Amazon Echo Club

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by OtinG

The 3rd season of Grand Tour just started on Amazon Prime Video. It is pretty good. It gets battered about by those who sneer and say it really isn't a "car show", and it really isn't, so what? It is an entertaining comedy series that features three goofy guys and a lot of cars few people could ever afford. Personally I think it is better than 90-95% of the shows on Motor Trend (formerly Velocity) which tend to be little more than California chop shops ruining antique and classic automobiles. At any rate, the new season just started if you are interested.

Originally Posted by wodin

Agreed.

I've always been a fan of the UK's version of the three stooges, and Clarkson and company do it well. The first season three episode compare the US big three's (Ford, GM and Chrysler) versions of modern muscle cars.

Yes. Doubly agreed. If you're looking for hard information on cars, this probably isn't the program for you. But accept that it's an entertainment show that happens to be based around cars, then it's great.

I enjoyed the first episode; looking forward to the next. It seems that Amazon are releasing these at the same time for the UK and US markets?

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

Yes. Doubly agreed. If you're looking for hard information on cars, this probably isn't the program for you. But accept that it's an entertainment show that happens to be based around cars, then it's great.

I enjoyed the first episode; looking forward to the next. It seems that Amazon are releasing these at the same time for the UK and US markets?

I think so. I think they make them available On Demand in all the markets about the same time, but I'm not sure. Shows like the BBC's Top Gear are typically released in the UK first and in the USA a few months later, but the BBC is still a broadcast company and Amazon is a streaming company.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by issybird

I almost never use Alexa to listen to Audible; I'd rather stream Audible through her from a device. I like the controls and I especially like how granular the speed of the Audible app has gotten, with 0.05 intervals. 1.25X is too fast for me with a reasonably fast narrator reading fiction when the performance matters, but 1.10X is imperceptible and saves a lot of time over the course of 20+ hour book.

That said, I'm glad to know. More tools are always good.

Thanks for the tip on the 1.10x speed. I'll try that. I use Alexa almost exclusively now for listening at home because I walk from room to room (and floor to floor) and can just start the audiobook, in progress, where I am. I primarily use my Itouch for non-Audible stuff, but am able to use the Audible app for about 90% of those.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by OtinG

The 3rd season of Grand Tour just started on Amazon Prime Video. It is pretty good. It gets battered about by those who sneer and say it really isn't a "car show", and it really isn't, so what? It is an entertaining comedy series that features three goofy guys and a lot of cars few people could ever afford. Personally I think it is better than 90-95% of the shows on Motor Trend (formerly Velocity) which tend to be little more than California chop shops ruining antique and classic automobiles. At any rate, the new season just started if you are interested.

I just saw on USA Today that:

Amazon renewed the show for a fourth season last month – before the third was released – but said future seasons will feature only road trips. So no more celebrity segments, awkward interactions with a studio audience or talking about the latest news from the car industry.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by wodin

I just saw on USA Today that:

So basically they are keeping the best part and throwing out the talk show garbage. Works for me! Of course that will drive up production costs, so hopefully it doesn’t get cancelled after season 4 due to cost overruns.

[Catlady]

I'm finally, finally getting around to setting up my WeMo smart plug. At this point, I expect to mainly use it in a room without a Dot--I want to control it with my Fire tablet and/or Android phone.

I found instructions here (seems like an awful lot of steps!). Does it matter which device I use for the setup?

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I'm finally, finally getting around to setting up my WeMo smart plug. At this point, I expect to mainly use it in a room without a Dot--I want to control it with my Fire tablet and/or Android phone.

I found instructions here (seems like an awful lot of steps!). Does it matter which device I use for the setup?

No, doesn't matter what device, as long as it's registered to the same account. Once I set my Wemo up via my phone, I could immediately control it on all my dots and echoes.

I didn't read the link you posted but set up is pretty straight forward. Open the Wemo app, click "Add a Wemo," follow the instructions. Takes two min.
Linking it to Alex takes two min more to enable the skill and link the Wemo account. The Wemo app might even walk you through that, I can't recall.

Not quite as easy as Amazon's own "I found a new plug! Done!" system, but at easy enough....and the Wemo works on both my wife's profile and mine, unlike Amazon's own.....

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I'm finally, finally getting around to setting up my WeMo smart plug. At this point, I expect to mainly use it in a room without a Dot--I want to control it with my Fire tablet and/or Android phone.

I found instructions here (seems like an awful lot of steps!). Does it matter which device I use for the setup?

As ApK said, it doesn't matter which device you use. Once set up, you can use any of your Echo, Tap, etc. devices as well as any smartphone, tablet, or computer running the Alexa app. I assume WeMo also has an app which can be used to control the plug even if Alexa is not available do to a server issue, or she is just in a mood!

[Catlady]

Feeling incredibly stupid, but how do I turn the plug on and off in the Alexa app? I tried WeMo, I tried the name I gave it, I tried the generic term smart plug; Alexa just apologizes. What's the secret?

P.S. I hate Alexa.

P.P.S. Never mind. I had to tell Alexa to scan for devices. You'd think that that would be automatic when there's clearly a new device, but no, it wasn't. Now it works. But I still hate Alexa.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by Catlady

...
P.S. I hate Alexa.
...

I just bought a new Nissan Rogue, If you hate Alexa, don't buy a Nissan. The voice recognition system in the Rogue makes Alexa seem like a genius.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Catlady

P.P.S. Never mind. I had to tell Alexa to scan for devices. You'd think that that would be automatic when there's clearly a new device, but no, it wasn't. Now it works. But I still hate Alexa.

To be fair, how could it be clear to Alexa that there is a new device if she doesn't scan for them?

(The most logical response to that is that the new devices could advertise/autodiscover, like the Amazon brand smart plug does, but, hey they need to keep the best stuff for themselves, right? )

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Feeling incredibly stupid, but how do I turn the plug on and off in the Alexa app? I tried WeMo, I tried the name I gave it, I tried the generic term smart plug; Alexa just apologizes. What's the secret?

P.S. I hate Alexa.

P.P.S. Never mind. I had to tell Alexa to scan for devices. You'd think that that would be automatic when there's clearly a new device, but no, it wasn't. Now it works. But I still hate Alexa.

It isn’t Alexas. It is the dumba$$es that program her. Usability is a concept they cannot seem to grasp in the Alexa development department.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Catlady

P.S. I hate Alexa.

P.P.S. Never mind... ...But I still hate Alexa.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by ApK

To be fair, how could it be clear to Alexa that there is a new device if she doesn't scan for them?

(The most logical response to that is that the new devices could advertise/autodiscover, like the Amazon brand smart plug does, but, hey they need to keep the best stuff for themselves, right? )

Because in the setup, I had to go through a step to see if Alexa could control the device; shouldn't that have indicated to Alexa the Stupid that I might want to use said device? What other reason would anyone have for connecting the device to Alexa? I did try several times to refresh the list of devices, but there was nothing to tell me to SCAN for new devices.

So ... either the discovery should have been automatic, OR I should have been prompted to scan. Neither happened.

I was going to try pairing my two Dots for stereo sound today too, but I don't feel like having another frustrating set-to with Alexa. Tomorrow is another day.

[ApK]

I don't recall the exact steps, but I think during the setup, you're just enabling the skill and giving Alexa permission to interact with it, which can be done even if you have no devices at the moment. The command "Alexa, discover devices" needs to be given to have her look for new devices to add to her smart home stuff whenever a new device from any company is hooked up (except for Amazon brand device which do it automatically, just as you'd expect.)

As for the frustration, I think it's been pointed out before that in computer years Alexa is now a teenager. And talking to her is like talking to most any teenage girl.....