09-23-2021, 03:49 PM
(09-23-2021, 10:42 AM)karenlee Wrote: If my own feelings about Home Auto are anything to go by, I think the winner in the long run is going to be the software that doesn't rely on the cloud - including for voice control.
This is why CQC is so stable. I was very excited about Alexa at first, and got one for every room in my house. I used it for so many things. Now, I hardly use it at all because I just lose the will to live when a phrase which I've used for over a year suddenly doesn't work anymore because some numpty did an update 'in the cloud' and broke everything. Sometimes, they just suddenly decide a word is reserved, so even though you have happily used that word in your routine/command for 2 years, suddenly you just get dumb Alexa saying something like 'here's a station I thought you might like' when you've asked for a playlist that you've asked for 100 times before successfully.
I suspect a lot of people, like me, are getting tired of all these cloud solutions where you have zero control about what updates are applied to equipment you have purchased. It's like you simply don't own anything any more.
I don't need an Alexa to chat with. I would be happy with a set of voice commands that I have created, and never change.
For the enthusiast market I agree, but if we are talking about the masses, simplicity is always going to win out. The Alarm.com platform, for instance, is getting much better. Although CQC is still vastly superior in flexibility, the non HA enthusiast, can have lights, thermostats, security, and more all automated fairly reliably and inexpensively (if you don't count the monthly draw of blood). For the vast majority, that is all they want.
I'm curious based on your post. Are you using the native CQC voice control for your main interface? If so, what type of setup do you use? I find myself yelling at Alexa like an abusive husband at least once or twice a day.