Do You Use Alexa or Siri or ..

I have two of those thingys, can't remember their names. Both were gifts from techie grandcritters and both remain "new in the box" although I've had them for a few years.
 

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Those poor girls, Alexa and Siri, unpaid slaves they are, having to stay out of sight and not get under the feet of their masters/mistresses, having to be on call at any time of the day or night, and neither of them receive a single penny as a wage.
Shame on you slave-drivers. ;) 😊
 
We don't need one, we use my son. God bless him we don't even have to ask.

Hubs will be talking about a movie and can't think of the name, we'll hear son softly say it, I'll say oh yeah it starred that actress I like, the name will come out of the air. Same with historic names and dates, local and national news, often these are the only things he says all evening while Hubs and I chatter. So handy!
 
Michael Z said:
Neither, since I prefer to choose who answers my question so i can validate the accuracy. I don’t even want that GPS yakking at me while driving although I will begrudgingly rely on it while driving in a big city. Studying, printing out, and memorizing maps beforehand is more my speed.
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I very rarely use Sat -nav because i have very good sense of direction... but it just shows how often I use Alexa or google home hub ..at home.. because when I'm driving I might hear something on the radio, and I've found myself going to ask Alexa a question in the car...:ROFLMAO:..anyway I've just discovered you can actually have Alexa in the car now... altho' I won't be doing that for now
 
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Michael Z said:
Neither, since I prefer to choose who answers my question so i can validate the accuracy. I don’t even want that GPS yakking at me while driving although I will begrudgingly rely on it while driving in a big city. Studying, printing out, and memorizing maps beforehand is more my speed.
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Mike. Way back in the days before GPS system, I was a expedite freight owner operator with a company based in Toronto. Almost 90 percent of my loads had US destinations, all over the lower 48 States. I had the standard Rand Mc Nally trucker's atlas in the cab, but every time I entered a State that I had not been in before, I stopped and bought a State map. Same thing for new cities or towns I was delivering to. It wasn't long before I bought an accordian file holder with 26 spaces for all of the letters of the alphabet, which I filed the maps in.

I could navigate from any starting point in Canada, to any destination point in the USA, using the maps I had on board. Because my vehicle was not an 18 wheeler ( it was a Ford E 350 cargo van ) I didn't have to stop at scales ( weighed under 10,000 pounds gross ) or keep a log book, I could drive for 16 or 18 hours, stop for fuel ( double gas tanks under the van ) sleep for 6 hours, then get going again. Paid by the mile, 70 percent of the invoice that our company charged the customer. I did that for about 5 years. driving about 120,000 miles a year.

By the time I quit the job, I had over 400 maps . I gave all of them to a new guy who was just starting with the company. A few years later the first Qualcom sat system ball antennas started to be seen on the roofs of truck cabs. I still have the southern Ontario street atlas in my car, for looking up streets in towns that I don't go to very often. JIM.
 
jimintoronto said:
Mike. Way back in the days before GPS system, I was a expedite freight owner operator with a company based in Toronto. Almost 90 percent of my loads had US destinations, all over the lower 48 States. I had the standard Rand Mc Nally trucker's atlas in the cab, but every time I entered a State that I had not been in before, I stopped and bought a State map. Same thing for new cities or towns I was delivering to. It wasn't long before I bought an accordian file holder with 26 spaces for all of the letters of the alphabet, which I filed the maps in.

I could navigate from any starting point in Canada, to any destination point in the USA, using the maps I had on board. Because my vehicle was not an 18 wheeler ( it was a Ford E 350 cargo van ) I didn't have to stop at scales ( weighed under 10,000 pounds gross ) or keep a log book, I could drive for 16 or 18 hours, stop for fuel ( double gas tanks under the van ) sleep for 6 hours, then get going again. Paid by the mile, 70 percent of the invoice that our company charged the customer. I did that for about 5 years. driving about 120,000 miles a year.

By the time I quit the job, I had over 400 maps . I gave all of them to a new guy who was just starting with the company. A few years later the first Qualcom sat system ball antennas started to be seen on the roofs of truck cabs. I still have the southern Ontario street atlas in my car, for looking up streets in towns that I don't go to very often. JIM.
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Jim. I still have my Texaco maps from 1958 showing me the way from CA to NYS. Years ago the gas companies would do this for their customers. Rt. 66 was the best way.
 
hollydolly said:
I very rarely use Sat -nav because i have very good sense of direction... but it just shows how often I use Alexa or google home hub ..at home.. because when I'm driving I might hear on something on the radio, and I've found myself going to ask Alexa a question in the car...:ROFLMAO:..anyway I've just discovered you can actually have Alexa in the car now... altho' I won't be doing that for now
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Do the have a phone app, or was it an upgrade in your car? That will be nifty to ask Alexa stuff while driving! :)
 
Siri is going back into the naughty cupboard. I allowed her out to set up those reminders timers and she wasn’t up to the job.

I found a manual workaround.
 
Paco Dennis said:
Do the have a phone app, or was it an upgrade in your car? That will be nifty to ask Alexa stuff while driving! :)
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Yes, there are new cars with Alexa and/or Google built in. But those require a cellular data subscription for the car. Many cars now come with 2 or 3 years of this service bundled.

It's a lot like the car's "native" navigation which also requires cellular data. "Satellite" navigation never really was a thing. Sure, it uses satellite-based GPS location. But the maps either came from a local database that needed updates or else (for years now) are fetched via cellular data.

Imagine being out in the sticks where there is no cell service? Local caching for map data helps. I download full-route maps to my phone from Google Maps ahead of any trips through such areas. They integrate seamlessly.


I just got a warning from Alexa on my Echo devices and phone: Severe Weather, High Wind Warning.
 
jimintoronto said:
I have a "reminder system " I call her Brenda. She calls me other things. JIMB.
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B spent most of her working life as a manager at 2 Canadian Universities, now that she is retired "She manages ME ". Seriously, I would be even more lost if it were not for her guidance in my day to day life. I tell people that I found a good one, so I am going to keep her. JIM.
 
Pappy said:
Always been fascinated about 66. Belong to a group with pictures of the original 66. I kick myself in the arse that I didn’t take more pictures. Was anxious to get home in my 50 Chevy wagon and month old baby.
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I will gladly take some in Yukon, OK and ask SO next weekend for some out towards Luther, OK when he is on a play date. Please do not hurt you with unusual movements!
 

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