Martin Jones: Will LISA go the way of the iPad or Minidisc?

A few months back, I bought an Amazon Echo. This is a small, black disc, not unlike an ice hockey puck, through which you can access the US retail giant's voice-activated, cloud-based information service. To activate it, you use the wake-word ‘Alexa', and it talks back to you in a not unpleasant robotic female voice. I can listen to music, order a pizza, phone a taxi, check the weather and set alarms - all with just my voice. Notwithstanding the occasional confusion around "snooze" and "news", it is a lot of fun. Even so, I often find myself wondering what the point is. I could do all...