Using ALEXA...

LoveCurryPies · Post by **LoveCurryPies** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 2:20 pm

Received an Amazon Echo Dot for Christmas. My main problem seems to be remembering what to call it.

Anyway, I am getting used to it and listen to Radio 4 and 2 but it doesn't seem to be able to play Classic FM or even Radio Leeds (my local BBC station).

That is all I have used it for but I did wonder if anyone has found a good use for it?

claretdj · Post by **claretdj** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 2:31 pm

I think you will have to download the tune in radio app n then it should work.. I have got the Google home n can get every radio station in the UK through the above app including local radio.
Failing that I would take it back n swap it for the Google home mini.

starting_11 · Post by **starting_11** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 2:33 pm

IndigoLake · Post by **IndigoLake** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 2:38 pm

Hey Alexa, tell me a joke...

"BLACKBURN ROVERS"

WEYYYYYYYY.

Seriously, Alexa does tell jokes.

Foulthrow · Post by **Foulthrow** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 2:52 pm

I really don't understand what you would use these things for.

duncandisorderly · Post by **duncandisorderly** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 2:53 pm

A good trick to pull when leaving the house is to ask alexa what's 99 factorial, especially if you've left one or two luddites in the house who can't turn it off.

Funkydrummer · Post by **Funkydrummer** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:02 pm

Even better, 99 bang.

aggi · Post by **aggi** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:27 pm

Mine mainly gets used for controlling heating and lights and turning TV, amp and all the rest of it off before bed. Also useful in the kitchen for setting timers (my lights in the living room flash when the timer is up) and asking for cooked temperatures of stuff.

It's OK as a radio but I prefer just pressing a button to change station

Vegas Claret · Post by **Vegas Claret** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:31 pm

LoveCurryPies wrote:Received an Amazon Echo Dot for Christmas. My main problem seems to be remembering what to call it.

Anyway, I am getting used to it and listen to Radio 4 and 2 but it doesn't seem to be able to play Classic FM or even Radio Leeds (my local BBC station).

That is all I have used it for but I did wonder if anyone has found a good use for it?

you can link it to tune in radio which has loads of stations

https://tunein.com/search/?query=classic%20fm

Just say "Alexa play classic fm on tune in"

Hedontplayforyou · Post by **Hedontplayforyou** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 5:08 pm

Ask Alexa if she/it is connected to the CIA and see what happens

!aiboforceN · Post by **!aiboforceN** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 5:21 pm

The only thing George Orwell got wrong is that we invited the cameras and listening devices into our own homes

DCWat · Post by **DCWat** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 5:29 pm

aggi wrote:Mine mainly gets used for controlling heating and lights and turning TV, amp and all the rest of it off before bed. Also useful in the kitchen for setting timers (my lights in the living room flash when the timer is up) and asking for cooked temperatures of stuff.

It's OK as a radio but I prefer just pressing a button to change station

How are you controlling the TV etc. Aggi, have you got a Harmony remote or similar?

Stalbansclaret · Post by **Stalbansclaret** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 5:38 pm

Other than for disabled people I am another person who cannot see any point at all in having one of these devices. And that's leaving aside the fact I'd feel a bit of a prick talking to a small box in my kitchen.

brigante · Post by **brigante** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 5:47 pm

Still the best example of Alexa going wrong

https://youtu.be/epyWW2e43UU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

charlyt · Post by **charlyt** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 6:23 pm

I use mine through a smart plug to switch telly and set top boxes on and off instead of leaving the said stuff on standby,
'Er indoors can't figure out why the remotes don't work, so she goes off to clean and vac, so it's win win

SalisburyClaret · Post by **SalisburyClaret** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 6:43 pm

For example - they can be useful when you're cooking - you use your last bit of cheese...
Alexa - add Parmesan to the shopping list (it will also appear on the list on your phone)
Alexa - how long do you cook Broccoli for
Alexa - set a timer for 3 minutes
Alexa - play Stormzy - or Val Doonican - or whatever makes your ears happy
Alexa - what herbs are best with mushrooms
Alexa - remind me the dog needs a walk in an hour
Alexa - add book a cookery course to my to-do list
All while your stirring your pasta or whatever

Or you can get the missus to cook

Vegas Claret · Post by **Vegas Claret** » Thu Jan 11, 2018 7:07 pm

Stalbansclaret wrote:Other than for disabled people I am another person who cannot see any point at all in having one of these devices. And that's leaving aside the fact I'd feel a bit of a prick talking to a small box in my kitchen.

I listen to various BBC radio stations etc through it and set reminders for things - it's superb

CharlieinNewMexico · Post by **CharlieinNewMexico** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 3:41 am

you can scare the **** out of your cats when you're 200 miles away. Use your phone to start playing Einsturzende Neubaten on Spotify and it comes through on the speaker in your living room, right where they curl up.

ClaretDiver · Post by **ClaretDiver** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:54 am

I posted on an earlier thread about this, we use it to help my wife's speech therapy....it works awesome for it!

cricketfieldclarets · Post by **cricketfieldclarets** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 10:13 am

Why anyone would use this in the home is beyond me

A device, listening to and potentially recording your every conversation connected to the http://www.." onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Im not paranoid. And nothing to hide. But its just another invasion of technology into modern life. It also will have the capability of targetting you with 'targetted' marketing and selling you all sorts of **** you apparently want or need.

Plus its pretty ******* lazy.

Dom · Post by **Dom** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 10:22 am

Loads of things are "lazy" and we still do it.
I use mine for multi-room music, hue light control, hive heating control, timers, reminders, shopping lists, playing audible, my commute info, the morning headlines etc
It'll only get better too, I have an Amazon Fire TV box and the functionality to voice control that will be available in the UK in the next few months. I have four Echos in the house now.

Rick_Muller · Post by **Rick_Muller** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 10:29 am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLbETIeOoDI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Panthro · Post by **Panthro** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 10:56 am

Dom wrote:Loads of things are "lazy" and we still do it.
I use mine for multi-room music, hue light control, hive heating control, timers, reminders, shopping lists, playing audible, my commute info, the morning headlines etc
It'll only get better too, I have an Amazon Fire TV box and the functionality to voice control that will be available in the UK in the next few months. I have four of them in the house now.

Dom,
How does your hue setup look? I’m having problems with Alexa duplicating each of my lamps and then being unable to differentiate between which one to control.

Dom · Post by **Dom** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:07 am

Panthro wrote:Dom,
How does your hue setup look? I’m having problems with Alexa duplicating each of my lamps and then being unable to differentiate between which one to control.

Problem you might have is not giving the bulbs a different name to the room name. As in Master Bedroom being the room name and the bulbs being called Master Bedroom 1, 2, 3. Alexa won't differentiate. So as long as the bulbs are called something like Master Bed Bulb 1, Master Bed Bulb 2 etc it should work fine.

Dom · Post by **Dom** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:09 am

Panthro wrote:Dom,
How does your hue setup look? I’m having problems with Alexa duplicating each of my lamps and then being unable to differentiate between which one to control.

This is how Alexa sees the bulbs, it pulls the info out of Hue. A selection of the bulbs in my house. So if you were to control "Bathroom" for example, Alexa see's it as the room I've defined in Hue which contains Bathroom Bulb 1-3. But it then also shows the individual bulbs which can be controlled as a singular, which I don't like really. The Hue app approach works best.

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: Screenshot_2018-01-12-11-07-27.png (151.63 KiB) Viewed 3479 times

aggi · Post by **aggi** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:26 am

DCWat wrote:How are you controlling the TV etc. Aggi, have you got a Harmony remote or similar?

I have a Harmony remote. You can do it directly with the Harmony skill or you can set it up using IFTTT which makes the voice command a bit more straightforward.

aggi · Post by **aggi** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:28 am

LoveCurryPies wrote:Anyway, I am getting used to it and listen to Radio 4 and 2 but it doesn't seem to be able to play Classic FM or even Radio Leeds (my local BBC station).

Mine plays Classic FM or Radio Leeds when I ask it to.

Sidney1st · Post by **Sidney1st** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:30 am

cricketfieldclarets wrote:Why anyone would use this in the home is beyond me

A device, listening to and potentially recording your every conversation connected to the http://www.." onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Im not paranoid. And nothing to hide. But its just another invasion of technology into modern life. It also will have the capability of targetting you with 'targetted' marketing and selling you all sorts of **** you apparently want or need.

Plus its pretty ******* lazy.

I think this forum can target you with specific advertisements sometimes.
Most forms of social media can and do it anyway.
Just a modern form of advertising using the digital world instead of old fashioned news paper articles or Posters in the street etc.

DCWat · Post by **DCWat** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:49 am

Sidney1st wrote:I think this forum can target you with specific advertisements sometimes.
Most forms of social media can and do it anyway.
Just a modern form of advertising using the digital world instead of old fashioned news paper articles or Posters in the street etc.

Same for TV as well

Panthro · Post by **Panthro** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 12:21 pm

Dom wrote:This is how Alexa sees the bulbs, it pulls the info out of Hue. A selection of the bulbs in my house. So if you were to control "Bathroom" for example, Alexa see's it as the room I've defined in Hue which contains Bathroom Bulb 1-3. But it then also shows the individual bulbs which can be controlled as a singular, which I don't like really. The Hue app approach works best.
Screenshot_2018-01-12-11-07-03.png

Screenshot_2018-01-12-11-07-16.png

Screenshot_2018-01-12-11-07-27.png

So how do you command Alexa to set bathroom for example in your setup? I have 1 hue lamp per room and Siri responds to my room name command (which is also the name in the native hue app)

BleedingClaret · Post by **BleedingClaret** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 12:28 pm

Hey Alexa you know you want it

Want what David

You know you dirty little device

I do not know to what you are referring David

Oh sod off no wonder they named you after a bird

I do not believe there is a bird species...

Oh **** off I prefer my Tom Tom anyhow we go places together whilst you just hang around at home knowing everything whilst attempting to correct me
Already had one of them for years

Dom · Post by **Dom** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 2:23 pm

Panthro wrote:So how do you command Alexa to set bathroom for example in your setup? I have 1 hue lamp per room and Siri responds to my room name command (which is also the name in the native hue app)

You can go to the smart home section of the Alexa app, select the Groups tab and create a new smart home group.
Do each of your rooms have a unique name and do each of your bulbs have a unique name? In my screenshot above, Alexa picks up the room "Bathroom" as a light even though it's a room. But in the hue app the room bathroom contains the three Bathroom bulbs.

cricketfieldclarets · Post by **cricketfieldclarets** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 5:59 pm

Sidney1st wrote:I think this forum can target you with specific advertisements sometimes.
Most forms of social media can and do it anyway.
Just a modern form of advertising using the digital world instead of old fashioned news paper articles or Posters in the street etc.

Yeah I get that. I work with similar technology. Its the fact it can and does record anythong you say...

Sidney1st · Post by **Sidney1st** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 6:08 pm

I don't want to know what it does with your thong...

Pimlico_Claret · Post by **Pimlico_Claret** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 6:16 pm

Dom wrote:Problem you might have is not giving the bulbs a different name to the room name. As in Master Bedroom being the room name and the bulbs being called Master Bedroom 1, 2, 3. Alexa won't differentiate. So as long as the bulbs are called something like Master Bed Bulb 1, Master Bed Bulb 2 etc it should work fine.

Don't want to sound offensive but what is wrong with using a light switch?

ClaretDiver · Post by **ClaretDiver** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 6:19 pm

Pimlico_Claret wrote:Don't want to sound offensive but what is wrong with using a light switch?

I am in the process of setting the lights etc up as my wife is disabled....if she can turn them on and off using her limited speech then fantastic!

bob-the-scutter · Post by **bob-the-scutter** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 6:48 pm

A very expensive doorstop!

ablueclaret · Post by **ablueclaret** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:01 pm

Can you argue with this Alexa?

ElectroClaret · Post by **ElectroClaret** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:05 pm

Is it true if you want to play Spotify through it, you have to
buy the Premium version, cos it won't play the free one?

claretdj · Post by **claretdj** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:37 pm

You don't have to buy premium, but you won't be able to ask it to play specific tracks by artists if you don't buy it, as this requires the premium service @ £9.99 p/m, but you can still use the free spotify version..

cricketfieldclarets · Post by **cricketfieldclarets** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:42 pm

Just put a tape on!

Hipper · Post by **Hipper** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 8:26 pm

Pimlico_Claret wrote:Don't want to sound offensive but what is wrong with using a light switch?

In a few years time people will be asking what that is.

ian · Post by **ian** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 8:29 pm

Not so great if you have someone in your household called Alexa...

LoveCurryPies · Post by **LoveCurryPies** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 8:33 pm

ablueclaret wrote:Can you argue with this Alexa?

Got a wife for that!

Vegas Claret · Post by **Vegas Claret** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 8:36 pm

ian wrote:Not so great if you have someone in your household called Alexa...

then you call it computer and it still works

dsr · Post by **dsr** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 9:40 pm

Is it complicated to wire up, and to rewire or reprogramme when it stops working? For example, suppose I want to put my bathroom light on when I'm downstairs - what wires are needed?

Dom · Post by **Dom** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 10:08 pm

Pimlico_Claret wrote:Don't want to sound offensive but what is wrong with using a light switch?

I can turn lights on and off from anywhere in the World (good for security), I can dim them without setting up dimmer switches, they are location aware so when both me and my missus leave the house it's setup to turn off any lights left on.

Dom · Post by **Dom** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 10:10 pm

dsr wrote:Is it complicated to wire up, and to rewire or reprogramme when it stops working? For example, suppose I want to put my bathroom light on when I'm downstairs - what wires are needed?

You don't wire anything. Swap normal bulbs for Hue bulbs and install a hue hub which detects the lights in your house. Use the app to control or Alexa to voice control.

AGENT_CLARET · Post by **AGENT_CLARET** » Sat Jan 13, 2018 12:55 pm

"Swap normal bulbs for Hue bulbs and install a hue hub"............No need for these hue bulbs and hubs, all you need is wifi bulbs on ebay for about £7 https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from ... c&LH_BIN=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and you can buy wifi plug sockets for £10 https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_saca ... 5573.m1684" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to use for any item that plugs into a socket like a tv etc, much much cheaper than hue items