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Comment by tyingq | Hacker News Reader

"The Nest Wifi point also has a speaker with the Google Assistant"

Ahh. I see.

I thought it was funny they said "has a speaker with the Google Assistant" rather than "has a microphone listening to you for Google Assistant"

Just in case you didn’t have enough Google surveillance in your house, turn your router into a marginally useful weather app slash microphone.

You can disable the microphone via a Hardware button.

I would rather have a button to remove it. but you can't have everything.

If the microphone isn’t removable, you’re just using the wrong tools.

A hardware button that presumably uses software to toggle the mic versus literally unplugging a cable to the mic.

I know that during the design of the original Pixel laptop, things like physically powering down and disabling the camera, rather than doing it in firmware was important to the team at Google. I wonder if they have maintained that vigilance.

One presumably pays money for a device with Google's name on it through which all of your network traffic flows, and you're worried about a microphone?

(I well and fully get your point, I'm just amused that, in the bigger scheme of things, a microphone is the problem here.)

People care more about their physical privacy than digital, as they should be. Google snooping on my packets is less intrusive than a camera or microphone in your home, looking/listening at you.

What are you suggesting exactly? Presumably the buyers are happy to have a product with the described features, which include "Google Assistant", which answers to your voice.

That they are evil because they said speaker instead of device with a microphone.

Speaker is the standard term. Amazon describes the Echo Dot as a "Smart speaker with Alexa". And this is how Apple describes the HomePod:

"HomePod is a breakthrough speaker that adapts to its location and delivers high-fidelity audio wherever it’s playing. Together with Apple Music and Siri, it creates an entirely new way for you to discover and interact with music at home. And it can help you and your whole family with everyday tasks — and control your smart home — all with just your voice."

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Echo-Dot/dp/B07FZ8S74R

[2] https://www.apple.com/homepod/

Three wrongs do not make a right.

Just need another two-hundred and fifty three wrongs...

I wasn't commenting on "speaker" per se. Just observing what happens, a bit at a time, when an advertising company swallows a product company.

Also, just generally shared it in case skimmer types missed that.

I feel like 'evil' is a pretty strong adjective to use here when talking about the wording in a press release.

Right, this is specifically for people who have both Home and Wifi and want to merge the two into a single device.

I'm pretty sure if you're paranoid about Google, you'd also not want them to control your wifi anyways.

Curious what the default DNS is for Google WiFi devices.

Looks like it's 8.8.8.8.

I don't. I assume you're talking about privacy but it's basically the same as for your phone.

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