A San Diego TV station sparked complaints this week – after an on-air report about a girl who ordered a dollhouse via her parents' Amazon Echo caused Echoes in viewers' homes to also attempt to order dollhouses.
Telly station CW-6 said the blunder happened during a Thursday morning news package about a Texan six-year-old who racked up big charges while talking to an Echo gadget in her home. According to her parents' Amazon account, their daughter said: "Can you play dollhouse with me and get me a dollhouse?" Next thing they knew, a $160 KidKraft Sparkle Mansion dollhouse and four pounds of sugar cookies arrived on their doorstep.
During that story's segment, a CW-6 news presenter remarked: "I love the little girl, saying 'Alexa ordered me a dollhouse'."
That, apparently, was enough to set off Alexa-powered Echo boxes around San Diego on their own shopping sprees. The California station admitted plenty of viewers complained that the TV broadcast caused their voice-controlled personal assistants to try to place orders for dollhouses on Amazon.
We'll take this opportunity to point out that voice-command purchasing is enabled by default on Alexa devices.
This is not the first time an ill-conceived TV spot has caused havoc with voice-control systems. In 2014, a Microsoft Xbox commercial featuring actor Aaron Paul demonstrating Kinect voice control was blamed for causing consoles across the US to spontaneously boot up and launch the game Titanfall every time the ad aired.
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Tue Jan 10, 2017 11:28 am
Peltz
Stranger
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2003 1:14 pm Posts: 6343 Location: Estonia
Re: Funny Stuff II
Lol!!
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Tue Jan 10, 2017 2:37 pm
Rinox
Minor Diety
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 7:23 am Posts: 14892 Location: behind a good glass of Duvel
A California shoemaker has recalled a pair of its “Polar Fox” combat boots on complaints that their treads leave swastika prints.
One rattled customer remarked that “there was an angle I didn’t get to see when ordering my new work boots,” posting a photo this week of the soles — along with the symbols of race hate they’d stamped on the ground.
A ruckus ensued on Reddit. Among the one-liners:
“These boots were good, but not great. They’re just altright.”
“Shoelaces came tied in little knotsies.”
“I love them too, they really put me in mein kampfort zone.”
“I bought these to compete in The Master Race.”
Elsewhere, on Amazon, a flurry of snarky reviews trickled in before the listing was taken down this week:
“I have used them for my Third Heich.”
“Color matches my panzer 10/10.”
“Ordered Das Boot in size nein! Did not fit! So infuhrerating!”
Conal International Trading, the Los Angeles-area maker of the lace-up boots, scrambled to apologize this week, insisting that the Nazi-inflected design was “in no way intentional.”
_________________ "I find a Burger Tank in this place? I'm-a be a one-man cheeseburger apocalypse."
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Sat Jan 14, 2017 4:30 am
Peltz
Stranger
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2003 1:14 pm Posts: 6343 Location: Estonia
Re: Funny Stuff II
Those are hilarious. I really like the latest penny arcade:
_________________ When someone asks how rich you are, quote Rinox " I don't even have a rusty nail to scratch my butt with...!"
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Mon Jan 16, 2017 3:17 pm
Peltz
Stranger
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2003 1:14 pm Posts: 6343 Location: Estonia
Re: Funny Stuff II
_________________ When someone asks how rich you are, quote Rinox " I don't even have a rusty nail to scratch my butt with...!"
Be well or Get Help!!
Tue Jan 17, 2017 12:50 pm
Peltz
Stranger
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2003 1:14 pm Posts: 6343 Location: Estonia
Re: Funny Stuff II
_________________ When someone asks how rich you are, quote Rinox " I don't even have a rusty nail to scratch my butt with...!"
Be well or Get Help!!
Thu Feb 16, 2017 11:45 am
Rinox
Minor Diety
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 7:23 am Posts: 14892 Location: behind a good glass of Duvel
Re: Funny Stuff II
Hahaha, reminds me of this
_________________ "I find a Burger Tank in this place? I'm-a be a one-man cheeseburger apocalypse."
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Fri Feb 17, 2017 1:22 pm
Peltz
Stranger
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2003 1:14 pm Posts: 6343 Location: Estonia
Re: Funny Stuff II
_________________ When someone asks how rich you are, quote Rinox " I don't even have a rusty nail to scratch my butt with...!"
Be well or Get Help!!
Tue Apr 18, 2017 1:58 pm
Rinox
Minor Diety
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 7:23 am Posts: 14892 Location: behind a good glass of Duvel
Re: Funny Stuff II
Lol @ the last one.
Btw, the guy settled with United Airlines, for what is presumably a very handsome sum of money. Getting bloodied and dragged off that plane was probably one of the best things that ever happened to him, in hindsight.
_________________ "I find a Burger Tank in this place? I'm-a be a one-man cheeseburger apocalypse."
- Coach
Sun May 21, 2017 5:05 am
Rinox
Minor Diety
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 7:23 am Posts: 14892 Location: behind a good glass of Duvel
Re: Funny Stuff II
_________________ "I find a Burger Tank in this place? I'm-a be a one-man cheeseburger apocalypse."
- Coach
Sun Jul 02, 2017 11:30 am
Satis
Felix Rex
Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2003 6:01 pm Posts: 16661 Location: On a slope
Re: Funny Stuff II
That's... actually really terrible and not funny. But hey, whatever floats your boat!
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Wed Jul 05, 2017 7:29 pm
Rinox
Minor Diety
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 7:23 am Posts: 14892 Location: behind a good glass of Duvel
Re: Funny Stuff II
You may need to have a feel for Eurovision to fully grasp it
_________________ "I find a Burger Tank in this place? I'm-a be a one-man cheeseburger apocalypse."
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