Echo Tips

In this episode we take a look at FireTV Stick Deals! And what you need to know, what's a good deal and what's not. FireTV Sticks of coarse have Alexa, with voice commands, which are super useful. We look at a starting price of $24.99 and discuss even why you should look at buying a FireTV stick even if you've already got a smart TV.

In this episode we give a simple run-down or buying guide for the Alexa line of products known as the Amazon Echo & Echo Show. We cover what's old and new, what a good price would be and what is a horrible price! Happy shopping!

We haven't visited this topic in a long time, but there is a wealth of high production choose your own adventure games on the Amazon Echo. In this weeks episdoe we discuss Batman, Superman, Star Finder, and more, as examples of truly amazing choose your own adventure games.

We revisit Notifications, especially with an eye on a new category that was annoying some folks called 'Interesting Stories". We'll discuss how to turn that off and do a high-level review of how Notifications can be useful.

In this episode we take a look at a wake routine bundled with Amazon Kids Plus, that's pretty cute. Alternatively, you could probably roll your own as a parent. We also discuss, a bug, I've seen lately where layered Alexa commands don't seem to work.

Amazon's announced AI and Large Language Models come first to Amazon Kids Plus, a paid for service by parents around the world. In this episode we demo some of its features, some work... some obviously are still a work in progress. See below for some of the latest articles on the topic. References: Tech Crunch https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/25/amazon-brings-conversational-ai-to-kids-with-launch-of-explore-with-alexa/ PC Mag https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/amazon-echo-show-8-3rd-gen-2023

In this episode, we dive back into the most recent Amazon Event. We take a look at some intriguing announcments, about features coming to the Amazon Echo Shows and Fire TV products which will meke finding your conent that much easier. In fact I'm very impressed by the demo, and I think you will be too!

In this episode of the Echo Tips Podcast, we take a third look at the Amazon Event, and take a peak at what Amazon says is coming for Parents & Children with Alexa, in the near future.

In this episode, we take a second look at Amazon's September Announcements. We learn that at least 25 new historical and other characters with associated voices are coming to Alexa devices in the future, along with more realistic voice inflections. We also surface, a key component in how that conversational mechanism works, an why a new Echo Show might be needed.

In this episode we take a look at Amazon's most recent September event, announcements, and hardware releases. We in particular scrutinize the AI features that are suppose to make Alexa smarter. Lastly, we tell you how to join the "Preview Program", so you can be on the bleeding edge.

In this episode we take a look at a seemingly new feature that allows you to get your reminders broadcast across all your Echos or a select number of them. We also revisit the options for repeating reminders, follow-up mode, and a few other options.

We delve into Timer settings that allow you to get those vital alerts on all your Echos and/or your telephone. Never burn that pizza again!

We delve back into our treasure chest of past episodes and pull out a oldie but a goodie, about Guard Mode. That's right the ability to use your Amazon Echo like a guard dog for your home, to alert you when something might not be right at home.

In this episode we take a deep dive into Amazon Music's Explicit Content Filters, Parental Controls, and utter lack of features compared to some 3rd party services. Did you know you can't block a song, album, or artist! Its true. Even if it was for benign reasons, for example two artist with the the same name, an you simply don't want to hear one but only the other. Or worse yet the Parental Controls don't give you any clear blacklist or white-listing options. No worries Spotify comes to the rescue or does it? Submit Feature Requests for Amazon Music https://bit.ly/AmazonMusicFail

In this episode we demonstrate how you can give feedback to your favorite music stations on iHeartRadio and discuss the price hike on Amazon Unlimited Music.

This concludes season 5 of the Echo Tips Podcast. We cover a variety of past demos, just in case you missed them. Also have a listen to our possible new theme music and vote on what you like best.

In this episode we revisit Blueprints. Blueprints allow you to create custom skills for yourself, your family, and/or your business! Formerly covered in episode 154.

What does Amazon's AI, Google BARD AI, and OpenAI's ChatGPT, mean for the A-Lady. After some recent announcements from Google and Amazon about AI an their Virtual Assistants we explore what the future might hold. Show Notes: BARD coming to the Google Assistant: https://www.axios.com/2023/07/31/google-assistant-artificial-intelligence-news AI Plus Alexa https://www.axios.com/2023/07/26/amazon-alexa-ai-home META's AI Personas https://www.cnet.com/news/social-media/meta-will-let-you-use-ai-chatbots-with-personalities-report-says/

In this episode we take a look at how you can set alarms and timers on other Echos, no matter where they are located. We also revisit the Announcements feature and some new ways it operates.

In this episode we discuss two networks devoted to the vision impaired; namely AMI-Audio and Vision Australia. We also take a look at a set of reoccuring bugs with podcast playback and Audible audiobooks. Lastly, we visit some of the concerning news surrounding Belkin's WEMO and their smart devices. Link to Stacey's IOT Podcast dealing with WEMO https://staceyoniot.com/podcast-why-we-think-wemo-is-a-no-go-for-us/