Alexa’s living in our kitchen now and she’s a delightful houseguest. She’s knowledgeable, well behaved, entertaining…adding both enjoyment and enlightenment to our mornings. Plus Alexa never plants big fat paws on my counter to steal food, so she’s got that going for her.
We welcomed our Echo right after Christmas, and she is a dream. Here are just a few things I love about her:
** She keeps me in the know.
I’m multitasking like a beast in the morning, so scrolling through a news app isn’t in the cards. Some days it’s a miracle that everyone eats and I get my coffee (plus, you know, dressed), so a device that shares news from NPR, CNN, and Reuters? Yes, please. Plus Alexa will stream stations like NPR or CNN. Score!
** She tells me the weather.
This one is almost foolproof. Alexa can tell me what the temperature is at the moment, the weather for the day, or the forecast for tomorrow. Shoot, she’ll even tell me the weather in Paris, so you can basically know what it feels like anywhere on earth. The only question that’s stumped her so far was about the humidity, but I betcha Amazon could tweak that.
** She plays music. Lots of music. In practically any configuration.
Alexa is my JAM. She’ll play songs by a particular artist or band. She’ll play an artist’s station on Amazon so we’ll hear music in a particular genre. She’ll stream a radio station or search for a song or do random stuff like “Alexa, play music that’s popular in Chicago.” Say WHAT? Super cool, man.
** She is the ultimate in Hands Free.
There are a gazillion ways I need voice control in the kitchen. Hands wet from the sink, fingers gunky from raw chicken, juggling pans and baking sheets during dinner prep…in the good old days I’d just have to suffer through that annoying song I heard a hundred times on the radio, but now? Alexa never judges me, no matter how many times I change my mind about what she should play.
** Falling in the bonus column: Alexa schedules reminders and alarms, too. Because there’s nothing quite as funny as hearing her melodious voice announcing, “This is your 10:50 reminder to: Leave.”
Just got Alexa yesterday. She is great for music but refused to understand what saying when I tried asking when league 1 play off final was.
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They say she’s a learning program so over time she’ll improve with your speech patterns. I use mine a lot for music/news/weather.
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Hmm, I might have to get one. My parents got an Echo for Christmas. After we convinced my dad to ask Alexa rather than Siri, he loved it. 😂
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It kind of sucks you right in. 😆
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We have the dot at work and sometimes Alexa really is entertaining. I generally ask for Motown music, no one is offended and it plays almost 8 whole hours.
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Music genres are an awesome bonus! Funny story: I heard voices coming from the boy’s room last week — late, like after 10:00 — and I was trying to figure out if he was on the phone with someone. Hubby put his ear in the hallway and came back with “Alexa’s telling him a bedtime story.” Bwahahahaha!!!
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Oh that is priceless!
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So until I read this I was treating Alexa more like an oddly decorated vase taking up shelve space. I had no idea she could do so many things! The more you know…(wink!)
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Oh gracious, yes. I have to say, though…I had to stop playing Jeopardy because it was making me feel stupid so it’s not all fun and games. 🙂
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You’re tempting me – thus far I’ve managed to avoid Alexa, but. . .
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I was doing really well! Right up until the moment the kids’ aunt & uncle gave them Echo Dots for Christmas. I was in charge of setting them up; less than 24 hours later I was sold! 😆
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Good post. It’s interesting to learn about how people use these devices. I’m not quite ready for voice-controlled things (other than my GPS).
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But isn’t that gps wonderful?? The fact that my car will dial a call for me is pretty freaking awesome, too. 😊
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I find the dialing, or even finding the right place to be a bit of a crap-shoot. I know voice is getting better, but it still works better for female voices than males.
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Interesting. I’d never heard that about gender & voice control before…
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I think it is getting better, but historically, voice interpretation technology has worked better with higher pitched voices. The voice mail system we have at work uses Voice-to-speech technology (Microsoft) to send us email previews of voice messages. I can usually understand messages let by women. Messages left by men are often hilarious.
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I love Alexa too! Great post!
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Thanks. It’s been a huge change around here!
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