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Alexa............?|pad patter 3.6.2019

jenn mccabe said:
i cover my desktop camera with washi tape but not my iPhone - which ironically is the one that goes everywhere with me. i get a little creeped out by how much my phone tracks me and my patterns - the most high tech i have gotten inside my home so far is the wifi light sockets to automatically turn my lights on in the house at certain times. alexa/dots/ etc freak me out!
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I concur Jenn.. I use the old school timer on my downstairs light.. I use it all year round not just when we go away.
 
I am not a fan after hearing a couple of stories from family members. My sister and her husband loves theirs they got it when it was pretty new and then quickly got my mom one under their membership for a Christmas gift. They live about 25 miles apart..... did you know that from my sisters home she is able to talk to my mom at her house through the Alexa!? She only did it the once but it creeps me thinking can they listen in at any time!!?

Also heard of a Judge trying to get the recording of a certain day in a murder case to hear what took place....

That alone tells me you are getting recorded in your private homes.
 
cfile said:
I concur Jenn.. I use the old school timer on my downstairs light.. I use it all year round not just when we go away.
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Me too on the old school timer. Have been using one of those for years... in fact, Mom was the one that started it with a light in the living room. I also leave the small light above my kitchen window on all the time. Makes a great night light.

Heck, I even have an old school thermostat. I have to push the button when it is time for heat or a/c and set the temps. Not even programmable for times. It gets set on one temp and stays there unless I change it.
 
cfile said:
I agree Lynn.. I think it is a way for people to get inside your home.. look at those baby monitors people hacked in to... if it hears one way to answer your questions, it certainly hears all the time what is going on in your home 24/7/365. Also on my laptop camera I keep a sticky over it when not using it as it has been said people can hack in through that too and see what is going on in your house. Sorry we are security conscious around here.
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I am with you Christa! :) Devices like this just creep me out. I think (and enjoy) living in the dinosaur age, I do have a smart phone but not an iphone and have turned the GPS off on it, and even turn the phone off completely at night.......... I virtually only use it when I go anywhere in the car or when I go for a walk. We don't a TV at all, when we were at the old place we lived in an area where we couldn't get reception so for 21 years we did without, and we got used to it. We each have our own computer and watch stuff when we feel like it, so not sure we will bother with a new TV when we buy a house. Having worked in the IT area for many years before retiring I too have a piece of tape over my laptop camera, it is really so very easy for people to hack software like that. LOL! In reality I find this 'new' world of everyone being constantly in touch a bit constricting and downright scary! I prefer my privacy for sure! :)
 
cfile said:
I concur Jenn.. I use the old school timer on my downstairs light.. I use it all year round not just when we go away.
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i use mine to turn the upstairs lights on in my bedroom at sunset - then i can lazily turn it off when in bed. haha!
 
Sokee said:
I am not a fan after hearing a couple of stories from family members. My sister and her husband loves theirs they got it when it was pretty new and then quickly got my mom one under their membership for a Christmas gift. They live about 25 miles apart..... did you know that from my sisters home she is able to talk to my mom at her house through the Alexa!? She only did it the once but it creeps me thinking can they listen in at any time!!?

Also heard of a Judge trying to get the recording of a certain day in a murder case to hear what took place....

That alone tells me you are getting recorded in your private homes.
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Ok that is all so creepy!
 
Sokee said:
I am not a fan after hearing a couple of stories from family members. My sister and her husband loves theirs they got it when it was pretty new and then quickly got my mom one under their membership for a Christmas gift. They live about 25 miles apart..... did you know that from my sisters home she is able to talk to my mom at her house through the Alexa!? She only did it the once but it creeps me thinking can they listen in at any time!!?

Also heard of a Judge trying to get the recording of a certain day in a murder case to hear what took place....

That alone tells me you are getting recorded in your private homes.
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Oh my.. people think technology is great... and then bam.., the devices are used for no good.. look at all this DNA stuff.. I would not send my DNA anywhere re these kits... I think people who want to know about their families (ie adopted) it is a great tool to find family etc., who knows what else the DNA is being used for. Can they put your DNA at a crime scene and you were never there? I know they are contacting these companies to solve old crime cases. I mean since 1996 HIPAA has been in place to protect your health information but I think this opens all the doors as with your DNA it is like having your fingerprint on file.

The Alexa across town makes me cringe...it may be a good thing with older family but still I am not comfortable with that technology at my house. Technology is not always a good thing.
 
Wow, this topic is interesting.
I don't have one, but only because I wasn't sure if I'd use it.

IntenseMagic said:
My oldest likes to "drop in" on us from time to time. I will look over at the spot and his face will be there lol.
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I do LOVE the idea of being able to communicate with my son (soon to be sons) living away from home, but they would probably just turn it off if I got one for them, LOL. I'm honestly not worried about security because I have so many "smart" things in my house already (iPhones, iPads, Kindles, smart TV, Apple TV, laptops, desktops, bluetooth speakers, airpods, Apple watches... they can ALL track me). I couldn't get "off the grid" if I wanted to. :rofl

It does always creep me out when I get ads for things I'm just verbally talking about, but it's something I'm willing to trade for the ability to keep track of my teenagers and search the internet from anywhere. :lol

QUESTION: will it connect with Apple devices and "play podcast" or "play audible book"? I know alexa is amazon, right? Just curious.
 
jenevang said:
QUESTION: will it connect with Apple devices and "play podcast" or "play audible book"? I know alexa is amazon, right? Just curious.
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It won't necessarily connect with Apple devices but it will play podcasts and audible for sure. For podcasts you can enable the AnyPod skill and then just tell it to play whatever podcast you want to hear. If you have an audible subscription, you can just say "Alexa, read *book name*, and even the specific chapters.

I seldom "drop in" on my kids because there are things I don't want to see or hear :giggle. But we do send voice messages back and forth sometimes. If I'm in the kitchen and think of something I want to tell one of them, I can just say "Alexa, send a message to Aaron" and then tell her whatever I want to say. It's like a hands-free voicemail.
 
did you know that inside facebook, they track where you are, from time to time on a daily basis?? I was browsing my privacy settings and found the map, with all the registrstion of my places. This alone creeped me out. they record and track us, everywhere.
 
IntenseMagic said:
It won't necessarily connect with Apple devices but it will play podcasts and audible for sure. For podcasts you can enable the AnyPod skill and then just tell it to play whatever podcast you want to hear. If you have an audible subscription, you can just say "Alexa, read *book name*, and even the specific chapters.

I seldom "drop in" on my kids because there are things I don't want to see or hear :giggle. But we do send voice messages back and forth sometimes. If I'm in the kitchen and think of something I want to tell one of them, I can just say "Alexa, send a message to Aaron" and then tell her whatever I want to say. It's like a hands-free voicemail.
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This sounds awesome... and yeah... I don't think I'd want to "drop in" on my grown kids either, LOL. But easy peasy "mutually agreed upon" contact sounds cool.

It's funny... when my oldest lived in China, we always texted to set up a time to FaceTime. Why not just FaceTime? :lol
 
jenevang said:
Why not just FaceTime?
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We do this, too :) It just depends on where we are and what we're doing and what device is handy at the time. So many options. My son is getting ready to be deployed overseas this summer so we are going to have to figure out our ways/times to make contact :(
 
IntenseMagic said:
We do this, too :) It just depends on where we are and what we're doing and what device is handy at the time. So many options. My son is getting ready to be deployed overseas this summer so we are going to have to figure out our ways/times to make contact :(
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Oh my goodness Jan. Big hugs to you. Let me know what you guys figure out/any tips/what works best ... I'm dreading this day so much.
 
jenn mccabe said:
Oh my goodness Jan. Big hugs to you. Let me know what you guys figure out/any tips/what works best ... I'm dreading this day so much.
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Thanks, Jenn! I'm still holding out hope that maybe they will change their minds like they have in the past, but it's looking less and less likely. I will definitely let you know what we work out.
 
IntenseMagic said:
We do this, too :) It just depends on where we are and what we're doing and what device is handy at the time. So many options. My son is getting ready to be deployed overseas this summer so we are going to have to figure out our ways/times to make contact :(
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((hugs)) Your son has deployed before correct? If not I can contact my first cousin who both herself and her husband are Major's in the Air Force and they have deployed many times. They are both on Medical teams.
We are all prepared to welcome our Anna and Zoey into our home whenever her husbands papers come down for a deployment. Always good to be prepared the best that you can be.

I do know they have talked about using their computers to video/talk that way.
 
Sokee said:
((hugs)) Your son has deployed before correct? If not I can contact my first cousin who both herself and her husband are Major's in the Air Force and they have deployed many times.
We are all prepared to welcome our Anna and Zoey into our home whenever her husbands papers come down for a deployment. Always good to be prepared the best that you can be.
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He has not deployed before. They've had scheduled deployments, but they have always ended up being cancelled. They've really upped their training lately and soon he has to go to CA and TX for more rigorous training, so it looks like this time is going to be a go.
 
Prayers for your heart and his safety, @IntenseMagic Jan. My son goes back to China in May and even though he's a civilian, it's still a little scary for mom. I understand!
 
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