Search: Amazon Alexa

Link

You Have One Week to Opt Out of Amazon’s ‘Sidewalk’ Network Service

Andrew Orr ·

Amazon Sidewalk is the company’s network mesh service that shares your internet bandwidth with Amazon devices. You must opt out by June 8 if you don’t want this because the setting is turned on by default.

The new wireless mesh service will share a small slice of your Internet bandwidth with nearby neighbors who don’t have connectivity and help you to their bandwidth when you don’t have a connection.

By default, Amazon devices including Alexa, Echo, Ring, security cams, outdoor lights, motion sensors, and Tile trackers will enroll in the system.

Link

Amazon Fire TV: Over 400 Live Streaming Channels Now Available

Charlotte Henry ·

Amazon Fire TV now has over 400 live streaming channels, Deadline reported. Furthermore,  half of these are free, ad-supported offerings. Some features have been updated too.

Nearly 20 programmers are supplying live channel content, among them bundled subscription services like YouTube TV, Sling TV and Philo. Newly integrated on Fire are free offerings like Xumo and Amazon’s IMDb TV and news app. Plex will soon join the fold. Voice commands via Amazon Alexa have also been added to live TV programs. Alexa will respond to commands to “play Good Morning America” or “play the Seahawks game,” for example. Live shows also now appear in the “App Peek” feature of the updated Fire TV user interface.

Link

Apple Podcasts Available on Amazon Echo and Fire TV Devices in Germany

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple Podcasts is now available on Amazon Echo and Fire TV devices in Germany like they are in the U.S, AppleInsider reported. The service can be set as the default via a skill. I very much hope this comes to other European countries, including the UK! At the moment, in these other countries, you can access podcasts on an Alexa device via TuneIn.

Amazon Echo devices need to have an Alexa skill installed to access the library. This is the same setup as it is in the United States. Once set up, users can ask Alexa to play a podcast, and then also have more specific controls such as pausing, or skipping back and forth through episodes. In the Amazon Alexa app on iOS, users need to first add a skill called Apple Podcasts.

Cool Stuff Found

Amazon Smart Clock For Echo Flex

Charlotte Henry ·

Amazon has released a new Smart Clock for the Echo Flex. The new accessory plugs into the Flex’s USB port and is discovered by Alexa. Users can select between a 12 or 24-hour using the Third Reality Skill, and the device clock can support up to 20 different timers simultaneously. The display automatically adjusts brightness using a built-in light sensor, but this can also be altered via Alexa commands.

Link

StarFinder Now Available Via Alexa

Charlotte Henry ·

Amazon’s sci-fi game StarFinder is now available over Alexa devices, reported CNet. All you have to do is set up the skill and say “Alexa, play Starfinder.”

Starfinder is an exciting example of more experimental game and story formats made possible by voice assistants like Alexa. We’ve seen examples like The Wayne Investigation — a Batman-themed choose-your-own-adventure Alexa skill from 2016 — but Starfinder brings higher production values and a bigger budget to the structure, although Amazon won’t share the exact numbers. Actors like Laura Bailey (The Last of Us, Part II) and Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle) voice characters in a cast of 13, selected and recorded by Audible Studios. The acting, sound and music are excellent across the board. Unlike a simple choose-your-own-adventure, Starfinder allows you to select from five characters to play, gives you an inventory of items and checks your stats for performing different actions (say, schmoozing an alien or disarming a bomb).

Background Mode Podcast

Physics Professor and Jazz Musician Dr. Stephon Alexander - BGM Interview

John Martellaro ·

Dr. Stephon Alexander is a theoretical physicist specializing in cosmology, particle physics and quantum gravity (String Theory and Loop Quantum Gravity). He received his BSc from Haverford College and Ph.D. from Brown University. He also explores interconnections between music, physics, mathematics and technology though recordings, performance, teaching and public lectures.

Stephon tells his story about growing up in the Bronx amidst a very diverse group of students. Encouraged by his parents and teachers, he showed great curiosity and intelligence. Still, as person of color, he faced many challenges as he worked towards his Ph.D. We chatted about the mind of the physicist, physics intuition, music, the role of mathematics, String Theory and Loop Quantum Gravity as well as events before the Big Bang. If you are a young student, dreaming of becoming a physicist, this show is a must – full of inspiration and insights.

Link

Lawyers: Turn off Alexa and Google Home Before Confidential Meetings

Andrew Orr ·

Lawyers who are working from home are encouraged to turn off devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Home because these products may eavesdrop.

“Perhaps we’re being slightly paranoid, but we need to have a lot of trust in these organizations and these devices,” Hancock said. “We’d rather not take those risks.”

The firm worries about the devices being compromised, less so with name-brand products like Alexa, but more so for cheap knock-off devices, he added.

It’s definitely not just cheap knock-offs.

Link

Spotify Free Tier Coming to Alexa, Sonos, And Bose Devices

Charlotte Henry ·

Spotify’s free tier is coming to Alexa powered devices. It will also work on Sonos and Bose devices, Techcrunch reported. Previously only those with a premium subscription could access their music on such speakers.

In the case of Alexa devices, like Amazon Echo speakers or the Fire TV, users will be able to ask Alexa to play Spotify’s playlist, like “Today’s Top Hits,” or their personalized playlist, “Discover Weekly,” among others. The service can also be set as the default, so you can use commands like “Play my Discover Weekly,” “Like this song,” or “Pause,” and more, without having to say “on Spotify.” Meanwhile, on Sonos and Bose speakers, users can set up Spotify Connect from the Spotify app. This works with Bose smart speakers and soundbars, as well as all Sonos smart speakers, including the new indoor/outdoor speaker Sonos Move and the Symfonisk IKEA WiFi Speaker, integrated with the Sonos Home Sound System.

Link

Amazon Unveils Echo Buds Amid Host of New Hardware

Charlotte Henry ·

Amazon unveiled a host of new and upgraded hardware at an event on Wednesday. The Verge has a rundown of what waas announced, including the new Echo Buds headphones.

The company announced 15 new products, including the Echo Buds truly wireless headphones, the Dolby Atmos-equipped Echo Studio speaker, and the Echo Frames, which have built-in microphones so you can chat with Alexa. A few of the announcements were minor revisions, like the Echo Dot smart speaker with an integrated clock, and the Alexa Smart Oven that can convection bake and air fry food items (in addition to being a regular microwave). But there were more than a few unexpected surprises, including the Echo Loop smart ring, the new, affordable Eero mesh Wi-Fi router, the Amazon Fetch pet tracker, and more.