Honestly - I don't think anyone really wants an "online voice assistant". The key problem word there is "online".
There is no way that a device can meaningfully parse information from the internet and present it to you right now. At some point? Sure maybe. But it's definitely not now.
What I want, and what I was pretty clear about in my list of use cases is the ability to push a button (or run a function with parameters) with my voice.
- Current weather (optional, I don't use this a ton and it requires an upstream source, although HomeAssistant already gets that info for me): WhatWeatherIsIt(atTime?)
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I've found basically all of the voice assistants I interact with are actually really damn good about understanding roughly those patterns (Alexa was the best, but only for the first year or so [honestly - it was actually wonderful as a beta product] - it's gone markedly downhill over the last several years as they try to cram in more detection and more features).
They just insist on trying to sell me on other parts of the experience (check out this tv show, there's a sale on, use this product, did you know this? did you know that? etc). And I don't want it.
But I'm more than happy to pay a fair sum of money for a thing that will just reliably do those commands.
It's incredibly liberating to be able to do those things with my hands busy, or my eyes closed, or while lying down.
Tack on an HDMI port or a display so I can view a recipe and I will literally give you money right now for this thing (and I have - since I've tried most commercial voice assistants).
Long term - I'll probably end up just cobbling together my own version using Rhasspy/Mycroft or another text parser/STT engine, and HomeAssistant or OpenHab if I can't get what I want commercially. I just know that I'll end up spending more money and time on it that way (which is not the end of the world, I just have other hobbies at the moment, and a very young child).
There is no way that a device can meaningfully parse information from the internet and present it to you right now. At some point? Sure maybe. But it's definitely not now.
What I want, and what I was pretty clear about in my list of use cases is the ability to push a button (or run a function with parameters) with my voice.
My exact use cases
- Kitchen timer: StartTimerFor(duration, timerName?), HowMuchTimeOnTimer(timerName)
- Alarms: SetAlarmFor(time, alarmName?), WhatAlarmsAreSet(), CancelAlarm(alarmName | time)
- Lights/devices(ex: tvs, ACs, etc): TurnOff(DeviceName | RoomName | ALL), TurnOn(DeviceName | RoomName | ALL)
- Conversions: WhatIs(numberOfUnits, inSecondUnit)
- Current time: WhatTimeIsIt(inlocation?)
- Current weather (optional, I don't use this a ton and it requires an upstream source, although HomeAssistant already gets that info for me): WhatWeatherIsIt(atTime?)
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I've found basically all of the voice assistants I interact with are actually really damn good about understanding roughly those patterns (Alexa was the best, but only for the first year or so [honestly - it was actually wonderful as a beta product] - it's gone markedly downhill over the last several years as they try to cram in more detection and more features).
They just insist on trying to sell me on other parts of the experience (check out this tv show, there's a sale on, use this product, did you know this? did you know that? etc). And I don't want it.
But I'm more than happy to pay a fair sum of money for a thing that will just reliably do those commands.
It's incredibly liberating to be able to do those things with my hands busy, or my eyes closed, or while lying down.
Tack on an HDMI port or a display so I can view a recipe and I will literally give you money right now for this thing (and I have - since I've tried most commercial voice assistants).
Long term - I'll probably end up just cobbling together my own version using Rhasspy/Mycroft or another text parser/STT engine, and HomeAssistant or OpenHab if I can't get what I want commercially. I just know that I'll end up spending more money and time on it that way (which is not the end of the world, I just have other hobbies at the moment, and a very young child).