Not five years ago, if you wanted to find out the distance from San Antonio to Dallas, you had several choices. You could take an almanac down from a shelf. You could go online and type in your query. Or you could ask your dad. All three would generally work, though the last would likely result in a digression about the types of barbeque in Texas.
But since a baby named Alexa came into all our lives, we need only to speak and we get a response. Time when the sun is going to set? Weather the following day? Last Nicolas Cage film? Ask and it gets answered. Amazon succeeded in the same way that Apple did, by creating a device we didn't know we needed or wanted, but one that quickly became ingrained in our daily lives.
In relatively short order they spun out a litter of line extensions beyond the original Echo device, including the Dot, the Look, the Show and the Spot. Others followed suit: Google, Sonos and JBL all created so-called smart speakers that listened to your voice and responded. Amazon itself made Alexa a standalone system, so that the voice recognition technology at its heart could be used in phones and cars, enabling you to interact with multiple devices without ever laying a finger on a keyboard.
The question is what's next. Well, this past month Amazon showed its hand, along with its eyes and ears. First there are the Echo Frames. Looking like a pair of chunky Warby Parker specs, these Alexa enabled glasses take a different approach than the ill-fated Google Glasses. Rather than using a camera to interact with the world around you, they have a built-in microphone and speakers that sit right over your ears. Whisper sweet nothings, and they will whisper back to you. It will only look like you're talking to yourself, until you stop and cock your head like Nipper to hear the response.
Should your eyes not need correction, you can get the same serviceability with Echo Buds. Much like the appliance Joaquin Phoenix used to interact with Samantha the operating system in "Her," it's a pair of small earpieces that speak when spoken to. Whereas the Echo Frames look like a "thing," the Buds appear similar to many other earpieces used for listing to music. As such, it's not immediately apparent to others that you are connected to something else. Folks who note your using them will move away quickly, as it will seem as though you are hearing voices. And they won't be wrong.
Then there's the Echo Ring. Not something Frodo would quest for, this packs the same functionality of the former devices into a, well, ring. Put your hand near your mouth and speak, then slide it towards your ear to hear. Or split the difference and assume a contemplative pose with your hand on your cheek, speaking softy while listening to the response. Watch for kids taking SAT tests being forced to remove all their jewelry lest they sneak this one past the proctor.
Have we jumped the shark yet with this? Will there be Echo belts? Echo shoes? Echo underwear? More likely it will go from exterior to interior. Back in college some friends made a spoof film which featured a futuristic phone that wasn't carried, but implanted. You tapped your right temple to answer, your left to put a call on hold and switch to another. The guy in the movie wound up slapping himself silly as he took call after call. It seemed comical then, but seen from the perspective of what has been developed today it was instead prescient. Little did my buddies know then that had they patented the idea back in 1976 they could have been zillionaires today.
Then again maybe it's not the delivery but the voice. Regardless of the type of Echo you use, you'll soon be able to say, "Alexa, introduce me to Samuel L. Jackson." And rather than a neutral female response, you'll get the actor responding to your queries. Imagine the weather, or a cooking timer in his distinctive cadence. Just don't push your luck, or he could come back with a quote from his character in the Avengers: "Given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it." So much for machines doing our biding.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford uses his Echo to time his baking. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
But since a baby named Alexa came into all our lives, we need only to speak and we get a response. Time when the sun is going to set? Weather the following day? Last Nicolas Cage film? Ask and it gets answered. Amazon succeeded in the same way that Apple did, by creating a device we didn't know we needed or wanted, but one that quickly became ingrained in our daily lives.
In relatively short order they spun out a litter of line extensions beyond the original Echo device, including the Dot, the Look, the Show and the Spot. Others followed suit: Google, Sonos and JBL all created so-called smart speakers that listened to your voice and responded. Amazon itself made Alexa a standalone system, so that the voice recognition technology at its heart could be used in phones and cars, enabling you to interact with multiple devices without ever laying a finger on a keyboard.
The question is what's next. Well, this past month Amazon showed its hand, along with its eyes and ears. First there are the Echo Frames. Looking like a pair of chunky Warby Parker specs, these Alexa enabled glasses take a different approach than the ill-fated Google Glasses. Rather than using a camera to interact with the world around you, they have a built-in microphone and speakers that sit right over your ears. Whisper sweet nothings, and they will whisper back to you. It will only look like you're talking to yourself, until you stop and cock your head like Nipper to hear the response.
Should your eyes not need correction, you can get the same serviceability with Echo Buds. Much like the appliance Joaquin Phoenix used to interact with Samantha the operating system in "Her," it's a pair of small earpieces that speak when spoken to. Whereas the Echo Frames look like a "thing," the Buds appear similar to many other earpieces used for listing to music. As such, it's not immediately apparent to others that you are connected to something else. Folks who note your using them will move away quickly, as it will seem as though you are hearing voices. And they won't be wrong.
Then there's the Echo Ring. Not something Frodo would quest for, this packs the same functionality of the former devices into a, well, ring. Put your hand near your mouth and speak, then slide it towards your ear to hear. Or split the difference and assume a contemplative pose with your hand on your cheek, speaking softy while listening to the response. Watch for kids taking SAT tests being forced to remove all their jewelry lest they sneak this one past the proctor.
Have we jumped the shark yet with this? Will there be Echo belts? Echo shoes? Echo underwear? More likely it will go from exterior to interior. Back in college some friends made a spoof film which featured a futuristic phone that wasn't carried, but implanted. You tapped your right temple to answer, your left to put a call on hold and switch to another. The guy in the movie wound up slapping himself silly as he took call after call. It seemed comical then, but seen from the perspective of what has been developed today it was instead prescient. Little did my buddies know then that had they patented the idea back in 1976 they could have been zillionaires today.
Then again maybe it's not the delivery but the voice. Regardless of the type of Echo you use, you'll soon be able to say, "Alexa, introduce me to Samuel L. Jackson." And rather than a neutral female response, you'll get the actor responding to your queries. Imagine the weather, or a cooking timer in his distinctive cadence. Just don't push your luck, or he could come back with a quote from his character in the Avengers: "Given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it." So much for machines doing our biding.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford uses his Echo to time his baking. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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