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Amazon Alexa, Google Home, etc...


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#1 SportsGuy

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Posted 08 December 2016 - 01:52 PM

I am sure some of you guys have these things at home.  I am curious if you like it, feel it is worth having, get a lot of use out of it, etc...?



#2 Mark Carver

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Posted 08 December 2016 - 02:33 PM

I've had the Amazon Tap and recently acquired the Dot (new 2nd edition version) and use them daily. I have the Dot connected to a bluetooth speaker instead of using it's builtin speaker. I use them to listen to radio through IHeartRadio and TuneIn. I also have Pandora connected and some of my music collection uploaded to Amazon Prime Music so all I'd need it to do is say play Moody Blues. During baseball season, I'd tell Alexa to play WSBA radio and it would connect to the Oriole game through TuneIn.

 

Just bought a Tap-Link Smart Plug (WiFi electrical outlet) to experiment to control a lamp to tell Alexa to turn it on or off. This can be set up to go on or off at particular times of the day. They also have smart link LED bulbs, thermostats and light switches.


John Keegan, a renowned British military historian, has called World War II the greatest single event in the history of mankind. - Tom Brokaw, NBC special correspondent and author of "The Greatest Generation"


#3 Mark Carver

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Posted 09 December 2016 - 11:29 AM

Best Buy ad for week of 12/11-17 has...

 

Amazon Echo @ $139.99

Amazon Echo Dot (2nd Gen) @ $39.99


John Keegan, a renowned British military historian, has called World War II the greatest single event in the history of mankind. - Tom Brokaw, NBC special correspondent and author of "The Greatest Generation"


#4 Nigel Tufnel

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Posted 09 December 2016 - 11:54 AM

If you have Amazon Prime and like to listen to music, then it's definitely worth it.  It can also play Pandora and Spotify if you listen to those.

 

The Echo the Dot are the exact same thing, except that the Echo's internal speaker is a lot better.  But the Dot can hook up to an external speaker or home theater receiver with bluetooth, so think about how you would use it.  The Dot's speaker is fine for everything except music.

 

With accessories, you can hook Alexa up to your lights or home theater, so that's kind of cool.  And it will give you stuff like traffic, weather, sports scores whenever you ask.  I also think the Dot would make a really good bedside alarm.

 

I wrote some more stuff about the Echo and the Dot in this thread.



#5 SportsGuy

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Posted 09 December 2016 - 01:38 PM

If you have Amazon Prime and like to listen to music, then it's definitely worth it.  It can also play Pandora and Spotify if you listen to those.

 

The Echo the Dot are the exact same thing, except that the Echo's internal speaker is a lot better.  But the Dot can hook up to an external speaker or home theater receiver with bluetooth, so think about how you would use it.  The Dot's speaker is fine for everything except music.

 

With accessories, you can hook Alexa up to your lights or home theater, so that's kind of cool.  And it will give you stuff like traffic, weather, sports scores whenever you ask.  I also think the Dot would make a really good bedside alarm.

 

I wrote some more stuff about the Echo and the Dot in this thread.

But is it worth it if, at the end of the day, you are using it for music only?

 

Meaning, if you don't have a smart home and things like that, how useful is it?



#6 Nigel Tufnel

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Posted 09 December 2016 - 02:31 PM

But is it worth it if, at the end of the day, you are using it for music only?

 

Meaning, if you don't have a smart home and things like that, how useful is it?

 

Yeah, that's the question.  It's kind of nice to walk in the door and have music playing within 5 seconds, but you would have to think about how likely you are to want that.  If you think you might, you could always pick up a Dot for $40 and try it out.



#7 SportsGuy

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Posted 09 December 2016 - 03:19 PM

Actually thinking of buying this for my father in law and his wife. I'm just not sure they will get enough use or not.

#8 Mike in STL

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Posted 09 December 2016 - 05:08 PM

Thinking of getting the Alexa for when my in laws come to town. They can talk to it, ask it questions instead of me.
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#9 Pedro Cerrano

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Posted 09 December 2016 - 05:43 PM

Thinking of getting the Alexa for when my in laws come to town. They can talk to it, ask it questions instead of me.


8

There is baseball, and occasionally there are other things of note

"Now OPS sucks.  Got it."

"Making his own olive brine is peak Mackus."

"I'm too hungover to watch a loss." - McNulty

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#10 Mike in STL

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Posted 09 December 2016 - 06:42 PM

8



That probably a reference I should get but I'm drawing a blank.
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#11 Pedro Cerrano

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Posted 09 December 2016 - 06:55 PM

That probably a reference I should get but I'm drawing a blank.


Occasionally I'll rate posts on a scale of 1-10
  • SportsGuy and Mike in STL like this

There is baseball, and occasionally there are other things of note

"Now OPS sucks.  Got it."

"Making his own olive brine is peak Mackus."

"I'm too hungover to watch a loss." - McNulty

@bopper33


#12 Mike in STL

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Posted 09 December 2016 - 07:17 PM

That probably a reference I should get but I'm drawing a blank.



Occasionally I'll rate posts on a scale of 1-10


I'll keep that in mind when I have new material to test out.
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#13 RShack

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Posted 09 December 2016 - 11:09 PM

Occasionally I'll rate posts on a scale of 1-10

 

3   ;-)


 "The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige


#14 McNulty

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Posted 10 December 2016 - 01:06 AM

I've come to find out that Cerrano's scale is the inverse of reality

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#15 Mark Carver

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Posted 24 January 2017 - 08:13 PM

Now if only they could get Majel Barrett's voice to go with it...

 

 

Amazon's Alexa platform continues to be the go-to voice assistant not just for the home, but also vehicles. But it looks like the online-retailer's helper in a cylinder was just given its greatest feature ever: The wake word "computer." That's right, you can now pretend you're in the Star Trek universe.

 

The new wake word joins, "Amazon," "Alexa" and "Echo" as things you can yell at the Alexa platform in order to get it to listen to you. Just don't expect the device to help you locate dilithium crystals to get your starship to travel faster than light.

 

http://www.engadget....k&sf=ngvozew#aa


John Keegan, a renowned British military historian, has called World War II the greatest single event in the history of mankind. - Tom Brokaw, NBC special correspondent and author of "The Greatest Generation"


#16 DJ MC

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Posted 24 January 2017 - 09:32 PM

Now if only they could get Majel Barrett's voice to go with it...

 

 

 

http://www.engadget....k&sf=ngvozew#aa

 

If you ask it a question, will it go, "Dammit Jim!"


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#17 Mark Carver

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Posted 20 September 2017 - 11:43 AM

REPORT: Amazon is secretly building a pair of Alexa-enabled smart glasses

 

http://www.businessi...017-9?r=UK&IR=T


John Keegan, a renowned British military historian, has called World War II the greatest single event in the history of mankind. - Tom Brokaw, NBC special correspondent and author of "The Greatest Generation"


#18 Mark Carver

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Posted 06 November 2017 - 04:54 PM

It's Alexa's 3rd birthday, tell her Happy Birthday!


John Keegan, a renowned British military historian, has called World War II the greatest single event in the history of mankind. - Tom Brokaw, NBC special correspondent and author of "The Greatest Generation"


#19 Mark Carver

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Posted 14 December 2017 - 03:58 PM

I'm currently using ORA wi-fi Smart Plugs to control a floor lamp plus other to get Alexa to turn them on and off. Works great.

 

https://www.amazon.c...0?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I've got a need for a Alexa enabled smart light bulb such as.

 

https://www.amazon.c...oogle Assistant

 

Anythoughts?


John Keegan, a renowned British military historian, has called World War II the greatest single event in the history of mankind. - Tom Brokaw, NBC special correspondent and author of "The Greatest Generation"


#20 Mark Carver

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Posted 14 December 2017 - 05:21 PM

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Introducing Echo Buttons, a new way to play games through your compatible Echo device

 

  • Each button illuminates and can be pressed to trigger a variety of play experiences powered by Alexa
  • Bring back game night with a catalog of compatible Alexa Skills such as Trivial Pursuit Tap by Hasbro, Beat the Intro, Button Monte, and Sounds Fun with Mike Epps. Just ask "Alexa, what games can I play with my Echo Buttons?"
  • Easy setup with an Echo (1st and 2nd Gen), Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Plus, or Echo Spot
  • Connect up to 4 buttons with compatible Echo devices using bluetooth

 

Echo Buttons, an Alexa Gadget (2 Pack) $19.99

 

https://www.amazon.c...a gadget 2 pack


John Keegan, a renowned British military historian, has called World War II the greatest single event in the history of mankind. - Tom Brokaw, NBC special correspondent and author of "The Greatest Generation"





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