Hi Guys,
May have gotten lucky here, with the website saying unavailable, but I just popped into local Target (Sunbury, VIC) and was actually able to grab 2 of these for $6.25 each!
Can't go wrong there, so try your luck with you local, and you may be able to snag the bargain!
OSO
BUCO
SOL
Are these Wordle clues?
Nice find. Wonder if any targets in NSW have it
Target Knox, says 1 however they don't actually have any. Chadstone showing 1 as well if anyone is there.
Is there a site that shows this like the one for officeworks/bunnings?
Chaddy don't have anything, it's all Anko products now I was just there recently.
Wow so cheap wonder how google make money on these
They use the devices to record your conversations. then sell the transcripts to advertisers, so that they can target the right ads to you. That's how they make money off these.
Switch off the microphone?
Whats it good.for.then?
If you switch off the microphone and then say hey Google it'll respond with something like I can't hear you right now as the microphone is turned off. So it's never really off.
@Forphucsake: Like phones, there's a dedicated on board chip that does the voice detection bit. Once authenticated, it then begins the data transmission using another chip. What that mic switch does is physically severs the connection between the two chips. Which is why the "Hey Google" still works, but then you get the "I can't hear you now…" reply.
Technically, the nest can hear you, but it can't do anything else beside that.
@richadam: There's only one processor, a DSP that the toggle switch runs into. Nobody knows if that has a physical cutoff inside the switch, because nobody with an electron microscope has gone in and looked. What the DSP does with that input is likely entirely software driven.
The default behaviour prevents upload, but not processing. It can still hear you say hey google, because it'll then tell you that the mic's off. They wouldn't pay for two separate chips/systems that can process that input on each side of a physical gate, no.
@Jonzay: Then don't own mobile phone. As well I love how people paranoid about everything but never actually know that your phone track more stuff you do..
@Forphucsake: Ive never had mine respond to a "hey google" when the mic is off, but it does say that if you pickup or move the device.
I tried that then I asked it, hey Google is the microphone off? And it said "Yes it is off"
I think I’m about to receive some really freaky offers then.
I wonder how me saying “no, don’t do that” to the cat 1,000 times a day is going to result in?
They will probably target you with remote controlled shock collars for training cats - which are actually illegal to sell or possess in most Australian states.
I’ve reported them to Amazon on a number of occasions, and they usually do remove them, but that hasn’t prevented other sellers popping up selling the same cruel products.
Ads for 100 shades of gray
Going to send you kitty nail cutter since cat is bound to get paranoid. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@Ekoz: We have the nail clippers but I’m a softie.
They drive me nuts but right now one of my girls is lying next to me and I’m rubbing her tummy. She is purring and making chirping noises. Moments like this keep me grounded.
No, they don't, and it's very easy to monitor the network traffic on the device and prove if it's sending anything in between your direct commands.
There is absolutely no evidence to support this. It's nothing but a conspiracy theory.
Moreover, Google actually selling user information to others is pretty much the stupidest thing they could possibly do for their own business model.
Stupid indeed, as Cox Media Group recently found out:
https://www.fastcompany.com/90999277/cox-cmg-active-listenin…
https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/active-listening-marke…
https://www.404media.co/cmg-cox-media-actually-listening-to-…
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20231113211108/https://www.cmglo…
@toasty: Archived advertising from CMG: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24224884/how-voice-da…
@toasty: That's not evidence. That's an unverified claim, and it doesn't contradict my statement at all.
Zoofruit claimed they were selling transcripts to 3rd parties, which is absolutely false.
I have no doubt that Google is keeping some recordings of voices from their smart devices - you can go back and listen to them yourself, and delete them if you choose - but these recordings are not being passed on to anyone else, they are only used by Google to add to your user profile. I understand that Google has a carve-out in their terms to allow staff / contractors to compare electronic transcripts against voice recordings and help train their voice models, but that's not what Zoofruit is claiming either.
Having this kind of data is why Google is so dominant in web advertising - they have more accurate user profiles than anyone else in the industry. Selling user data verbatim to others would be giving away their biggest asset (as well as being against their terms of service, and likely illegal in many countries too) so why would they do it?
As I said, Cox's claims are scary but entirely unverified. They are seeking to compete with Google, but they don't have the kind of user base or number of data sources that Google does. It's entirely possible that they're flat out lying about this capability in an attempt to make their own advertising offerings more attractive.
The biggest question is: where are Cox getting these conversation recordings from? Google certainly isn't letting them listen in on Nest smart speakers; those are locked down to Google's own software. Similarly, neither Apple nor Amazon have any incentive to give somebody like Cox access to their devices, as they also run advertising businesses and guard their user data jealously.
It is possible that Cox have partnered with some shady company to get access to microphone recordings from smartphone apps that a user installs, but given the restrictions on both Android and iOS that limit microphone access, I strongly doubt it's particularly effective.
No source for Google selling the data (as opposed to dodgey mobs who have apps that might actually listen to the microphone on a mobile), but definitely Google does save some recordings to assist with development - and that includes allowing developers outside Google access. It's allowed for in the T's and C's nobody reads. Some info here: https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2019/07/10/google-employees-are…
The challenge is that I'm sure that we have all experienced times when a speaker has responded even though you haven't said the "key" words - which, as noted in the article above, means that sometimes conversations that aren't about turning lights on or off or changing music tracks can be recorded and sent offsite.
source?
Not sure if you're being sarcastic. But if you're serious, and essentially buy into the theory that Google would lie about it, what about your phone? It also has a microphone (without any option to disable it), is probably on your person all the time, and could just as 'easily' be sending everything you say to Google/Samsung/Apple etc.
If that's the case, makes no difference adding a few additional speakers around the place.
They don’t, this why all of these companies are axing people and slashing their voice products
Microsoft got it right early by abandoning Cortana
Microsoft only abandoned cortana after everyone else had.
Who is "everyone else" when Google and Amazon have only just started gutting their voice programs and are still selling products?
I said this in the last deal and I'll say it again, we're about a deal away until they hand them out like energy drinks.
Went to one of the Target in QLDand saw one there but the scanned it and came up with $79…
Refused to match the price on their website as it said OOS.
Yeh, gen 2 still being sold for $79
Google Nest Mini is the 2nd gen
maybe it's meant to be $ 62.5?
Don’t think it goes from $25 to $62.50
These are handy for linking around the house. I have google nest + 2 repeaters (which are also speakers). Chuck a couple of these around the house and backyard, link them as a group such as "Upstairs" of "Downstairs", then simply yell out "Hey Google, play cattle decapitation on spotify downstairs at maximum volume". Happy neighbours.
Edit: got one last week from facebook marketplace for $20 to add to my collection. They are regularly on there for <$30 if you miss out on this deal. Most people get them for free, don't use them and decide to sell.
The way my Google homes have been behaving lately, Google should be paying us to take these things home.
So true..mine have lost their mind. get triggered for no reason and play the same stupid song. 7/10 times they don't register my voice. require frequent retraining, and i feel like they have lost a lot of their conversational ability. Most of the time i'm talking to 'i'm sorry, i don't know how to respond to that'. useless.
I read an article not long ago along the lines of "It's not you, google's getting dumber". Seems quite true. ChatGPT on Google Assistant when?
Bard*
Yeah I was wondering the same thing and found that article. It really is far more useless than it should be. Growth is now stunted on the assistant too imo.
want chatgpt to make one of these
Interesting, I haven't noticed any increase in issues with mine and we have them all over the house to run various speakers. However, they have always randomly gone off once a week or 2, but normally just thinking I want to know the weather because I have been talking about it.
The entire Google Assistant ecosystem has just been run into the ground for me personally lately. listening when I don't say anything. Taking the wrong things out of context when previously it was fine. It's becoming more effort than it's worth at this point, especially managing smart home stuff.
Sorry, I don't understand…
You almost got me lol.
Bad deal, how much are they going to pay ME to go to Sunbury
Great price if you are looking for a Bluetooth speaker.
Google Assistant is a bonus
Honestly I have them all through my house and they barely work anymore.. most of the time they all say “there was a glitch, try again soon”.. even factory resetting them only fixes it for a week or so and they end up the same
Ikr? Mines have a hard time playing Spotify. If a song is playing when i request a new one, it acknowledges the new song request and then does nothing. I have to tell it to stop the current song and then ask it to play a new one
Same issue here.
can't believe I was in Sunbury for the first time in my life today and still missed out on this deal
And lived to tell the tale…..
nah just joking Sunbury's cool
still haven't found a purpose for these things…
Unless you have home automation devices set up, the most convenient and common things I do with them are the ability to ask what's the weather tomorrow, what does this obscure word mean, or setting a 10 minute timer 😅
If you have music subscriptions, chances are you could get the nest to play music using it with just your voice, but if the songs titles aren't in plain English, you're outta luck
Use as Bluetooth speaker, set alarm through verbal command, timer and check temperature/rain forecast is what I use mine for.
Also to turn on/off bedroom light without having to reach for switch.
Smart plugs
Home audio (YouTube Music etc.)
Google Assist (Hey Google what's the weather)
Stream media from your phone
Down side is the power plug is a huge circle.
We have one hub, and about four minis. The Hub no longer works in speaker groups. The minis regularly complain of not being connected to the internet, but somehow still manage to play whatever we are listening to (usually the radio), meaning they're obviously connected to the internet. Add to that randomly answering questions that they weren't asked, or playing songs that we didn't want them to play. The funny thing is that when we got our first Google Home in 2017, it was much, much better than it is now. We persist because despite the problems it's still better than Siri/Alexa. Presumably some time soon they will change to being based off ChatGPT/Bard maybe that will improve things, but somehow I doubt it.
This is just Target clearing out their old stock before Anko products come in. They won't sell them anymore.
Might be good timing to pick these up given the rumours that Amazon is going to start charging for Alexa
Really? That's the first I've heard of it.
Edit, I've searched for more info and that will be for "Alexa +", a generative AI version, regular Alexa (dumb Alexa we use now) will still be free.
Is it available today as well or just yesterday ?
Found one instore but scanning up as $79. Apparently the codes are different so they won't do the cheaper price even though they are the same item
![[VIC] Google Nest Mini (Chalk) $6.25 in Store Only @ Target, Sunbury](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/22/827722.jpg?h=50f95bac)
SOO