Cortana FTW!

[asianrocker]

Oh wow merry Christmas to me! Was kinda bummed you added siri too, my nemesis. 

FYI people with windows 10 and built in mic or if you prefer external mic. Just say, hey Cortana and prepare to be blown away...!

[tuicemen]

I've  been using windows voice recognition  for over a decade now and seen an improvement every year in recognition. The introduction of WSR Macros was A real boost (not sure if this works with Cortana but it should).
Once Microsoft created Cortana and moved to the cloud with their voice recognition the improvement in VR more the doubled.

If you want a real experiance an external mic is best. If you want to be blown away add  a Microsoft kennects camera. You can find the first gen ones in second hand shops or ebay for under $20. The mic array in these were ahead of their time.

[asianrocker]

I've  been using windows voice recognition  for over a decade now and seen an improvement erey year in recognition. The introduction of WSR Macros was A real boost (not sure if this works with Cortana but it should).
Once Microsoft created Cortana and moved to the cloud with their voice recognition the improvement in VR more the doubled.

If you want a real experiance an external mic is best. If you want to be blown away add  a Microsoft kennects camera. You can find the first gen ones in second hand shops or ebay for under $20. The mic array in these were ahead of their time.

Ok, lost in translation in the bolded ones, can you elaborate on them. As I know you know, since I read you've been using home automation looong before echo. It really is not new technology. About the only thing echo added is voice activation, that's it.

Coz I know you use macros for old home automation, right? no voice activation? correct me if I'm wrong.

Oh and why did you say external mic is better than internal? Coz I have an external mic and it sucks coz it has a lot of feedback. Especially with my new laptop, I thought the external mic  ruined my soundcard, have to contact customer support to have it fix.

[tuicemen]

VR =Voice recognition
Microsofts Kinects = https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-360-Kinect-Sensor-Certified-Refurbished/dp/B005GA1H4C/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_63_img_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=V1AD9W9YZHC0VPMB2SG3.
I have been using Voice activation in home Automation Since for ever it seems (Windows 98)
Macros are like advanced scenes or IFTTT only you can add conditions for them to work like if it is day of week, time of day, a light is on or off, security is tripped.........
Macros have a trigger could be voice activated, time, manually clicking on it in a software containing it

An external mic is better but only if it is a good one. I have a Kinects at my PC it is like having an extra Alexa or Google device I don't need to be sitting in front of the PC. It knows where I am in the room though I haven't capitalized on that aspect yet.
I could narrow down the mic sensitivity so it would require me to me sitting in front of it to use Cortana but that would lose the coolness.
I use my own Voice recognition software on my PC for most things but Cortana is still available if I use the wake word.

[asianrocker]

Ok. thanks. The VR I know is virtual reality, LOL. That's why I was kinda confused.

Oh wow. Ok so about the only thing Alexa added is it made home automation more user friendly, LOL.

Shocked how cheap Kinect is now. Remember how expensive they were? We have a Kinect but it got broken when we moved.

I was planning on doing those gesture hacks controlling your TV on Kinect. Oh well.

[tuicemen]

I guess depends on what your conversation is about VR can be Virtual reality LOL
Yes Alexa and the Google home products just made Home automation via voice a bit more friendly to the masses.
But turning something on/off via voice isn't automation. The idea behind Home automation is for the home to do things with out any input after configuring.
When you think about it Alexa was just a voice remote when it first came out.
Now with the routines it is getting closer to an automation tool then a fancy remote.

Xbox Kinects  have really dropped in price and they work fine with Windows so you don't need to fork out the extra for a Windows Kinects.
A friend picked one up at a used gaming store for $5. It didn't look very good but he just wanted it for the mic array the camera was a bonus.
I haven't done any gesture stuff but it does know if I'm sitting or standing.

[asianrocker]

Yap that's why I said it made it user friendly coz instead of you making the configurations, the home automation you bought like hue already came preconfigured so all the user have to do is plug it in and turn it off/on.

When the Kinect hacks were on trend, I remember Samsung jump into it and sells smart tvs you can control via gesture all you have to do is buy their camera or some of them came with built in cams. Or I think you can also do it with their remote like a wand in harry potter, LOL.

Ok, our convo is getting more off topic but you're the mod anyway so..  but I now remember why I did not do the ha bridge. It is security risk. You are opening up your router for any plug and play device. which is what Upnp stands for when I searched it.

But I want to ask am I really more secure when I bought the hue starter kit? Coz instead of opening up my router for any plug and play, it is the hue bridge  that is doing it instead of my router. Is there a difference?

[tuicemen]

Old versions of HA-Bridge were a security risk if you opened it up to the internet.
Newer versions have more security built in however opening any thing to allow internet access has risks.
I can't comment on Hubs of any brand as I have no experience with them.
However they are getting info to and from the net through your router.
In general:
I'm unsure if you can change any hub settings in them like login info. If so I'd recommend doing that. Leaving things with factory settings makes one venerable. That's why when you hear/read stories of IP Camera and other internet of things hacks, the factory login info was left at the defaults or poor authentication used.