Deteriorate Potential Hackers With This Alexa Skill, Written by Former SNL Writers
As a child, my mom always turned on NPR when we left the house. Her idea was that if a potential burglar spotted the place, he would hear the radio and either think that the speakers were in the house, or at least think that someone was listening to the broadcast at home. I’m not sure how true this idea is, but our home was never invaded, so I will say that it was a successful practice.
Alexa’s new skill has received a bit of press attention this week for essentially doing the same thing, albeit in a slightly different way. The Away Mode skill plays audio tracks that sound like they are real conversations. The idea is that you put one of them on play when you get together at noon, and potential burglars will hear the tape and think that these are the real people in your house talking.
There are seven pre-recorded audio tracks built into the skill that sound like they’re actually conversations – ridiculous conversations. Highlights include hits such as “The couple broke up and is also trying to watch TV” and “Mom walks with her daughter, collecting Malmo dresser on the phone.”
The tracks were written by comedy writers from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, SNL and UCB, so they’re all pretty funny.
Unfortunately, they are not very long. Each track is about an hour long, so it’s good for a brisk run, but won’t keep your home from resting at night. The sound is also not of the highest quality in some cases, and when it is sometimes, the game is not that good.
However, for fast playback of the audio track when you go out for a minute, this can be done. Or you could just be like my mom and quit NPR.