Jan Wildeboer 😷
Years ago I got one of the first Alexa devices and I was really looking forward to install it. When it arrived and I powered it on for the first time, its LEDs blinking, I felt a panic creeping up in me. It was the moment I understood that centralised collection of such amounts of private data is unacceptable and will ultimately break democracy and free societies. That was the moment I decided to go decentralised. That Alexa device is still here, visible but unconnected. To remind me every day.
Jan 17 at 2:23amWeb
Show threadJan Wildeboer 😷Jan 17
(and spare me your "you could have known earlier" and "Google was evil long before that", dear reply-guys. I was aware of that but the physicality of the device made it real in a far more direct way. That's me, that's how I think. I won't apologise for being like that.)
Show threadAnja TJan 17
@jwildeboer same
Show threadKajetan HundhammerJan 17
@jwildeboer
Thinking oft the blinking LED, ...
Show threadaquariusJan 17
@jwildeboer I’ve had a similar moment about 12 years ago when my smart TV which has been off for about 24 hours clicked and the LED briefly lit up. I thought it was odd and checked the netflow logs only to find out that the TV is happily sending daily reports back home to South Korea. That evening was the last time the report got sent before the network cable was permanently disconnected.I still use the TV but only as a display connected to a Raspberry Pi with Kodi.
Show threadFernando M. S. 🇵🇸Jan 17
@jwildeboer is there any project of jailbreaking Alexa and repurposing it as home assistant device or something like that? That would be pretty cool... 🫠
Show threadDJ-BauerJan 17
@jwildeboer
That's a good idea.
Maybe I'll snipe a broken Alexa or Google home on eBay, rip out the content and just light up the LED.
And then put it in my office visible to my coworkers 😈