alejandro

Hi Brad,

My mom has expressed interest in adding some smart things to her house. Currently I have two Lutron switches installed to some outside lights so that they turn on/off at dawn and dusk. She also has a ring video doorbell. She is a longtime Samsung user, and doesn't upgrade her phone too often so I think that she will be on Android for the time being.

I was thinking of getting her a Wink Hub w/ a Google Home voice assistant (although I don't think she's ready to talk to the house yet). Given that Android doesn't have a HomeKit-like system, it seemed like this would be a good way to go while maintaining the flexibility to jump to Alexa down the road if needed.

Do you have any thoughts? I know that you use Alexa at home, but I understand that the Alexa app is awful.

Thanks,

Alex

Paul,

I am having a hard time following what's going on with Cortana. Last week, your article about Microsoft denying that Cortana's already dead seemed to mean that the consumer-facing product that is Cortana today will essentially go the way of Windows Mobile. But on this week's episode of Windows Weekly you and MJ talked about the future growth of Cortana, and how the only ones that are upset are the ones that want to use Cortana as a consumer-facing product. What then is MSFT's coal with Cortana? What is the end goal with Cortana?

Anyone use Google Allo? I was under the impression that it could send SMS but I am not having too much luck with it. How does this app fit in with Hangouts?

W/ MS increasingly focusing on the enterprise, will another OS (e.g., Chrome or Mac OSX) dominate the consumer space in the near future (3-5 years)?

I have been following your discussions on your abandoning iOS for Android now for a few weeks. I was hoping that you could speak to how things are going with your Google Home and other Google consumer services (e.g., Gmail and Android). I was really excited about the Pixel 2, but it would be the first premium phone that I ever buy. (I just recently transitioned to a Moto G2 Play from a Lumia.) I am particularly interested in the ambient computer space because, being so baked into MS myself, I am unsure if I should wait for the Cortana speaker or go all in with a new Pixel, Google Home, and maybe the Pixel buds.