I had considered getting a few of them for mom's house, and programming them to work off of a pre-approved list of items she buys, but we ended up deciding to move in with and care for her ourselves instead. I have since then, added buttons on shelves for things we use often, things like dryer sheets, detergent, and a few basic pantry items that have made her life easier. Having her feel independent after us moving in and her giving up her driver's license has been key in keeping her happy. The big change came when the stove died on Thanksgiving, and an exact replacement was impossible. She still has issues knowing which buttons to press.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

It's all fun and games until the power goes out. I don't like the idea of something listening to my every move and function, you have no privacy.

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"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL

I looked into Alexa's inner workings after some of the posters above questioned the privacy aspect and am reasonably satisfied. Their admittedly self-interest documentation says that Alexa only listens for one word, Alexa, and then wakes up.

I will say this is the most enjoyable thing I have bought in a long time. I am now experimenting with "Alexa, play the top 100 songs from 19xx" starting from my birth year to present in ten year increments. It is interesting how the music has noticeably changed and the memories it brings back.

It's interesting how you interpret that. My interpretation is that Alexa listens to everything, and only responds to it's name. Which is different than saying that it's otherwise asleep. In fact, you have no way to tell what it listens to, what it hears, and only the vague promises of a EULA that you've probably never read that it will "do no harm". And yet we have documented examples of Alexa listening when it wasn't supposed to, and sharing what it heard.

I use Alexa in my W126 through my radio with bluetooth while driving and want to listen to music. And I must say it's much better than Siri, who never understands what I want when I ask "her" a question.

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

To Amazon, Facebook and google, you are the product for sale.

Boo!

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2019/2/20/18232960/google-nest-secure-microphone-google-assistant-built-in-security-privacy

Pretty clear it must listen to and process everything to hear and respond to, “Alexa”.