These Alexa things drive me crazy.

Ever since we've had remote controls for everything, there's no reason to get off the couch. Now having Alexa to lock the door, turn on the lights, what's the name of that song.......people are doing less and less.

Obesity in kids is always blamed on sitting at computers and gaming, now they don't even need to turn on a computer to look something up.

I am not touching anything until I scrub with soap and water to get rid of foul fowl!

I don't get it either. We're now too lazy to turn on an oven? I would really resent having to pay extra $ for the extra technology to enable that feature, when I have no intention of ever using it, barring losing both my hands.

I was at a large gathering recently and people kept shouting at alexa to do this or do that, then it would overhear conversation and do something unwanted completely out of the blue and people would shout to make it stop. Made me crazy.

I was visiting a relative in the Cardiac ICU the day after his surgery. I was astonished at the number of IV bags (12) and the keypads monitoring the IV drips. The poor man had 3 drain lines, pacer wires going to his heart, 2 IV lines plus another one into his jugular with 3 tubes connected to it. As I marveled at the technology I heard one of the attendings say "Siri, start a 30 second timer" . Well apparently Siri didn't hear him because he said a little louder "Siri, start a 30 second timer" . I was so relieved when he turned around and I saw his Apple watch because for a few moments I was really concerned that Siri was running the show in there. He laughed when he saw the look on my face and said that since both of his hands were occupied it was easier to ask Siri to run the countdown for him.

But I'm another one who isn't thrilled with all the networking going on - as soon as I get back to my vacation house I'm ripping out the Nest thermostat and replacing it with an old fashioned one.

I don't want the refrigerator plotting with my oven to overthrow the household because of the fingerprints left on the stainless steel by the kids.

People are lazy with or without Alexa.

Smart phones are used to accomplish the same tasks as voice enabled devices. Some prefer apps, some prefer voice, I prefer both.

When my wife is getting ready for bed and I'm in the living room, I can say, "Alexa, change MBR lighting to "romance", and I hear a chuckle from down the hall. :)

It can be fun, too.

While cooking, which we love to do, Alexa will set multiple timers for us. That's very helpful.

It would be silly for me to replace a WiFi thermostat in a lake house 90 minutes away with an old tech thermostat.

"I don't want the refrigerator plotting with my oven to overthrow the household because of the fingerprints left on the stainless steel by the kids" LOL

We have the Apple speaker here at work and it does weird things...I tease my co-worker it's spying on us an reporting back to the bossman!!!

If you apply a coat of car wax over clean stainless appliances fingerprints wipe off with damp cloth.

I believe the more features on an appliance the more that can go wrong. The only thing wifi is my thermastat. When we are on winter vacation it is on away mode, about 2 hours before we get home I remotely cancel the away mode and the house is nice and toasty warm when we get home.

Has anyone seen the current X Files episode when the computer controlled house takes over? We hate all that smart apps stuff that do everything and we refuse to have it.

The X-Files Recap: When Tech Attacks

I don't know if it's true, but the other day someone was telling me that the ovens that you can turn on via wifi, also require you to touch or push a button on the stove in order to activate. I guess the idea is for safety, or so that someone can't use a remote turn-on of an oven to hurt another person or property, but what is the point if you have to put hands on the stove anyway?

New technology isn't always faster or better. My oven is preset to 350. If I want to bake at 375 it takes 5 movements. Even to bake at 350 it takes 2 movements. My very first stove I just turned the knob to 375. One movement.

Last year I gave my DH a Google Home device for Christmas. He swore he would never use it, but does ask it what the temperature is on a daily basis. I use it while cooking much like Brushworks to set multiple timers, figure out conversions, etc. Also have it play music.

Our thermostat can't be talked to, but we can control it from our phones and will send us alerts when the temperature/humidity goes below/above what we have set.

Probably the thing I like most is the garage door sensor we have. Can't tell you how many times we've driven off and wondered if we closed the garage door. The app will tell us if it's up or down and we can also open/close it from our phones. Great when you have someone coming to your house and you don't want to give the code away.

I have a Bertazzoni stove, which was made to comply with European safety standards, and so it requires hands-on control in order to turn anything on. A handyman that installed my front door was very impressed with this because he said his daughter was always turning their stove on, but she would not be able to turn mine one because you have to turn the knob while pressing it in for 30 seconds, and it requires a coordinated action for any gas to come out. For the oven, I have to have the door slightly open and also press and turn the knob at the same time, holding it on for 30 seconds before releasing it. If I have no electricity, I can still light the stove with a match, however, which I think is a nice option.

My thermostat is on wi-fi, and we also turn it on remotely two hours before returning from being away. Most of the time we don't need cooling or heating, and so if nothing is turned on, the house is still habitable.

My AFG elliptical machine has wi-fi and is supposed to work with an AFG app on my tablet, but when my tablet upgraded itself last week-end, the app no longer works, and so now if I want a record of my work-out, I have to write it down. I did like being about to track my exercise on my tablet, and I only bought the table for use with the elliptical machine. Our security camera is also on wi-fi, and so I can check activity remotely. I chose not to have the sprinklers on wi-fi because I prefer to turn them on and off manually. I do not have any other smart appliances, except perhaps the TV, and the TV will respond to voice commands if I hold a button on the remote while speaking into it. This is helpful because the TV menu is difficult to navigate.

While I do not have a WiFi enabled oven, I do use Alexa to control other appliances. I am neither fat nor lazy. I am a multi tasker.

I agree with function. The same thing about cars. every new gadget on a car is just something else to go out and cost more money to get it fixed.

I would have to reprogram Alexa: "Alexa, remove the plastic storage containers and the loaf of bread from the oven and then turn it on to 350 degrees."

DH and I are creeped out about Alexa-type devices always listening to you and what's going on in your home ... always gathering information about you (you think they don't? ??) ... no thanks.

App's that you log in to, rather than speak to, are a bit better but still I don't feel the need for them*. Why open your things to being hacked?

*(edited to add: except for Sonos. Love having easy music all over the house!)

Why add another layer of things to go wrong? I have to take ten steps from the sofa to the thermostat. It would take longer to find my phone to change the temperature. If I were still working I’d get a remote starter for my car. I hated getting into a cold car every morning.

I refuse to have wifi enabled anything. If I have to talk to a machine to turn on my stove, kill me. I don't want to live on this planet. It's not hard to wash your hands to touch a button. Or touch the button, then wash the button if you're a germophobe. (sp?) I can get off my couch to turn on a light. I can get off my couch to turn on the stove. I do have a Nest thermostat, but it doesn't require talking to a machine to turn it on. Well, if my husband EVER installs it that is. I've only had it since August and now his excuse is "it's too cold to install it. What if there's a problem and it doesn't work?" I should have saved my $$. well, Optimum points but that's another thread.

I've even seen that they make Instant Pots wifi enbabled now. If your pressure cooker has to be set by wifi you're doing it wrong.

"The same thing about cars. every new gadget on a car is just something else to go out and cost more money to get it fixed."

bengardening, what new gadget have you had on a newer car that broke and cost money to fix?

For you others, have you had the experiences you've said become more likely to cause problems or are you guessing and speculating?

I find our wifi/internet accessible thermostats extremely useful too. Same with remote access cameras. Accessible other things, other than DISH's Sling feature that allows me to watch my home DISH box from anywhere in the world? Great. New sensor gizmos and other features for safe driving and safe operations that can be obtained in new cars? Awesome.

I haven't come along other things that I find compelling, but I'm open. And I'm certainly not phobic.

“DH and I are creeped out about Alexa-type devices always listening to you and what's going on in your home ... always gathering information about you (you think they don't? ??) ... no thanks.”

as as long as you realize that every time you google or look up something on the internet the information is being gathered In the same way. I am sure that Alexa and Suri are bored to tears listening to us.

maddielee: True and that's something to keep in mind also, but there's a difference in what I say in the privacy of my home, versus where I surf to on the internet.

Ever since I saw this, I wouldn't have an Alexa, Google version etc.

Here it shows that your computer (Google) is listening.

Nah, not if a browser isn't active. And even if so, my understanding is that it's for macro data analysis, not related to an individual at all. Much data gets passed along to ISPs and others through internet use already, it's not like this is something brand new or nefarious.

If I'm wrong, I'll appreciate learning more.

well it makes me wonder...a few weeks ago our courier came by the office and he was talking to me about champurrado (Mexican hot chocolate). A little later guess what popped up on my Pinterest feed....yep, champurrado!!

Same here with the WiFi thermostat. Very useful. I also enjoy Bluetooth portable speakers and a few other WiFi enabled devices, but I cannot get excited about having Alexa in my home so we don’t. I make notes in my iPhone or take a photo of recipes or grocery lists.

My new car has the new lane departure alert feature (the steering wheel vibrates), pedestrian alert, proximity alerts and other safety features. My previous car had some of these too, but this one has updates with better technology and warning alerts and displays.

So, Alexa worries some but iPhone is okay? LOL

Your mobile phone is an extension of everything about you. Even your home address and your current location.

I'm a proponent of all devices that are helpful, and Alexa and mobile phones fit that description.

Apple users don't realize that Steve Jobs isn't really dead. He spends his days in an underground wine cellar in the Napa Valley eavesdropping via peoples' iPhones and also listening to home conversations (for those who have iPads). He may be listening at this very moment. His death was faked, it was a cover to enable him to begin this clandestine assignment.

For Android phone and tablet owners, the listening is done by Eric Schmidt. He stepped down as Chairman of Google to free up his time for this more important task.

Alexa listening is, I believe, done by Amazon's head honcho Jeff Bezos.

Send $1,000 in Bitcoin to my Cayman Island account ...

... and I'll unblock your access to your fridge/thermostat/car/whatever ...

(maybe)

(and how do you know I won't be back with a similar message, later)?

o j

Elmer, you gave me a good laugh for the day! You usually give me heartburn!

I'm a techno geek but I just say "no" to appliances with computer controls if at all possible. It's just another thing to break. I'm not the leader of the Free World so I can still take time to turn the oven on to pre-heat. Heck, I'm already in the kitchen preparing a meal anyway!

What I have learned to ADORE is my wifi controlled underground watering system. That tiny control box in the garage, with poor overhead lighting (goes out after the door is open for a couple of minutes), tiny buttons to push and just generally a pain. My system with my Hydrawise controls is fabulous! If I notice one zone is too dry or two wet, I can control it from my computer/iPad/iPhone. When on vacation and I noticed that the temp had been near 100 all week and no rain, I could change how often/how long it ran. How cool is this? Yes, it took a few minutes to set up the first time, but oh my, no standing in the garage with a flashlight and my glasses on, trying to change a setting.

I'm considering buying a wifi thermostat for my 2nd floor HVAC system. I'd like to turn on the heat in the AM (sleep with no heat in winter - like a cold room) but then turn it off about 4 hrs before bedtime so it would cool down. Used to just go upstairs and do so, but I'm not limiting my trips up stairs due to my pulmonary problems. It would be handy to do this using my iPad.

Any recommendations, Elmer? All the reviews online are very confusing. I want one I can just set-up and then use at my whim, not one that "learns my patterns". As a retiree, I have NO PATTERNS! I do what I want when I want to do it!

Anglo, Ecobee is one reliable WiFi thermostat that can accomplish your wishes.

I'll try to keep it short, not something I do well.

The term for pattern learning, which is also affected by system performance too, is called adaptive recovery from setback. It's also something I also have no need or use for. I do use scheduled daily daytime and overnight setbacks but I got thermostats on which adaptive recovery is an option that can be turned off.

I put in two new internet accessible thermostats when I did a two system equipment replacement a few years ago and I got Honeywells (on the recommendation of my HVAC contractor). I'm very happy with them. I need to do a system replacement on a second home in the next few months and I plan to get Honeywells installed there too, so that I can use one app to control both locations.

I've heard that some HVAC contractors don't like the likes of Nest and Ecobee. Maybe because some of them are knuckle dragger/Luddite types and feel more comfortable sticking with brands known in the industry, I don't know. I have to say that even with my new Honeywells (the best known name in the HVAC industry and a company that manufactures many OEM branded models - for instance things like Carrier thermostats, Trane, etc) , I had to help a tech program them. The contractor's team did the wiring and of course the equipment install but, frankly, I understood the setup issues better than they did. No problem, we worked together, and the outcome was fine.

If your upstairs system is vanilla - single stage gas furnace and single stage air conditioner, a system that doesn't need a communicating thermostat, not a heat pump with backup secondary or emergency heating, maybe an Ecobee or Nest might be fine. If it's other than vanilla, maybe not. And if it's installed or set up wrong, you'll have problems.

I'm a person who tries to do things well, which is not always the cheapest way. I like being able to rely on the expertise of others. If you know and can afford to pay an HVAC contractor maybe a few hundred dollars (not counting the cost of the thermostat) for something a DIY person might try but screw up, have one come out to assess your situation and recommend what to use (and what they can install). Most modern thermostats do offer Wifi access and with Apple and Android apps. It shouldn't be too hard.

You might even wind up having them install two if you can afford it. Do it at the same time.

Your sprinkler controler sounds awesome! Good for you, you old dinosaur! You're an inspiration and excellent example for others, including younger others, of being adaptable to new things and using technology as a tool to overcome a disability. In your case, a visual disability, something everyone of Social Security age has to deal with.

I have no worries about Google listening to me or watching me through my computer. It is old enough that it doesn't have a microphone or a camera. Furthermore, as a matter of course, I have javascript and cookies disabled and use a whitelist to enable them when it suits me. I also have nearly all ads blocked.

The heat pump we had installed last year has a WiFi enabled thermostat. While it needs to "call out" to check the current local outside temperature, since they didn't include a temperature sensor, I'm pretty sure that I have the router's firewall set to block incoming connection to the thermostat. Not because I expect that anyone will try to access it, more because I don't expect I would ever have need or reason to access it remotely. While the WiFi connectedness of the thermostat hasn't caused any expensive-to-fix problems, it has twice "forgotten" where it was located to determine the outside temperature, which never once occurred with the simpler temperature sensor used by the non-wifi thermostat at our previous house.

I don't think the companies who are gathering data and tracking what users are doing are doing it for what they consider to be nefarious purposes. In some cases it is so they can provide a better product in the future, usually it is simply about making more money, sometime by selling that data to advertisers so they can sell us more stuff. But even when the company collecting the data is completely aboveboard, often their data security is laughably bad, and others who do have nefarious purposes can access it. Or that company can be bought by another whose purposes are less upstanding.

Anglo, whatever your option, check with your local utility company for discounts on WiFi thermostats.

The gas utility here offers Ecobee Lite for $64 and free shipping. That's a huge discount over retail which is $139 at Amazon.

Brushworks, it’s not the Alexa technology, it’s the voice thing. I don’t mind doing the simple tasks it seems to accomplish. Turning in an oven, a light, etc, are all tasks I can do myself. Having another ‘voice’ in the house would creep me out.

I like her voice. :) I don't turn on an oven or flush my toilet with Alexa, but I do like the Hue lighting conveniences and 50 other things I can do that are convenient and safe.

Thanks for the suggestions! Yes, think I will call my HVAC people. SIL could easily do this well, but he’s too hard to pin down as to exactly “when”!

I. cannot imagine ever having an ittigation system withou a Hunter Hydrawise control box. I’m not paying a $70 service call to change the timing as the summer gets hotter!

I am just waiting for a Siri or Alexa to spot clean my house without me involved.. LOL