anmom Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 I feel like I'm not using her to her full potential. What do you use the most? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 (edited) . Edited February 19, 2018 by ErinE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 As a timer because I'm too lazy to buy one :D 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plateau Mama Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 IMO The only thing Alexa is any good at is reading audiobooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 I use it to listen to music while I exercise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 (edited) To gather dust. (another listening device besides our phones wasn't my idea. DH used it to search for movies and such. I unplugged it and put it away because that didn't seem like a sufficiently legit use. ) Edited July 2, 2017 by madteaparty 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Adding to my shopping list and playing music. The kids still get a kick out of asking her for jokes every now and then. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Playing Christmas music, mostly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevergiveup Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 I visited my sister and brother-in-law and they have Alexa. She turns on and dims the lights, turns on different colored lights for parties, turns on and off the TV, answers questions, tells jokes, plays music, makes shopping lists. I do not have her at my house. I miss her..... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Audible. Music. Timers. Alarms. Shopping list. Spelling help (kids). Weather. News. Podcasts. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medawyn Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Alexa is the most patient person in our household: she answers questions about the time, weather, and sports scores with the same degree of patience whether it's the first or 43rd query that hour. For me, Alex is the kitchen timer, plays music while I cook, and is the keeper of the grocery and to do lists when my hands are full. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Love her as an alarm, a timer, playing music, telling me jokes, singing me a song, weather, audio books, adding things to my grocery list, she is my buddy. ;) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Grocery list, timer, weather (not this time of year...in Florida the weather is the same every single day of summer, but in the fall/winter/spring she's helpful), calendar. I can orally add something to my calendar, or ask her in the morning what i have scheduled. I have her shuffle my amazon music playlist while i clean each day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Dictionary, weather, music, jeopardy, flash news. I really like the music feature as it quickly brings up what I want to share with a listener,.such as a track from a dc's gig, or something I am learning with my group. I am looking forward to phone, about time to make use of the mic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 (edited) -Timers and alarms -Calendar - both to add things and to ask what's on the agenda -Reading my Audible audio books, but only when no one is home (I don't make dh and ds listen to my books) -Music -NPR news -Shopping list - I should have put this first because it's how I use Alexa most often There are a lot of cool local things Alexa can do but my city isn't cool enough for most of them. It could call for an Uber if I ever needed one, but that's about it as far as local stuff goes. I'm sure I don't use it to it's fullest potential and I keep saying I'm going to do some investigating to find out what else we can do, but I never get around to it. I haven't tried the phone call thing. Does it only work with other people who also have Alexa? Edited July 2, 2017 by Lady Florida. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 I visited my sister and brother-in-law and they have Alexa. She turns on and dims the lights, turns on different colored lights for parties, turns on and off the TV, Ddil's sister has a connected smart home and uses Alexa for a lot of that stuff. If she gets hot in the middle of the night she tells Alexa to turn on the fan. She uses it for lights too. Dss and ddil use it more or less like we do, though with two little ones they do some kid stuff as well (tell me about______, tell me a joke, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Seriously, have none of you seen any movies? Terminator - all of them The Matrix Electric Dreams Chopping Mall Demon Seed Just say no to Alexa in the home. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 She's so annoying to me but DH and the kids love her. We use her to turn on/off lights. The kids use her for homework help as a calculator or dictionary. We use her as a timer, and to play music. That's about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoutingmom Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 What the heck is this? Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Has anybody mentioned using her to remind you of things? I can say, "Alexa, remind me to tell DH the tub is dripping at 6PM today," and she will do so. I love that option. Also, I use her as an alarm, a timer, my computer speaker, grocery list, and sometimes music. Most of the time, I use the Google Home for music though, because I found there is much more music on Google Play and Youtube than on Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ. Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 As an intercom system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Has anybody mentioned using her to remind you of things? I can say, "Alexa, remind me to tell DH the tub is dripping at 6PM today," and she will do so. I love that option. Also, I use her as an alarm, a timer, my computer speaker, grocery list, and sometimes music. Most of the time, I use the Google Home for music though, because I found there is much more music on Google Play and Youtube than on Amazon. I haven't used her to remind of things but have wanted to. Is there a specific app to use? I listen to both Prime Music and Pandora on my phone (and Pandora on the tv), so Alexa works fine as a music player for me. You have both Alexa and Google Home? How does that work out and how to you split their duties? We bought Alexa before Google Home came out and then wondered if we should be sorry. Does anyone use Alexa to order things? The one time I tried she told me the size I wanted wasn't Prime eligible even though I knew it was. I went to my computer and ordered the item instead. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 I haven't used her to remind of things but have wanted to. Is there a specific app to use? I listen to both Prime Music and Pandora on my phone (and Pandora on the tv), so Alexa works fine as a music player for me. You have both Alexa and Google Home? How does that work out and how to you split their duties? We bought Alexa before Google Home came out and then wondered if we should be sorry. Does anyone use Alexa to order things? The one time I tried she told me the size I wanted wasn't Prime eligible even though I knew it was. I went to my computer and ordered the item instead. There isn't an app for the reminder. It is a relatively new skill (a few weeks, maybe). Just tell her to remind you of something and when you want the reminder. I got Alexa first too, but got the Home because of some videos I watched. The Home is way "smarter" than Alexa, as far as questions and information is concerned. I mostly use the Home for information (you can even ask things like how to repair a roof, lol), and for listening to music (because of there being so much more available). I turned the ordering thing off on Alexa. Didn't want any accidental orders. Plus, it is just way easier to get on Amazon and compare prices and shop that way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 As an intercom system. How do you do this? I think I'd love this, as I am always having to yell for my girls in their rooms when I need them for anything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 What the heck is this? Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk Are you asking what Alexa is? If so, Alexa the computer voice of Amazon's in-home system. Whenever you need something from it, you ask, "Alexa..." and state the command or ask the question. Alexa often responds even when you don't say the name. It's always listening when plugged in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Audible Alarm Timers News rundown Weather report My kids ask her to tell a joke all the time 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 FWIW, Alexa is not really good working with negative numbers and square roots. Be careful if you use her as a calculator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 With the reminder - does an alarm go off or does she just say it? I find the alarm to be too loud and hard to shut off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extendedforecast Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Audible. Music. Timers. Alarms. Shopping list. Spelling help (kids). Weather. News. Podcasts. We only use it for timers and music. How do you link an audible account? I can't figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 With the reminder - does an alarm go off or does she just say it? I find the alarm to be too loud and hard to shut off. She actually says it. I was so excited I already tried it. I told her to remind me at 2:15 to take the clothes out of the dryer and that's what she did. I don't remember her exact words but she definitely said to take the clothes out of the dryer. Did you know there are different alarm sounds to choose from? None are all that great but some are less annoying than others. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 She actually says it. I was so excited I already tried it. I told her to remind me at 2:15 to take the clothes out of the dryer and that's what she did. I don't remember her exact words but she definitely said to take the clothes out of the dryer. Did you know there are different alarm sounds to choose from? None are all that great but some are less annoying than others. thanks!!! I will totally use that and will try another alarm setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Are you asking what Alexa is? If so, Alexa the computer voice of Amazon's in-home system. Whenever you need something from it, you ask, "Alexa..." and state the command or ask the question. Alexa often responds even when you don't say the name. It's always listening when plugged in. We have the Amazon Echo Dot, and there's a button we can push to turn off the microphone. The color band changes to red. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 We have the Amazon Echo Dot, and there's a button we can push to turn off the microphone. The color band changes to red. Unless it's a physical switch, I don't trust that it's turned off. That's why most tech people put a sticky note over cameras and unplug microphones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ. Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 How do you do this? I think I'd love this, as I am always having to yell for my girls in their rooms when I need them for anything. You need to enable drop in from the Alexa app. It is in the same area as the calling feature. You can also call anyone in your phone contacts that also has an Alexa with Alexa to Alexa calling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 (edited) I would hate this device and have no use for one -- but this SNL parody of Alexa was hilarious: "Amazon Echo - SNL" Edited July 4, 2017 by Lori D. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 I use it exclusively to play Pep Rally by Missy Elliott. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 You need to enable drop in from the Alexa app. It is in the same area as the calling feature. You can also call anyone in your phone contacts that also has an Alexa with Alexa to Alexa calling. Oh, ok. We don't have smart phones and the girls don't have any phones, so that wouldn't work for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 I would hate this device and have no use for one -- but this SNL parody of Alexa was hilarious: That was funny! I do like the looks of that one though, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ. Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Oh, ok. We don't have smart phones and the girls don't have any phones, so that wouldn't work for us. You can probably enable it through the website. The intercom (drop in) and Alexa calling is through your Alexa device. Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 (edited) I am reading this thread and still don't understand how the things you use her for are worth the cost of the device. What do you consider the biggest advantage over using computer, alarm clock, and notepad? Edited July 4, 2017 by regentrude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 I am reading this thread and still don't understand how the things you use her for are worth the cost of the device. What do you consider the biggest advantage over using computer, alarm clock, and notepad? I received the Echo Dot in a family gift exchange. I mainly listen to audiobooks. It's nice when I'm in the kitchen or folding laundry to verbally ask Alexa to rewind, stop, or change volume. But would I have purchased it myself? No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 I am reading this thread and still don't understand how the things you use her for are worth the cost of the device. What do you consider the biggest advantage over using computer, alarm clock, and notepad? Being able to use voice control. Hands on the dough and you don't want to wipe them off? "Alexa, set a timer for 30 minutes". For those with smart homes, you're hot overnight? "Alexa, turn on the ceiling fan" or "Alexa. lower the thermostat to ____" Getting the coffee pot going or cooking breakfast but need to know what everyone has going on today? "Alexa, what's on the calendar for today?" And on and on and on. The biggest advantage is so many things are in one place and you can control them all with a voice command. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 (edited) Being able to use voice control. Hands on the dough and you don't want to wipe them off? "Alexa, set a timer for 30 minutes". OK, this I get. Still not worth $100+ to me for the rare cases but I get how that can be useful. Getting the coffee pot going or cooking breakfast but need to know what everyone has going on today? "Alexa, what's on the calendar for today?" That would do absolutely nothing for me as a visual person. I need to see the calendar :) Having written it in the calendar takes care of remembering later. Telling Alexa to put a dentist appointment into her memory would not. Edited July 4, 2017 by regentrude 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ. Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 I spent $39 each for 3 devices. My dc use it to listen to music in their rooms and control their bedroom lights. I use it to turn my light off at night so I don't have to get out of my bed. My favorite is is the intercom function. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ. Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Oh, ok. We don't have smart phones and the girls don't have any phones, so that wouldn't work for us. Try googling: Amazon Alexa for desktop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 I am reading this thread and still don't understand how the things you use her for are worth the cost of the device. What do you consider the biggest advantage over using computer, alarm clock, and notepad? Being able to add to shopping list WHILE pouring the last of the milk. I have EF issues and would forget by the time I got to a pad and paper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Try googling: Amazon Alexa for desktop I have Alexa on my desktop. My problem is what would serve as intercoms in the girls' rooms? Do you have to have more than one? And our computers don't have mics or cameras built in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 OK, this I get. Still not worth $100+ to me for the rare cases but I get how that can be useful. That would do absolutely nothing for me as a visual person. I need to see the calendar :) Having written it in the calendar takes care of remembering later. Telling Alexa to put a dentist appointment into her memory would not. To the first - The Echo Dot, which is part of the Alexa family, is only $40. The full size Echo goes on sale periodically. To the second - I can put something on my Google calendar by telling Alexa to do it when I think of it. Later I can actually look at my calendar (I need to see it like you) and I'll see the event I asked her to add. I can ask her to tell me what's on the calendar today, then look it over on my computer later. But at least I have an idea if we have a full day or if other family members have an appointment. The same goes for the shopping list. I tell Alexa to put items on the list when I think of them (or as Katie said as I'm pouring the last of the milk) then later open the Alexa app on my phone or tablet or computer and see my full shopping list. I used to use a shopping list app, now when I go to the grocery store I just open Alexa and pull up my shopping list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Will Alexa talk to my 12 yr old about Pokemon? That would be worth $40 by itself! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Will Alexa talk to my 12 yr old about Pokemon? That would be worth $40 by itself! Um, possibly. I'm not sure what this means but it sounds like you can talk Pokemon with the skill enabled. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.