Big hoopla about voice control

What you are missing is the hundreds of posters who specifically came here to request to participate in the Alexa private beta. This is something which has never been seen before, not even with Apple Music. So no matter what one's personal opinion of voice control, there is an unprecedented amount of people who are looking forward to it.

They use it to set a timer and ask about the weather.
I don't care for any of the pedestrian things it can do.

However I am looking forward to truly smart implementations. AI offers the potential to educate and leverage vast amounts of data we could not possibly remember or process as humans.

The day we can have a conversation with one of the girls (they all sound terrible btw, Cortana is not bad and Siri in iOS 11 has gotten better) to learn about a topic, prepare for a presentation, keep up with the news in a smarter way, stay in touch with the whereabouts and concerns of loved ones etc. then it'll be something people ought to clamor for.

I can't believe Amazon's success. Admittedly, I am not a good predictor of popular demand.

I suspect some people will love voice control, others will have little use for it. Which, of course, is pretty much the way the world works. I own Echo Dots and find them to be fascinating gizmos, but they don't usually suit my music needs. That's because I tend to not know what I'm in the mood for at any given time until I do a little exploration. That's a big part of the fun of listening for me--finding something new--so I'm probably not going to spend a lot of time issuing specific "play this" instructions. At least I haven't so far. However, if the Sonos implementation allows "play xxx in the bedroom," " play through airport express on the Play 5 on the veranda," or even "send music to all speakers" I'll be overjoyed. I'm weary of the multi-step, overly complex Sonos visual interface and the fact that choosing which speakers play what can be a pain.

Part of it is the 'instant gratification' generation I think. I personally don't have that big of a need for voice control of music, but my kids absolutely do. They have their own phones and such but don't really want to mess with Sonos. They love the echo(s) since they can ask for a song and get it immediately. They don't have to ask me, or do anything, it just happens.

I also think that people who haven't experienced Sonos, really aren't that techy, will like this. My mother loves to listen to Pandora on the Echo, but would have no interest in Sonos. She has very little need and wants it very easy, so it's the right way to go for her.

I'm looking forward to it partly because I want my kids to enjoy music in the house better, and little bit for my own need. I probably will listen to music more as opposed to turning on the tv. I actually think my personal greatest use will be outdoors. I have sonos playing through outdoor speakers and have a DOT with an attached battery pack. Much of the time I'm outside, I don't want to pull out the phone to change the music. Being able to do voice control would be fantastic.

I would say though that if I didn't have home automation, I probably wouldn't use my DOTS much either. I do use timers, ask about the weather, and using shopping lists...but 50% of my use is to turn on and off lights.

Good points, particularly about younger users. I use my Dots for lights, temperature control (Ecobee), door control (August) and a bunch of other things. And I amaze my friends in Brasil by telling Alexa to turn on lights in my place in Canada while they watch a video feed of the Canadian living room, lol. For that kind of stuff, I love Dots.

@melvimbe I am interested in learning and better understanding the decision process behind the way people do things.

Why do you think you took the time and the effort to "learn" to use SONOS?
Whereas you notice your kids actually know the title of the songs they want to play (how many do they really listen to and are those the most popular?).

They are training people into thinking tech should come to them at this point.

The exploration is half the fun for me!


@Toolio do you change the temperature in your home manually? why? Isn't it on a schedule?

I could see the use for lights if your hands are full or you are not near the switch (to save yourself the walk/ flight)...

I didn't buy the Dot to control temperature. I installed the Ecobee before I purchased Dots, and they just happen to work with the Ecobee. Yes, the thermostat is on a schedule, but I often like to change the temperature to suit my preferences at any given time. I also travel constantly and live in two countries, so as it turns out I can control the temperature in one country by speaking to a Dot in another country (or, of course, by using the Ecobee interface on a tablet, phone or PC). Or I can switch it from heat to air conditioning remotely when seasons change. If I need to adjust the temperature to better control humidity, I can do that through a Dot from afar. When I'm away I also need to change the temperature 12 hours or so in advance of my arrival because the house in the other country requires some time to warm up or cool down, depending on the season. The light thing is handy any time. No reaching for light switches, for example. It's easy to turn on the basement light before getting to the basement. I can dim the lights by speaking instead of using a switch. I can change the color of the lights by speaking (Philips Hue). If I hear a suspicious noise at night I can turn on all lights in the house with one voice command. Etc..

...I also think that people who haven't experienced Sonos, really aren't that techy, will like this. My mother loves to listen to Pandora on the Echo, but would have no interest in Sonos. She has very little need and wants it very easy, so it's the right way to go for her...


Related to this I have also noticed that when things go wrong people get less upset with Alexa than they did with the Sonos app. I used to get an earful when something changed or stopped working in Sonos but with Alexa I find folks just get amused at the funny mistake she just made. This difference in attitude alone is worth the paradigm change to voice control.

@melvimbe I am interested in learning and better understanding the decision process behind the way people do things.

Why do you think you took the time and the effort to "learn" to use SONOS?)...

Because I enjoy music and higher quality audio, as well the relative ease of the whole thing. I work in IT and have decent aptitude for such things, but can understand why this may not be a desirable or simple for other people.


Whereas you notice your kids actually know the title of the songs they want to play (how many do they really listen to and are those the most popular?).


I should say that it's not that my kids aren't capable of using Sonos, they just don't want to mess with Dad's stuff. It's got my music collection on it, my stations, etc. I have tried to include them in it, but they felt better leaving it alone and listing to their ipod/iphones instead. I don't really blame them for that since I wanted my own stuff as a kid as well.

When Echo came along, they didn't feel like it was messing with Dad's stuff anymore. They preferred listening to a dot in the family room over the Sonos system in that way. I actually put Echo's in their rooms for Christmas last year. There music choices have surprised me a bit. They go from playing some rap song I've never heard of, to Green Day, to Johnny Cash. They aren't just playing songs they heard of before either. They heard 'Walk the Line' before and want to know what other songs they like from Johnny Cash.


They are training people into thinking tech should come to them at this point.

The exploration is half the fun for me!


They explore what is theirs and leave Dad's stuff alone as I said before. My kids troubleshoot their own ipod/iphones and use tablets at school. My son says he often helps out the other kids with issues. My son will tell me how to use the xbox properly. Heck, I have a nephew that built his own computer. The kids that want to explore will do so, while those that don't want bother.


@Toolio do you change the temperature in your home manually? why? Isn't it on a schedule?


I know, not directed at me and I don't even have a smart thermostat. I want one though. I'd rather use my phone interface then the thermostat interface. I do have a schedule set, but I find myself making minor adjustments often, depending on the weather, my schedule, how many people are in the house, etc. I'd also like it to stay on if I decide to stay home from work or holiday, simply because my phone never left the house.


I could see the use for lights if your hands are full or you are not near the switch (to save yourself the walk/ flight)...

My morning 'alarm' consists of my kitchen and bathroom lights turning on, along with Pandora playing in the bathroom, bedroom, and family room. All of this will shut off an hour and half later as well. My exterior lights come on and off automatically at night as well. My kitchen light comes on when I get home from work. I can give echo a command to turn off several lights at one time. I can set the color of the lights. If I'm watching something on tv and don't want to get up to turn off the light, I don't have to.

None of this is really necessary, but it does make life a little easier, and it's fun to do (for me anyway)

Related to this I have also noticed that when things go wrong people get less upset with Alexa than they did with the Sonos app. I used to get an earful when something changed or stopped working in Sonos but with Alexa I find folks just get amused at the funny mistake she just made. This difference in attitude alone is worth the paradigm change to voice control.

I've seen that too. People (my kids anyway) seem to think of Alexa more like a person then machine. So if Alexa gets the song wrong, my kids think Alexa just isn't smart enough yet, as opposed to it being a machine that doesn't work right.