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Alexa, what do you do?

We have the Echo Tap, not sure if they still make it but you have to press ('tap') the button so it helps assuage the 'surveillance' a bit. Also the Tap, and I assume all of the larger Echos (e.g. NOT the EchoDot) acts as a portable bluetooth speaker and can be unplugged from its little stand, so you can take it outside or to garage and use as a streaming speaker with house WiFi, or further away and still send music to via bluetooth on phone. So for us mostly as a speaker.

My in-laws have them connected to Sonos which is great, and also some smart light switches. Not sure the switches save much time for dimming but if you are comfy on the couch it is nice, and you don't need to loudly clap like the old clapper!

Also have you noticed you developed an "Alexa" voice - speaking loudly and slowly as if Alexa is an elderly relative? :)
 
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k123 said:
We have the Echo Tap, not sure if they still make it but you have to press ('tap') the button so it helps assuage the 'surveillance' a bit. Also the Tap, and I assume all of the larger Echos (e.g. NOT the EchoDot) acts as a portable bluetooth speaker and can be unplugged from its little stand, so you can take it outside or to garage and use as a streaming speaker with house WiFi, or further away and still send music to via bluetooth on phone. So for us mostly as a speaker.

My in-laws have them connected to Sonos which is great, and also some smart light switches. Not sure the switches save much time for dimming but if you are comfy on the couch it is nice, and you don't need to loudly clap like the old clapper!

Also have you noticed you developed an "Alexa" voice - speaking loudly and slowly as if Alexa is an elderly relative? :)
Click to expand...
The larger Echos can not be unplugged. At least not our version.
My daughter has the Tap and she loves it because it's more portable. I don't think they make them anymore for some reason. FYI - you can make it 'always listen' like a normal Echo if you want.
 
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k123 said:
Also have you noticed you developed an "Alexa" voice - speaking loudly and slowly as if Alexa is an elderly relative? :)
Click to expand...

I start with the Alexa voice like I'm talking to an elderly immigrant with a hearing problem, but then most of the times she still doesn't hear me correctly, so I end up using Dad voice like I'm giving the kids a stern talking to.
 
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I use mine to
1.) Tell me the time (no clocks in the room) when i'm working on something
2.) Set alarms and reminders. This is actually pretty handy.
3.) Turn off a light that has a smart plug that would otherwise require me to crawl across the furniture and end table.
4.) Play music, Iheart radio (KXNO usually)
5.) Ask what channel games are on
6.) Control my ecobee thermostat


It is handy for a lot of simple things that you may need another hand or go look something up.

Cons:
She's always listening.
 
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k123 said:
We have the Echo Tap, not sure if they still make it but you have to press ('tap') the button so it helps assuage the 'surveillance' a bit. Also the Tap, and I assume all of the larger Echos (e.g. NOT the EchoDot) acts as a portable bluetooth speaker and can be unplugged from its little stand, so you can take it outside or to garage and use as a streaming speaker with house WiFi, or further away and still send music to via bluetooth on phone. So for us mostly as a speaker.

My in-laws have them connected to Sonos which is great, and also some smart light switches. Not sure the switches save much time for dimming but if you are comfy on the couch it is nice, and you don't need to loudly clap like the old clapper!

Also have you noticed you developed an "Alexa" voice - speaking loudly and slowly as if Alexa is an elderly relative? :)
Click to expand...

I have the Tap also but enabled it to listen all the time. Works great as a grab and go speaker, just set it outside with you if you're doing yard work or sitting on the patio etc.
 
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We got one for my 87 year old mother who lives alone. It's a real Godsend for her.....she now has company that she can cut off any time she wants to! But she does enjoy the weather, music, getting info about things she doesn't know, etc.
 
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Question. Can anyone up in the twin cities verify if you can tell Alexa to order booze from Surdyk’s Liquor Store and have it delivered within 2 hours?

Asking for a friend....
 
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throwittoblythe said:
I know it's probably confirmation bias, but I've had multiple friends with an echo tell me this very thing has happened to them. They haven't searched for an item online at all, but have been talking about it in their conversations at home. Then they start seeing ads for it on facebook. Things like that make me hesitate to ever allow one in my home.
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This will happen to you from your phone as well. I have an iPhone, with pretty much all the invasive stuff turned off, still get ads based on my conversations.
 
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ruxCYtable said:
I check news, weather, sports, play music, control my home security system, view my security cameras, control all the lights in my house, control my thermostat, use as an intercom within the house, use as an alarm clock, control ceiling fans...And I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

I guess I'm just a nerd.
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Care to share your ip address so the rest of us can join in on the fun.....
:)
 
Cyclonepride said:
This will happen to you from your phone as well. I have an iPhone, with pretty much all the invasive stuff turned off, still get ads based on my conversations.
Click to expand...

Usually this isnt from phones\devices being listened to, but the fact that people are often fairly predictable, more than they realize. Other behavior can be predictive even if you didnt make that exact search already.

There was a story years ago about how target had to tone down their system because their algorithm was predicting and advertising to pregnant women, often before the women themselves knew they were pregnant.
 
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EnhancedFujita said:
I start with the Alexa voice like I'm talking to an elderly immigrant with a hearing problem, but then most of the times she still doesn't hear me correctly, so I end up using Dad voice like I'm giving the kids a stern talking to.
Click to expand...

Stern Dad Voice for me too! :) I guess I just need to assign my Alexa a middle name!
"For the last time, Alexa..."
 
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Being able to remotely turn or off music, lights, and so on is a nice feature that I used while in San Antonia.
 
When our son kept asking Alexa NBA scores, NBA stories kept popping up on my google news feed.
 
alarson said:
Usually this isnt from phones\devices being listened to, but the fact that people are often fairly predictable, more than they realize. Other behavior can be predictive even if you didnt make that exact search already.

There was a story years ago about how target had to tone down their system because their algorithm was predicting and advertising to pregnant women, often before the women themselves knew they were pregnant.
Click to expand...

Must be predictive to the point of being psychic, because I’ve had things pop up almost immediately upon discovering a problem or need (prior to any searches at all).
 
I have both Alexa and multiple google homes. Use it for routines like “good morning”, where it tells me the temp, my customized news, time, plays podcast, tells me my traffic, etc.

I do all of these things on google home.


I can change the temp
Control my temp (ecobeee) “set temp to 70”
Control my TV/Audio (harmony) “turn on TV, turn on Netflix, etc)
Add items to shopping list “add donuts to shopping list”
Control my lights (hue) “turn on couch”
Control cameras (nest) (chrome cast) “show outside on tv”
Send a message to all speakers “dinners ready”
Set alarms
Play music
Answer questions “how old was super Dave “
Listen to podcasts “listen to plant money”. It picks up where I left off or the latest if I tell it to. If I’m In a hurry I say set the speed to 1.4 and it plays faster.
Find my phone “find my phone”


Bought my wife a Lenovo smart display for her birthday, which has google home built into it. I expect she’ll use it for cooking and Duo.
 
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