You can buy USB webcams you know (although possibly not at the moment - last time I looked none of my usual haunts had *any* in stock).
It works fine on my wet string 5Mbps (presently 4Mbps) wet string ADSL.
Agreed (personally).
I wouldn't say so, just that you have your own things and prefer to do that than the trivia. ;-)
But even a Portal can be used as a service aid. The other week daughter was having issues with her Brother Colour Laser and it, the Portal and her head were under the desk so that I could see the menus and help her through it. ;-)
In fact, many a time we use the Portals as a good way of me observing / advising remotely, specifically because of the clever tracking camera.
For Mum that means that as long as she's roughly in front of the thing it will get her in frame. ;-)
Cheers, T i m
Quite. Where there's a will there's a way.
Oh look
I did predict that's all they were "useful" for, in the hands of actual users
I had to use the hospital's automated booking service
It failed to understand "orthopaedics"
repeatedly asking me "was that ortho-optics" (whatever the hell that is)
No it bloody wasn't, it was "Orth-O-Pae-Dics"
rinse and repeat until I got fed up
No, all you have seen is reference to what *we* use them for. My mates Alexa manages his lights, shopping list and some other stuff (to do with his fish tanks).
Daughter and step-grand daughter use their for reminders and checking out stuff online (train times, facts etc).
Cheers, T i m
I hadn't heard of a Portal device, so looked it up. Do you have any privacy concerns that Facebook is behind it? There seem to be quite a few criticisms that it is "on" all the time (though I note that you mention below you unplug yours!) and can follow you around with its smart camera. I assume it automatically connects to a Facebook hub as soon as it is powered up, and your mum can then ask Alexa to contact you if she wants to speak to you. Well, something like that anyway - or have I got that completely wrong?
Can you use it to connect to non-Portal devices? If someone has Facebook or WhatsApp on a smartphone, etc, can it connect to that?
Over and above all the other social stuff? No.
Not for any security reasons, just because it's quick to start, draws some energy and so give off some heat. ;-)
Only within reason. I believe it's just a very wide angle lens and it can frame the 'view' within that range. So if you are sat right in front of it it will frame that view but if you move to the far corner of it's range, it 'appears' to (smoothly) pan and zoom to pick you up again. You can lock that off (with a screen touch), if you want it to focus on something that doesn't appear to find a face. ;-)
Yup, although I think at that point it's the voice recognition of the Portal itself, rather than Alexa that would do that. (Not used it for a while but probably 'Hey Portal' (visual and audio acknowledgement from Portal) , call Mum (and if there are more than one it confirms the first it's found), then 'Yes / no' etc.
Nope, pretty close. When you aren't dealing with video chat stuff it's just a std Alexa interface.
From a personal privacy POV, on the Portal Minis we have you have a slider that kills the microphone and puts a cover over the camera (one or both).
Yes, given Facebook own Whatsapp, both are supported directly (the setup prompts you to enter the details for both / either) and I think Spotify to access your music. You can use existing but I think you could set it all up from scratch on the Portal itself (as you can access the Internet / eMails etc).
You also have a reasonable browser, FB Live and a few other apps you can 'install' if you want. I have also had it running as a client to a network TV tuner but they are fairly locked down.
The Mini also has the 10W sound system of the std model so my Mum who is pretty hard of hearing (even with hearing aids in) doesn't have it at full volume. The sound is very good meaning you get the full tonal range of whoever you are talking to.
You can have multiple people connected up (inc non Portals etc) and have on-screen effects to entertain the kids (and adults who haven't grown up).
We treat it as a video intercom, simply because it's easy, hands free (you can have it portrait or landscape) and leaves your phone / tablet free at the same time. If the link poor it downgrades the quality of the video to maintain fluidity.
What I thought was a neat touch as if you order more than one (we got
4 (max / customer) then another 2) they send them to the different locations FOC (which makes sense). ;-)We created 'bogus' FB accounts that were dedicated to a few of the Portals but FB squashed a couple of them and others are still going. ;-)
If you get in a mess, there is a 'Hold these buttons' cold start that then prompts you to do a factory reset. If you can get into it you can do a factory restart from the Settings screen (and much of it is configurable).
I think if any of us lost ours, we would replace them with the same straight away.
Cheers, T i m
which requires that you re-wire your house.
Not exactly the sort of thing an entry level OAP user is going to be doing
Or really exciting. Where do I buy this useful device. Oh wait a minute, I've got pencil and paper here, will that do the job?
which presumably requires special wiring - see point 1
well whoopee do!
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