Official Chit-Chat Thread

[OakleyFrankFMJ]

"Why is my glass always half empty?!?!?!?"

Wait.....don't you see it's half FULL?

 

[Mdgustaf]

Wait.....don't you see it's half FULL?

You both missed the whole in the side... It's busted!

 

[kronin323]

Wait.....don't you see it's half FULL?

Oh, actually I'm the eternal optimist, within reason. It's the perfect contrast with The Wife...

 

[OakleyFrankFMJ]

Oh, actually I'm the eternal optimist, within reason. It's the perfect contrast with The Wife...

Well. I guess since your married you gotta be optimistic about something.

 

[kronin323]

Sometimes I wait to see how a product does before buying; sometimes I'm an early adopter.

I got an Amazon Echo via the 1/2 price invite; it arrived a couple of days ago. Kinda like a Siri in a can. Time will tell whether it ends up filling a useful niche.

If you don't know what it is, it's described here:

Amazon Echo - Official site - Request an invitation

The part I can't figure out for sure is how it got configured to my wireless network without a wired connection or direct input (i.e. keyboard or touchscreen). Plug in the power, download an app on your tablet. It "finds" your Echo, you put in your wireless network password (on the tablet app GUI) and the Echo configures / connects.

My first thought was maybe it had a 3G chip to connect to an amazon server for config, but that doesn't seem very efficient, especially in comparison to the cost for a NIC.

My best guess is that the app took over my tablet's wireless hardware and established a peer-to-peer connection with the Echo. The specs say Echo doesn't support peer-to-peer, but that may just be for normal operation.

The Wife is already jealous.

 

[Duke Nivram]

Sometimes I wait to see how a product does before buying; sometimes I'm an early adopter.

I got an Amazon Echo via the 1/2 price invite; it arrived a couple of days ago. Kinda like a Siri in a can. Time will tell whether it ends up filling a useful niche.

If you don't know what it is, it's described here:

Amazon Echo - Official site - Request an invitation

The part I can't figure out for sure is how it got configured to my wireless network without a wired connection or direct input (i.e. keyboard or touchscreen). Plug in the power, download an app on your tablet. It "finds" your Echo, you put in your wireless network password (on the tablet app GUI) and the Echo configures / connects.

My first thought was maybe it had a 3G chip to connect to an amazon server for config, but that doesn't seem very efficient, especially in comparison to the cost for a NIC.

My best guess is that the app took over my tablet's wireless hardware and established a peer-to-peer connection with the Echo. The specs say Echo doesn't support peer-to-peer, but that may just be for normal operation.

The Wife is already jealous.

i am interested in a review in a couple of weeks

 

[Carrera1963]

Sometimes I wait to see how a product does before buying; sometimes I'm an early adopter.

I got an Amazon Echo via the 1/2 price invite; it arrived a couple of days ago. Kinda like a Siri in a can. Time will tell whether it ends up filling a useful niche.

If you don't know what it is, it's described here:

Amazon Echo - Official site - Request an invitation

The part I can't figure out for sure is how it got configured to my wireless network without a wired connection or direct input (i.e. keyboard or touchscreen). Plug in the power, download an app on your tablet. It "finds" your Echo, you put in your wireless network password (on the tablet app GUI) and the Echo configures / connects.

My first thought was maybe it had a 3G chip to connect to an amazon server for config, but that doesn't seem very efficient, especially in comparison to the cost for a NIC.

My best guess is that the app took over my tablet's wireless hardware and established a peer-to-peer connection with the Echo. The specs say Echo doesn't support peer-to-peer, but that may just be for normal operation.

The Wife is already jealous.

Now go watch an hour-long documentary on the Amazon before it really gets a chance to learn your voice...

 

[kronin323]

Now go watch an hour-long documentary on the Amazon before it really gets a chance to learn your voice...

Actually the voice recognition has been pretty awesome out-of-the-box. At least for me. The Wife and Kid, not so much. There's a voice training feature but I'm still trying to find out if The Wife using the voice training will degrade its ability to recognize my words or if it just adds to it.

 

[Rustpot]

I was debating on the Echo. It wasn't a ton of money, but it wasn't something I felt would add that much value to my little world.

 

[kronin323]

I was debating on the Echo. It wasn't a ton of money, but it wasn't something I felt would add that much value to my little world.

For me the appeal was having voice-only interaction without having to pull anything out and/or press any buttons. Was thinking while I was cooking being able to get quick measurement conversions, add items to a shopping list; to-do list and quick weather, etc...

At full MSRP I wouldn't have bit but at the 1/2-off price I figured it was worth a shot.

And I found out last night that it can still understand me pretty well with a drunken slur...