Dirk Riehle's Industry and Research Publications

Category: 5.2 Technology

  • The humor that is Alexa 2 / 2

    The humor that is Alexa 2 / 2

    So the Echo Dot seems like a good addition to a larger apartment or house. In addition, Amazon promises you can order it through your existing Alexa device. So I tried: Me: “Alexa, order an Echo Dot.” Echo: “I can only order product for Prime members. So I added Echo Dot to your shopping list.…

  • The humor that is Alexa 1 / 2

    The humor that is Alexa 1 / 2

    I was watching an old TV show rerun with a character in it called Alexa. My Amazon Echo (trigger word is Alexa) was also listening: TV set: “Alexa, stop doing that!” Echo: “Sorry, I don’t understand what you are saying.” TV set (raised voice): “Alexa, don’t talk to me like that!” Echo: “Sorry, I still…

  • I want my computer to be as easy to use as my rice cooker

    I want my computer to be as easy to use as my rice cooker

    There is a (by now oldish) saying, attributed to Bjarne Stroustrup: I have always wished for my computer to be as easy to use as my telephone; my wish has come true because I can no longer figure out how to use my telephone. I used to riff on this with the following variant: For…