All I’ve heard about in the consumer electronics world this year has centered around the connected home and smart speakers. When I log on to Amazon, they push their Alexa devices. I cannot escape it. But do I need it or even want it?
What about connected homes? Fridges with flat screens? Puh-lease… Then there’s the Nest thermostat that learns when I’m home, or lets me set it remotely. Okay, that’s nice. Perhaps I’m out and about and I’ve turned the air conditioning to a warmer temperature to save energy but I want a cool house when I arrive in 30 minutes. Just click a few things on my iPhone and bam, just like that, my house is cooling down. The dogs will thank me!
Then there’s the doorbell that records motion. And the security system that is fully programmable (Google Home Pod system) so that I can set the alarm to go off after a short delay, no delay or play jingle bells for all I know. I think I can open my garage door remotely.
All this makes me worried that I might accidentally butt dial my garage door and deactivate my alarm. I’m sure it’s possible, right?
What happened to just coming home and turning on the a/c, using the garage door remote to open the house and when I need more milk, my wife just tells me.
Boy, life seems like it was more simple before Alexa. I’m not sure I’m looking forward to all this connectivity… I think I’ll go for a hike… maybe just dust off my Walkman.
