Interesting measurement conversion idea from "another place"...

[Jim Becker]

While I was browsing the Festool forums this morning as part of my "forum crawl", I noted a thread that had a very interesting idea relative to converting measurements from one system to another. It's a necessary evil sometimes because not all of us use the same measurement system, either by preference or because of what's common where we happen to live and work.

I usually use a browser on my CNC computer or my "shop Mac" laptop to handle this since I have one system I prefer but sometimes have clients who prefer/require another. The idea in that thread? "{Alexa/Siri}, what is 350mm in inches?" While you can certainly use a smartphone for this, theres's a "tool" buying opportunity here for those who have Internet access in the shop...one of the inexpensive "digital assistants" in the system you prefer. IE...someone to talk to while you work that simply answers your questions without telling boring stories. :D

I just might have to try this out. :)

Of course, this could lead to, "{Alexa/Siri}, how much is a {insert tool name here} and does it have free shipping?" while you're working on your project or waiting for glue to dry. :o You know...thinking time.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

That idea looks me too dangerous for your wallet.

Take care! 🤔

[Ken Fitzgerald]

That idea looks me too dangerous for your wallet.

Take care! ��

Amen Brother Osvaldo!:eek::rolleyes::D

[Bill Dufour]

Not exactly sure what it is but you can buy an electronic wallet.
Bill D

[Jim Becker]

That idea looks me too dangerous for your wallet.

Take care! 樂
The device is cheap. The ability to shop with it, on the other hand...LOL

[Paul F Franklin]

Asking Alexa to do conversions is a good idea. I have an echo dot in the shop and usually just use it to stream music. But the wife can "drop in on the workshop" when she needs something so it works as an intercom too. Good/bad thing is, if I'm doing something noisy, I won't hear her....which is good, because it doesn't startle me, but bad because I can't hear the....oh, never mind.

[Jim Becker]

That sounds like a nice setup for you and SWMBO, Paul. We pretty much text constantly when communication is necessary. That said, being able to just use a voice interface to ask questions could be a nice way to handle things and that's why I'm interested. I've been using CarPlay for so long now that I've grown pretty used to using my voice for texting anyway, so asking Alexa or Siri for a measurement conversion is a reasonable next step.

[Steve Demuth]

... asking Alexa or Siri for a measurement conversion is a reasonable next step.

We've got a pretty big initiative at my day job to create "the hospital of the future." One of the core concepts in that is that your hospital room will be interactive, with voice a la Siri or Alexa, as a primary means for the patient to interact with the room.

Nurses and patients in our focus groups love the idea. It creeps me out. I am not ready for the world I'm helping build.

[Tom Bain]

I ask Siri for conversions all the time, especially when I’m trying to get a precise dado fit. My dado stack from Felder is metric, and plywood is ... who knows what these days. I always have my phone in the shop in case of emergency, but as of yet, no computer or WiFi.

[Jim Dwight]

I just remember an inch is 25.4mm. If I have to, I use my phone. I have a tablet with Alexa but I never use it. My daughter uses it constantly, however.

[Alan Lightstone]

I have an Echo Show in both my workshop and finishing room.

And sad to say, I never thought of asking it for conversions.
Doh!!! :(

I just use mine for music, podcasts, time, and an intercom.

[Alan Lightstone]

We've got a pretty big initiative at my day job to create "the hospital of the future." One of the core concepts in that is that your hospital room will be interactive, with voice a la Siri or Alexa, as a primary means for the patient to interact with the room.

Nurses and patients in our focus groups love the idea. It creeps me out. I am not ready for the world I'm helping build.

Being a cardiac anesthesiologist, and having to deal with quirks and glitches of high-tech equipment on a daily basis, that creeps me out too. And I would certainly not be characterized as anti technology. Sigh...

[Curt Harms]

Do you want everything you say or that someone says to you stored on Amazon or Google's servers?

[Alan Lightstone]

Do you want everything you say or that someone says to you stored on Amazon or Google's servers?

Actually, if you believe what Amazon and Apple say, it only stores on a server what you say after "Alexa" and "Siri", not normal conversation. And as a global bandwidth issue, I believe that, because the sheer bandwidth required and storage required to store 24/7 conversations for everyone who owns an Echo or iPhone is absurdly large.

Of course, Amazon Web Services is the world's leader in storage, with massive storage, so ...

[Jim Becker]

Do you want everything you say or that someone says to you stored on Amazon or Google's servers?

Honestly...not even going to bother to worry about it. I'm boring. If "they" are that interested in what dimensions I'm wanting to convert? More power to them...

But I do understand you mean in the broader context and again, not even on my radar of things I'm concerned with right now.

[Steve Demuth]

Actually, if you believe what Amazon and Apple say, it only stores on a server what you say after "Alexa" and "Siri", not normal conversation. And as a global bandwidth issue, I believe that, because the sheer bandwidth required and storage required to store 24/7 conversations for everyone who owns an Echo or iPhone is absurdly large.

Of course, Amazon Web Services is the world's leader in storage, with massive storage, so ...

I have been down in the weeds with both Amazon's and Google's engineers on how their products work. We've monitored them in the lab to verify claims, as best we can. The machine in your shop or living room is essentially continuously recording in the digital equivalent of a short loop of tape. Recognition of the trigger word is local. Once recognized, the machine sends about 5 seconds of recording from pre-trigger through some variable length of time after to Amazon or Google (I assume Apple works the same way, but have no experience with them). On the consumer versions of the products, a lot of that is stored. In the medical versions, they "forget" it rather quickly, in an attempt to remain HIPAA privacy rule compliant.

So, no, the soundscape of your room is not being continuously transmitted to these vendors. But they do reserve the right to store and reprocess what is sent into the cloud. Whether that bothers you or not is up to you. Obviously Jim has concluded it's unimportant. I've reached the opposite conclusion, so use mine only in the shop, where the only voice it's going to hear is mine, and that very rarely, unless I'm asking it to start or stop an audiobook. Occasionally, I'LL ask it for the time. I don't talk to myself much. On the other hand, my first generation echo had an ongoing relationship with a couple of my shop tools for some years. Tool sounds would sometimes do wake "computer" (I refuse to address a machine with a human name) up. "I'm sorry, I didn't get that" was a pretty common refrain in the shop for a while. It's pretty much stopped though, as the software in the device has been continuously improved.