Articles about Amazon Echo

Are you automating your abode? It's become the in-thing these days with more and more products hitting the market. While we can't stress enough about the insecurities that have been discovered, it still can be a fun experience, although sometimes a difficult one.

There's no end, seemingly, to the things you can do, but where many people start is with lights, which, in theory, are easy. Some aren't, so be warned.

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Digital assistants can do many things well, but no single one can do everything that we need. That's why we use different ones, depending on what we want to do and what device we are using. But what if they could talk to each other, so we wouldn't have to switch between them anymore?

Amazon and Microsoft have decided to do just that, announcing that Alexa and Cortana will soon be able to work together to help users do what they want much more quickly and easily. Here's what that means for the two tech giants' customers.

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Anyone shopping for an Amazon Echo Dot a couple of days ago may have spotted that the online retail giant was making its second-generation assistant available free of charge.

But the old adage "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is" turned out to be completely accurate. The $49.99 "Audible Promo" discount that led to the device being reduced in price to $0 was a SNAFU -- but Amazon is going to make up for it.

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I'm not sure how I got here, exactly, but I seem to be all-in on Amazon home devices lately. I have one Amazon Echo and two of its smaller Dot models. I can use these voice assistant devices to control my television, lights, surveillance cameras, and thermostat. Last week, I bought a Fire TV stick to replace my Nexus Player, because my TV provider does not support HBO go on Android TV -- weird, but true. You know what? I couldn't be happier.

Well, actually, I am a bit happier today. Why? Because my Echo devices can now control my Fire TV stick; perfect timing! While the Fire TV supports Alexa with a button-press on the remote, I can now bypass that and just use speech. Cool right? Best of all, this is a free feature for existing standalone hardware, meaning you can take advantage of it immediately without hassle. Support for televisions with integrated Fire TV will be coming very soon.

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As we acquire more voice activated smart devices, there's always the risk that they could be eavesdropping on day-to-day conversations.

We've already seen reports of spying TVs, and now MWR InfoSecurity has exposed a vulnerability in Amazon Echo that can turn it into a listening device without affecting its functionality.

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When people think of Amazon Alexa, they probably just associate it with asking questions or playing music. For me and many others, however, the assistant is much more than that. She (Alexa is female) controls my lights, thermostat, and even my television by integrating with my Harmony Hub. While relaxing on my couch, I no longer need to reach for a remote -- I just tell her what to do. Is it laziness? I suppose, but it is very cool too.

While Alexa and Harmony work very well together, there is one big issue. When I call upon Alexa, I can't just tell her what to do -- I must first say "Tell Harmony to" followed by the command. For example, when I want to watch TV, I must say "Alexa, tell Harmony to turn on the TV" rather than just "Alexa, turn on the TV. Today, this changes, as Logitech Harmony gets simplified Amazon Alexa voice controls. In other words, the pesky "tell Harmony to" is no longer needed. Finally!

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SiriusXM is a really satisfying service. Not only is it great for commercial-free music, but it offers some great talk radio, such as Howard Stern. You can even listen to popular news programs from CNN, Fox News, and more. Let's not forget the great sports coverage too.

Unfortunately, many people only listen to SiriusXM in the car, as that is where their equipment is. Luckily, there is a new convenient way to listen to the satellite service in your home -- Alexa. Yes, Amazon's assistant has a new SiriusXM skill that allows an Echo device to play your favorite channels. I have been using it this morning and it is quite brilliant.

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Belkin's Wemo smart home devices are absolutely brilliant. Not only does the company offer power outlet and light switch adapters, but it recently introduced a dimmer switch too. The Wemo products are also compatible with both Amazon Alexa and Google Home, making them easy to control by voice.

Unfortunately, Wemo devices are not compatible with Apple HomeKit or Siri. There is good news, however -- Belkin is adding support. Starting this fall, consumers can buy a new product called "Wemo Bridge," which will enable HomeKit support for existing Wemo devices. It simply plugs into an Ethernet port on your router, thereby enabling support for Apple's smart home platform.

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While we've heard about the HomeHub feature of Windows 10 before, we've not seen what it might look like in practice. Now, thanks to a series of leaked images, that all changes, and it shows that Microsoft is ready to take on Google Home and Amazon Echo with its own devices.

Like the Amazon Echo Show, the leaked images depict a device with a screen. It's running Windows 10, supports voice-activated Cortana commands, and it's something that Microsoft clearly wants to be at the center of future smart homes.

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It leaked last week, but now Amazon has officially announced its latest Echo family member. The Echo Show is different from Amazon's other Alexa-powered devices thanks to the inclusion of a 7-inch touchscreen.

This will allow Alexa to show you things, such as YouTube videos, music lyrics, photos, video from connected security cameras, weather forecasts, and to-do lists, but it will also let you make and receive video calls.

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Apple is rumored to be working on a Siri-powered alternative to Amazon Echo/Google Home, and Microsoft isn’t planning on being left out either.

Harman Kardon’s Cortana-powered speaker, called Invoke, is set to launch in the Fall. A product page for it did prematurely appear on the web before being pulled, but now Microsoft has made the announcement official.

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It was 15 years ago this week that my son Chase Cringely died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) at age 74 days. I wrote about it at the time and there was a great outpouring of support from readers. Back then, before the advent of social media, parents didn’t get a chance to grieve in print the way Mary Alyce and I did. We shed a light on SIDS and, for a couple years, even led to some progress in combating the condition, which still kills about 4,000 American babies each year.

When you lose a child, especially one who dies in your lap, as Chase did with me, you can just curl up and die yourself or you can try to fix the problem. With the help of readers all over the world I tried and failed to build a practical SIDS warning device with the idea of not curing SIDS, but avoiding it. You see the syndrome only lasts for about 11 months, from age 1 month to one year. And while events such as Chase’s can’t be made not to happen, with proper detection and the simplest of alarms the baby can be literally roused out of death.

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Summer is right around the corner, meaning the temperatures in many places will begin rising to uncomfortable levels. It's funny -- in the winter, many people get cold and dream of summer, and once that season comes, they complain about the hot weather. There' s just no pleasing some folks!

Thankfully, with the invention of air conditioning, human beings can use technology to stay cool. If you aren't lucky enough to have central air in your home, a window unit is the next best thing. Today, GE Appliances announces that its Wi-Fi connected window models are getting Amazon Alexa support. In other words, using the power of your voice, you can control the air conditioning.

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Amazon Echo, and the associated Alexa voice assistant, are wildly popular. This is fairly surprising, as you would expect such a successful product to come from Apple or Google. While the latter has since launched its "Home" competitor, Amazon's offering still reigns supreme in the hearts and minds of consumers.

Not satisfied with resting on its laurels, today, Amazon announces that it is pushing the envelope even further. You see, the company will be launching a new product -- Echo Look. This device works with Alexa like the other Echo products, but with a unique twist -- it has a camera. No, it is not designed for communications, but instead, for fashion. The Echo Look will help you look stylish, by taking your photo or video in an outfit, and making suggestions.

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Turning on a lamp or other light fixture with your voice can feel like magic. I use the feature every day with my Amazon Echo and WeMo smart outlet. At the end of the evening, when heading to bed, I verbally tell Alexa to turn off the lamp. If I need to get up at night for, say, a drink of water, I can easily turn it back on the same way. It is great.

WeMo is not the only game in town, however, as there are plenty of smart outlets an bulb manufacturers. TP-Link is a popular manufacturer of smart devices, and its bulbs are compatible with Alexa voice commands too. Today, the company's color-changing bulbs are gaining a new Alexa skill. Using your voice, you can easily change the color or white balance with ease.

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