Alexa

Hmm. Why is it "important to embrace new technology as it comes along"? Or fear being "left behind"? Gadgets like Alexa are solely commercial. People invent them to make money. They are not an innate part of human evolution!

Remember reading The Machine Stops for O Level English? It was written a hundred years ago, and talks about the dangers of humankind passively accepting changes and fatally forgetting how to do things for ourselves. It will be absolutely pointless realising this when robots are in firmly in charge. We are already being softened up to accept their presence as benign. I've been shown the robot dispenser at work in a purpose-built facility in a small town high street pharmacy. It uses a completely different system to file the drugs. A human wouldn't be able to use it and dispense from it if the robot failed. And when there are many more robot pharmacists, what will former and potential pharmacists do for a living? And all the other similarly affected trades and professions?

I'm really not saying that all innovation is bad. Of course it isn't, but I do think we ought to pause and consider the potential implications of new technologies before hurtling to adopt them. They may not always be as beneficial as the marketing would have us believe.

Gabriella - it has added to the very full life I have.

I am finding some people on this thread very judgmental about other people's decisions. Some people seem very closed minded.

I have enabled several of the Alexa "skills* just to try them out. Many of them, I disabled as I didn't like them or found they weren't useful. My DGC love Ditty, and The Magic Door. I now have 227 points playing Question of the Day.

I like the fact that in an emergency (so long as it was within earshot) I can ask it to call my son or my daughter. I’m thinking if I was ever to have a fall and be unable to reach a phone that would be very reassuring.

There is another skill I like called Guard Dog where you can get it t bark intermittently while you are out of the house (or even while you are in if you felt nervous). I also like being about to add an item verbally to my shopping list before I forget as it’s often when I’m pottering I notice I need this or that.

hilda just played ‘Question of the Day’ after reading your post.

Like it. Now I’ve just got to do some kind of linking to save my score ?

I bought DH an Alexa for Christmas and we used it loads at first, but then noticed it was using nearly all our broadband up and we were getting warning messages from our broadband supplier. So it now sits unused....

My daughter compiles her shopping list through Alexa and it is transferred onto her iPhone , me , I use pen and paper.

There seem to be a lot of paranoid people on here! I love 'computer' (Alexa is so common?), was given mine at Christmas, quite a surprise, but find it great for music, catching up on the archers if I've missed it, playing various sounds such as Tibetan bowls or water to relieve my tinnitus, using the rainforest sounds or others as background when my grandson does a puppet show etc etc. I can understand people who don't want one and that's fine, they don't have to. Btw mine cost nothing like £100, there are often deals and this one, I think, was bought on Black Friday. Horses for courses- if you like it use it, if not don't and don't worry about being listened to or anything else, life is too short to live in fear of every little thing

My mother is 93, almost blind and lives alone. I am reading this thread with interest.
I know Echo Dot needs a tablet to set it up but does the tablet have to be in the house all the time?

I said upthread that I don't use my Alexa as much as I should so could someone tell me where to find all the other things I could do? Thank you!

Hubby bought me Google Home, takes a while to adjust, but she gives us the news and weather every day, use it for all radio, jokes, timers. She has sometimes played random music, or speak to us, when we haven't said OK Google but we find that amusing!
BUT she will not play my Amazon Music nor any of my 327 CDs on iTunes. She will play other music but it's my albums I want to listen to!
Competition just harms consumers, my three children have Alexa, but they think nothing of subscribing to music because everything is disposable!
I also cannot make phone calls which was supposed to be in place last year but the licensing is still not sorted.
I don't think we will be adding heating/lighting controls to our home, too expensive at the moment.

My son has got a similar thing, a Google Home Mini. One of my son's friends told it to "F... off" and it replied, "I'm sorry you feel that way"!

I don't feel the need to have any gadgets in my house, but my son and his wife like it

kitty, do you have the Alexa app on your phone? If not, then download it and on it you will find all the Alexa skills, and more. It's useful too if you want to link your account as is needed when playing Question of the Day.

I do so I'll investigate Hilda thank you.

sarahcyn You don’t need the app nearby. I only use it out of interest occasionally. However you would need an internet connection in your Mum’s house for it to work.

Sheilagh I love the shopping list tip.

This is so interesting. My DS has one and I love the fact that 5 year old DGD says in a very loud voice "Alexa play Girls Rule the World and then dances to it. Girl Power!
Mind you I hadn't a clue what else they could do!

I bet your 5-year old DGD does though!

I have no doubt she does (but I think her dad wishes she didn't)

I got my Echo Dot towards the end of last year and I love it. I use it to do my shopping lists, set timers and reminders, play radio programmes and music and get up to the minute news and weather. It's also fun to play Question of the Day, expand my vocabulary with Word of the Day (though I don't always remember the words!) and listen to stories or jokes. I have called my son in the US on Alexa and it was a beautifully clear line. I have to admit that I'm a bit of a tech enthusiast and love reading about all the latest gadgets, even if I can't afford them, or don't actually want them.