Does anyone here have an Alexa or Echo & do they work okay ?

[NCC1701A]

6 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Of course it is listening. how else would it hear you?

 

is it listening to your television?

[sirineou]

3 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

is it listening to your television?

it is listening to everything by default, but Alexa has voice recognition and can be setup to recognise your voice 

[sirineou]

18 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

is it listening to your television?

By the way if activation by a tv commercial saying the word "Alexa" is a concern, first know that Alexa would only be awaken for the command played on the TV commercial and then go to sleep. I doubt there are many TV commercials with the command "Alexa record NCC1701As conversations" I mean if there was someone would notice don't you think?  But if that's a concern you can change the "awake" command "gobldy goop"

very few TV comercials say "Gobildy Goop record NCC1701As conversations.

[maxpower]

24 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

is it listening to your television?

The voice recognition processor listens locally for its activation word while at the same time recording audio locally in a short loop ready to be sent for processing immediately following activation. The device should not make any remote server requests until activation is established.

 

There's a lot of hackers monitoring the data packets sent from these voice recognition devices hoping to catch out Amazon and the like doing something naughty. 

 

What happens to voice commands and background noises after activation is another story.
 

[CNXexpat]

On 12/10/2019 at 3:38 PM, Golden Triangle said:

The only reason I want one is because at the moment I am listening to the BBC via Chrome via my Minix box through my LG TV, it can be on for over 12 hours a day and I realised that it's not doing my TV any good in respect of screen life as there is no way (tat I know of) to blacken the screen so one day it will just stop, as has happened to me before.

Buy an internet radio receiver. Not expensive and you don´t have a spy in your house. 

[sirineou]

8 minutes ago, maxpower said:

The voice recognition processor listens locally for its activation word while at the same time recording audio locally in a short loop ready to be sent for processing immediately following activation. The device should not make any remote server requests until activation is established.

 

There's a lot of hackers monitoring the data packets sent from these voice recognition devices hoping to catch out Amazon and the like doing something naughty. 

 

What happens to voice commands and background noises after activation is another story.
 

I doubt hackers are listening in to the "short audio loops" in the hope that they catch the conversations with my wife concerning the number of chiles she uses in the Som Tom, but for those who discuss sensitive  national security issues I would suggest they unplug their echo dot before doing so.or press the easily accessible power off button. 

IMO the benefits I described in my other reply vastly outweigh the danger of my some tom recipe being hacked. 

[maxpower]

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

I doubt hackers are listening in to the "short audio loops" in the hope that they catch the conversations with my wife concerning the number of chiles she uses in the Som Tom, but for those who discuss sensitive  national security issues I would suggest they unplug their echo dot before doing so.or press the easily accessible power off button. 

IMO the benefits I described in my other reply vastly outweigh the danger of my some tom recipe being hacked. 

I do not refer to hackers as those looking to exploit or monitor your device. Those are a minority group.

 

Hackers are knowledgeable people who often overcome computer problems and expose security issues. Hackers are responsible for exposing the many levels of spying in Microsoft operating systems.

 

 

 

[sirineou]

33 minutes ago, maxpower said:

I do not refer to hackers as those looking to exploit or monitor your device. Those are a minority group.

 

Hackers are knowledgeable people who often overcome computer problems and expose security issues. Hackers are responsible for exposing the many levels of spying in Microsoft operating systems.

 

 

 

Sorry if i misunderstood.

I am only trying to make the point for those who are concerned with spying, that for most of as that's not an issue, and that  if one was concerned, Alexa can easily be turned off and only used when desired.  IMO the benefits outweigh the negatives, but everyone would have to make that decision themselves. 

 Another way I use my echo dot, is reminders and timers. Every day at 9 am it asks me if i took my medicine,  and when I cook I say, "Alexa 20 min timer"  

My daughter has an echo dot in her apartment, we often use the intercom function to talk to each other, I have not tried it yet but when I am back in Thailand I will try it from there, I am pretty sure it will work but I don't know that for a fact.

[Golden Triangle]

2 hours ago, CNXexpat said:

Buy an internet radio receiver. Not expensive and you don´t have a spy in your house. 

And appx how much is one of those ? In £ please, thanks.

 

[CNXexpat]

6 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

And appx how much is one of those ? In £ please, thanks.

 

I have mine a couple of years and bought it in Germany. Do you really expect that I google what´s the price in Thailand and then convert it for you in GBP?!

[samsensam]

 

my uncle, who is blind, has alexa and finds it life changing, excellent for communicating with his family, searching the internet, radio, and there to call for help in an emergency

 

as for cost, ask google ????

[sirineou]

10 minutes ago, CNXexpat said:

I have mine a couple of years and bought it in Germany. Do you really expect that I google what´s the price in Thailand and then convert it for you in GBP?!

I think the point Golden triangle was making is that these radios even when you can find them cost too much in relation to an echo dot and have a lot less functionality. 

I was in the mood and just asked My echo dot to play me " Neil Young harvest moon" can your radio do that?  and as i said if you are concerned about someone spying turn it of the same way you turn your radio off.

[Golden Triangle]

18 minutes ago, CNXexpat said:

I have mine a couple of years and bought it in Germany. Do you really expect that I google what´s the price in Thailand and then convert it for you in GBP?!

No, only joshing with you, funnily enough, my brother has an internet radio and an Alexa, I think he told me that the internet radio was pretty expensive hundreds of £££.

[CNXexpat]

3 minutes ago, sirineou said:

I think the point Golden triangle was making is that these radios even when you can find them cost too much in relation to an echo dot and have a lot less functionality. 

I was in the mood and just asked My echo dot to play me " Neil Young harvest moon" can your radio do that?  and as i said if you are concerned about someone spying turn it of the same way you turn your radio off.

I don´t think so. He wrote: "The only reason I want one is because at the moment I am listening to the BBC via Chrome via my Minix box through my LG TV..."

With a quick search I found this https://www.lazada.co.th/products/wifi-internet-radio-with-touchscreen-voice-command-operation-the-best-in-audio-entertainment-1000s-of-radio-stations-the-best-streaming-music-apps-most-popular-audiobooks-and-podcasts-i252852234-s390197402.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.48.7c46621fA28deo&search=1.

Perhaps a bit more expensive but not a spy and you don´t need to pay Amazon Prime.

[CNXexpat]

6 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

he told me that the internet radio was pretty expensive hundreds of £££.

You can spend hundreds for sure - but also much less https://www.lazada.co.th/products/wifi-internet-radio-with-touchscreen-voice-command-operation-the-best-in-audio-entertainment-1000s-of-radio-stations-the-best-streaming-music-apps-most-popular-audiobooks-and-podcasts-i252852234-s390197402.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.48.7c46621fA28deo&search=1

[Jumbo1968]

On 12/10/2019 at 12:35 PM, Golden Triangle said:

Thanks for that, I want to listen to live radio from the UK like Absolute radio or Virgin radio and some of the BBC stations, any problems ? 

 

I have one, I can listen to all the UK Radio Stations plus I subscribe too Amazon Music.

[sirineou]

3 minutes ago, CNXexpat said:

I don´t think so. He wrote: "The only reason I want one is because at the moment I am listening to the BBC via Chrome via my Minix box through my LG TV..."

With a quick search I found this https://www.lazada.co.th/products/wifi-internet-radio-with-touchscreen-voice-command-operation-the-best-in-audio-entertainment-1000s-of-radio-stations-the-best-streaming-music-apps-most-popular-audiobooks-and-podcasts-i252852234-s390197402.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.48.7c46621fA28deo&search=1.

Perhaps a bit more expensive but not a spy and you don´t need to pay Amazon Prime.

I also just got an echo dot for $29,99 and IMO the echo dot has a lot more functionality. It is an Internet radio and much much more.

  You don't need a prime membership to use many of its functions including internet radio.You only need prime membership to access prime membership privileges.

as i said if concerned about spying you can turn it off the same way you turn your radio off.

 

[emptypockets]

6 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

And appx how much is one of those ? In £ please, thanks.

 

TuneIn app on your phone.Free.

[giddyup]

15 hours ago, CNXexpat said:

You can spend hundreds for sure - but also much less https://www.lazada.co.th/products/wifi-internet-radio-with-touchscreen-voice-command-operation-the-best-in-audio-entertainment-1000s-of-radio-stations-the-best-streaming-music-apps-most-popular-audiobooks-and-podcasts-i252852234-s390197402.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.48.7c46621fA28deo&search=1

Lazada says product no longer available.

[gamb00ler]

On 12/12/2019 at 5:02 AM, sirineou said:

I think the point Golden triangle was making is that these radios even when you can find them cost too much in relation to an echo dot and have a lot less functionality. 

I was in the mood and just asked My echo dot to play me " Neil Young harvest moon" can your radio do that?  and as i said if you are concerned about someone spying turn it of the same way you turn your radio off.

I assume you have either an Amazon Prime or an Amazon Music subscription to be able to ask Alexa to play Neil Young.  Is that correct?  Do your Amazon devices use a VPN while you're in Thailand?

 

I'm working on using my own music collection and a Plex server so we can avoid the Amazon subscription fees.  After we move to Hang Dong, we won't have a US house to worry about so will cancel Prime.  After the move, if my wife asks Alexa for a song not in our collection she can have Alexa add it to our shopping list. ???? 

[sirineou]

3 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

I assume you have either an Amazon Prime or an Amazon Music subscription to be able to ask Alexa to play Neil Young.  Is that correct?  Do your Amazon devices use a VPN while you're in Thailand?

 

I'm working on using my own music collection and a Plex server so we can avoid the Amazon subscription fees.  After we move to Hang Dong, we won't have a US house to worry about so will cancel Prime.  After the move, if my wife asks Alexa for a song not in our collection she can have Alexa add it to our shopping list. ???? 

First let me say that I don't have an Echo dot in Thailand yet . because even though we have our house there,  we split our time between the US and Thailand, I joined this conversation because I Just retired, (though they are trying to reel me back in to work as a consultant) and plan to retire to our Thai home full time (if I can convince the wife who seems to be happy in Florida).

So this is what I have learned about the subject.

First, regardless of echo dot or not you will need a VPN for many different things. , I hear expressVPN is good and not too expensive.

It has being suggested to me that I use a VPN enabled wifi router so that the signal broadcasted in to your house is already from a US location and you won't have to VPN configured  each device in your house individually which could be a pain if you have many devices. But such sheem might limit thai portals accessibility, (something to consider) 

Second  bring your echo dots from the US so that they would be configured to a US location. If you you have family , let the buy you an Echo dot via their account.

  I have send a couple of echo dots i purchased in my account  to my daughter who lives not very far from me, and she uses my prime account to listen to music. If they are concerned with you using their account to make purchase they can simply change their password.  You can talk with them via the Intercom option, saving you money on  telephone bills , with a Echo show $79, you can have video conversations, and the Echo show can be used as an Echo Dot. So if you subtract the price you would have had to pay for the echo dot it only costs you $50. I wish I had  bought the Echo show instead of the echo dot, I will be getting and echo show soon.

But you don't need Prime to listen to Music, Many other music services to be used with alexa, some of them free. Do a google search " alexa music options without amazon" a lot of interesting articles on the subject. 

My advice is , also bring a couple of wi fi cameras with you.I recommend the one below, it works both 120 and 240v and you can use it outside also with a separately sold waterproofing jacket.

 

Any way I hope the above helped. Let me know how it turned out