Amazon Echo Club - Page 258

OtinG · 07-25-2019, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

The internet IS data mining. Use it, and your data will be mined. It's really as simple as that. But if anthropomorphizing Google as some sort of big baddie makes you feel better about handing your data to someone else (data that Google will merely get some other way), then have at it. No skin off my nose. Different strokes, as you mentioned. We all make corporations like Google richer just by accessing the internet and using devices that do.

Okay I get it, you want to defend Google. To each their own. Google, like any company, is run by humans. There is no anthropomorphizing needed to place the blame for their data mining business philosophy on their shoulders. They are humans with a heinous business model, IMO. Believe what you will, and I will do the same. I'll say no more as I don't want to hijack this thread.

DiapDealer · 07-25-2019, 11:01 AM

Just had another moment when it would have been nice to be able to limit which Echo had access to which devices. I'm really trying hard to come up with a scenario in which it's a good idea for any Echo in a multiple Echo (same account) home to be able to turn on every light in the entire home with a single command. How would that ever be useful in a multiple occupant home? The inherent "lights" ability of each individual group is nice, but the inherent "all lights" ability is simply a bad idea in my opinion.

All it takes is one slip of the tongue ("all lights" vs just "lights"), and your octogenarian father has awoken everyone in every bedroom from a dead sleep at 5:30am.

DiapDealer · 07-25-2019, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OtinG

Okay I get it, you want to defend Google. To each their own.

Clearly you don't get it. I've no interest in Google, or Amazon, or Facebook (or whatever) whatsoever beyond the services they provide that I choose to use or not use based solely on their usefulness to me. I'm not interested in defending or demonizing any of them. They're all as guilty/innocent as the next when it comes to personal data usage. If I only purchased goods or services from humans (or companies run by humans) that I personally respected, I'd be starving, dirty, sick, and homeless with no internet.

tubemonkey · 08-01-2019, 02:16 PM

I wish the Echo Show would show the lyrics for songs from Spotify. Unfortunately, it only shows lyrics from Amazon Music.

wodin · 08-07-2019, 03:01 PM

Now you can choose how fast Alexa talks on your Amazon Echo

Quote:

Amazon is launching a new ability for it’s Alexa smart assistant today: the ability to choose how fast it talks. By saying “Alexa, speak slower” or “Alexa, speak faster,” you can, well, get Alexa to speak slower or faster.

OtinG · 08-07-2019, 03:05 PM

Alright, we can speed up her voice to warp speed and she will sound like a teenager who talks a lot but actually says very little.

wodin · 08-07-2019, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah Caplener, the head of Alexa for Everyone

The slower speeds are for “hard of hearing and older customers” while the faster speeds are a boon to “customers who are blind or low vision,” because they “are used to consuming audio content and want to be able to listen more quickly.”

What about those of us who are both old and blind?

pdurrant · 08-08-2019, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wodin

What about those of us who are both old and blind?

The two factors cancel out, and you're happy with Alexa at her default speed?

wodin · 08-08-2019, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The two factors cancel out, and you're happy with Alexa at her default speed?

That be true.

mlewis78 · 08-09-2019, 02:36 AM

Does anyone know why an Amazon Echo speaker does not know what time zone it is in, unless it is in the zone of the registered owner? I went to Salt Lake City last week. It kept giving me EDT time. Had to add two hours to the time I wanted it to set an alarm for. When I said "Alexa, you are in Salt Lake City" or "Alexa, you are in the Mountain time zone," it would only say "hmmm, I don't know that one."

Considering that it can turn lights off and one, couldn't Amazon have done better with it knowing where it is? My phone knows where it is.

I probably posted something similar here two years ago when I went to Minneapolis, but I don't remember.

OtinG · 08-09-2019, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlewis78

Does anyone know why an Amazon Echo speaker does not know what time zone it is in, unless it is in the zone of the registered owner? I went to Salt Lake City last week. It kept giving me EDT time. Had to add two hours to the time I wanted it to set an alarm for. When I said "Alexa, you are in Salt Lake City" or "Alexa, you are in the Mountain time zone," it would only say "hmmm, I don't know that one."

Considering that it can turn lights off and one, couldn't Amazon have done better with it knowing where it is? My phone knows where it is.

I probably posted something similar here two years ago when I went to Minneapolis, but I don't remember.

I'm not sure, but my best guess is that the Echo devices made by Amazon now are almost exclsively designed as AC plugin devices and not considered to be portable. The one exception I can think of is the one designed to connect with a car stereo. The only portable model, the Tap, is now discontinued. So I assume the only time you are asked to set up a time zone is when the Echo device is initially set up in your home/office.

You can change the time zone manually via the Alexa app:
Select the Devices tab at bottom-right of screen --> select Echo & Alexa button at upper-left of screen --> select your device --> scroll down and select Time Zone.

If your Alexa device is a 3rd party device, then check with its manufacturer.

tubemonkey · 08-09-2019, 11:32 AM

Me: "Alexa, where are you?"

Alexa: "I'm right here."

OtinG · 08-09-2019, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Me: "Alexa, where are you?"

Alexa: "I'm right here."

Reminds me of the 1950s Andy Griffith standup routine of a hillbilly production of Romeo and Juliet:

Juliet, "Romeo, Romeo, where forth art thou, Romeo?"

Romeo, "Well I'm rightch [sic] here!"

wodin · 08-09-2019, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlewis78

Does anyone know why an Amazon Echo speaker does not know what time zone it is in, unless it is in the zone of the registered owner? I went to Salt Lake City last week. It kept giving me EDT time. Had to add two hours to the time I wanted it to set an alarm for. When I said "Alexa, you are in Salt Lake City" or "Alexa, you are in the Mountain time zone," it would only say "hmmm, I don't know that one."

Considering that it can turn lights off and one, couldn't Amazon have done better with it knowing where it is? My phone knows where it is.

I probably posted something similar here two years ago when I went to Minneapolis, but I don't remember.

You can change the time zone in the app. When I bought a Spot a few months ago, I installed it as normal, and the clock was an hour off. What the ...

When I dug into it I found that it was set to Hawaiian Daylight time. What the ... There is no such thing as HDT, Hawaii doesn't observe DST, so all we get is Hawaiian Standard Time. I set it to HST and all was well.

DiapDealer · 08-09-2019, 01:15 PM

The Echo would need either GPS, or the ability to get its location from a cell-tower in order to automatically adjust its timezone. I doubt either of those features are going to be incorporated into a device that's not really billed as being "mobile."

Just remember to change the timezone in the Alexa app if you're travelling with your Echo.

07-25-2019, 11:01 AM	#3857
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,682 Karma: 205039118 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	Just had another moment when it would have been nice to be able to limit which Echo had access to which devices. I'm really trying hard to come up with a scenario in which it's a good idea for any Echo in a multiple Echo (same account) home to be able to turn on every light in the entire home with a single command. How would that ever be useful in a multiple occupant home? The inherent "lights" ability of each individual group is nice, but the inherent "all lights" ability is simply a bad idea in my opinion. All it takes is one slip of the tongue ("all lights" vs just "lights"), and your octogenarian father has awoken everyone in every bedroom from a dead sleep at 5:30am. Last edited by DiapDealer; 07-25-2019 at 11:13 AM.

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08-01-2019, 02:16 PM	#3859
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,773 Karma: 158733736 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	I wish the Echo Show would show the lyrics for songs from Spotify. Unfortunately, it only shows lyrics from Amazon Music.

08-07-2019, 03:05 PM	#3861
OtinG Old Gadget Guy Posts: 1,913 Karma: 6854865 Join Date: Jun 2018 Device: Oasis 3, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPad mini 6, iPad Air 2020, Alexa Devices	Alright, we can speed up her voice to warp speed and she will sound like a teenager who talks a lot but actually says very little.

08-09-2019, 02:36 AM	#3865
mlewis78 Guru Posts: 910 Karma: 6449772 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: New York City Device: Kindle Oasis 2 (7"); HDX 8.9"; Ipad2	Does anyone know why an Amazon Echo speaker does not know what time zone it is in, unless it is in the zone of the registered owner? I went to Salt Lake City last week. It kept giving me EDT time. Had to add two hours to the time I wanted it to set an alarm for. When I said "Alexa, you are in Salt Lake City" or "Alexa, you are in the Mountain time zone," it would only say "hmmm, I don't know that one." Considering that it can turn lights off and one, couldn't Amazon have done better with it knowing where it is? My phone knows where it is. I probably posted something similar here two years ago when I went to Minneapolis, but I don't remember.

08-09-2019, 11:32 AM	#3867
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,773 Karma: 158733736 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	Me: "Alexa, where are you?" Alexa: "I'm right here."

08-09-2019, 01:15 PM	#3870
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,682 Karma: 205039118 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	The Echo would need either GPS, or the ability to get its location from a cell-tower in order to automatically adjust its timezone. I doubt either of those features are going to be incorporated into a device that's not really billed as being "mobile." Just remember to change the timezone in the Alexa app if you're travelling with your Echo.