I removed my Google Home; IMHO, it got worse at processing voice commands over time, and I didn't use it that much.

However, when it was working well, it was nice to be able to set a timer handsfree when my hands were busy. And when running a recipie where the measurements are inconvenient, I apprechiated being able to access unit conversions without context switching to a computing device (memorizing unit conversions could fill that gap).

I'm not in a rush to replace the device, but if I hear about a device that can do those things in an offline way, I might consider it. None of the online features were useful or reliable enough, and by their nature they would be changing all the time ... having them was a negative.

False positive wakeword triggering was annoying too. But maybe a talking timer would have a wakeword that was more specific.

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johnisgood 3 days ago | parent [-]

You can have a timer and unit conversions using your phone, but perhaps not hands-free. It might work for you, I am not sure. I wonder if one could make it hands-free though. If it is in very high demand, I might just make an application. :D If it does not already exist, of course. What about using an LLM though? You can talk to them, so that could be considered hands-free.

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toast0 3 days ago | parent [-]

I don't want to talk to my phone... and if I did, the easiest path would be google assistant, which is likely just as bad as google home.

I don't want an LLM either. I want a very constrained command list that is consistent and doesn't change. Yes, you need some voice to text magic, but 'set a timer for x minutes', 'cancel timer' maybe something to have multiple timers. And also 'convert X teaspoons to ounces' maybe with sometimes things like 'how many cups of flour in a pound' (which is a not quite right question to ask, but I still might ask it)

> If it is in very high demand, I might just make an application. :D

If I've learned anything from my years on the planet, if toast0 wants it, it's not in high demand. Sorry!

	▲	johnisgood a day ago \| parent [-]
		I think it is possible to use LLMs that operates under a very constrained command list to a very high probability of success, but it might indeed be enough to use Google Assistant for this. For those not right questions to ask, typically LLMs do work though. You would have to have a prompt set for the chat prior. > If I've learned anything from my years on the planet, if toast0 wants it, it's not in high demand. Sorry! Hey, I would not be so sure. :P