Considering Amazon uses "Alexa" and Apple uses "Siri" and Microsoft uses "Cortana", it is strange that Google opted not to pick an alternative name
Google's Mid-2000s marketing and product-nomenclature was on-point though:
* Google Mail
* Google Maps
* Google Image Search
I refuse to use a service that requires me to say its globally recognized name so often I will probably become brainwashed to it. And then there's the older hacks with TV commercials that took advantage of those defaults, and the (cooler) hypersonic transmitted voice command attacks, or the ones delivered by vibrating the device's microphone with a laser, etc.
None of these attacks would have worked if the product trigger wasn't so predictable from the get-go.
Eventually even Raspberry Pi stopped using the default pi/raspberry default combination. How we invoke our voice-activated programs should be treated with equal care.
Or maybe not.
/s /h
That idea was canned...
True story.
I think he didn't want to dilute the brand, and have the association front of mind or something, but the people on the alexa project managed to convince him to go with alexa instead (as it's confusing, and arguably a better name).
I think that's part of the reason for the different wake words, one of which is amazon (though the confusion with people called alexa is likely a much bigger one. It's probably why they have amazon in that list at least).
I can hear it now “We finally have a use for that brand we spent all that money on..”
https://www.techspot.com/news/46668-googles-answer-to-siri-m...