Google Home
10-04-2016, 06:01 PM
#1
Team Owner
Thread Starter
Google Home
10-04-2016, 06:07 PM
#2
Go Giants
Too late (and too late for Apple's version if it ever comes). Im already invested in the Amazon trap
11-07-2016, 11:26 AM
#3
Ex-OEM King
I bought one over the weekend. So far so good! I kinda want to get two more of them for my bedroom and basement. Super useful for just about everything and I'm excited to see how quickly they advance the abilities now that it's out. Works great to control my Nest. The big advantage of this over the Echo is that it's backed by Google search and gives you FAR more relevant results to any questions that you ask. You can also point it to various services by default to cater to where you want to get your info/music from. While it's not nearly as capable now, it has FAR more potential given who makes it.
11-14-2016, 08:49 AM
#4
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I decided to buy one this weekend now that it is November and Best Buy holiday return policy is in effect I figured it would be a great time to give it a test drive for about 2 months with the possibility of being able to return it still. So far I am very happy with it and might just go all in with the fact that the Smartthings hub is now on sale for only $50 on Amazon.
11-14-2016, 04:12 PM
#5
Ex-OEM King
I guess I should update....
I've been spending a ton of time on IFTTT to figure out how to get various triggers to work and make different things happen. So far, I have it attached to Wemo outlets and switches (two different channels for some reason), my Nest tstat, Chromecast TV, Chromecast audio, AndroidTV and my rainmachine sprinkler controller (though I haven't been able to try this one out yet). Still working through various other things like how to make it do calendar events even though it doesn't support it yet (WTF?) and sync to SMS messaging as well. Overall the whole smart home thing is fun and I'm looking forward to doing much more with it.
On the hardware side, the sound is actually quite good and the voice recognition is awesome. Also, the unit itself is fairly non-descript so it hides and blends in to pretty much any decor no problem.
I've been spending a ton of time on IFTTT to figure out how to get various triggers to work and make different things happen. So far, I have it attached to Wemo outlets and switches (two different channels for some reason), my Nest tstat, Chromecast TV, Chromecast audio, AndroidTV and my rainmachine sprinkler controller (though I haven't been able to try this one out yet). Still working through various other things like how to make it do calendar events even though it doesn't support it yet (WTF?) and sync to SMS messaging as well. Overall the whole smart home thing is fun and I'm looking forward to doing much more with it.
On the hardware side, the sound is actually quite good and the voice recognition is awesome. Also, the unit itself is fairly non-descript so it hides and blends in to pretty much any decor no problem.
11-15-2016, 06:51 AM
#6
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I was definitely impressed with the speaker in the home actually. You could put multiple in each room for a whole house audio setup. I mean one would do but I think you would get better sound out of two per room. That said I see my self wanting to buy a lot more of these for the house and wish they would have a group price like the Google wifi where you can get 3 for $300. That would be great to pickup 3 more Google home for that price. So far I have found 4 more places I would like to put one to get full coverage out of it but I need at least one for the bedroom and we currently have the first one placed halfway between the living room and kitch. Works most of the time but not as well as if it was in a more central location in each of those rooms.
11-15-2016, 10:54 AM
#7
Ex-OEM King
Yeah, I need at least two more for the bedroom and basement. Would love to get one in the TV area too.
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11-15-2016, 12:11 PM
#9
Ex-OEM King
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justnspace (11-15-2016)
11-15-2016, 02:06 PM
#10
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Thankfully I have only had one TV commerical trigger it and since I moved it halfway between the living room and the kitchen it hasn't triggered it at all yet. Even when it did trigger it didn't pickup the rest of the question so it just made the color rotate on top.
That is funny though that yours gives you restaurant ideas in Boulder.
That is funny though that yours gives you restaurant ideas in Boulder.
11-15-2016, 02:26 PM
#12
also, with multiple people in a house, whose account is the home linked to?
or can you have multiple accounts?
i did have one instance where the trigger word, triggered more than 1 phone in my house hold...that would cause a problem, lets say setting an alarm.
or can you have multiple accounts?
i did have one instance where the trigger word, triggered more than 1 phone in my house hold...that would cause a problem, lets say setting an alarm.
11-15-2016, 02:42 PM
#13
Ex-OEM King
This is the biggest flaw with the system right, you can only have one account linked to the Home. I guess they are working on multiple account integration so hopefully they have something quick. We don't have a huge issue with it since my wife is an Apple user and I just share my shopping list with her through Google Keep.
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justnspace (11-15-2016)
01-09-2017, 07:59 AM
#16
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I wonder if that will be a good thing or bad thing overall for Google Home to takeoff.
01-09-2017, 08:02 AM
#17
google WANTS the assistant in EVERY home!
what better way to do it, then to flash OTA to EVERY android TV set and set-top box
remember, they are competing with Amazon Alexa and the entry price point for alexa is like 30 bucks!
and Amazon is also putting Alexa into Firesticks and cars.
it will be a race to see who can get their assistant into EVERY single consumable product
Last edited by justnspace; 01-09-2017 at 08:05 AM.
01-09-2017, 12:31 PM
#18
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If it is on TVs though and people have those will they want to buy a Google Home at all? Or you think if they get used to using it on the TV hopefully it will make them want it in other areas of the house?
01-09-2017, 01:04 PM
#21
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Interesting that Google is not releasing something like this on their own then.
Guess thats what I get for jumping full in on Google Homes. I would still need to get a NVidia Shield though to make them work.
Guess thats what I get for jumping full in on Google Homes. I would still need to get a NVidia Shield though to make them work.
01-09-2017, 01:12 PM
#23
also remember, google's hardware is always always a moonshot!
take a look at the 3 different routers that they produced in the last 3 years.
first it was the Asus, then moved to TPlink...and now they're on their 3rd iteration of it
For you, that's a good thing! because you are an early adopter!! you will always have the latest and greatest, even if that comes at a disadvantage.
I, on the other hand, wait till the tech matures.
take a look at the 3 different routers that they produced in the last 3 years.
first it was the Asus, then moved to TPlink...and now they're on their 3rd iteration of it
For you, that's a good thing! because you are an early adopter!! you will always have the latest and greatest, even if that comes at a disadvantage.
I, on the other hand, wait till the tech matures.
Last edited by justnspace; 01-09-2017 at 01:14 PM.
03-16-2017, 05:55 PM
#24
Team Owner
Thread Starter
And I'm glad I didn't buy this...
03-16-2017, 08:01 PM
#26
Sanest Florida Man
Bruh this thing is straight garbage!
03-16-2017, 08:03 PM
#27
Go Giants
yea, thats no good
03-16-2017, 08:35 PM
#28
Sanest Florida Man
03-16-2017, 08:37 PM
#29
Sanest Florida Man
03-16-2017, 09:18 PM
#30
03-17-2017, 02:28 PM
#31
https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-...ker-1489710193
Google Tests Waters of Voice Ads on Speaker
An unprompted promotion highlights balancing act the tech giant faces between monetizing new search formats and users’ ad tolerance
March 16, 2017
Google’s smart home speakers on Thursday played an unprompted promotion for Walt Disney Co.’s new “Beauty and the Beast” movie, the first sign of how the world’s largest advertising company could shoehorn ads into its growing number of voice interactions with users.
Users of Google’s voice-controlled speaker, called Google Home, heard a 17-second promotion for the movie, after asking the devices about the their schedule. “By the way, Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast opens today,” the device said, according to user videos. After mentioning a detail about the movie, it said, “For some more movie fun, ask me to tell you something about Belle,” a main character in the film.
The promotion, which appeared to be Google’s first attempt to test advertising on Google Home, reflects a new balancing act between monetizing new search formats and users’ tolerance for more ads. The promotion was also read aloud on some smartphones that run Google Assistant, the company’s digital-assistant technology that also underpins its speakers.
Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., said the promotion was a partnership with Disney, not an ad. Riffing on lyrics from Disney’s 1991 animated version, Google said, "This isn’t an ad; the beauty in the Assistant is that it invites our partners to be our guest and share their tales.”
Disney didn’t pay Google for the promotion, a person with knowledge of the deal confirmed, though it was done with the Hollywood studio’s approval.
Google could use the “Beauty and the Beast” promotion as a proof-of-concept to try to sell companies on using Home as an advertising platform in the future.
Google built its massive advertising business by displaying ads alongside its search results. Those search ads have been successful in part because they are relevant to users’ interests and discreet—users can scroll past them if not interested.
But voice interactions don’t allow for such subtle advertising. Promotions can be slipped into conversations quietly, such as product placements, without being labeled as ads, but Google has long been careful about labeling advertising.
Since Google unveiled Google Home and Google Assistant last year, industry analysts have wondered how Google plans to monetize the products, which can also run on smartphones. Both products serve similar functions as Google’s search engine—finding users information and answers—and could cannibalize its main moneymaker, unless Google finds a way to sell ads on them.
The company’s approach has long been to make products useful and popular before profitable. “If they find them useful and they use it at scale then we’ll figure out a way” to monetize the products, Google’s search chief John Giannandrea said shortly after the products were announced.
The company later Thursday updated its statement, saying that the promotion was part of a feature that calls out “timely content,” such as a holiday, after telling users about the day ahead. “We’re continuing to experiment with new ways to surface unique content for users and we could have done better in this case,” Google said. By Thursday afternoon, it had removed the promotion.
An unprompted promotion highlights balancing act the tech giant faces between monetizing new search formats and users’ ad tolerance
March 16, 2017
Google’s smart home speakers on Thursday played an unprompted promotion for Walt Disney Co.’s new “Beauty and the Beast” movie, the first sign of how the world’s largest advertising company could shoehorn ads into its growing number of voice interactions with users.
Users of Google’s voice-controlled speaker, called Google Home, heard a 17-second promotion for the movie, after asking the devices about the their schedule. “By the way, Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast opens today,” the device said, according to user videos. After mentioning a detail about the movie, it said, “For some more movie fun, ask me to tell you something about Belle,” a main character in the film.
The promotion, which appeared to be Google’s first attempt to test advertising on Google Home, reflects a new balancing act between monetizing new search formats and users’ tolerance for more ads. The promotion was also read aloud on some smartphones that run Google Assistant, the company’s digital-assistant technology that also underpins its speakers.
Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., said the promotion was a partnership with Disney, not an ad. Riffing on lyrics from Disney’s 1991 animated version, Google said, "This isn’t an ad; the beauty in the Assistant is that it invites our partners to be our guest and share their tales.”
Disney didn’t pay Google for the promotion, a person with knowledge of the deal confirmed, though it was done with the Hollywood studio’s approval.
Google could use the “Beauty and the Beast” promotion as a proof-of-concept to try to sell companies on using Home as an advertising platform in the future.
Google built its massive advertising business by displaying ads alongside its search results. Those search ads have been successful in part because they are relevant to users’ interests and discreet—users can scroll past them if not interested.
But voice interactions don’t allow for such subtle advertising. Promotions can be slipped into conversations quietly, such as product placements, without being labeled as ads, but Google has long been careful about labeling advertising.
Since Google unveiled Google Home and Google Assistant last year, industry analysts have wondered how Google plans to monetize the products, which can also run on smartphones. Both products serve similar functions as Google’s search engine—finding users information and answers—and could cannibalize its main moneymaker, unless Google finds a way to sell ads on them.
The company’s approach has long been to make products useful and popular before profitable. “If they find them useful and they use it at scale then we’ll figure out a way” to monetize the products, Google’s search chief John Giannandrea said shortly after the products were announced.
The company later Thursday updated its statement, saying that the promotion was part of a feature that calls out “timely content,” such as a holiday, after telling users about the day ahead. “We’re continuing to experiment with new ways to surface unique content for users and we could have done better in this case,” Google said. By Thursday afternoon, it had removed the promotion.
03-17-2017, 05:29 PM
#32
Team Owner
Thread Starter
Y'all just made that it's a Trump supporter.
03-20-2017, 01:52 PM
#34
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I agree assistant definitely is far from perfect. That being said it has a lot more functionality when it does work than Google Now ever had. My biggest issue lately is it actually responding to 'Hey Google' and 'Ok Google' if I haven't rebooted my phone in the last 2-3 days. The service just seems to stop or something.
I have also had a lot of instances lately where my Google Home devices will just start saying something for no reason when we haven't even said anything at all and no Google commercials on TV.
I have also had a lot of instances lately where my Google Home devices will just start saying something for no reason when we haven't even said anything at all and no Google commercials on TV.
03-21-2017, 07:20 AM
#35
I haven't had it respond to the commercials though, yet anyway. I do have it set up right next to the TV in my living room, so that might have something to do with it.
03-24-2017, 11:10 AM
#36
Needs more Lemon Pledge
Agreed, it was working fine for a long time, why did they eff it up? Kind of like how they effed up the GVoice web interface suddenly...
04-26-2017, 09:13 AM
#37
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So it appears the recent Google Home update has changed the way it works with home automation and SmartThings. When leaving a room before I could say "Hey Google, turn off living room" and it would responds "Ok turning off 5 things in the living room" For someone reason it now tells you the names of everything it is turning off. So last night it respond "Ok turning off living room fan, living room fan lights, stairway light, tree light, fireplace" I mean that is extrememly annoying. It just keeps rambling on instead of just telling you how many things it is turning off. Hopefully I will be able to find a setting for this but I doubt it.
04-26-2017, 10:09 AM
#39
So it appears the recent Google Home update has changed the way it works with home automation and SmartThings. When leaving a room before I could say "Hey Google, turn off living room" and it would responds "Ok turning off 5 things in the living room" For someone reason it now tells you the names of everything it is turning off. So last night it respond "Ok turning off living room fan, living room fan lights, stairway light, tree light, fireplace" I mean that is extrememly annoying. It just keeps rambling on instead of just telling you how many things it is turning off. Hopefully I will be able to find a setting for this but I doubt it.
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