Amazon Alexa - usefull apps

[Mr Larrington]

Get a room, you two

[Greenbank]

We're not quite there yet.

[hillbilly]

You can switch the mic off when you want to as well.

Shouldn't that be "there is an option that claims the mic is switched off"?

[Tim Hall]

I think the signs of old-fartism and middle age have caught up with me.
I sometimes use basic Google voice commands when I'm driving, I won't buy Alexa and I totally ignore Bexby on my Note 8.
Should I embrace the always-on microphone or is it a step too far?

I've been thinking that speech recognition is  a) awesome  and  b) something I'll never want to use  since the early days of Dragon.

Talking to computers is unnatural, dammit.  It's worse than bloody touchscreens.  </luddite>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hShY6xZWVGE

[Kim]

I think the signs of old-fartism and middle age have caught up with me.
I sometimes use basic Google voice commands when I'm driving, I won't buy Alexa and I totally ignore Bexby on my Note 8.
Should I embrace the always-on microphone or is it a step too far?

I've been thinking that speech recognition is  a) awesome  and  b) something I'll never want to use  since the early days of Dragon.

Talking to computers is unnatural, dammit.  It's worse than bloody touchscreens.  </luddite>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hShY6xZWVGE

This is of course the canonical reference on the matter.

[Greenbank]

Fish!

Today's fish is trout a la creme.  Enjoy your meal.

Fish!

Today's fish is trout a la creme.  Enjoy your meal.

Fish!

Today's fish is trout a la creme.  Enjoy your meal.

Fish!

Today's fish is trout a la creme.  Enjoy your meal.

Fish!

Today's fish is trout a la creme.  Enjoy your meal.

Fish!

Today's fish is trout a la creme.  Enjoy your meal.

I will!

[Greenbank]

( It was funnier, in my head at least, with the first couple but it's clogging up the thread now. I may delete the older posts...)

For those who don't get the reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkjbMoj0JY4

[Kim]

( It was funnier, in my head at least, with the first couple but it's clogging up the thread now. I may delete the older posts...)

Good idea.

It made me strangely nostalgic for Fidonet, where routines like that would sometimes take weeks to play out.

[Greenbank]

Ha, reminded of old Usenet posts and searching the archives I found this:-

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.folklore.computers/LjFzH_BdxgI/xaQBBEU8qqsJ

I think I received a single dollar bill in the post (airmail all the way from the US) with an anonymous stickie saying "let us know how you get on".

[EDIT] Gah! More than 20 years ago.

[Bluebottle]

All of which reminds me of this

[pcolbeck]

BBC Skill released 11th December - Alexa now has access to all BBC Radio streams (she could do some via Tunein before0) and can now also play BBC podcasts.

Just noticed that it now defaults to this for BBC stations instead of Tunein,

[jiberjaber]

BBC Skill released 11th December - Alexa now has access to all BBC Radio streams (she could do some via Tunein before0) and can now also play BBC podcasts.

Just noticed that it now defaults to this for BBC stations instead of Tunein,

At last - the skipping of Radio 2 Tunein was most annoying!    Though I much prefered when I could just ask it to play the radio rather than now having to add an additional voice command to get from teh pod/radio question to the radio playing... #firstworldproblems

[pcolbeck]

You don't. As its the default you can just say:

Alexa play radio 2

And it will play BBC radio 2 via the BBC skill. I thought you would need to tell it to us the skill but no it just does it.

[jiberjaber]

You don't. As its the default you can just say:

Alexa play radio 2

And it will play BBC radio 2 via the BBC skill. I thought you would need to tell it to us the skill but no it just does it.

Maybe mines doing something different as I also noticed if I tell "echo play BBC Radio 2 in the kitchen" (echo is my dot in the study) in plays it from Tunein.  If I go in to the kitchen with nothing playing and say "Alexa play BBC Radio 2" it then plays a BBC tune and asks about podcast or radio.

ETA: Just checked the kitchen now and it no longer asks about podcasts. 

[pcolbeck]

I've noticed sometimes stuiff doesnt happen instantly but synchs a bit later in the cloud somewhere. Probably what happened there with the BBC thing

[frankly frankie]

And it will play BBC radio 2 via the BBC skill. I thought you would need to tell it to us the skill but no it just does it.

I'm glad you dropped the 'she'.  That was slightly disturbing.

[Greenbank]

And it will play BBC radio 2 via the BBC skill. I thought you would need to tell it to us the skill but no it just does it.

I'm glad you dropped the 'she'.  That was slightly disturbing.

Don't anthropomorphise computers, they hate it.

[arallsopp]

Am getting on pretty well with Alexa here. Hands free kitchen timers are just too useful, and calendar integration keeps the household sane and at tempo.

Skills wise, we don't use much. Mostly its just voice commands to play some music (No! not that version! What's with you? Jeebs girl!) or to turn on/off/interact with any number of little ESP8266 projects I have dotted around the place.

What I really want her to do is realise when I'm being quiet, and whisper confirmations back to me. Every night I hear "OK" blasting from downstairs as the other half turns off the lights, closes the blinds, etc.

[Valiant]

I really like my Echo, I've just purchased a Google Home to try but still prefer the Echo due to its audio output meaning it play music etc through my decent speakers.

I was hoping the Google would be able to control my Android TV but sadly no

You know what would be a killer app, if you could create your own commands and assign skills to them and have i/o for non smart stuff.

[David Martin]

Alexa, please turn down the neighbour's stereo.

[Cunobelin]

I bough this as an aid for my wife and it worked well.

She was very impressed as she has so much information available and doesn't need to use different radios, change discs or units

I have now also fitted one in her car using the phone hotspot.

It is a whole new ball game, sending messages or making calls in an emergency is now truly hands free and easier

[Legs]

We use ours in conjunction with a smart socket to turn on the electric blanket in the evenings... 

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

I would like one that I could talk French with, as I am trying to learn proper French.

[rr]

I would like one that I could talk French with, as I am trying to learn proper French.

A few years ago my, then 14 year old, daughter tried to use Google translate to practice her spoken German. The idea was that she would speak to it in German and when the translation into English was what she wanted to say she would know she was doing it right.
Came badly unstuck when her discussion of her school timetable was translated as a conversation about her vagina.

Sent from my XT1562 using Tapatalk

[frankly frankie]

I won't be buying into this stuff until I can configure it with a name of my choice - "Alexa" is unacceptable but maybe "Oi!!" would work for me.