Recently, my Android auto voice switched from the default female voice, to a male voice. I wasn't quite sure what was going on, but it also talked differently, and was more annoying than usual. Well I finally realized what's happening, and I'm worried about what it could mean for voice assistant technology.
For a couple of years now there has been speculation that voice assistants, which were always free to use, may now start requiring a subscription. If this happens, I will be quite pissed. >:(
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This came up on my phone today. It not only explains the change in my Android Auto, but got me wondering what's up.
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The various slides explain how different Gemeni is from the current Google Assistant.
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It makes it look smarter than the current assistant, which can be quite frustrating sometimes.
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Here's where my first red flag went up! Talk about a "Premium" version... :o
And there it is! The TWO reasons I am not going to switch...
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...the first being, you can't go back. The second being, when I clicked the "Learn what's new" link, I found mentions of Smart Home access requiring a subscription. That is unacceptable. I'd rather forgo voice assistant for smart home than pay a subscription to use what I have had free for years!
So, I will continue to look into this and follow up, but right now I am concerned that Google is going the way of M$ and other software companies and making you subscribe to access their services. We shall see.
SaaS (Software as a Service,) or rent your programs, rather than purchase. In other words; let's soak the consumer for all the money that we can get.
Back in the 70s, and 80s, that would have never gotten off the ground - pretty much everyone who worked on computers/technology was a programmer (or could become one quickly.)
Quote from: granz on Dec 05, 2025, 03:32 PMSaaS (Software as a Service,) or rent your programs, rather than purchase. In other words; let's soak the consumer for all the money that we can get.
It's becoming so obscene! Different TV shows have been bought out by different companies and now we've got more than a dozen paid streaming services. Some people like just a few shows and have to pay monthly fees to see their shows. I've given up on Adobe software because of the subscription model. Microsoft is doing it with Office and Windows now. Let's not forget about music...not you "rent" that too.
It's crazy. I'm starting to think over the next 10 years or so, my life is going to become a lot simpler, because I absolutely refuse to pay hundreds per month for everything I used to get free. And to add insult to injury, some of the pay services STILL show commercials!!! Many people are having trouble affording things now. And this is when the rich corporations try to take advantage. Makes no sense.
Quote from: Chris Savage on Dec 05, 2025, 03:40 PMQuote from: granz on Dec 05, 2025, 03:32 PMSaaS (Software as a Service,) or rent your programs, rather than purchase. In other words; let's soak the consumer for all the money that we can get.
It's becoming so obscene! Different TV shows have been bought out by different companies and now we've got more than a dozen paid streaming services. Some people like just a few shows and have to pay monthly fees to see their shows. I've given up on Adobe software because of the subscription model. Microsoft is doing it with Office and Windows now. Let's not forget about music...not you "rent" that too.
It's crazy. I'm starting to think over the next 10 years or so, my life is going to become a lot simpler, because I absolutely refuse to pay hundreds per month for everything I used to get free. And to add insult to injury, some of the pay services STILL show commercials!!! Many people are having trouble affording things now. And this is when the rich corporations try to take advantage. Makes no sense.
I have never had Cable TV. I have never paid for a "separate" streaming service (some things are bundled with my cell phone plan, but I seldom use them.)
I have a
HUGE collection of Physical Media, as in DVDs and Blu-Ray discs.
Many years ago I bought my DVDs and Blu-rays new in brick and mortar stores. But now 99% of my purchases are from Thrift Stores, for Low Low prices.
I am lucky that my local library still has DVD movies and TV shows available for FREE checkout, this is what I use watch new releases of TV Shows and Movies.
I seldom watch anything on Over The Air (OTA) TV I can't tolerate the commercials anymore.
I watch my DVDs on a Blu-ray/DVD Player that up-scales all my DVDs to 1080P on my 58" TV.
My Blu-ray/DVD player outputs the sound using Bluetooth directly to my earbuds or head phones.
I watch quite a bit of YouTube videos, on my Desktop computer via my 28" 4K monitor (thank goodness for Firefox and uBlock Origin ;) ).