Google's Own Echo-Like Device 'Google Home' Rumored to Cost $130

[samcraig]

Wow, I’d buy one it it could figure that out! Think of the time savings!
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I don’t personally trust Google. Their business model is based upon selling subscriber information. Apple’s is based on selling devices. That makes me Apple’s customer and Google’s product. Big difference.

Very misguided. And debunked often in this forum. Maybe if you clarify what you mean by google selling subscriber info? Also given iTunes, iAds, etc - how Apple doesn't do the same?

 

[daftpunker909]

Ive been slowly but steadily getting into home automation, replacing my lights with hues, my lock and my thermostat. I would like to see apple do this sooner rather than later, but not before they get it right. I like that apple is waiting for alphabet and amazon to make mistakes so that apple learns them at their expense, not my own.

yeah right, Apple is waiting for them to make mistakes. Surely that must be the reason for their delayed release, not that they didn't anticipate these types of devices being a success🙄

 

[kdarling]

Dude, what the gosh darn hell are you talking about?!?! Apple wasn't even close to being the first to bring out those devices.

They didn't invent any of these, they took the concepts that were already on the market and transformed them into mainstream products.

He was clearly being sarcastic.

I don't want a Google air freshener!

Perhaps someone will come out with boxes to cover it.

Personally I think if they are going to do a stone sculpture thingie, then gosh darn make them look like one of the stones in "The Fifth Element" ! Complete with motion and light effects when you breath on them 😀

I don’t personally trust Google. Their business model is based upon selling subscriber information. Apple’s is based on selling devices. That makes me Apple’s customer and Google’s product. Big difference.

Oh good grief. Google doesn't sell info. They sell anonymous slots, just like Apple does with iAds.

As for that "product" meme, Apple charges banks for access to us in Pay, and Apple makes billions by selling Google the default search engine spot. Both are examples of us being something that Apple sells to other companies.

(Note that Cook didn't say we weren't a product to Apple. Instead he only pointed out that we were products to other companies... which ironically include ones that he sells our access to. He use _a_ truth to hide the whole truth. Oldest trick in the PR book.)

 

[FoxMcCloud]

AirPlay needs upgrading to be like Cast.

I was airplaying a movie from Amazon onto my Apple TV and a notification came through on my phone and the film just cut off. It's so fragile at times.

For those that don't know, once you've Casted something to a Chromecast, it itself is then playing that video direct from the internet. It's not going through your phone like AirPlay. You could then disconnected your phone from the network and burn it in a bin if you wanted to and the video would keep playing.

 

[DynaFXD]

Wow, I’d buy one it it could figure that out! Think of the time savings!
[doublepost=1474911460][/doublepost]

I don’t personally trust Google. Their business model is based upon selling subscriber information. Apple’s is based on selling devices. That makes me Apple’s customer and Google’s product. Big difference.

I used to worry about that. But honestly, that horse is so far out of the barn, across the pasture, and into the next county that you'd be hard pressed to even track it down to put it back. I've given up kidding myself that my individual information is of any real value as a specific identifier to these averaging data miner firms. It's all group averaging based on set characteristics. These data metric folks can build a reasonably accurate profile of who I am and what I like based on information that is already out there and what other's my race, age, and location are doing. I still prefer my APPLE hardware, iOS environment, Bing search engine, and Windows 10. But if Google puts a better product out there (I am using Google Play over Apple Music, for example), then I will gladly use it. No sense depriving myself of something that works well over something that just doesn't matter any more. Besides, if I am going to see targeted ads, they might as well be ones that are of use and interest to me. YMMV.

 

[Rigby]

Oh good grief. Google doesn't sell info. They sell anonymous slots, just like Apple does with iAds.

That is true. What concerns me is the concentration of information about people in one hand. Google has its fingers in almost everything that people do, from browsing behavior (ad tracking, search) over "private" communication with other people (Gmail, Google Voice, Hangouts, Allo) to location (Android location history, Google Now, Android Auto), files (Google Drive), media consumption (Google Play, travel (Google Trips, Flights) etc.pp. The recent admission that all messages sent over Allo will be logged and stored (after they first claimed they wouldn't) is telling.

Sure, Apple does many of these things too, but they don't depend on datamining all that information for their business. iAds is simply not comparable to Google's ad business in scope, and they seem to downscale it even more. They also usually attempt to do as much as possible locally on the device, while Google uploads absolutely everything to their servers. The potential for abuse is huge. Even if you trust Google today, what will they do with that mountain of deeply personal data when business isn't going so well for them in the future? And how easy will it be for governments around the world to access and mine that data?

 

[smacrumon]

Google is ALL ears.

 

[69Mustang]

He was clearly being sarcastic.

I know. Hence my sarcastic joking post.😀

 

[AtheK]

Will i be able to listen to music on google home without paying $9.99 a month for youtube RED (ad free music)?

I'm enjoying the $49.99 (with student discount) annual fee for Prime subscription that includes ad-free music, ad-free videos, 2 day shipping, and more. If google could beat that pricing for just music... i might consider it. but in the mean time, Echo will continue to be in the living room and bed room.

 

[Solomani]

I'm thinking they should get back to their roots and reuse the naming convention that gave us the Macintosh: naming it after a kind of apple. My vote would be for the name Granny Smith, and that could even be how the device is referred to.

"Granny Smith."

"Yes, dearie?"

"What's the weather going to be like today?"

"Ooh, it'll get a bit nippy by the end of the day. Don't forget your gloves; we wouldn't want you catching a cold. And finish your milk before you go."

Fuji! I'm tired of Scandinavian Siri. Let's go Japanophile this time around.

 

[Black Belt]

Maybe with this, Amazon will finally realize Google is not their friend and make a frickin Apple TV App for Prime!

When Apple releases its device, it will actually do something useful and be protective of your security, what a concept. They are letting google and Amazon flounder about and watching bemused.

And yes, google does sell info and gives it away to the government without your permission.

 

[poppy10]

I asked the Google app and it responded "The Walking Dead returns to AMC Sunday, October 23 9/8 c". I asked Siri the exact same question and she responded "Unfortunately, TV shows are not available on the iTunes Store in your country" (Sweden).

If you are in Sweden, then how does knowing when The Walking Dead returns to a US television channel (and having the times in US time zones) help you?

 

[mi7chy]

What more does this device do than a phone? Seems better to just get an inexpensive ~$50 prepaid that does the same plus more.

 

[Anuba]

If you are in Sweden, then how does knowing when The Walking Dead returns to a US television channel (and having the times in US time zones) help you?

Do you think Sweden is on some different planet, or do you think it's 1976 when US shows would air in Europe months or years after the original US airing? It's gotta be one of those two.
So I guess this entirely unremarkable info may blow your mind: A lot of US shows air in Sweden within days of the original airing, sometimes as early as the next day. The season premiere of TWD airs on 10/23 in the US and 10/24 in Sweden.

 

[Piggie]

The negative air freshener remarks make me laugh.

Not only due to we all know who released the Trash Car computer 😉

But more that, calling it an Air Freshener shows how GREAT the design is.
An Air Freshener is designed to look like a pleasant unobtrusive item that sits in your home without standing out and looking ugly, blending in with what you have and just being accepted.
That's a WIN WIN for a device like this. The last thing a "normal" non geeky person wants if an electronics box that has to be in your home and does not pleasantly blend into your decor.

This is a positive, not a negative.

Given how great Google is, with voice/web searches, and the connection between devices, unless there is some major flaw here, I'm probably going to be buying at least 2 of them.
The only thing I feel Google really needs to work on is adding some layer of personality. Not as bumb and stupid and what Siri comes out with, but enough to make it feel a little less cold.

🙂

Price wise, I think it's too high, if Amazon DOT did not exist it would be fine, but given the DOT does everything the full ECHO does, just having a poorer speaker, Google's new device against the price of a DOT, if you buy multiple devices, for multiple rooms, could be an issue.

 

[dwaltwhit]

yeah right, Apple is waiting for them to make mistakes. Surely that must be the reason for their delayed release, not that they didn't anticipate these types of devices being a success🙄

Perhaps the word mistakes was a bit harsh. To put it more clearly, I think they will learn from what goes well and what might need improving from the other devices.

 

[Fall Under Cerulean Kites]

I used to worry about that. But honestly, that horse is so far out of the barn, across the pasture, and into the next county that you'd be hard pressed to even track it down to put it back. I've given up kidding myself that my individual information is of any real value as a specific identifier to these averaging data miner firms. It's all group averaging based on set characteristics. These data metric folks can build a reasonably accurate profile of who I am and what I like based on information that is already out there and what other's my race, age, and location are doing. I still prefer my APPLE hardware, iOS environment, Bing search engine, and Windows 10. But if Google puts a better product out there (I am using Google Play over Apple Music, for example), then I will gladly use it. No sense depriving myself of something that works well over something that just doesn't matter any more. Besides, if I am going to see targeted ads, they might as well be ones that are of use and interest to me. YMMV.

This is the most sane response I’ve seen. Far more so than the Google apologists who claim Google is doing nothing more (nefarious and/or targeted) than Apple is.

 

[kdarling]

This is the most sane response I’ve seen. Far more so than the Google apologists who claim Google is doing nothing more (nefarious and/or targeted) than Apple is.

Strawman. Nobody's said that. What's been said, is that claiming Google "sells info" is outright false. Or as you would seem to put it, makes the person a Google alarmist 😉

Moreover, the fact that Apple makes money from Google and banks by selling them access to us, shows that Cook's comments about "people being products" are clever hand waving to distract people.

And how easy will it be for governments around the world to access and mine that data?

Governments can already tap our searches off the internet stream, if they had the ability to store it all. That's what PRISM was about: getting Google, Apple and others to act as history storage units which could later be searched under court orders.

But once governments finish building their own mass storage data centers, they no longer need the Apples or Googles of the world very much, and they will likely no longer need court orders to access the stored info.

Of course, dictatorships etc do not go through courts anyway, so none of this applies to them. There's nothing to stop them. So what you're really saying, is that you fear the democracies of the world having access to our online history. Personally, I don't think that's much of a threat compared to all the deeper bank, income, tax, purchase, legal and background info they already have access to.

So, I think worrying over Google et al is looking in the wrong place. The immediate and real security threat, are the hundreds of data aggregators out there with a ton of personal information on us, who are actually selling that info. Not to mention the online gangs that attempt to gain passwords, card numbers, etc via phishing and hacking.

Regards.

 

[Rigby]

Governments can already tap our searches off the internet stream, if they had the ability to store it all. That's what PRISM was about: getting Google, Apple and others to act as history storage units which could later be searched under court orders.

Another reason not to use Google where possible. You can go through Startpage, DuckDuckGo or similar services instead that don't store your searches.

But once governments finish building their own mass storage data centers, they no longer need the Apples or Googles of the world very much, and they will likely no longer need court orders to access the stored info.

Intercepting upstream data en masse is much harder than just retrieving comprehensive profiles directly at the source, especially once most web traffic has switched over to SSL.

Of course, dictatorships etc do not go through courts anyway, so none of this applies to them. There's nothing to stop them.
So what you're really saying, is that you fear the democracies of the world having access to our online history. Personally, I don't think that's much of a threat compared to all the deeper bank, income, tax, purchase, legal and background info they already have access to.

You can make their life harder by not maintaining comprehensive profiles about people ready for the taking at a single company. Of course, the best solution would be if Google minimized the information they collect in the first place. But that contradicts their business model, which is more profitable the more information they have about you.

So, I think worrying over Google et al is looking in the wrong place. The immediate and real security threat, are the hundreds of data aggregators out there with a ton of personal information on us, who are actually selling that info.

Personally I think Google and Facebook are far more dangerous than these guys, simply because they are much better at big data collection and mining. I requested my Lexis Nexis profile a while ago, and the information was superficial and not very accurate at all. But don't get me wrong, I detest these businesses as well. It's all part of a corporate mass surveillance system that is being built up behind the scenes.

 

[balamw]

MOD NOTE:

Please take it to PRSI if you intend to discuss government surveillance at any deeper level.

B

 

[maxsix]

What concerns me is the concentration of information about people in one hand. Google has its fingers in almost everything that people do

Whatever you do, avoid any research on privacy. You might be subject to a major scare.

Reality is, there's an entire massive industry dedicated to gathering personal information, that has far more data on you than Google could ever dream of.

It's generically called "big data". They know everything.

 

[Rigby]

It's generically called "big data". They know everything.

Google is the 800-pound gorilla of big data. They practically invented many of the original methods such as Map Reduce.