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Crossing digital assistants with retro toys

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  Crossing digital assistants with retro toys RS Wood  <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2017-12-09 02:40 +0000
    Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Batchman <batchman@dosville.foo> - 2017-12-11 10:02 +1100
    Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Roger Blake <rogblake@iname.invalid> - 2017-12-11 04:33 +0000
      Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> - 2017-12-11 02:12 -0400
        Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2017-12-11 10:33 +0000
          Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2017-12-11 09:15 -0800
            Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2017-12-11 21:34 +0100
              Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2017-12-11 14:02 -0800
                Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2017-12-12 10:07 +0100
          Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> - 2017-12-11 15:35 -0400
            Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2017-12-11 19:49 +0000
              Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> - 2017-12-11 21:28 -0400
                Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys RS Wood <rswood@therandymon.com> - 2017-12-11 22:33 -0500
              Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Johnny B Good <johnny-b-good@invalid.ntlworld.com> - 2017-12-12 15:39 +0000
                Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> - 2017-12-13 02:07 -0400
          Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Oregonian Haruspex <no_email@invalid.invalid> - 2017-12-12 00:07 +0000
        Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2017-12-11 21:20 +0100
          Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2017-12-11 23:02 +0200
      Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2017-12-11 13:50 -0500
        Re: Crossing digital assistants with retro toys Johnny B Good <johnny-b-good@invalid.ntlworld.com> - 2017-12-12 15:44 +0000

#15122 — Crossing digital assistants with retro toys

From the «Teddy Ruxpin, roll me a joint, please» department:
Title: Marvellous retrofitted home assistants
Author: Alex Bate
Date: Wed, 06 Dec 2017 08:56:40 -0500
Link: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/retrofitted-home-assistants/

As more and more digital home assistants are appearing on the consumer market,
it’s not uncommon to see the towering Amazon Echo or sleek Google Home when
visiting friends or family. But we, the maker community, are rarely happy
unless our tech stands out from the rest. So without further ado, here’s a
roundup of some fantastic retrofitted home assistant projects you can recreate
and give pride of place in your kitchen, on your bookshelf, or wherever else
you’d like to talk to your virtual, disembodied PA.

Google AIY Robot Conversion[1]

Turned an 80s Tomy Mr Money into a little Google AIY / Raspberry Pi based
assistant.

Matt ‘Circuitbeard’ Brailsford’s Tomy Mr Money Google AIY Assistant[2] is just
one of many home-brew home assistants makers have built since the release of
APIs for Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Here are some more…

Teddy Ruxpin

Oh Teddy, how exciting and mysterious you were when I unwrapped you back in the
mideighties. With your awkwardly moving lips and twitching eyelids, you were
the cream of the crop of robotic toys! How was I to know that during my
thirties, you would become augmented with home assistant software and suddenly
instil within me a fear unlike any I’d felt before? (Save for my lifelong
horror of ET…)

Alexa Ruxpin – Raspberry Pi & Alexa Powered Teddy Bear[3]

Please watch: “DIY Fidget LED Display – Part 1”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAZIc82Duzk -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- There are tons of
virtual assistants out on the market: Siri, Ok Google, Alexa, etc. I had this
crazy idea…what if I made the virtual assistant real…kinda. I decided to take
an old animatronic teddy bear and hack it so that it ran Amazon Alexa.

Several makers around the world have performed surgery on Teddy to install a
Raspberry Pi within his stomach and integrate him with Amazon Alexa Voice or
Google’s AIY Projects Voice kit. And because these makers are talented, they’ve
also managed to hijack Teddy’s wiring to make his lips move in time with his
responses to your commands. Freaky…

Speaking of freaky: check out Zack’s Furlexa[4] — an Amazon Alexa Furby that
will haunt your nightmares.

Give old tech new life

Devices that were the height of technology when you purchased them may now be
languishing in your attic collecting dust. With new and improved versions of
gadgets and gizmos being released almost constantly, it is likely that your
household harbours a spare whosit or whatsit which you can dismantle and give a
new Raspberry Pi heart and purpose.

Take, for example, Martin Mander’s Google Pi intercom[5]. By gutting and
thoroughly cleaning a vintage intercom, Martin fashioned a suitable housing the
Google AIY Projects Voice kit to create a new home assistant for his house:

1986 Google Pi Intercom[6]

This is a 1986 Radio Shack Intercom that I’ve converted into a Google Home
style device using a Raspberry Pi and the Google AIY (Artificial Intelligence
Yourself) kit that came free with the MagPi magazine (issue 57). It uses the
Google Assistant to answer questions and perform actions, using IFTTT to
integrate with smart home accessories and other web services.

Not only does this build look fantastic, it’s also a great conversation starter
for any visitors who had a similar device during the eighties.

Also take a look at Martin’s 1970s Amazon Alexa phone[7] for more nostalgic
splendour.

Put it in a box

…and then I’ll put that box inside of another box, and then I’ll mail that box
to myself, and when it arrives…
[image 8: Raspberry pi home assistant]

A GIF. A harmless, little GIF…and proof of the comms team’s obsession with The
Emperor’s New Groove.

You don’t have to be fancy when it comes to housing your home assistant. And
often, especially if you’re working with the smaller people in your household,
the results of a simple homespun approach are just as delightful.

Here are Hannah and her dad Tom, explaining how they built a home assistant
together and fit it inside an old cigar box:

Raspberry Pi 3 Amazon Echo – The Alexa Kids Build![9]

My 7 year old daughter and I decided to play around with the Raspberry Pi and
build ourselves an Amazon Echo (Alexa). The video tells you about what we did
and the links below will take you to all the sites we used to get this up and
running.

Also see the Google AIY Projects Voice kit[10] — the cardboard box-est of home
assistant boxes.

Make your own home assistant

And now it’s your turn! I challenge you all (and also myself) to create a home
assistant using the Raspberry Pi. Whether you decide to fit Amazon Alexa inside
an old shoebox or Google Home inside your sister’s Barbie, I’d love to see what
you create using the free home assistant software available online.

Check out these other[11]home[12]assistants[13] for Raspberry Pi, and keep an
eye on our blog to see what I manage to create as part of the challenge.

Ten virtual house points for everyone who shares their build with us online,
either in the comments below or by tagging us on your social media account[14].

The post Marvellous retrofitted home assistants[15] appeared first on Raspberry
Pi[16].

Links:
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXWlnc-Qcwg (link)
[2]: https://circuitbeard.co.uk/2017/11/18/tomy-mr-money-google-aiy-assistant/ (link)
[3]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwHS7F6L13E (link)
[4]: https://howchoo.com/g/otewzwmwnzb/amazon-echo-furby-using-raspberry-pi-furlexa (link)
[5]: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/google-pi-intercom-aiy-projects/ (link)
[6]: https://youtu.be/lNpuERqvEfM (link)
[7]: http://www.instructables.com/id/1970s-Raspberry-Pi-Amazon-AlexaPhone/ (link)
[8]: https://www.raspberrypi.org/app/uploads/2017/12/ezgif-4-307b937979.gif (image)
[9]: https://youtu.be/9ptax0mPT4o (link)
[10]: https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi/aiy-projects-kit-pre-order/ (link)
[11]: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/gladys-project-home-assistant/ (link)
[12]: https://openjarvis.com/ (link)
[13]: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/meet-jasper-open-source-voice-computing/ (link)
[14]: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/connecting-raspberry-pi-social/ (link)
[15]: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/retrofitted-home-assistants/ (link)
[16]: https://www.raspberrypi.org (link)

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#15124

RS Wood wrote:

> From the «Teddy Ruxpin, roll me a joint, please» department:
> Title: Marvellous retrofitted home assistants
> Author: Alex Bate
> Date: Wed, 06 Dec 2017 08:56:40 -0500
> Link: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/retrofitted-home-assistants/
> 

Thanks for the information!

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#15126

On 2017-12-09, RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> wrote:
> As more and more digital home assistants are appearing on the consumer market,
> it’s not uncommon to see the towering Amazon Echo or sleek Google Home when
> visiting friends or family.

I think if I saw one of those things when visiting I would turn around
and head out the door. It's amazing to me that anyone would invite that
kind of eavesdropping into their home. It seems that convenience and
entertainment override all other considerations.

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Roger Blake (Posts from Google Groups killfiled due to excess spam.)

  NSA sedition and treason        -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com
  Don't talk to cops!             -- http://www.DontTalkToCops.com
  Badges don't grant extra rights -- http://www.CopBlock.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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#15127

Roger Blake <rogblake@iname.invalid> writes:

> On 2017-12-09, RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> wrote:
>
>> As more and more digital home assistants are appearing on the
>> consumer market, it's not uncommon to see the towering Amazon Echo
>> or sleek Google Home when visiting friends or family.
> 
> I think if I saw one of those things when visiting I would turn
> around and head out the door. It's amazing to me that anyone would
> invite that kind of eavesdropping into their home. It seems that
> convenience and entertainment override all other considerations.

In the 1970s, my elderly mother (cough -- about the age I am now)
probed my superior technical knowledge, wanting to know if her TV
could be listening to or watching her.  I was happy to tell her that,
unless someone with costly gear was targeting her specifically, it
could not.

Fast forward to 2015:

    Samsung's privacy policy warns users about having private
    conversations

    It said: 'If your words include sensitive information, that
    information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a
    third party'

    Last year,  "Which" experts monitored of data from a range of smart
    TVs.  They discovered all brands track people's viewing habits to
    some extent

    And users give permission to do this in the TV's terms and
    conditions If viewers reject conditions they can't access some
    features on their TV sets - and Samsung and Toshiba owners can't
    use them at all


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2945766/Is-TV-eavesdropping-PRIVATE-conversations-Samsung-warns-users-smart-sets-capture-word.html

-- 
Mike Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada

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#15128

On 2017-12-11, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:

[38 lines snipped]

> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2945766/Is-TV-eavesdropping-PRIVATE-conversations-Samsung-warns-users-smart-sets-capture-word.html

I wouldn't wipe my arse with the Daily Mail, let alone use it as an
authoritative source of technical information.


-- 
Today is Setting Orange, the 53rd day of The Aftermath in the YOLD 3183
        Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

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#15129

On 12/11/2017 02:33 AM, Huge wrote:
> On 2017-12-11, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>
> [38 lines snipped]
>
>> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2945766/Is-TV-eavesdropping-PRIVATE-conversations-Samsung-warns-users-smart-sets-capture-word.html
>
> I wouldn't wipe my arse with the Daily Mail, let alone use it as an
> authoritative source of technical information.

OTOH, they have the best photos I've seen of the California wildfires 
and other local news events.

-- 
Cheers, Bev
   Last night I played a blank cd at full blast.
   The mime next door went nuts!

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#15135

On 2017-12-11, The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 12/11/2017 02:33 AM, Huge wrote:
>>
>> I wouldn't wipe my arse with the Daily Mail, let alone use it as an
>> authoritative source of technical information.
>
> OTOH, they have the best photos I've seen of the California wildfires
> and other local news events.
>

The UK's "The Sun" newspaper has always been scorned by the middle/
professional classes, but apparently one of the secrets of its sales
success was always the comprehensive horse racing coverage. 

As far as the Daily Mail's website goes, it is undeniably successful.
It appears to me that a lot of folks like linking it to say "What an
awful article!", with an implied "look, I/we are better than that".

It's successful at feeding off the snobbery of those who feel they
are above it..

-- 
Everybody has a testing environment. Some people are lucky enough to
have a totally separate environment to run production in.

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#15137

On 12/11/2017 12:34 PM, Paul Sture wrote:
> On 2017-12-11, The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 12/11/2017 02:33 AM, Huge wrote:
>>>
>>> I wouldn't wipe my arse with the Daily Mail, let alone use it as an
>>> authoritative source of technical information.
>>
>> OTOH, they have the best photos I've seen of the California wildfires
>> and other local news events.
>
> The UK's "The Sun" newspaper has always been scorned by the middle/
> professional classes, but apparently one of the secrets of its sales
> success was always the comprehensive horse racing coverage.

That's the only reason our friend continues to subscribe to the local 
fishwrap;  60 years ago -- hell, even 20 years ago -- it was a good 
paper, and now it's just crap -- badly spelled and punctuated and 
grammared, poorly edited, and containing more ads than news, and most of 
that is stupidly-truncated AP stuff.  BUT its racing coverage is better 
than the LA Times.

> As far as the Daily Mail's website goes, it is undeniably successful.
> It appears to me that a lot of folks like linking it to say "What an
> awful article!", with an implied "look, I/we are better than that".
>
> It's successful at feeding off the snobbery of those who feel they
> are above it..

I'm ashamed to say that every once in a while I read one of the 
celebrity 'articles' in the right-hand strip, but it really pisses me 
off that every single person mentioned has 'toned' body parts.

-- 
Cheers, Bev
   "Why put fault tolerance in the OS, when it's already built
    into the User?"             -- Steve Shaw, regarding Win95

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#15141

On 2017-12-11, The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 12/11/2017 12:34 PM, Paul Sture wrote:
>> On 2017-12-11, The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 12/11/2017 02:33 AM, Huge wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I wouldn't wipe my arse with the Daily Mail, let alone use it as an
>>>> authoritative source of technical information.
>>>
>>> OTOH, they have the best photos I've seen of the California wildfires
>>> and other local news events.
>>
>> The UK's "The Sun" newspaper has always been scorned by the middle/
>> professional classes, but apparently one of the secrets of its sales
>> success was always the comprehensive horse racing coverage.
>
> That's the only reason our friend continues to subscribe to the local 
> fishwrap;  60 years ago -- hell, even 20 years ago -- it was a good 
> paper, and now it's just crap -- badly spelled and punctuated and 
> grammared, poorly edited, and containing more ads than news, and most of 
> that is stupidly-truncated AP stuff.  BUT its racing coverage is better 
> than the LA Times.
>
>> As far as the Daily Mail's website goes, it is undeniably successful.
>> It appears to me that a lot of folks like linking it to say "What an
>> awful article!", with an implied "look, I/we are better than that".
>>
>> It's successful at feeding off the snobbery of those who feel they
>> are above it..
>
> I'm ashamed to say that every once in a while I read one of the 
> celebrity 'articles' in the right-hand strip, but it really pisses me 
> off that every single person mentioned has 'toned' body parts.

Today's example: "Simon Cowell, 58, continues to flaunt his trim
frame..."

A lot older than I thought.

-- 
Everybody has a testing environment. Some people are lucky enough to
have a totally separate environment to run production in.

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#15131

Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> writes:

> On 2017-12-11, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
> 
> [38 lines snipped]

So much for substance, eh?


>> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2945766/Is-TV-eavesdropping-PRIVATE-conversations-Samsung-warns-users-smart-sets-capture-word.html
> 
> I wouldn't wipe my arse with the Daily Mail, let alone use it as an
> authoritative source of technical information.

Happenstance that I chose  that URL as a reference.  If you gwgle a
few key words about Samsung's warning that one shouldn't have private
conversations near their device, it's scattered all over the web,
presumably originating from a common source.

Even Donald Trump says something verifiably true once in awhile.


-- 
Mike Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada

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#15132

On 2017-12-11, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>
> Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> writes:
>
>> On 2017-12-11, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>> 
>> [38 lines snipped]
>
> So much for substance, eh?

Snipping irrelevancies used to be regarded as polite, you patronising cunt.

-- 
Today is Setting Orange, the 53rd day of The Aftermath in the YOLD 3183
        Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

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#15139

Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> writes:

> On 2017-12-11, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>
>> Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> writes:
>>
>>> On 2017-12-11, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>>> 
>>> [38 lines snipped]
>>
>> So much for substance, eh?
> 
> Snipping irrelevancies used to be regarded as polite, you patronising cunt.

And so much for polite.



ObComp.Misc:  I've thought several times of building a steam punk case
for my computer, have forge, anvil, rivets, all the gear and some nice
100 year old brass engine parts.  Trouble is, that kinda thing is so
time consuming that my computer would be obsolete by the time it was
done and the new mobo/drives/whatever wouldn't fit.  No temptation at
all to enter into palimony with digital assistants.

-- 
Mike Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada

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#15140

On 11 Dec 2017 21:28:01 -0400
Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:

> ObComp.Misc:  I've thought several times of building a steam punk case
> for my computer, have forge, anvil, rivets, all the gear and some nice
> 100 year old brass engine parts.  Trouble is, that kinda thing is so
> time consuming that my computer would be obsolete by the time it was
> done and the new mobo/drives/whatever wouldn't fit.  No temptation at
> all to enter into palimony with digital assistants.

A steampunk case sounds more fun than some of the modern stuff.
There's a huge community out there that loves that aesthetic and would
find custom steampunk computers fun to buy.  

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#15142

On Mon, 11 Dec 2017 19:49:52 +0000, Huge wrote:

> On 2017-12-11, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>>
>> Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> writes:
>>
>>> On 2017-12-11, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>>> 
>>> [38 lines snipped]
>>
>> So much for substance, eh?
> 
> Snipping irrelevancies used to be regarded as polite, you patronising
> cunt.

 I doubt I'm alone in this but I think you're an idiot for using the word 
"cunt" when the word "idiot" would have been quite sufficient. Joseph 
Stalin[1] was regarded as a cunt worldwide by anyone who has ever 
received an education in modern history.

 Applying that epithet to Mike for forgetting to snip 38 lines of 
'irrelevant' attribution seems to be an OTT reaction on your part which 
rather devalues any such opinions you may have to offer on others' 
competence to contribute to a usenet discussion.

 The word "cunt" seems to be your favourite 'go to' epithet every time 
you wish to express your displeasure of others in a usenet thread and, as 
such, must surely be regarded as "meaningless noise" long since by all 
and sundry.

 Words do have the power to hurt but only when they haven't been devalued 
by profligate use. There are valid reasons to employ a "Graduated 
Response" in any conflict, whether it be a 'war of words' or an actual 
armed military conflict.

 I won't deny that this is a "Put Down" but you'd be wise to consider 
that it's not done out of 'malice' but more as a 'constructive criticism' 
of your posting style.

[1] Specifically chosen to avoid invoking "Godwin's Law" :-)

-- 
Johnny B Good

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#15144

Johnny B Good <johnny-b-good@invalid.ntlworld.com> writes:

> On Mon, 11 Dec 2017 19:49:52 +0000, Huge wrote:
> 
>> On 2017-12-11, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>>>
>>> Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> writes:
>>>
>>>> On 2017-12-11, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> [38 lines snipped]
>>>
>>> So much for substance, eh?
>> 
>> Snipping irrelevancies used to be regarded as polite, you patronising
>> cunt..
> 
> I doubt I'm alone in this but I think you're an idiot for using the word 
> "cunt" when the word "idiot" would have been quite sufficient. Joseph 
> Stalin[1] was regarded as a cunt worldwide by anyone who has ever 
> received an education in modern history.
> 
> Applying that epithet to Mike for forgetting to snip 38 lines of 
> 'irrelevant' attribution seems to be an OTT reaction on your part which 
> rather devalues any such opinions you may have to offer on others' 
> competence to contribute to a usenet discussion.

Just for the record, Mr. Huge applied it to me because I twitted (not
tweeted) him for snipping the substance of my post (Samsung's
no-privacy TV policy) only then to quote the URL I gave in order to
sneer at the publisher referenced by it.

> Words do have the power to hurt but only when they haven't been devalued 
> by profligate use.

Indeed.  So far I've never found the need to call anyone nasty names
in a post, although if my notion of a dry & mildly witty twit invokes
"patronising cunt" in reply, I suppose people's sensitivities to
language must vary considerably.

> [1] Specifically chosen to avoid invoking "Godwin's Law" :-)

-- 
Mike Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada

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#15138

Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> wrote:
> On 2017-12-11, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
> 
> [38 lines snipped]
> 
>> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2945766/Is-TV-eavesdropping-PRIVATE-conversations-Samsung-warns-users-smart-sets-capture-word.html
> 
> I wouldn't wipe my arse with the Daily Mail, let alone use it as an
> authoritative source of technical information.
> 
> 

This is from Samsung’s privacy policy. Nice one though, bazinga!

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#15134

On 2017-12-11, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>
> Fast forward to 2015:
>
>     Samsung's privacy policy warns users about having private
>     conversations
>

I first read Orwell's 1984 at 13 or 14 years of age, and shuddered
at the bit where a voice comes out of his screen to admonish him
for not doing his keep fit exercises properly.

I found it creepy then, and now it's almost reality.

-- 
Everybody has a testing environment. Some people are lucky enough to
have a totally separate environment to run production in.

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#15136

Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch>:

> On 2017-12-11, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>>
>> Fast forward to 2015:
>>
>>     Samsung's privacy policy warns users about having private
>>     conversations
>>
> I first read Orwell's 1984 at 13 or 14 years of age, and shuddered at
> the bit where a voice comes out of his screen to admonish him for not
> doing his keep fit exercises properly.
>
> I found it creepy then, and now it's almost reality.

Samsung must be a Dutch company:

   https://stuffdutchpeoplelike.com/2010/11/24/no-8-not-owning-curtains/


Marko

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#15130

On Mon, 11 Dec 2017 04:33:46 -0000 (UTC)
Roger Blake <rogblake@iname.invalid> wrote:

> On 2017-12-09, RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> wrote:
> > As more and more digital home assistants are appearing on the consumer market,
> > it’s not uncommon to see the towering Amazon Echo or sleek Google Home when
> > visiting friends or family.
> 
> I think if I saw one of those things when visiting I would turn around
> and head out the door. It's amazing to me that anyone would invite that
> kind of eavesdropping into their home. It seems that convenience and
> entertainment override all other considerations.

I wonder if we aren't still gliding through the last days of a period
where being part of the latest tech craze is new, exciting, and
potentially rewarding.  For many years, upgrades in laptop technology
meant you could do more than your neighbors.  Those first iphone buyers
are now seen as early adopters of the new normal.  Quick, here comes a
new gadget - scoop it up and employ it, and then smirk at your
neighbors and friends for doing things 'the old way.'

Never mind that Teddy Ruxpin is busy videorecording you as you wank one
out, calling the cops when it hears you whip the dog, and helpfully
auto-buying things it has been programmed to help you consume.

Not for me, no F'ing way.

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#15143

On Mon, 11 Dec 2017 13:50:12 -0500, RS Wood wrote:

> On Mon, 11 Dec 2017 04:33:46 -0000 (UTC)
> Roger Blake <rogblake@iname.invalid> wrote:
> 
>> On 2017-12-09, RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> wrote:
>> > As more and more digital home assistants are appearing on the
>> > consumer market,
>> > it’s not uncommon to see the towering Amazon Echo or sleek Google
>> > Home when visiting friends or family.
>> 
>> I think if I saw one of those things when visiting I would turn around
>> and head out the door. It's amazing to me that anyone would invite that
>> kind of eavesdropping into their home. It seems that convenience and
>> entertainment override all other considerations.
> 
> I wonder if we aren't still gliding through the last days of a period
> where being part of the latest tech craze is new, exciting, and
> potentially rewarding.  For many years, upgrades in laptop technology
> meant you could do more than your neighbors.  Those first iphone buyers
> are now seen as early adopters of the new normal.  Quick, here comes a
> new gadget - scoop it up and employ it, and then smirk at your neighbors
> and friends for doing things 'the old way.'
> 
> Never mind that Teddy Ruxpin is busy videorecording you as you wank one
> out, calling the cops when it hears you whip the dog, and helpfully
> auto-buying things it has been programmed to help you consume.
> 
> Not for me, no F'ing way.

 Nicely put! (and no, Mr Huge, I ain't snipping the attribution. :-)

 Oh, and nor am I going to take heed of Pan's warning that this reply is 
mostly quoted text.

-- 
Johnny B Good

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