News Disney testing smart speakers in guest rooms at Disney's Yacht and Beach Club

NelsonRD

Well-Known Member
This thread is going to be quickly filled with two types of people: those that are excited by the potential for this technology and how useful it could be, and those that don't like technology and think Disney is going to be spying on them with it.

I personally, am on the side of finding it helpful, but I already have 3 echos in my house so...

I'll add a 3rd possibility. There is no added value. I will be away from the room most of the trip, and while in the room, the weather, park times, special events are visible on the TV as soon as I turn it on. My day is planned in MDE, I can look for reservations, wait times, and more from the app. How can this help with my vacation?
 

bpadair32

Well-Known Member
I'll add a 3rd possibility. There is no added value. I will be away from the room most of the trip, and while in the room, the weather, park times, special events are visible on the TV as soon as I turn it on. My day is planned in MDE, I can look for reservations, wait times, and more from the app. How can this help with my vacation?

It may not. But it is not going to hurt your vacation either, and is nice for those of us that are used to starting our day with a quick "Alexa, what is the weather like today".
 

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
I work for a Government Agency that makes me a likely target, so my concerns are a bit different. Anything connected can be used for nefarious ends by a dedicated hacker. I don't have cameras or microphones on any computer in my house. I avoid any IoT technology on items I buy and mitigate any that I can't avoid.

Privacy is certainly a concern. The device listens 24/7. Whether it sends everything it "hears" over the internet is irrelevant. The fact that it doesn't send everything doesn't negate the fact that it could. A phone can be hacked, so can these.

And yes, I carry an iPhone. Mine has had the internal microphone physically disconnected, to use the phone as a phone, I use a headset. I avoid public WiFi. I have a persistent VPN active. The only thing that someone with the right skills could do is activate the camera on the phone and watch whatever can be seen from my waistband. Bluetooth is disabled as well.

The "Internet of Things" is ubiquitous, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing. I do what I can to avoid making it too easy to hack me, so they'll give up and hack y'all instead. ;)

It ain't paranoia if they really are out to get you! ;)
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
I work for a Government Agency that makes me a likely target, so my concerns are a bit different. Anything connected can be used for nefarious ends by a dedicated hacker. I don't have cameras or microphones on any computer in my house. I avoid any IoT technology on items I buy and mitigate any that I can't avoid.

Privacy is certainly a concern. The device listens 24/7. Whether it sends everything it "hears" over the internet is irrelevant. The fact that it doesn't send everything doesn't negate the fact that it could. A phone can be hacked, so can these.

And yes, I carry an iPhone. Mine has had the internal microphone physically disconnected, to use the phone as a phone, I use a headset. I avoid public WiFi. I have a persistent VPN active. The only thing that someone with the right skills could do is activate the camera on the phone and watch whatever can be seen from my waistband. Bluetooth is disabled as well.

The "Internet of Things" is ubiquitous, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing. I do what I can to avoid making it too easy to hack me, so they'll give up and hack y'all instead. ;)

It ain't paranoia if they really are out to get you! ;)

Don't know what you're worried about. Your posting history here is plenty enough for you to be compromised!
 

bpadair32

Well-Known Member
I work for a Government Agency that makes me a likely target, so my concerns are a bit different. Anything connected can be used for nefarious ends by a dedicated hacker. I don't have cameras or microphones on any computer in my house. I avoid any IoT technology on items I buy and mitigate any that I can't avoid.

Privacy is certainly a concern. The device listens 24/7. Whether it sends everything it "hears" over the internet is irrelevant. The fact that it doesn't send everything doesn't negate the fact that it could. A phone can be hacked, so can these.

And yes, I carry an iPhone. Mine has had the internal microphone physically disconnected, to use the phone as a phone, I use a headset. I avoid public WiFi. I have a persistent VPN active. The only thing that someone with the right skills could do is activate the camera on the phone and watch whatever can be seen from my waistband. Bluetooth is disabled as well.

The "Internet of Things" is ubiquitous, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing. I do what I can to avoid making it too easy to hack me, so they'll give up and hack y'all instead. ;)

It ain't paranoia if they really are out to get you! ;)

For anyone that is not a government agent, this is a ridiculous level of inconvenience to go to.
 

Bartledvd

Well-Known Member
No issues with privacy but these things just drive me nuts, get of you bottom and turn the light on or off it is not hard and it will be much quicker to get accurate information by using a proper internet search or turning on the tv.


All the best for those who love them but having experienced Siri,cortana,alexa and google home answering things when no one is even speaking directly to them i for one will be manually unpluging it.
 

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
I work for a Government Agency that makes me a likely target, so my concerns are a bit different. Anything connected can be used for nefarious ends by a dedicated hacker. I don't have cameras or microphones on any computer in my house. I avoid any IoT technology on items I buy and mitigate any that I can't avoid.

Privacy is certainly a concern. The device listens 24/7. Whether it sends everything it "hears" over the internet is irrelevant. The fact that it doesn't send everything doesn't negate the fact that it could. A phone can be hacked, so can these.

And yes, I carry an iPhone. Mine has had the internal microphone physically disconnected, to use the phone as a phone, I use a headset. I avoid public WiFi. I have a persistent VPN active. The only thing that someone with the right skills could do is activate the camera on the phone and watch whatever can be seen from my waistband. Bluetooth is disabled as well.

The "Internet of Things" is ubiquitous, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing. I do what I can to avoid making it too easy to hack me, so they'll give up and hack y'all instead. ;)

It ain't paranoia if they really are out to get you! ;)
It's a shame you can't remove the battery... ;)

For anyone that is not a government agent, this is a ridiculous level of inconvenience to go to.
Only if you don't value your privacy.
 

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
I value my privacy to an extent. I also value convenience. I strive for what to me is a reasonable balance between the two.
Well, you can always keep your phone in one of these...
347937
 

Missing20K

Well-Known Member
I just hope the people who distrust them don't own a mobile or use Disney WiFi ...
I don't have much of an opinion either way, ubiquitous computing is here to stay, but I'm not sure that using a mobile device or laptop to check work emails or news is quite the same as having the "always on" microphone listening to each and every word and noise me and my family make.

Not sure about the rest of you, but my smart speakers have "detected a question" from absolute, utter silence on more than one occasion.

Hopefully the trigger is "Hey Mickey!" though.
 

ThatMouse

Well-Known Member
I just hope it knows to reset after you check-out. "Set an alarm for 3am every day"

The survey I received in December predicted this.
 

bpadair32

Well-Known Member
I don't have much of an opinion either way, ubiquitous computing is here to stay, but I'm not sure that using a mobile device or laptop to check work emails or news is quite the same as having the "always on" microphone listening to each and every word and noise me and my family make.

Not sure about the rest of you, but my smart speakers have "detected a question" from absolute, utter silence on more than one occasion.

Hopefully the trigger is "Hey Mickey!" though.

If you have a phone you have an always listening microphone.

My echos have gotten much better over the last year at the number of false activations they have.
 

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