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Post by Slinger on Jul 15, 2019 15:30:53 GMT
A "suitable"* Amazon fire tablet plus the associated "show dock" charging port/stand more or less equals an echo show. I have this for a 8" fire tablet purchased last summer. * suitable, from memory, last summer, it was the 8" or 10" fire tablets Cheers Sean That works out quite a lot more expensive, Sean. The "Show Mode Charging Dock" is £39.99 and a 16Gb 8" Fire HD (without "Special Offers" which is a polite way of saying it serves up adverts while in use) is another £54.99. They are doing a deal for the two combined at £74.98, but that's only for the Fire HD 8 with Special Offers, which I wouldn't touch. The Echo Show 5's big brother, the Echo Show 10 is currently £159.99. An ad-free 10" Fire HD plus dock comes to £154.98, so you can save a fiver that way. |
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Post by Slinger on Sept 26, 2019 11:33:56 GMT
I'm absolutely loving this news... Amazon Alexa gets Samuel L Jackson and other celebrity voicesThere's a lot more news in the article, some of it far more pertinent to a hi-fi forum, but Alexa answering me with the voice of Samuel L Jackson, with the option to have a version that swears (I really hope that's not "fake news") for £0.80p? Sign me up m*th*rf*ck*r! |
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Post by Slinger on Nov 15, 2021 16:25:07 GMT
Just a quick reminder that the hated "Black Friday," is approaching, and pre-Black Friday deals are already upon us. One, in particular, caught my eye, and that's Amazon Echo Dots on a 2-for-1 deal. They're the older, 3 rd gen. pill-shaped Dots, but they are absolutely fine if you want to dip your toe in the waters of home automation, in fact, I actually swerved the newer, ball-shaped, 4 th generation Dots altogether when I upgraded several of my devices to the "Show," range. smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PJV3JPR/ref=gw_uk_desk_h1_sh_aucc_cr_pack_ebfd21/ and the code is ECHODOT2FOR1. At less than £19.00 a unit it seems like a good deal to me. There are usually "smart" LED bulbs on offer, as well as wall switches if you prefer to go that route. I'd suggest a couple of smart bulbs to start with to see if the whole "Alexa: Bedroom Light On," thing works for you. You can rewire all of your light switches later.  Smart Bulbs will also work via your tablet, and not only can you dim most of them, but a lot of them also allow you to change the "temperature" of the bulb, as well as the colour. EXAMPLEOther alternatives are THESE and THESE for switching lamps and appliances on and off, and the aforementioned Light Switches. I've got a couple of those running via a Sonoff RF bridge. The main caveat with the switches is making sure you get the correct type for your house wiring. i.e. Do you have a neutral wire or have you got single-wire switching, which is common in older properties? One other warning, because nobody reads instructions, you need to temporarily shut down your 5Ghz networking at the router when configuring 2.4 GHz devices. Right, that's my annual Alexa plug (pun intended)done, so you can all sneer, heap scorn upon me, and generally take the p*ss now. I don't care. I find Alexa useful. YMMV. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 15, 2021 18:57:00 GMT
What would a new to Alexa user do with minimal kit ?
Prepared to be talked into it.....
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Post by petea on Nov 15, 2021 20:19:59 GMT
No Mike, you need to talk into it!  |
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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 16, 2021 10:24:31 GMT
Talk to me Alexa !  |
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Post by Slinger on Nov 16, 2021 14:00:47 GMT
With your talent for decimating anything electronic, and bearing in mind Alexa is also connected to the internet, I think you might be well advised to keep your distance, Mike. Joking aside though, you need to do a bit of reading up on the subject, and determine if you'd be happy setting it up yourself. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 16, 2021 15:30:24 GMT
I'm more interested now as I have discovered all sorts of odd and obvious uses for my mobile phone which have become rather useful.
Alexa could follow the same pattern
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Post by MartinT on Nov 16, 2021 15:47:57 GMT
With your talent for decimating anything electronic I don't think Mike is as much as 90% effective?  |
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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 16, 2021 16:00:13 GMT
My talents extend to breaking door catches just by using them - or could that be crap materials by our less than optimal builders... Yesterday a leak from a shower through the ceiling underneath  |
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Post by MartinT on Sept 4, 2022 10:15:07 GMT
I've just bought a set of these Mycket wi-fi timer switches from Amazon and they're excellent. They're all setup on the home wi-fi and I've installed the Smart Life app on both our phones. The home location is defined, rooms and users named etc. We can now control individual lights or all of them from our phone. I've programmed on and off timers and used the 'smart' automation to have the lights come on 5 minutes before sunset so that dark winter days are compensated for. There's lots more that we aren't using (like having aircon come on at a preset temperature according to the weather, or having something switch on according to your phone's location, i.e. when nearing home). Alexa and Google users can control them by voice.  |
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Post by brian2957 on Sept 4, 2022 10:40:24 GMT
I will be buying a few of these Martin, thanks.
I had the Hive system installed for my central heating fitted a few years ago and I can switch it on and off on my phone and also with my Amazon Echo. I've switched the heating on remotely from Prague and Portugal, basically wherever I can get a data signal. From now on when we go out for the day I will be leaving the heating off until an hour before we return home, and I will then turn the heating on remotely.
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Post by MartinT on Sept 4, 2022 11:07:49 GMT
I had the similar Tado system in my previous house, Brian. Sadly this house's heating is too complex as it has 5 timers.
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Post by brian2957 on Sept 4, 2022 12:02:08 GMT
Great way to save money in these uncertain times Martin. I think we all will have to get 'smarter' with our energy usage in future.
I have already begun to make small changes (bigger ones to come) in my energy consumption and have already lowered my monthly bill by around £20-£30 per month. The Hive system will, I believe, have a major part to play in this.
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Post by MartinT on Sept 4, 2022 13:30:33 GMT
Agreed. We also have a new washing machine with eco programs and an A rating for energy consumption and are using the eco-sensor programme on our dishwasher. No, we did not buy the wi-fi enabled washing machine model. Seriously silly.
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Post by Slinger on Sept 4, 2022 14:52:38 GMT
As you know, I've been singing the praises of Alexa automation for a long time. I've got loads of " smart" sockets dotted about the place, and I've replaced some actual light switches with the same sort of thing (they use a 433MHz Sonoff RF Bridge.) where practical. You can even get dimmers. Some of my light fittings have smart bulbs in them. These can also often be dimmed, or even change colour. Most useful are those where you can actually vary the light temperature. If you're uncertain as to exactly what that is, or what type of " normal" bulb you require, below is a handy chart. The majority of my smart bulbs are " tunable" from warm white to daylight white, something like 2000K-6500K  When using Alexa, rather than the app, you do need to remember what you named the bloody things though, otherwise you can end up shouting at Alexa, and calling her all sorts of unjustified names.  N.B. If you're thinking about swapping out light switches, make sure you get the correct type for your wiring. Some require you to have a neutral wire feeding the switch, and some - usually to accomodate older, pre 1980, wiring - don't. I hope some of this is helpful. |
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Post by brian2957 on Sept 4, 2022 15:14:29 GMT
I hope some of this is helpful.
Yup, all helpful here mate. I will have to go round the house and check all the lightbulbs.
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Post by MikeMusic on Sept 4, 2022 15:27:50 GMT
Been using Alexa to get us to a TV prog. on the Firestick
Feel daft talking to it, but most happy when it goes straight there with no messing
Still haven't worked out what else I could do with Alexa and her charms
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Post by julesd68 on Sept 4, 2022 18:54:17 GMT
Just bought a £22.99 Amazon Echo Dot Gen 4 for my son and it's excellent! How it makes some decent music with such a tiny speaker is ridiculous - lots of fun. |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 21, 2022 14:54:38 GMT
Amazon is gutting its voice-assistant Alexa
Mounting losses and massive job cuts are leading to the downfall of Amazon's Alexa voice assistant. Amazon's Worldwide Digital unit, which includes Echo smart speakers and Alexa voice technology, had an operating loss of over $3 billion during the first quarter of this year. A vast majority of the losses were tied to Alexa and other devices. The Alexa division is now the prime target for layoffs at the company. Amazon's Senior Vice President for Devices and Services claimed in a statement that the company remains committed to Alexa and will continue to invest in the technology.
Source: TLDR
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Smart Bulbs will also work via your tablet, and not only can you dim most of them, but a lot of them also allow you to change the "temperature" of the bulb, as well as the colour. 
