russia, darknets, and the like. I could be completely wrong. It's just a guess.

@mikibell Here's the FAQ on what the Echo hears and stores in the cloud and how to edit/delete what is stored. The cloud also has the location of the 'net server we use ( for things like weather reports ); our other data, like address and CC numbers; and what Alexa has "learned" about our music/news/whatever preferences. Of course, you only have Amazon's word that nothing else is being stored, but it really is in their interest not to store anything else. What they don't have cannot be hacked/exploited/requested by a third party or government agency. They don't want the "Apple problem" if they can avoid it.

The Echo cloud data is no more or less secure than any other thing you do on the internet. People worry excessively about what Alexa may hear/record, while they are oblivious to how much of their personal info goes out via their internet searches, commercial/bank transactions on the 'net, Skype conversations, e-mail, phone calls, texts, social media like Facebook, Twitter, etc. People leave cameras active on phones and laptops, even when they know those can be hacked and controlled from outside. They use short, easy-to-guess passwords, or leave their WiFi servers with no password protection at all.

@rockblossom

@rockblossom this is the inlaw who still uses aol for email and until recently was paying 14.99 a month for the privilege. She doesn't use anything like facebook, twitter, etc. and doesn't understand what a browser is. I am certain it hasn't occurred to her that her conversations could be saved. I am NOT going there :) I don't get paid enough.

@trisk thank you!

@sammydog01 I tried to talk her into the tap, it wasn't "cool" enough for her. I now have to figure out how to get her dots for every room. She has satellite radio all through her house and doesn't have automated thermostats, etc., so I am still not sure why Alexa is attractive .. but so be it.

@trish .. opps meant to say, I like your $5 idea better :) I think I am just a cheap person when it comes to technology. The jawbone speaker I received in a bag of crap from Woot works just fine with my phone and picks up the ok google, etc.

@mikibell @sammydog01 I have a Winnie the Pooh Band-Aid covering my laptop camera.

@Barney too cute.. I have a torn up post it note.. :)

@mikibell
@sammydog01
@Barney

I dont cover mine. Mostly cause the laptop is in a case and the battery is dead.

Also, if the machine is on, and they hack my camera, it's a bit like looking at Medusa. They become collateral damage.

@Barney My daughter has a Ronald McDonald band-aid.

@sammydog01 Aww, I also have some Ronald McDonald Band-Aids. I used to manage a Ronald McDonald House.

@Lotsofgoats
Does she smile?

@f00l obviously

@ZombieWrangler I believe you can change its name to 'Amazon' so it won't false-positive at your name.

@ZombieWrangler Ha! My daughter's name is Sarah and Siri keeps answering. But they recently added wake words other than Alexa, so you might give it another shot. It can do weather forecasts and news updates too.

@sammydog01 @brhfl - I know, but I kinda like the interruptions...makes me giggle.. meh

@trisk Number Five is alive!

@djslack those monsters took his head off his body...

@trisk

For some idea about the recording done by Google, this page may give you some idea. I prefiltered it for voice searches.

And yes, I know your post was from May, but considering this thread was commented on already…

@moondrake

Look through this thread from the Pixel section of the Google product forums.

@PlacidPenguin Thanks. Part of my hesitance is that I seem to be constantly at war with all my electronics and buying them some backup is not in my interests of survival. The smart tv won’t talk to netflix or amazon, the blue ray will only talk to netflix if you bludgeon it, the laptop has a host of problems (I’ll never buy Lenovo again), the tablet will sometimes consent to cast to the tv if you catch it in a good mood, but it usually quits halfway through whatever you’re doing, and none if them like the modem. Now I’ve added this Pixel which is so security conscious that I have to constantly enter a damned code to use it and it seems like my poor cracked Moto and the microwave are the only allies I have in this house.

@moondrake

Soon not even the microwave.

But yeah, one of the things to consider when buying technology is “how easy would it be to get this to interact with my other products?”.

@moondrake I’m a technological moron and I love my Amazon Dot. It’s worth it if you have Amazon Prime. They have had Alexa only sales this season and have freebies for Alexa on Audible, like Tim Curry reading A Christmas Carol. For me it’s worth it for the timers and alarms alone. I know nothing about the Google Home thing.

@sammydog01 It’s Google’s answer to Alexa, evidently has some pluses and minuses by comparison, but apparently if you use Chromecast or want to put multiples to play music throughout the house it’s the best.

@moondrake My generally good rule of thumb: If I can’t think of three things I might use something for off the top of my head, then I probably don’t need it.

@PlacidPenguin So I followed the directions in your link, all those things were already activated, yet now it seems to be working. Odd. Seems like Google Assistant and Google Voice are having turf wars. Still need to explore Google Assistant. I do like my Daydream headset, especially the ability to take Daydream VR photos. Thanks for the link!

@moondrake

I personally only use Assistant for the following:
•Daily news
•Daily joke
*Daily fact

Of course, the only access I have to Assistant is through Allow, so I’m a bit limited to what I can do.

@moondrake

Ugh…

*Allo