New Amazon Echo devices

[struth]

Not in Westworld it didn't. It just carried on on batteries but all the technicians were locked in the control room and suffocated because there was no power to open the doors.

In Star Trek 'NOMAD' has a force field around it so you can't get to it at all.

In Colossus: The Forbin Project they can't turn it off at all and if they try it nukes stuff. In fact IIRC the computer ends up wining in that and takes control of earth.

2001 - A Space Odyssey - he has to go through a world of hassle and danger to finally switch the thing off and it's too late for his pal.

And so on.

ah yes but in the real world, a swift kick up the jacksy is usually enough... or pour your beer over it... stale beer of course

[Macca]

Actually I'm wrong about NOMAD, it doesn't have a force field it just kills security guards if you piss it off. But it has no off switch, Kirk has to confuse its circuits with logical reasoning and then they beam it into space.

Of course that doesn't always work either, the attempt to teach the sentient bomb Phenomenology in 'Dark Star' doesn't end well.

[Macca]

ah yes but in the real world, a swift kick up the jacksy is usually enough... or pour your beer over it... stale beer of course

Or Jack Daniels. 'The R J MacReady solution.'

I never understood that bit of the film. You've just started your 6 months winter tour in Antarctica and you already deliberately wrecked one of your only sources of entertainment.

[struth]

Or Jack Daniels. 'The R J MacReady solution.'

I never understood that bit of the film. You've just started your 6 months winter tour in Antarctica and you already deliberately wrecked one of your only sources of entertainment.

lol.. took out the whole radio room...great film; one of the best

[spendorman]

I'm waiting for mine to say that it's off colour (or color). "Ive got a pain in all the diodes down my left side"

[spendorman]

Ive still got one of the old, well made tall ones. had decent sound from it too, but its behaviour put me off.. started talking on its own etc and rarely understood me when i di want it... so it got unplugged and is used as an ornament now. often hang my dongle from it

I'm amazed that my Echo Dot understands me practically all the time. I do have a slight issue with it, the Dot might go to sleep at an undetermined time, usually in excess of an hour. Amazon support know about this small problem and they are working on a fix.

[Pigmy Pony]

a little creepy, as is the flying drone... just shout, "Hey CIA,MI5, am I doing anything illegal? and a deep voice comes back with, "Stop playing with yourself"

They don't do deep voices, in fact they sound rather tinny

[Pigmy Pony]

Ive still got one of the old, well made tall ones. had decent sound from it too, but its behaviour put me off.. started talking on its own etc and rarely understood me when i di want it... so it got unplugged and is used as an ornament now. often hang my dongle from it

I asked Alexa if I could hang my dongle off her, she said she's not that kind of girl...

I used to have Echo Dot plugged into a bluetooth speaker in kitchen for radio, as the Dot sounded shit. but it was too much of a faff, so now unused. I miss my old Pure DAB

[struth]

They don't do deep voices, in fact they sound rather tinny

These ones are pretty good sound wise, but we're too expensive to make so it's replacements are more electronic wizardry than drivers.

[spendorman]

Mine is the 3rd Generation Dot, after adjusting the bass, middle and treble using the Alexa application, sound is pretty good, when one considers the size.

It's quite a bit better than the 2nd generation Dot.