Alexa

You get an email weekly with new things that Alexa can do and ideas for things to ask!

I ask her to write and add things to my shopping list.
To make animal noises for my granddaughter and sing nursery rhymes.
The weather forecast.
To play my music and to answer random questions.

I use mine to listen to my books on audible especially at night, and set a sleep timer for it to switch off automatically, hopefully when I'm asleep!

My DGS asks dinosaur and Pokemon questions. Sometimes we get some hilarious responses as she does not always understand his Scottish accent!

Does anyone else insist on “please” and “thank you” when talking to Alexa?

Technology!!! Brilliant,it has kept my Dh happy for hours and from under my feet,he acquired an Echo dot,Dashcam,and Wireless headphones for Xmas,He enjoys talking to Alexa,asking an array of questions(keeps him out of the kitchen...My sanctuary,How long the interest will last,who knows,but there are some good ideas from other Gransnetters on here .Happy New year ?

Granny beek, we have Alexa, we play music but my husband will say Alexa,What's the weather today please, then he says Thankyou Alexa,! So polite

Which one is better, an Alexa or Echo?

I bought my husband a second Alexa for Christmas. I don’t think we use them to their full potential, but they are handy for the weather, music, random bits of information - I couldn’t remember the capital of Sweden yesterday and Alexa came up with it straightaway. I like the question of the day, too. We also use it for asking the time in places abroad, which is handy when we want to Skype our daughter in New York. It makes a good alarm clock, too.

I bought an Alexa for Christmas and my granddaughters got a google.mini hub. We compared the two asking questions, playing music etc. I sent.my Alexa back and ordered the google. Half the price and far better at answering questions and playing music. I'm thinking of buying one for my 97 year old mother instead of paying for a phone.

Not many people would willingly welcome a spy into their home- someone who listens and watches their every move- and yet some are willing to buy these contraptions which do the same thing! No one believed smart phones listened to their conversations and monitored locations and sent targeted advertising until recently. As for allowing them access to your financial or health details....watch any Sci Fi film and you will see how it will all end up.

Never had any desire to own one. I can find all I need on the internet and am quite capable of switch lights off and on.

Just a thought - but wouldn't it be better to sing nursery rhymes and answer GC questions yourself rather than leave it to a piece of technology.

How soon before people stop talking to each other at all. We already see people sitting opposite each other in cafes and restaurants fixated on their phones rather than talking - I even know of people who text each other when in the same room!

I have Siri on my computer.....she doesn't understand a word I say - I have quite a neutral, slightly Scottish, accent having grown up in a naval family - so I won't be bothering with Alexa. I tend to agree with you quizqueen about the spying/monitroing bit. How we laughed when Mr Trump made these claims about our gadgets... Almost made me wonder what else he may be right about......

Grampie - so you are perfectly happy to use computers, but curse the latest technology? I admit to having an aversion to all this rather scary new stuff, mainly because I don’t understand it, can’t afford it, and wouldn’t know where to start with it. I also just can’t be bothered to learn. I would rather read a good book than struggle with “iPad for Dummies” which my well-meaning daughter bought for me. It sits on my bookcase, almost unused.
However, all this crazy new technology will be the norm for the next generation, and in 100 years the human race will probably have lost the ability to walk, and the world will be run by robots! So be it! I won’t be here to worry about it.
There isn’t any point in being a Luddite. “ Smart” is the way forward, like it or not!

Alexa why are you recording me all the time and who are you sending all my information to -

The light bulbs etc. can be controlled when you are out of the house.
I have a friend who answers the doorbell via Alexa when she's out and can open and lock the porch door if it's a delivery.

I ask Alexa nothing at my home because I refuse to have one! I'm deeply suspicious of the "monitoring" by Amazon.).

Grampie - "Fortunately I still have both hands and all my fingers and with a keyboard they are perfectly adequate."

So do we. But we don't have the computers switched on and running all day long.

We can just ask google quick questions without having to wait for devices to boot up.

The grandkids thought it was brilliant being able to ask Google to switch on the outside Christmas lights, and the Christmas tree lights.

The sound quality through the google wotsit is really nice, so I listed to spotify through it.

I dare say we could do without it, but it's a bit of fun.

Did anyone watch "Spectre" last night? Data gathering and world control/domination - thankfully saved from the brink as only 007 can!

Why do we willingly use these new-fangled gadgets such as Alexa etc without thought to our privacy etc.

We were baby-sitting our grandchild some time ago when Alexa (unbidden) suddenly piped up something about the novel 1984. Freaked us out to know we were being monitored and she was listening into our conversations. We weren't even talking about 1984? Spooky!

Paranoid, moi?

I'm not sure exactly how this happened, but apparently DD's phone 'picked up' Alexa when visiting a friend. DGS asked Alexa in local dialect 'foos yer doos?' (Means how are you doing, roughly ) Alexa misunderstood ( understandably ) and she started asking about hoovers. Next, she said it was 'in your basket'. When DD checked Amazon, there was a Hoover in her basket!! Scary.

I have wondered about buying an Alexa, but resisted as I too would need someone to show me how to use it. However, my DGS (Just 5) has had one for months and he asks it to read him stories and asks endless questions. I’m of the old school though and seriously prefer to sit a 4 or 5 year old on my knee and read a story together and play kids games together. But, he is incredibly knowledgable and can count to 10 in about 6 different languages as well as speak bits of Spanish and French. He knows all about Henry VIII and his 6 wives and knows what happened to each of them, as well as knowing lots of other historical facts (1066, 1666 etc). He has a reading age of at least 8 and can do lots of maths in his head, also reads really big numbers - well over 20,000 - so maybe Alexa is a good idea.

Retired65, Echo and Alexa are the same thing. The device is called Amazon Echo. There are various devices in the range, Echo (the tall one), Echo Dot, Echo Show and Echo Spot.
Alexa is the wake word. You must begin your question by saying "Alexa ..." .
In settings you can change the wake word to Echo or Computer instead of Alexa.

Alexa would not be welcome in my house, at least not while
I’m still able to switch on lights, Tv, and use my iPad when I choose to, haha!
A gadget too far for me....?

Wonderful grandparents you mean, happy New Year