What's new

Alexa............?|pad patter 3.6.2019

AnneofAlamo

AnneofAlamo

Slippers IN sunshine? Even better!
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Messages
19,712
6287974_sd.jpg;maxHeight=640;maxWidth=550

She answers to ECHO, and I am silly how much fun our family has had with her. She sits on my fridge.

The Echo is a smart speaker. It can play music (obvs), read you the news, answer questions, control connected home devices, and more.

My 10 year old is hysterical, he carries on long conversations with the little dot.
I listen to music in my kitchen with her, check temperature numerous times a day, and oh the ability to add to my shopping list without drying my hands is the best.
MW-GS783_1b7189_20181029184835_NS.gif

Tell me a joke feature is a favorite of the whole house!

Yesterday I was at soccer practice with my 10 year old. I opened the ap on my phone and did an announcement. My voice popped out at home from the Echo Dot;

"thank you Tony for doing the fan! I can't wait to see it. "

My husband about jumped out of his skin, hearing my recorded message, but my 14 year old found much humor in Dad's freaking out. And my fan is done in my office! lol

Do you have an Alexa? Dot, or google fun AI(artificial intelligence) you talk with!
I would love to hear how it helps you and fun things you do with it too!
 
I think they are kind of creepy and funny, too. We don't have a smart speaker, but my kids get a kick out of asking Alexa on their kindles' silly questions. I think the best one was when my 8 yr old son asked Alexa to sing a rap song...and she DID! A rap song about herself! You should try that one. Although I believe they can definitely be used to spy on you...so I don't think we will ever have one on all the time in the house.
 
We have Alexa on our fire stick for the TV but the kids just use it to ask silly questions. It's not on all the time. We don't to have any of the smart devices like Echo in our house and really no interest.
 
LynnZant said:
Never! Those things creep me out! My sister's friend was talking about going to Frankenmuth with her boyfriend near her device then she started seeing ads on her facebook for Frankenmuth. I already have enough devices spying on me.
Click to expand...
I agree Lynn.. I think it is a way for people to get inside your home.. look at those baby monitors people hacked in to... if it hears one way to answer your questions, it certainly hears all the time what is going on in your home 24/7/365. Also on my laptop camera I keep a sticky over it when not using it as it has been said people can hack in through that too and see what is going on in your house. Sorry we are security conscious around here.
 
Nope. Don't have one. Don't want one. Like several others have mentioned, it creeps me out.
 
We got a Google one for Christmas last year. Set it up, played with it for a couple hours, and it's now in a box somewhere. It was neat for awhile, but a bit creepy.
 
We have a Google mini and I don't like it, but I'm in the minority cuz everyone else in the house loves it. I actually have a list of things that they've asked Google and I plan on making a page. :)
 
I don't like them either, but I know others love them. I even disabled Siri on my phone. My grands' favorite thing to do is ask Siri questions and for her to tell the jokes. I don't want anything "listening" to everything that I say.
 
cfile said:
I agree Lynn.. I think it is a way for people to get inside your home.. look at those baby monitors people hacked in to... if it hears one way to answer your questions, it certainly hears all the time what is going on in your home 24/7/365. Also on my laptop camera I keep a sticky over it when not using it as it has been said people can hack in through that too and see what is going on in your house. Sorry we are security conscious around here.
Click to expand...
My older daughter does this too. I don't have a laptop, but I would also do this if I had one.
 
I have the Google Mini, one in the living room and one in my bedroom, I also bought one for my son to take back up to college with him (I hit the Boxing Day sale for all of them).

I love it for the calendar, weather and I set timers with it. At night I use it to play my 'sleep music' and mornings it is my 'relaxation music' on those mornings I need to get back in balance. I usually ask it to bark like a dog to watch the puppy cock her head and try to figure out where the noise is coming from.

My son uses it for reminders, calendar and as a music speaker.
 
LynnZant said:
Never! Those things creep me out! My sister's friend was talking about going to Frankenmuth with her boyfriend near her device then she started seeing ads on her facebook for Frankenmuth. I already have enough devices spying on me.
Click to expand...
This is where I am at. I find it disturbing that they are spying on us so intensely. Things have happened such as conversations with the phone in sleep mode, or driving to a place with the phone in sleep mode... and then suddenly ... ads... and the other night we tried out watching the Umbrella Acadamy (didn't care for it) and my husband started getting those ads. He wasn't using his phone at all, it was just in the same room.

My mom often says "you know they are listening" and I laughed it off. No one is listening. But our phone is, even in sleep mode when it's across the room not being used. It tracks everything we say. Privacy doesn't exist anymore.
 
cfile said:
Also on my laptop camera I keep a sticky over it when not using it as it has been said people can hack in through that too and see what is going on in your house. Sorry we are security conscious around here.
Click to expand...

I don't do the laptop camera sticky but if someone hacked it, they'd just see a wall. Mine turns green when in use... I wonder if it'd be the same if it's hacked and being used. (random thoughts)....

We are super security conscious here too. I had a strange car park outside my home (with someone sitting in it for quite some time) while Scott was gone last year. I had to call the police and set up monitoring for a week after.
 
Kat said:
I don't do the laptop camera sticky but if someone hacked it, they'd just see a wall. Mine turns green when in use... I wonder if it'd be the same if it's hacked and being used. (random thoughts)....

We are super security conscious here too. I had a strange car park outside my home (with someone sitting in it for quite some time) while Scott was gone last year. I had to call the police and set up monitoring for a week after.
Click to expand...
Glad all is ok and was ok re last year. It is really scary these days... if hubby isn't home and the door bell rings, unless I am expecting someone I do not answer. One can never be careful enough these days. Now too, I do not go for walks alone, and my friend found something on line that she bought for me, all her sisters, and her sil... it is an alarm thing you put on your key chain and if someone is following you when you are in a parking lot you just press the button and it sets off this LOUD alarm and will not go off until you turn it off.. that is a great deterent too.
 
We don't have any of those devices either. My husband is adamant that we do not get one. Our FireStick does have the Alexa feature but we have never used her. Hopefully she will stay asleep until someone does. Haha!
 
cfile said:
Glad all is ok and was ok re last year. It is really scary these days... if hubby isn't home and the door bell rings, unless I am expecting someone I do not answer. One can never be careful enough these days. Now too, I do not go for walks alone, and my friend found something on line that she bought for me, all her sisters, and her sil... it is an alarm thing you put on your key chain and if someone is following you when you are in a parking lot you just press the button and it sets off this LOUD alarm and will not go off until you turn it off.. that is a great deterent too.
Click to expand...

I may be stuck in the past as when I am home my doors are unlocked, just like when I was a child. I live alone and you will find me walking at 5:30 in the morning while still dark and in the evening. Granted I have two dogs that I am walking (one is a pup so she doesn't really count) and are large breed so I think that helps. I may also be lulled into a sense of security as the community I live in has been in the top 3 of the safest communities in the country for a good 5 years.
However, I do pay attention to my surroundings and never leave the house without my phone 'just in case'.
 
jaye said:
I may be stuck in the past as when I am home my doors are unlocked, just like when I was a child. I live alone and you will find me walking at 5:30 in the morning while still dark and in the evening. Granted I have two dogs that I am walking (one is a pup so she doesn't really count) and are large breed so I think that helps. I may also be lulled into a sense of security as the community I live in has been in the top 3 of the safest communities in the country for a good 5 years.
However, I do pay attention to my surroundings and never leave the house without my phone 'just in case'.
Click to expand...
Our area is safe too and I do runn on my street in the mornings in the dark as well, but all you need is one person ... I am too paranoid now. LOL No dog here, but I do not tempt fate. we have gone to sleep with our garage wide open on several occaisions (by accident) and all was fine, but I still would rather be safe than sorry. I have no family near me and so to me I keep the doors locked unless I am doing something while I am outside. We live in a culdesac so it is safer as we are not a through street, but still.

Glad you are safe and feel that way :)
 
Our area is safe-ish. There are some people who canvas in nearby areas for unlocked homes and cars, and the neighborhood does a decent job of helping keep an eye out for that. I am fine out walking, with or without the dogs, although aware of my surroundings. But I won't go too late at night or too early in the morning (I don't get up early either). I would never ever leave my doors unlocked but once I did accidentally not shut the back door all the way and came home to it cracked. Whoops. I got lucky and we have locks on our fences too.
My dogs also are super barkers when anyone remotely gets near the house... they sit by the windows off and on throughout the day then proceed to bark for half an hour after whoever jogged by is gone. lol
 
We have Alexa! and we kinda love her...

She turns on and off our lights
Plays music and all that
We even had her set to turn our Christmas lights on (you need a 'smart' plugin for your outlet)
My hubs loves playing Jeopardy and trivia games with her
I always tell her please and thank you - and make sure everyone else does in our house too!

She never tells me she loves me though.... lol
 
Back
Top