Amazon Echo Club

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by issybird

I've been holding out, but I finally caved. Since I no longer have Prime, I had to order it on my sister's account, but it's coming here.

I did try to talk her into getting it, but she wasn't interested. Well, she's getting one anyway!

I ordered one as well. Don't know why, but since it's free, I decided that resistance is futile. I might try the Amazon Fresh free trial, too.

But I really can't see using it for grocery shopping going forward, unless there's a great deal for kitty litter in bulk. Wouldn't mind having that delivered instead of schlepping it from the supermarket!

[FizzyWater]

I've ordered 40 lb bags of kitty litter from Amazon. The delivery persons were horrible about where they left it. I have a gated patio to my front door. Some would just dump the heavy box over the side of the fence. Some would leave it out in the rain (the plastic bag the litter came in protected the litter, but I couldn't pick up the wet, heavy box - it fell apart).

Some would prop it against my front door. So I had to walk around from the garage to get it.

It made the process very frustrating.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I ordered one as well. Don't know why, but since it's free, I decided that resistance is futile. I might try the Amazon Fresh free trial, too.

But I really can't see using it for grocery shopping going forward, unless there's a great deal for kitty litter in bulk. Wouldn't mind having that delivered instead of schlepping it from the supermarket!

My mom uses Walmart Pickup. So she only has to tote it once.

[DreamWriter]

Since this thread's temporarily evolved into a discussion of cat litter... I buy Ever Clean Extra Strength Cat Litter in the 42-pound size (plastic packaging). I purchase when it's sold directly by Amazon.com (usually pay $21 and as low as $17.50 when there's a lightning deal), but most of the independent Amazon sellers charge too much! Locally, it's $27.

I used to buy the 25-pound bags from Amazon (easier to pour!), but packaging for the smaller amount is paper and would sometimes arrive broken.

[Catlady]

I don't use clumping litter, I don't have a car, and I don't have a Walmart. I also can't really manage a 40-lb bag, which I tried once when a friend delivered it for me. Usually I walk a mile to Stop and Shop and buy a couple of 20-lb bags at a time, transporting them in my trusty shopping cart--the price is something like $3.50 a bag. Otherwise I spend more at supermarkets that are lots closer.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

I've ordered 40 lb bags of kitty litter from Amazon. The delivery persons were horrible about where they left it. I have a gated patio to my front door. Some would just dump the heavy box over the side of the fence. Some would leave it out in the rain (the plastic bag the litter came in protected the litter, but I couldn't pick up the wet, heavy box - it fell apart).

Some would prop it against my front door. So I had to walk around from the garage to get it.

It made the process very frustrating.

It's time to play hardball.

Install a camera, then file complaints with the delivery service and Amazon. If the delivery service doesn't improve or retaliates, post the video on YouTube and/or Facebook. Then send copies to the delivery service and Amazon telling them that the video has already been posted to the web. Also, inform Amazon that they aren't the only game in town.

Rinse and repeat or shop elsewhere for kitty litter.

[tubemonkey]

Amazon’s Alexa servers were down for a few hours yesterday

This is just a quick PSA that Amazon’s Alexa servers were down around mid-day yesterday for 2-3 hours. If you were having issues using Alexa yesterday, rest assured it was not an issue with your hardware or your setup. If you’re ever experiencing issues with Amazon devices, a good first step is to check Amazon’s Cloud Status page to determine if the issue is on Amazon’s side. The “AWS Lambda (N. Virginia)” servers handles the majority of Alexa’s requests.

AWS Service Health Dashboard

[Conan46]

Not much talk about the Amazon Tap here but thought I'd share a few things. I have a few bluetooth speakers and had not used the Tap for bluetooth much until lately, but the Tap works well for bluetooth. Once it has been connected the first time you just tell it to connect to your device automatically, and you can control volume up and down by voice, as well as skip to the next song when listening to music by voice command as well as pause and start. I've been using it mostly with my Plex media server for music and a Moto e phone to connect. Sound is pretty good on the Tap. Long passive radiators along its side beef up the sound quite a bit. Has worked very well. Just FYI.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Conan46

Not much talk about the Amazon Tap here but thought I'd share a few things. I have a few bluetooth speakers and had not used the Tap for bluetooth much until lately, but the Tap works well for bluetooth. Once it has been connected the first time you just tell it to connect to your device automatically, and you can control volume up and down by voice, as well as skip to the next song when listening to music by voice command as well as pause and start. I've been using it mostly with my Plex media server for music and a Moto e phone to connect. Sound is pretty good on the Tap. Long passive radiators along its side beef up the sound quite a bit. Has worked very well. Just FYI.

Not too many people here bought the Tap.

When I had an Echo, I would use it as a BT speaker for my phone and tablets. Now I use my Dots as BT speakers. Even though the speaker is small, it's louder than the speakers on my phone and tablets.

You can also use the Dot to stream the music service of your choice via BT or wired connection to a another speaker system like your home stereo. I don't think the Echo will allow that, definitely not a wired connection as it lacks a port for that. Not sure about the Tap. That is the opposite of what you guys were talking about, but it does make the Dot a lot more versatile than just using its tiny speaker.

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by Conan46

Not much talk about the Amazon Tap here but thought I'd share a few things. I have a few bluetooth speakers and had not used the Tap for bluetooth much until lately, but the Tap works well for bluetooth. Once it has been connected the first time you just tell it to connect to your device automatically, and you can control volume up and down by voice, as well as skip to the next song when listening to music by voice command as well as pause and start. I've been using it mostly with my Plex media server for music and a Moto e phone to connect. Sound is pretty good on the Tap. Long passive radiators along its side beef up the sound quite a bit. Has worked very well. Just FYI.

I'm very happy with my Tap, too! I liked it when I got it, but when Amazon added voice control later, it got even better. I like that it's smaller than the Echo. It's the perfect size for my bedroom. The sound is excellent, in my opinion (better than I thought it'd be). I've connected all my Alexa devices (Echo, Tap, and Dots) to Bluetooth speakers. That works great.

[DreamWriter]

This is what I've been waiting for! NEW TIMER FUNCTIONS!

From an email I just received:

Right on time

Introducing two new ways to make the most of your time. First, Alexa users can now set named timers. Second, you can ask for proactive reminders about upcoming events or tasks and Alexa will notify you through your Echo device. Just ask:

- "Alexa, set a pasta timer for 9 minutes."
- "Alexa, remind me to call Mom on Saturday at 2pm."
- "Alexa, what are my reminders this weekend?"

I just tested the timer. When time was up, Echo beeped as usual and also said, "Your pasta timer is done." This is going to be a great help since I can't always remember why I set a particular timer, especially when I have several at once.

[Conan46]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Not too many people here bought the Tap.

When I had an Echo, I would use it as a BT speaker for my phone and tablets. Now I use my Dots as BT speakers. Even though the speaker is small, it's louder than the speakers on my phone and tablets.

Probably the biggest thing going for the Tap is portability. I often carry it from room to room when I'm listening to music.

[Conan46]

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

I'm very happy with my Tap, too! I liked it when I got it, but when Amazon added voice control later, it got even better. I like that it's smaller than the Echo. It's the perfect size for my bedroom. The sound is excellent, in my opinion (better than I thought it'd be). I've connected all my Alexa devices (Echo, Tap, and Dots) to Bluetooth speakers. That works great.

Mine is also in the bedroom. I love the charging station I can just plop it down onto. I actually was not interested in getting one, then Amazon announced it was getting hand's free voice control and I bought it right away. I like my dot but the Tap is my favorite Alexa device.

[Conan46]

Buying Alexa devices can get addictive. But I will probably stop at 2 devices unless I buy one for someone else:
https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/23/42...evice-or-more/