Echo / Music at Work

[brandon]

Hey, recently installed the Amazon Echo at work for everyone. Pretty neat. Has the main tower and then you can put smaller support speakers throughout the building. Lots of features you can turn on or off to prevent abuse. One time purchase and then for several bucks a month you get unlimited streaming music. Granted, Amazon doesn't have the most underground metal band from Norway but it has all the Pink Floyd and Iron Maiden and Slayer to keep my staff happy. Like pizza Fridays and occasional beer after work it makes for a happy work environment.

However, I would not speak of anything remotely important in front of it. Not even something as trivial as a dishwasher as you will get 50 dishwasher ads coming your way.

[rusty]

What! no Urgehal or Dissection? Pffft...

I kid. really like your new shop shirt.

[Sbrem]

Most spaces in our shop have their own music. It's fairly diverse, but most like their own and really don't want to hear generic music. My old friend who ran our shop back in the 80's and 90's forced them to listen to Country or nothing at all, which really stopped all fighting over what gets played. I ran the screen dept. and played what I wanted, until I hired helpers and was nice enough to let them play what they liked, though I hated a lot of it. In the end, we're here to work, not listen to music or stare into our phones while rejects come down the line...

Steve

[brandon]

What! no Urgehal or Dissection? Pffft...

I kid. really like your new shop shirt.

Wow, you know those bands. Funny to read that on here. Have printed for Urgehal but not Dissection. Obviously he is dead anyway like a lot of those guys in that scene.

[brandon]

Most spaces in our shop have their own music. It's fairly diverse, but most like their own and really don't want to hear generic music. My old friend who ran our shop back in the 80's and 90's forced them to listen to Country or nothing at all, which really stopped all fighting over what gets played. I ran the screen dept. and played what I wanted, until I hired helpers and was nice enough to let them play what they liked, though I hated a lot of it. In the end, we're here to work, not listen to music or stare into our phones while rejects come down the line...

Steve

Yeah, I agree with you about the work thing. Everyone here does their job and is too busy doing their job to fight over music anyway. If that was to start it would end right away. It's more about listening to the band as we print to keep spirits up and so forth.

[DCSP John]

Great thread.

Installed 3 refurbed Alexas here.
One at each press station, one here at our design desk.
Everyone is happy, and can play whatever, at an appropriate volume.
Great morale booster.

When we sell a good job - we ask Alexa to 'launch photon torpedoes'
When someone makes a mistake - we ask Alexa to play Mozart's Requiem in D Minor.
We have fun with it as much as possible.

But - I still have the controls to the shop wide stereo system at my desk, and have no problem
turning it waaay up, and drown  out everyone elses music.. when the moment is right...which is often..

.  - John

[ericheartsu]

this is a great idea. i'll have into this. right now we have a squeezebox, which is a logitech device that they discontinued. Its so cool. Works with spotify, bandcamp, podcasts, news services, and all other apps.

[Admiral]

However, I would not speak of anything remotely important in front of it. Not even something as trivial as a dishwasher as you will get 50 dishwasher ads coming your way.

Or of anything you don't want the government to hear about , hi NSA!

/tinfoilhat

[aauusa]

we use the alexas as intercom in between depts from the front and back.  just ask her to call such and such and you have intercom.

[mimosatexas]

Just to put the tin foil hats away, these devices are specifically designed so they can not listen at all times. The hardware literally prevents this. There is a very small chip that only listened for the wake words and when it heres those it allows the system to record what you say. If you are randomly talking around it without using the wake word it isn't physically able to do anything related to recording. There are a few really good articles out there that discuss the hardware and this exact concern.

Now, if you ask it specifically to search for info on dishwashers it will record and remember that and can feed you ads through associated platforms, exactly like every search engine and social media platform already do, but it requires active engagement as there isn't any passive listening or recording.

[Northland]

.... just asked Alexa "where's Chuck Norris".... she had the appropriate answer !

[Admiral]

Just to put the tin foil hats away, these devices are specifically designed so they can not listen at all times. The hardware literally prevents this. There is a very small chip that only listened for the wake words and when it heres those it allows the system to record what you say. If you are randomly talking around it without using the wake word it isn't physically able to do anything related to recording. There are a few really good articles out there that discuss the hardware and this exact concern.

Now, if you ask it specifically to search for info on dishwashers it will record and remember that and can feed you ads through associated platforms, exactly like every search engine and social media platform already do, but it requires active engagement as there isn't any passive listening or recording.

While I agree with this with the Alexa, it is true of other software on phones though that actually listens even if the app isn't open...

[brandon]

I'm starting to realize after the past few days either :

A. Everyone at work has marbles in our mouths

or

B. Alexa needs to learn Southern twang'