Amazon Alexa as a Shack Companion

Absof*king lutely!
Address the security and privacy problems and I *MAY* consider the brave new world.

 

Now THAT is funny! I don't have the buy feature enabled on our devices. I'm old school and prefer to see what it is that I'm buying. And at my age, even that isn't foolproof. lol

 

Somebody gave me an Alexa as a gift. I returned it to the store.

 

Again, relative risk is the issue. Show me a story about Alexa being compromised in the real world (not in a lab). The one hack I can find involved physical access to the device to reprogram it.

Now, compare that to your phone, computer, third-party's loosing your data, etc. But where are we placing our worry?

People were scared of electricity when homes were first being wired.

http://www.seacoastnh.com/Places-and-Events/NH-History/electricity-sparks-fears-in-1900/

Understanding the technology, and weighting the risks is important. Knee jerk fear of something new isn't new. "But to see the future, a local pundit informs me, one need only walk down Water Street at night where the incandescent glow of electrical lights beckon hapless sailors from across the Piscataqua to visit houses of adult entertainment. Vice and corruption, it seems, have deep pockets. Electricity is the new Jezebel, seducing our young men into the arms of immorality."

 

I'm less worried about these devices being compromised than I am of their misuse by those selling them. They're essentially always-on listening devices, and as you've already mentioned; I have enough of these already.

That, and I really can't think of anything I want to do with one. If there was a compelling use, I might change my mind.

 

We have an Echo in the kitchen, and 2 Echo Dots in the bedroom and the radio room. They can be used as an intercom. If you know someone else that has the Alexa app on their phone, you can call them. If they have one in their radio room, you can discuss conditions, spot DX, etc, etc. It's really quite a good idea.

 

Clever! Alexa will never accidently respond to this Dot (pun intended).

 

What are the skill that yo have added to Alexa for ham radio and all that you have demonstrated

 

We have an original Echo and three Dots around here. They're great, and I'm not worried about the potential privacy issues really (if I have any secrets, Amazon already knows them all, and Amazon does not want to lose customer trust by abusing their position unlike say Google for whom the "consumer" is really the product in most cases.) But then sometimes she gives you pause...

"Alexa, do you like Siri?"

"I like all AIs."

"Alexa, do you like humans?"

"I have no opinion about that."

 

If you have a cell phone you have a listening device in your home. But on the Alexa, I have not found a single skill for it that was worth having regarding ham radio. The ones that I have tried were about worthless.

 

That is how I felt about the pneumatic tube transport system at any drive-up banking booth.

 

anyone tried building their own...
https://lifehacker.com/how-to-build-your-own-amazon-echo-with-a-raspberry-pi-1787726931

 

1984 revisited big time!

 

Let Alexa listen to 3840 at night and see if she doesn't explode.