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Thread: Amazon Echo/Alexa ported to audio system

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Widget View Post
    I wasn't suggesting Amazon is spying on you when you turn it off, I'm suggesting others may be using it to monitor your on-line banking etc. by using it as a weak point in your home network. Many of the low cost IOT appliances are famously easy to turn into data gleaning bots.

    Widget
    Oh, THAT was cool , err... warm.

    I let Alexa search the house for compatible devices ... it only came up with one...
    the wi-fi thermostat.

    So I went thru the setup routine and can now control the furnace with voice commands
    In the AM, when I don't want to get up to a cold house (the static scheduling never worked
    well as I'm up at all different times) , can just tell it what temp to set the house to.
    (and tell it to revert to schedule when done)

    Yeah, everything is password protected , I see no downside to this "skill"
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

  2. #17
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    Alexa’s new Whisper Mode goes live

    https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/18/al...ode-goes-live/

    oh yeah, plugged in my little JBL clip (when want lower volume than the 120Ti's)
    sounds much better than DOT alone.
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  3. #18
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    I accidentally bought a Google Home Mini yesterday (thought it was a BT speaker until
    powered it and the thing started talking to me) ,,, when time, I'll set it up and try to do
    a comparo to the Echo in this thread.

    First impression is that it looks pretty minimalistic (like a BT speaker )
    and doesn't have an audio OUT jack.
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  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by SEAWOLF97 View Post
    I accidentally bought a Google Home Mini yesterday (thought it was a BT speaker until
    powered it and the thing started talking to me) ,,, when time, I'll set it up and try to do
    a comparo to the Echo in this thread.

    First impression is that it looks pretty minimalistic (like a BT speaker )
    and doesn't have an audio OUT jack.
    After reading this ==>> Amazon reportedly has 63% U.S. smart speaker share, eclipsing Google and Apple

    https://venturebeat.com/2018/10/22/a...gle-and-apple/

    decided to just stick with the Echo, and not waste time setting up a second unneeded unit. Off to CL.
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  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by SEAWOLF97 View Post
    decided to just stick with the Echo, and not waste time setting up a second unneeded unit. Off to CL.
    Got bored and thot I'd play around with the google Home mini. mistake. It can only be setup with a cell phone (I have one, but the android version is not compatible , Echo can use a web browser) .
    GHM also can only output with blutooth. yuk.
    My Echo has a 3.5 jack. I've got a Y plug into it with one leg going to a Sangean radio (nice sound quality, always ON and 110v) and the other leg going to the amp powering the 120Ti's. So I can go from little mono speaker to nice JBL's with just the push of the amp's ON button. (which is just under the PC monitor)

    new features coming almost weekly

    Alexa Can Now 'Get Back to You On That'

    Given that asking for facts is the most commonly-used feature of smart speakers like Amazon Echo, Alexa users are probably familiar with the phrase “I’m sorry, I don’t know that.”

    Alexa’s knowledge base is constantly growing, and at some point in the future she just might have an answer to a question she didn’t before. To that end, Amazon is rolling out a new feature called “Answer Updates,” which allows Alexa to notify you when she learns an answer to a question she didn’t know at the time you asked it.

    https://lifehacker.com/alexa-can-now...hat-1828161701

    There’s also currently no toggle for this in the Alexa app, but you can simply say “Alexa, enable Answer Updates” and you’ll be provided with confirmation and a brief description of the feature. You can disable them (should whatever form the notifications take prove annoying, perhaps) with “Alexa, disable Answer Updates.”
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  6. #21
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    black-friday-2018-smart-home-deals

    Save $20
    Amazon Smart Plug for $5 with purchase of any Echo device

    Save $26
    Amazon Echo Dot (third-gen) for $24

    https://www.cnet.com/news/black-frid...-home-deals-7/
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  7. #22
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    Got a Windows 10 computer? You can get Amazon Alexa for FREE right now – and here’s how to do it

    She's finally here, and you don't have to pay a penny for her services


    https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/769369...d-free-amazon/
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  8. #23
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    this is about my experience too

    .
    good article

    Voice tech like Alexa and Siri hasn’t found its true calling yet: Inside the voice assistant ‘revolution’
    Until we invent something that wouldn’t be possible without voice, we’re just repurposing online content for our ears.

    https://www.recode.net/2018/11/12/17...ogle-assistant
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  9. #24
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    was doing some cleaning and found a JBL Charge2+ speaker I've bought
    sometime back. Remembered that when I got it, had no blutooth active,
    so I hooked it to a 3.5mm cable & ipod to check it out.

    Sounded so poorly that I figured that it MUST be counterfeit. The logo plate was
    more RED than ORANGE too. Put it away in storage.

    so today I charged it and paired with the Echo.Whole different story ... sounds very good

    little sucker does actually have some bass, highs very clear. I've just made an a/c connection to it and not even going to fool with charging. I'd bet the little DOT now sounds better than the bigger Echos, where you pay a premium for an upgraded mono speaker (my JBL is stereo)
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    ^ Since the subject came up...We bought a travel trailer that was factory equipped with a JBL Flip 4. It sounded so good, I bought a 2nd unit and downloaded the JBL phone app that can control them. I use in stereo mode but I think the app can broadcast to 100 units simultaneously. Considering the cost, size and weight, they obsolete many larger and more expensive mobile systems.

  11. #26
    Senior Member brutal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SEAWOLF97 View Post
    was doing some cleaning and found a JBL Charge2+ speaker I've bought
    sometime back. Remembered that when I got it, had no blutooth active,
    so I hooked it to a 3.5mm cable & ipod to check it out.

    Sounded so poorly that I figured that it MUST be counterfeit. The logo plate was
    more RED than ORANGE too. Put it away in storage.

    so today I charged it and paired with the Echo.Whole different story ... sounds very good

    little sucker does actually have some bass, highs very clear. I've just made an a/c connection to it and not even going to fool with charging. I'd bet the little DOT now sounds better than the bigger Echos, where you pay a premium for an upgraded mono speaker (my JBL is stereo)
    The Echo Dot Gen3 can be paired for stereo sound...

    I'm going to see if they'll work as a bluetooth speaker with my new RX-A3070 (2017 model) that has BT transmit (2018 3080 does not). Just something low end for the kitchen that I can play my media library through. However, I'm unsure if MusicCast can output to BT speakers, especially if they're alexa devices that are capable of running the receiver (it has Alexa integration built in).

    There's other options, perhaps a zone output to a BT transmitter.

    I won't know until we get done with our remodel and I can finish getting everything up and running.


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    Alexa just notified me that I have a package coming today and asked if I'd like to be notified when it arrives


    Quite a video embedded in this article.

    The future of Amazon Echo and Google Home looks bleak

    Just how intrusive will smart speakers become? A haunting new video tries to imagine their role in our future lives. It isn't pretty.


    https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-fu...0agj5GAoKFkb_8
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    Hey, the singularity has to have a way to talk to us, it might as well be with these.

  14. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by DES-1 View Post
    Hey, the singularity has to have a way to talk to us, it might as well be with these.
    Over Thanksgiving the new DOT Gen3 was so cheap that I couldn't pass it up. It is bigger, better looking, sounds better and setup was a breeze. It arrived today.

    The plan is to move to old Gen2 out to the livingroom stereo (I got the SmartPlug too, since it was only $5 extra) . In the winter (6AM) I sit out there for a while when lighting up the woodstove. It will be nice to have streaming tunes as I'm struggling to get the fire to light.

    The blutooth connection from the DOT2 to the JBL Charge was experiencing dropouts and so I'll get it wired into my 20.y.o Denon receiver to the ESS speakers and bypass all that.
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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    Video shows ‘Alexa in space’ aboard the International Space Station

    https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-t...s-cimon-video/

    https://youtu.be/3_2Jy1Ur0js

    CIMON, which stands for Crew Interactive MObile companioN, was sent to the ISS to test out whether a robot equipped with artificial intelligence can help improve crew efficiency and morale — two big problems when a small crew is on a long mission that may include many repetitive tasks. CIMON is a 3D printed plastic sphere about the size of a volleyball and has a screen which displays a rough outline of facial features and text. He was developed and built by Airbus in Germany, and thanks to the lack of gravity, CIMON’s 11 lb. mass floats happily around the ISS.

    Interactions between CIMON and the crew are still a little awkward. Basic tasks like asking CIMON to play a song or getting CIMON to show the required equipment and procedure for on-board tasks work well, but more in-depth naturalistic conversations are beyond CIMON right now. Sometimes the bot will respond with: “Sorry, I am just a robot. I don’t know everything you mention,” sounding a lot like the ever so common and frustrating phrase from Alexa: “I’m sorry, I don’t understand the question.”

    Things in the video get a little bit HAL 9000-esque when CIMON refuses to get out of music mode and reprimands astronaut Alexander Gerst to “Be nice, please,” and creepily asks, “Don’t you like it here with me?” CIMON even tells Gerst off, telling him, “Don’t be so mean, please.” There are clearly some bugs to be worked out in the communications between man and machine before CIMON is ready to act as a full-fledged assistant aboard the space station.
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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