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Amazon Echo

Ardvark

Well-known member
I bought one of these for a residence hall Lounge that we are renovating somewhat limited it will control the lights the power screen for the projector and the temperature
 

BirdOPrey5

Staff member
Administrator
VIP
how do you order a Dot? how many can you have in your house?
The only way to order the dot right now is from an original Echo or an Amazon Fire TV with voice remote.

On an original Echo you say "Alexa, order an Echo Dot."

On an Amazon fire TV you hold down the microphone button and say "Order an Echo dot."

You can order 2 per Prime account from Amazon, but you can buy more from eBay, I don't think they block them from working, it's just a purchase limit b/c they're on short supply. The cons of eBay is they are more expensive, the pro is they come in a few days.

I've still got 3 weeks to go to get mine.
 

BirdOPrey5

Staff member
Administrator
VIP
Anyone using the Amazon TAP? Looks like a portable ECHO without the home control software.
The difference with the tap is you must touch it before talking, so you don't need to say "Alexa" or any other name.

But you still need WiFi so it's not like you can take it to the beach unless the beach has wifi or your cell phone is a wifi hot sport.
 

BirdOPrey5

Staff member
Administrator
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I see you can now pick a default music and radio provider- Amazon.com Help

In the past if I said "Alexa, Play Frank Sinatra" by default that would mean play Frank Sinatra on Amazon Prime Music. But now I can set Pandora, iHeartRadio, or other music services to be default.

Not a big deal to me but might make some people's lives easier. It'a s setting in the Alexa app.
 

luv_jeeps

Mr. Martha
VIP
Ultra-Premium
I see you can now pick a default music and radio provider- Amazon.com Help

In the past if I said "Alexa, Play Frank Sinatra" by default that would mean play Frank Sinatra on Amazon Prime Music. But now I can set Pandora, iHeartRadio, or other music services to be default.

Not a big deal to me but might make some people's lives easier. It'a s setting in the Alexa app.
I always said "Alexa, play Steely Dan" and it would grab it from my Amazon list, but could also say "Alexa, play Steely Dan from iHeart Radio" and it would grab stuff from there.

On another note.....my Insteon hub (model 2245-222) just went tits up over the weekend. Won't POST....or power on, nothing.
I called them yesterday, and they're supposed to be sending me another one.
 

BirdOPrey5

Staff member
Administrator
VIP
Woo! $10 off any Amazon Prime item $20 or more (one time only) between now and Amazon Prime Day (end of day July 12.)

I just did it.

First, go to the Amazon website, find an item you want that cost $20.00 of more. (Mine was $20.50, supplies we need for my condition).

Then tell Alexa - "Alexa, buy [item title]" so for me I said "Alexa buy Medline Ultra-Soft Disposable Dry Cleansing Cloths, 500 Count." She verified the item and the price, confirmed I would be getting $10 off, then I had to tell her the code I setup to protect accidental buying, and in a few seconds the order was placed.

Easy.
 

BirdOPrey5

Staff member
Administrator
VIP
The Amazon Echo Dot is finally able to (pre) order again, it's a 2nd generation model smaller and lighter then it used to be, and now available in white or black. It's also significantly cheaper at $50 each.



The full size Echo is also in white as well now, of course black is still an option. Both are $179 with the Black in stock now and White available for pre-order.




As Amazon is hoping you'll get an echo for every room of the house new and old alike will be updated so that only the Echo closest to you responds to your request even if multiple echos hear you. Currently they all answer at the same time so if two echos are close by you have to use one of the alternate names. (Alexa, Amazon, or Echo.)
 

BrandonM7

MaMway Platinum Member
Staff member
Moderator
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Ultra-Premium
Mine has quit responding if it's playing music or a book, unless I stand over it and scream. Even then it's 50/50. Thankful for the mic button, annoyed at the new uselessness.
 

BirdOPrey5

Staff member
Administrator
VIP
Mine has quit responding if it's playing music or a book, unless I stand over it and scream. Even then it's 50/50. Thankful for the mic button, annoyed at the new uselessness.
Should definitely contact support, not having those issues.
 
I got a Google Home (competitor to Echo) and love it so far. I connected it to my Smartthings hub to control numerous lights/switches, several Chromecasts and have a Google Play account so unlimited music streaming.
 

abqtj

I'm a damn delight!
Staff member
Administrator
VIP
Interesting

Police seek Amazon Echo data in murder case (updated)

Amazon's Echo devices and its virtual assistant are meant to help find answers by listening for your voice commands. However, police in Arkansas want to know if one of the gadgets overheard something that can help with a murder case. According to The Information, authorities in Bentonville issued a warrant for Amazon to hand over any audio or records from an Echo belonging to James Andrew Bates. Bates is set to go to trial for first-degree murder for the death of Victor Collins next year.

Amazon declined to give police any of the information that the Echo logged on its servers, but it did hand over Bates' account details and purchases. Police say they were able to pull data off of the speaker, but it's unclear what info they were able to access. Due to the so-called always on nature of the connected device, the authorities are after any audio the speaker may have picked up that night. Sure, the Echo is activated by certain words, but it's not uncommon for the IoT gadget to be alerted to listen by accident.

Police say Bates had several other smart home devices, including a water meter. That piece of tech shows that 140 gallons of water were used between 1AM and 3AM the night Collins was found dead in Bates' hot tub. Investigators allege the water was used to wash away evidence of what happened off of the patio. The examination of the water meter and the request for stored Echo information raises a bigger question about privacy. At a time when we have any number of devices tracking and automating our habits at home, should that information be used against us in criminal cases?

Bates' attorney argues that it shouldn't. "You have an expectation of privacy in your home, and I have a big problem that law enforcement can use the technology that advances our quality of life against us," defense attorney Kimberly Weber said. Of course, there's also the question of how reliable information is from smart home devices. Accuracy can be an issue for any number of IoT gadgets. However, an audio recording would seemingly be a solid piece of evidence, if released.

Just as we saw with the quest to unlock an iPhone in the San Bernardino case, it will be interesting to see how authorities and the companies who make smart home devices work out the tension between serving customers, maintaining privacy and pursuing justice.

Update: An Amazon spokesperson gave Engadget the following statement on the matter:

"Amazon will not release customer information without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us. Amazon objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate demands as a matter of course."
As a refresher, Echo only captures audio and streams it to the cloud when the device hears the wake word "Alexa." A ring on the top of the device turns blue to give a visual indication that audio is being recorded. Those clips, or "utterances" as the company calls them, are stored in the cloud until a customer deletes them either individually or all at once. When that's done, the "utterances" are permanently deleted. What's more, the microphones on an Echo device can be manually turned off at any time.
 
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