Okay so, realtalk. What does an alexa get me that having my phone in my hand at all times doesn't?
@bea but then how will I read fanfic/check my e-mail/post on slack/take selfies/play phone games while sitting on the couch watching elementary??
@Maenad alexa! take a picture of me and post it on masto with a sassy caption!
@bea alexa! tell my dog he's very cute.
@Maenad
a smart home // techie status boost
like as far as I can tell, it's an expensive, always on microphone in your house that you can use to buy things at whim??? Am I missing a component of this?
@Maenad using your phone to buy things is for plebs. true techies (and richies) use alexa
it's just like being rich enough to have a servant to buy things for you
@Maenad apparently it will also google things for you and read them to you. I have heard parents say they like having their kid ask for wikipedia articles. (i am too paranoid for all this)
@Maenad it also tells bad jokes and is creepy af because it is *always* listening.
@Maenad A free hand? Unless you set the phone down on a surface before you talk to it, then you have the same number of free hands. Or using a headset, I suppose.
@Mycroft I have a bluetooth headset because I'm that kind of douche (also because I like being able to listen to music in public without worrying about catching my headphone cord on door handles).
@Maenad Hmm, you get the opportunity to, if you want to say something to it, move to its physical location instead of all the effort of teaching into your pocket?
I think I heard it has a speaker so you can play music out loud to more than one person. I'm struggling to find use cases here.
Buying into a big corporate infrastructure other than Google or Apple?
@Maenad nothing. plus they're really buggy and they spy on you so.... I'd recommend passing.
@Maenad an empty hand?