Please send in your reply via the smart App or the link offered by Jon. The more people who voice their concerns and dislike for the direction that was taken with out letting the public have a say.

 

Will make a difference to the vendor and the next steps moving forward.

Hmmm... I rather prefer the tones. Would you prefer I not vote?

Hmmm... I rather prefer the tones. Would you prefer I not vote?

 

I believe it comes down to having choices built into the smart application. Anyone who prefers the tones vs the voice should be able to select which ever suites their needs.

 

Everybody's voice counts pro or con so please do vote . . .

IMveryHO, if the Echo started with a chime, there'd be a rebellion if was changed to OK. Change is difficult.

 

I don't know what's coming next, but I can hardly wait

This change was preceded by lack of communication between Alexa and ISY. Rebooted both like I did when they moved the portal closer to the Amazon servers. Then I got the chimes. I kinda like the chimes but the option would be preferred.

 

Sent from my Moto X using tapatalk

I voted. I'd love to have a choice. For me, half the fun of owning an Echo is the human like interaction. That's part of the wow factor when you show it to someone for the first time. I can't be the only one who dreamed of having my own HAL9000.

 

HAL, turn off the kitchen lights.

I'm sorry Rick, I'm afraid I can't do that.

Edited March 11, 20169 yr by rehills

 

 

I hate it when companies make arbitrary changes.

Pretty typical for Amazon...

I voted. I'd love to have a choice. For me, half the fun of owning an Echo is the human like interaction. That's part of the wow factor when you show it to someone for the first time. I can't be the only one who dreamed of having my own HAL9000.

 

HAL, turn off the kitchen lights.

I'm sorry Rick, I'm afraid I can't do that.

Ask Alexa to open the pod bay doors.

Ask Alexa to open the pod bay doors.

 

Seriously having a flash back and might decide to dig out that copy of that movie on DVD.

Seriously having a flash back and might decide to dig out that copy of that movie on DVD.

DVD? You are having a flashback!

I haven't rented or played  one of those since I put my VHS machine away. hmmmm... well, rented one...ever?

A lot of software, if not downloaded, is on DVD.

Oh yeah, I got one of those the other day with an install URL on it that redirected me to the real install software. LOL

 

I think I have only ever watched 1-2 DVD movies in my life since VHS/Beta/8mm died but I still watch about a dozen per week at the theatre, downloaded and Internet and sat. streaming.

That was probably on a CD. DVDs are more costly.

I like the tone better than "ok". I wish the tone for an unknown command was more distinct and with her turning red.

I like the tone better than "ok". I wish the tone for an unknown command was more distinct and with her turning red.

 

 +1

I believe it comes down to having choices built into the smart application. Anyone who prefers the tones vs the voice should be able to select which ever suites their needs.

 

Everybody's voice counts pro or con so please do vote . . .

I was mostly ribbing you guys because the change caused quite a flurry of discussion. As you and others have mentioned, a choice would be great. In fact, it might be nice if Amazon allowed one of several USER-selectable settings:

 

OK

Tones

No response (action just happens)

Random (Ok / You got it / As you wish / etc)

 

None of these should be hard, as all are just acknowledgment of a command. The last one really gives Alexa additional personality.

 

Oh, and I STILL think being able to have room-specific Echos / Dots would be THE big improvement, without this sub-account / multiple account nonsense. Just throwing that in...

Ask Alexa to open the pod bay doors.

Thank you, Scott. That made my morning.

Sorry guys, I believe this might be partially my fault! I submitted several pieces of feedback to Amazon to get rid of the "OK" response, as I tend to find it highly annoying. I do agree though that it should be an option to choose which response you want, or it'd be even cooler if you could upload custom responses!

If you tell Alexa to ask Izzy to perform a task, the return message describes the task performed.

If you tell Alexa to ask Izzy to perform a task, the return message describes the task performed.

 

"Alexa, ask Izzy to turn on media room lamp" is 4 more words than "Alexa, media room lamp on" 

I really do prefer the response given by the skill though! 

 

 

 

Jon...

Izzy commands can also be compacted, so "Alexa, ask Izzy media room lamp on" is only two more words.

 

BTW, I'm taking advantage of sub-accounts, so "lamp on" is adequate if I'm in the same room with the Echo. "Media room lamp on" is needed only if I'm in a different room with a different Echo.

Izzy commands can also be compacted, so "Alexa, ask Izzy media room lamp on" is only two more words.

 

BTW, I'm taking advantage of sub-accounts, so "lamp on" is adequate if I'm in the same room with the Echo. "Media room lamp on" is needed only if I'm in a different room with a different Echo.

 

I haven't heard that before!  I'll have to look into adding a few dots.  Maybe I can get the sound quality a little better

 

 

Jon...

Maybe I am an outlier, but I MUCH FAVOR the new ding response.  Why?  Because Alexa has trouble understanding OFF vs ON when I speak.  Sometimes I will say "Alexa, turn off outside lights", only to find in the morning She thought I said "turn ON outside lights".  Sure enough, I go back into history and listen to what I actually said (you can play back many weeks of prior commands using the Echo web interface), and I said OFF but she says "I heard 'turn on outside lights".

 

Now, with the new sound, it is clear what she is doing.  Better for me.  I would say Alexa gets OFF and ON confused about 10% of the time for me.  

While I would prefer to have a choice in the way Alexa responds to my commands, the ding responses are starting to growing on me. I think if given the choice I would probably keep the dings. 

 

Phil

I personally was very happy when she stopped saying "Ok" and assumed an update had been applied. However, I completely agree with giving the user the ability to choose. Had I not been happy with the surprise change I might be inclined to grab a pitchfork.

 

...In fact, it might be nice if Amazon allowed one of several USER-selectable settings:

OK
Tones
No response (action just happens)
Random (Ok / You got it / As you wish / etc)

None of these should be hard, as all are just acknowledgment of a command. The last one really gives Alexa additional personality.

Oh, and I STILL think being able to have room-specific Echos / Dots would be THE big improvement, without this sub-account / multiple account nonsense. Just throwing that in...

 

Multiple choice is something they should pursue. I also really like the idea of custom user input as canned responses...ie "I'm sorry Dave...", "What you talkin' about Willis?!", "I got you", etc.

 

But with two dots on order, the best improvement for me would be the room specific config. The previous explanations by stusviews regarding the more natural "in room" UI is excellent reasoning for this to be implemented natively asap (minus the need for the sub-account piece).