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Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it. |
.First off an apology: I had a series of 12 days of Christmas posts all planned and then I caught a head cold that went into a cough and never got bac
[See the full post at: Patch Lady – is tech the right gift?]
Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher
You caught a head cold that went into a cough: ==>>
come over and we can cough in stereo 
, whish you get better soon.
Please consider going low-technology while you are ill. Prop your feet up, get a blankie, a pillow, something warm to drink. Sit on the couch wrapped in your blankie and with your pillow and snooze.
How bad is Alexa really?
Ultimately we as consumers only have one decision to make when it comes to privacy related to the use of technology: Do we accept that <insert device here> is collecting data about us and our usage of the device. The answer is either yes or no.
After we decide to use a data collecting device, we may have options that we can use to proactively manage the data that is collected, but there are no guarantees that our wishes will be respected, our data will not be compromised by bad actors, or that data will ever be deleted as promised.
So really, the only decision we have to make is whether or not to turn any particular device on. After that, there are no guarantees.
I see offering such a device to someone akin to insisting on someone to dance when it is not their cup of tea, because you have so much fun doing it and you would like to share this feeling with others that are just sitting on the side and “missing” all the fun.
I’m always afraid someone will offer me such a present because I am a tech guy so I must love those things. It is good advice to let people choose their level of comfort with privacy sensitive devices.
But it honestly doesn’t listen ALL THE TIME. There is a wake word that one has to use to “wake it up” to make it listen to take actions. You can actually look at what Alexa listened to. It’s not listening all the time. But if you aren’t comfortable with what it does do, I can’t make you comfortable with that. You need to accept the risk, not me.
How do you know when it is listening? Can you really trust the assurances that Amazon gives you? And can you trust that no one else has taken control of the device and is listening in? In reality, you just don’t know. If you don’t want to risk being listened to without your knowledge or consent, then don’t get one of these devices.
Tech should be chosen by the user to suit his or her own needs, after some research or at least discussion with someone who can help. The casual acquisition of tech toys, only to end up enslaved to them, is a serious problem in our world today. Some couples and friends are close enough, and possess sufficiently comparable knowledge, to buy the right tech stuff for each other, but how common is that? Less carefully chosen tech stuff will end up being more clutter. I try to discourage those around me from adding to it. Food and drink? Yes. The pleasure of your company? Yes. More stuff? No thanks.
Also, lets not forget Bluetrix excellent advice: “Gimme Cash” and let the recipient choose whatever they like. Otherwise, Capt Morgan’s Spiced Rum is a good alternative.
https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/gimme-cash-capt-morgans-spiced-rum-and-bah-humbug/
edit: Spiced Rum and Chicken Soup – the ultimate cure for colds, works for me …
It is not only your privacy that you should be concerned about when you purchase new technology devices as a gift for someone else. Security should be an even higher priority. In fact, the article does not mention security at all. Please do not conflate security with privacy. Accept or tolerate privacy intrusions – it is a decision some choose to make. The risk is definitely theirs to take. Security is a whole different ball game.
The majority of 2018 WiFi connected devices (small appliances, toys, convenience gadgets) have minimal to no security built into them at all. Most are hack-able by cheap and easily obtained online apps. It is highly likely that the tech Christmas gift will be internet facing so when the unit is turned on for the first time, it probably has auto discovery (it will try to connect to the household WiFi). The user has just implicitly accepted all the risks associated with it being physically connected. Router configuration must follow, but if the device has no security functions it should not be on the household network, period. If it will not operate without internet connectivity, return it (ask for the receipt from the gift giver). It it does not matter if the manufacturer has the best privacy policy on the planet if the device is insecure.
Patch Lady, you misunderstand the anxiety because people use words differently. So I pose the question, how does Alexa recognize the wake word if the microphone is not active at all times that you might say the wake word?
You would be correct to say that the device does not record for future reference all sounds, all the time. But in order to function as designed, the microphone is active, waiting to “hear” the wake word. This condition is labeled “listening” by many people.
Actually the problem is not whether Alexa is “listening”, which it must do continuously, but whether it is “transmitting” as well. Or recording now, for a later transmission. I doubt that such is the case, because it would truly qualify as an invasion of privacy of a particularly nasty kind. The kind that brings some serious lawsuits.
I understand that one should not give something for important and frequent personal use, such as a cell phone, or some other technology device, as a gift without having some very good idea that is something the intended person would like to have. But, once that the ground work has been done and the appropriateness of the gift is ensured, I would add that giving someone a PC as a gift can be a very good and useful thing to do. Let’s not forget that PCs are also “tech.”
Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).
MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV
Amazon Sends 1,700 Alexa Voice Recordings to a Random Person
https://threatpost.com/amazon-1700-alexa-voice-recordings/140201/
The shocking part of the story is how quickly the investigative reporters were able to identify the victim…
The recording of Alexa interactions (and the practice of keeping them in the cloud) is necessary to improve the platform over time, according to Amazon; the company also allows users to review and delete voice recordings, according to its data privacy FAQ…
Apologies, you had commented before in a way that made me think you had seen advertisements or read articles on these assistants before. At risk of looking like an advertisement: alarm clock, weather report, headlines, egg timer, intercom (both local within the home and grouped across internet), to do list, shopping list, task scheduler, calendar reminders, joke recitation, dictionary definitions, encyclopedia entries, additional hardware allows for home automation with special lighting effects. Apparently it will also interact with your pet bird.
But either Google or Amazon would dazzle you with better marketing if you looked there for more information. They employ advertising professionals and I don’t want to steal their work. As another anonymous posted above, those who are not fond of these corporations past exploits are not likely to be interested in these devices.
I misread your first post as a back handed dig at those who did not share your self-described deficiency. I have often found self-deprecating introductions insincere while setting a baseline for rhetoric. Since you present a second time in earnest, I hope this was more helpful. I will not insult you with links to Google or Amazon, they are easy to find and hard to avoid.
Patch Lady, you misunderstand the anxiety because people use words differently. So I pose the question, how does Alexa recognize the wake word if the microphone is not active at all times that you might say the wake word?
You would be correct to say that the device does not record for future reference all sounds, all the time. But in order to function as designed, the microphone is active, waiting to “hear” the wake word. This condition is labeled “listening” by many people.
And does that by necessity mean it ALL goes thru the cloud??
Disclaimer Just got a Echo Dot for XMass
Anonymous #241634 wrote:
“Others find these devices useful. And that is reason enough to have one.”
That is just what I was trying to ask: find them useful enough, how, exactly?
I would really like to know, as I cannot think of such a sufficient reason — one with no practical alternatives ready at hand — for having Alexa. I might guess that someone with severe physical disabilities may find it makes life easier, but how about people in reasonably good health? Any one?
Like new bling or new brand name sneakers. Maybe you are just not up to snuff..
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