Take privacy seriously, but don’t silence Alexa

I agree that being able to control lifestyle features in the home is a great convenience, but buying a personal voice assistance on its own won’t do any of those things. Significant adaptations of the apparatus under control is required [or replacement with new fittings] and that can be very expensive.

We bought some LED lamps* for room centre ceiling fittings that have three levels of illumination, all selectable by flicking the wall switch, so the ‘mood’ can be altered in a couple of seconds. OK, not quite from the comfort of the sofa, but just how much convenience do we really need?

I think Wavechange’s point about sustainability is essential and I would hope Which? would be highly supportive of questioning new tech developments that lead to the waste of existing materials and the manufacture of new products that are of limited value [except as an indulgence].

*The lamps were Philips SceneSwitch 13.5W BC LED 3-Step Bulb, Frosted, @ £12 each. At the highest setting the level of lighting [1521 lumens] is really impressive and is the kind of LED centre lamp I have been waiting a long time for.

It is also a bit of exercise getting up and walking to interact with these things. Stops you being lazy.

We have a table lamp with mood colours and levels. It works with a remote control but only within about a metre, so we have to get up off the sofa to operate it. 🙄

I must admit table lamps and uplighters are probably better for adjusting the lighting in a room and creating the best ambience for the activities pursued. Good general lighting reflecting off the ceiling and task lighting should also form part of the mix. I think it will be a long time before ordinary homes have smart technology to enable that sort of flexibility through a voice control.

To pursue the sustainability issue, I wonder how long smart technology will continue to work for. We have a long-running Convo about smart TV apps stopping working, sometimes a couple of years after purchase. I wonder how many people think about this when they have smart heating controls fitted. Anyone with an expensive Bluetooth or WiFi speaker might not be very happy if it was not compatible with their new mobile.

Indeed. Just imagine what we’d have to do just now to upgrade a home full of smart tech, it all its devices were running on Windows 7 and needed upgrading to Windows 10.

Or conversely, one might buy new smart tech and then find its controlling app won’t work on one’s long serving smart mobile.

Re: John’s point, Apple’s Home kit app does provide that degree of flexibility and would work perfectly for us since we never use the ceiling lights. All our rooms are lit by table lamps (positioned anywhere but on a table…) based on the principle that the only part of a room I need to illuminate is the floor. The stairs have an LED strip system beneath the bannister rail, so the stairs themselves are brightly lit, but the light doesn’t hit the eyes directly.

I like uplighters and table lamps. I suppose centre lights are good for vacuum cleaning, but that can be done in daylight. I cannot understand why halogen lighting with bare halogen capsules became popular. Some might like having bright images imprinted on their retinas, but not me.

Alexa – Please can we have a Convo on room lighting?

I, like John, use table lamps and uplighters in many rooms, including bedrooms. They provide a pleasant environment, softer than ceiling lights; however I still retain these as when certain tasks are being carried out they are more appropriate. I am not averse to getting off the sofa to turn on the lights; I am averse to spending cash on what I regard as unnecessary equipment that rely on my smart phone to work. However, my table lamps in the living room to work from remote-controlled socket outlets……..

We don’t get enough exercise.

We must be careful when lighting stairs, particularly for people whose vision may not be great. Two key considerations are: avoid glare, so no bright light(s) in the line of sight, and to ensure the treads are clearly delineated so there is no confusion as to where to put your foot.

As others have said, I wonder how long the clever devices that we become dependent upon will last. And what happens when they stop working|? Hopefully, each has a manual option.

Hi Grace – I hope you are settling in to the job.

With iPhones, iPads and iPods there have been only two types of charger connector (30 pin and Lightning), as far as I know. My recent iPhone uses the same charger and lead as the previous one, which was nearly six years old. Unfortunately, standardisation on USB-C chargers for phones will put an end to this.

In general, standardisation is very desirable but I don’t think that using USB-C chargers for phones makes sense because there is the possibility that a much higher power charger intended for a laptop can then be used to charge a phone. This can result in fires, for example if the charger lead is damaged.

I think we are going to need standards to ensure that smart devices have a decent working life before they will no longer talk to each other.