Thanks to a discussion on the MacVoices Facebook Group, the MacJury convened to discuss the options available to anyone who wants to do voice queries and control Internet of Things devices. The panel of Allison Hartley, Kelly Guimont, Neal Pann, and host Chuck Joiner take a real-life look at choosing between the Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Siri-enabeled devices for common information queries as well as smart appliance control. Some surprising answers and more than a little frustration found their way in to the deliberations.
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Show Notes:
Chuck Joiner is the producer and host of MacVoices. You can catch up with what he’s doing on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn.
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Guests:
Allison Hartley has been a loud and proud Apple fan person since buying her first iPod Touch in mid-2010. When the iPhone became available on her carrier, she immediately bought that as well. From the very first, she was excited by the fact that, as a blind person, she had complete access to a mainstream device which, as the iOS platform has continued to mature, has come to replace many standalone assistive technology devices on which she used to rely. These include but are not limited to book readers, devices for identifying money, barcode readers, and note taking devices. In early 2013, she switched from a PC exclusively to the Mac at home. Once again, Allison was blown away by how easily and quickly she could accomplish tasks like email, browsing, keeping up on social media, audio recording and editing, and document creation. She is the co-host of the Tech Doctor Podcast.
Kelly Guimont is a longtime Apple geek, sitting down (on a telephone book) in front of an Apple IIe in 1983. She can still hear the ticking of the ImageWriter. Thanks to the miracle of the adjustable leg desk, she no longer needs the phonebook. Kelly writes for The Mac Observer, is co-host of The Aftershow, makes regular appearances on the Daily Observations Podcast and the British Tech Network and yet still has more to say which she saves for Twitter.
Neal Pann is an architect and sole proprietor of Neal A. Pann, Architect . He’s the creator and co-host of the Archispeak Podcast , which is casual conversation about all things architecture, both the good and the bad. He also founded the Apple for Architects site, which is dedicated to helping architects with their Apple products. You can follow him on Twitter.