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posted by Fnord666 on Friday October 06 2017, @02:29PM   Printer-friendly
from the wahhhhhhhh dept.

Mattel will not sell an all-in-one voice-controlled smart hub / baby monitor, setting back the state of parenting by decades or even millennia:

Toymaker Mattel has shelved plans to build an "all-in-one voice-controlled smart baby monitor," after complaints about the device were raised by privacy advocates and child psychologists. According to a report from The Washington Post, the company said in a statement that the device, named Aristotle, did not "fully align with Mattel's new technology strategy" and would not be "[brought] to the marketplace."

Aristotle was unveiled back in January this year by Mattel's Nabi brand. It combined the smart speaker and digital assistant functionality of Amazon's Echo with a connected camera that acted as a baby monitor. But the Aristotle was intended to be a much more active presence in children's lives than an Echo speaker, with Mattel claiming it would read them bedtime stories, soothe them if they cried in the night, and even teach them their ABCs.

Mattel also appointed a new chief financial officer.

Also at Ars Technica and MSPoweruser.

Related: Amazon Declares War on YouTube by Launching Amazon Video Direct
Barbie Typewriter Toys Had a Secret Ability to Encrypt Messages — but They Didn't Think Girls Would
Amazon Dominates Voice-Controlled Speaker Market


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  • (Score: 2, Funny) by c0lo on Friday October 06 2017, @02:48PM (5 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday October 06 2017, @02:48PM (#578029) Journal

    Question is: will they shelf "Aristarchus" next?
    You know? It wouldn't be [soylentnews.org] the first time [soylentnews.org]

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 06 2017, @03:15PM (4 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 06 2017, @03:15PM (#578048)

      oh don't goad the troll into being trollish. it just makes you look like a troll.

      • (Score: 3, Touché) by wonkey_monkey on Friday October 06 2017, @03:42PM (3 children)

        by wonkey_monkey (279) on Friday October 06 2017, @03:42PM (#578071) Homepage

        Who's more trollish, the troll or the troll who trolls the trolling troll?

        --
        systemd is Roko's Basilisk
        • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 06 2017, @04:13PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 06 2017, @04:13PM (#578086)

          def u

        • (Score: 4, Insightful) by aristarchus on Friday October 06 2017, @10:49PM (1 child)

          by aristarchus (2645) on Friday October 06 2017, @10:49PM (#578374) Journal

          Who's more trollish, the troll or the troll who trolls the trolling troll?

          As John Donne said, "Ask not for whom the troll trolls; it trolls for thee."

          • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday October 07 2017, @11:40AM

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday October 07 2017, @11:40AM (#578543) Journal

            Speaking of altruistically trolling trolls, I prefer

            Oh Buzzard, be not proud, though some have called thee
            Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
            For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
            Die not, poor Buzzard, nor yet canst thou kill me.

            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Friday October 06 2017, @03:27PM (5 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday October 06 2017, @03:27PM (#578060) Journal

    it would read them bedtime stories, soothe them if they cried in the night, and even teach them their ABCs.

    What an idiotic list of priorities.
    If they cry in the night, you don't just sooth them then teach them ABC, you start by changing that damn'd full diaper.
    I mean, what's the point of having an illustrious philosopher as a baby sitter if you still need to wake up and wash the bottom of your baby?

    No wonder nobody wants such a shitty product.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday October 06 2017, @03:33PM

      by bob_super (1357) on Friday October 06 2017, @03:33PM (#578066)

      It's not literally shitty, until that first time it doesn't stop with the f--ing ABCs while you're trying to calm baby after changing a bad diaper and getting soaked in semi-digested milk.

      Hey Mattel, free idea for you: intelligent punching bag, or intelligent soft projectile, for colicky children's parents.

    • (Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Friday October 06 2017, @04:03PM (2 children)

      by SomeGuy (5632) on Friday October 06 2017, @04:03PM (#578078)

      What an idiotic list of priorities.

      Once again, the assumption is that those using these things are the customer. In actuality your baby is the product.

      I fully expect them to go back to the drawing board and find some way to more quietly re-introduce the same invasive technology. Perhaps add a smiley face, add some blue LEDs, get some branding support from Barny the Dinosaur, get backing from a religious organization to add a hidden penis attachment, or such and such and just watch it sell like hotcakes.

      • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday October 06 2017, @04:27PM (1 child)

        by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday October 06 2017, @04:27PM (#578095) Journal

        This Mattel thing would have made raising my kidnapped babies much easier. Shame on you Mattel for bowing to the pressure!

        --
        [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
        • (Score: 2) by frojack on Friday October 06 2017, @05:49PM

          by frojack (1554) on Friday October 06 2017, @05:49PM (#578173) Journal

          Raising babies to WHAT, one might ask?

          If the only love and comfort came from blinking blue lights and soothing voices, what's to keep baby from growing up into family annihilators because their voices always intruding on soothing mechanical mama's bedtime stories?

          B.F. Skinner was already excoriated for this 50 years ago: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/skinner-air-crib [psychologicalscience.org]

          --
          No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    • (Score: 4, Informative) by Thexalon on Friday October 06 2017, @05:07PM

      by Thexalon (636) on Friday October 06 2017, @05:07PM (#578128)

      I get the distinct feeling that the committee that designed this product included absolutely nobody who raised a baby before. Guess what? There's no machine in existence that successfully mimics a parent holding a baby close to their chest. Even another human holding the baby close to their chest doesn't really do the job as well, as every grandparent, aunt, or uncle knows.

      --
      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
  • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Friday October 06 2017, @04:26PM (1 child)

    by maxwell demon (1608) on Friday October 06 2017, @04:26PM (#578093) Journal

    Mattel will not sell an all-in-one voice-controlled smart hub / baby monitor, setting back the state of parenting by decades or even millennia:

    Millennia? You are serious? I'm not aware that the Romans had all-in-one voice-controlled smart hub/baby monitors. Indeed, I'm pretty sure the only way to monitor a baby back than was by a human nearby.

    And any technology that was available before Mattel announced that device is still available. The announcement didn't make any of it disappear. Therefore even the "decades" claim is silly.

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 06 2017, @04:50PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 06 2017, @04:50PM (#578117)

      You need to learn how to detect and process humor and sarcasm.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Friday October 06 2017, @04:55PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday October 06 2017, @04:55PM (#578120) Journal

    The more important thing here is, someone had enough sense to protest the stupid idea. Amazing - someone, somewhere, understands that grabbing the latest, greatest shiny bauble might put your family at risk. We need more protestors to speak up against the craze "internet of things".

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 06 2017, @06:07PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 06 2017, @06:07PM (#578189)

    Aaaahahahahahahaha....

    If you can call yourself that with straight face, pull your head out of your ass and look around, there's much more to computing than ms.,,

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 07 2017, @01:47AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 07 2017, @01:47AM (#578443)

    Get them used to being watched from a very young age. That way, they'll be good citizens of the surveillance state.

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