Alexa

Question of the day, alarm and timer, shopping list.

Music - it currently plays the Michael Buble new album through for me, or I simply ask for ‘relaxing classical music’. My 7 yr old DGS asks for ‘heavy metal’ one day or jingle bells the next. I love the fact that I can listen to any genre of music. The 3 yr old DGD loves the animal noises and nursery rhymes. The two of them love dancing to the music and we’ve had great fun. I also find it may actually be helping them with their speech (DGS has had speech therapy) as they need to pronounce words clearly for Alexa to understand.

Tell me a joke! News. Weather. Playing audible books. Eatc etc - I really enjoy my Alexa. Happy New Year! ?

Yes supernan, call and message anyone on your contacts list who has an Echo device, and as a bonus it's free.

Ask Alexa what noise a hamster makes
They are useful for my husband who has impaired memory following a stroke as strike team put their next visits straight on and have set daily reminders for him to take medication
Happy new year to all

She will time your egg for you

If you have friends with Alexa say “ Alexa phone *****” Don’t even have to get out of your chair!

I gave SIL an Echo Dot for Christmas, (a competition prize),- we don't have Smart tech. He loves it, lights, TV, music etc. The kids haven't yet tired of "Alexa, tell me a joke please".

Wonderful grandparents you mean, happy New Year

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....?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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......

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Which one is better, an Alexa or Echo?

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