Amazon Echo Club

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Why pay $350 for that level of AI failure when you can be annoyed just the same by Alexa and Google Home for a lot less money.

[Keslynn]

Originally Posted by jswinden

No need to get in an uproar, especially since you stated you are not even interested in the HomePod.



As I said, the HomePod is designed for Apple fans who are already into Apple Music.

I didn't really get the feeling that wodin is in an uproar.

If a HomePod does indeed require another Apple device to set up, then that does seem to support your idea that they're going for a somewhat specialized market. As is their right. But it does seem to be a puzzling decision when they're competing against Amazon Echo and Google Home which can be configured from multiple platforms and are better established in the smart speaker arena (and also cheaper).

I guess we'll all find out for sure when there's more info on how you set up the expensive skein of yarn and what apps/services it will be compatible with.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Completely out of the blue this morning, Alexa suddenly said, "What would you like me to play next?"

I said, "Nobody asked you to play anything."

She responded, "I don't know that."

I replied, "Well, you know it now because I just told you."

Sheesh!

She does that to me alot. The other day she told me she couldn't call because it wasn't​ enabled. I never told her to call anyone. I was talking to my husband about Caine's chicken when she said that.

Sent from my XT1528

[WT Sharpe]

Ha! She's always jumping on false cues, but what surprised me that time was that the tv was off and no one had been speaking; there was complete silence in the house. I suppose she was bored.

[Blossom]

Had that happen once or twice. She likes to respond to Hubby's snoring sometimes.

Sent from my XT1528

[ApK]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Ha! She's always jumping on false cues, but what surprised me that time was that the tv was off and no one had been speaking; there was complete silence in the house. I suppose she was bored.

She was dreaming.

Presumably of electric sheep.

Fake news alert:

Microsoft is considering a home assistant to, but this a weighing heavily on their minds...

(See attached)

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Ha! She's always jumping on false cues, but what surprised me that time was that the tv was off and no one had been speaking; there was complete silence in the house. I suppose she was bored.

Ghosts - your house is haunted and they're messing with you

[ApK]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Fake news alert:

Microsoft is considering a home assistant to, but this a weighing heavily on their minds...

[IMG]data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRg[. . .]AAH//Z[/IMG]

Microsofts's device would need three buttons on it: Ctrl, Alt, and Del.

Jack, did you actually mean to paste in the base64 data for that image???
[eta: Oh, I see your edit...never mind... ]

ApK

Originally Posted by ApK

Microsofts's device would need three buttons on it: Ctrl, Alt, and Del.

Jack, did you actually paste in the base64 data for that image??? I had no idea that was possible!
Or is what I'm seeing in the quoted msg just a forum software artifact?

ApK

No, I copied the URL address but this garbage came over instead. I gave up after a few fails and just attached the image...

[ApK]

Originally Posted by jswinden

No, I copied the URL address but this garbage came over instead. I gave up after a few fails and just attached the image...

Now I get it.
Thanks for the Clippy image. I was just looking for a target for my air gun range.

ApK

Originally Posted by ApK

Now I get it.
Thanks for the Clippy image. I was just looking for a target for my air gun range.

ApK

No I was just making fun of good ol' Clippy. He was actually a good idea in theory I guess, but he mostly just annoyed the heck out of us by popping up way too often. Kind of the same issue we get with Alexa and Google Home, and no doubt with HomePod when it arrives.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by jswinden

No I was just making fun of good ol' Clippy. He was actually a good idea in theory I guess, but he mostly just annoyed the heck out of us by popping up way too often. Kind of the same issue we get with Alexa and Google Home, and no doubt with HomePod when it arrives.

Back in the days when CPU cycles and byte of RAM were very expensive, and MS had already chosen to bloat up Word to the point where you needed a state-of-the-art workstation just so that it could keep up with a human typist and do basic WYSIWYG functionality, they then decided it would be a neat idea to slow things down, and bloat them up even more by adding an animated graphical cartoon (complete with silly sound effects, IIRC...in a business app...) to the help system.
It wasn't Clippy's fault. He tried his best. I blame the parent, not the child.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I can find no references to what you claim here, that is that HomePod requires an iPhone, or any other Apple device. It might, but I see no literature stating or even implying that.
...

The Verge says "Setup is simple — simply hold an iPhone next to the HomePod, similar to setting up a pair of AirPods. (HomePod is compatible with the iPhone 5S and up.) You’ll also be able to use a pair of HomePods together in a single room for improved sound. HomePod is also compatible with Apple’s newly announced AirPlay 2 multi-room audio solution, so you’ll be able to use the speakers together with other HomePods or other AirPlay 2-compatible speakers around your house."

Although I'll admit that it says nothing about a possible manual setup method.

Originally Posted by wodin

The Verge says "Setup is simple — simply hold an iPhone next to the HomePod, similar to setting up a pair of AirPods. (HomePod is compatible with the iPhone 5S and up.) You’ll also be able to use a pair of HomePods together in a single room for improved sound. HomePod is also compatible with Apple’s newly announced AirPlay 2 multi-room audio solution, so you’ll be able to use the speakers together with other HomePods or other AirPlay 2-compatible speakers around your house."

Although I'll admit that it says nothing about a possible manual setup method.

Apple's website makes absolutely no mention of that. If you want to get your info second hand from a questionable source, then be prepared to get incorrect info.