1.) DParker - 02/05/2016

[URL="http://www.techhive.com/article/3028758/home-tech/domino-s-pizza-announces-ordering-via-amazon-echo-painstakingly-avoids-mentioning-the-super-bowl.html"]Domino’s Pizza announces ordering via Amazon Echo[/URL]

Now THIS is why I invested in Amazon Echos for my house. Sure, I can use verbal commands to control the lighting, ceiling fans, etc in my home, get football scores, play music, do ounces-to-pints conversions...and a thousand other handy things. But what if I'm sitting in my comfy chair being subjected to a sort of Spanish Inquisition when I suddenly become all peckish-like and want some pizza? I [i]could[/i] pick up the phone and convey my wishes to some human, after they've kept me on hold for 5 minutes or more...or I could use the internet to order via a web site or some pizza chain's phone app.

But, c'mon....ain't nobody got time fo'dat!

Now I can sit on my fat ass and simply say, "Alexa, open Domino's and place my Easy Order". And then wait for the doorbell to ring when it arrives. Of course I still need to get up and answer the door at that point...but don't think that I'm not working on a solution to that problem.

The future is truly here. Surely we'll have Jetsons-style flying cars any day now.

2.) Swamp Fox - 02/05/2016

[QUOTE=DParker;38988][URL="http://www.techhive.com/article/3028758/home-tech/domino-s-pizza-announces-ordering-via-amazon-echo-painstakingly-avoids-mentioning-the-super-bowl.html"]...Now I can sit on my fat ass and simply say, "Alexa, open Domino's and place my Easy Order". And then wait for the doorbell to ring when it arrives. Of course I still need to get up and answer the door at that point...but don't think that I'm not working on a solution to that problem.

[/QUOTE]



LOL...


So it's Alexa now...


I have to say, as far as sexy computers go, that's not bad.

Beats the hell out of Hal.

3.) DParker - 02/06/2016

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;38990]LOL...


So it's Alexa now...


I have to say, as far as sexy computers go, that's not bad.

Beats the hell out of Hal.[/QUOTE]

And she hasn't tried to kill me......yet.

But yeah, she is pretty hot.

4.) Swamp Fox - 02/06/2016

I never even knew such a thing existed.

So once again, I [I]knew[/I] there was some reason I'm on this forum.

LOL

5.) DParker - 02/06/2016

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;38992]I never even knew such a thing existed.

So once again, I [I]knew[/I] there was some reason I'm on this forum.

LOL[/QUOTE]

Dude...Alexa (the service behind the Echo device, and one of the keywords that activates "her") is the coolest thing since sliced bread. I got one when they were first released (at a steep discount as an early adopter) and loved it so much that I got a second one to put upstairs (in the master bedroom....boom-chicka-wow-wow). Not only does it already do a boat-load of cool stuff, they're constantly adding new features, and new 3rd party services (like the aforementioned Domino's interface) are being released on a near-daily basis.

Here's an official marketing ad from Amazon (it's old though, so this video doesn't demonstrate any of the newer capabilities...but it'll give you a good idea of what it's about):

[video=youtube;KkOCeAtKHIc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkOCeAtKHIc[/video]

6.) Swamp Fox - 02/06/2016

So this is a question for the young guys...

How much are you looking forward to arguing with a computer? :wink

7.) DParker - 02/06/2016

Here's a guy who is really taking advantage of Echo's support of various home automation products. My own setup isn't this extensive or sophisticated, but I do currently have 9 lights and a ceiling fan that I control via voice through the Echo (as well as several other bits of home automation not involving the echo, like having the family room lights come on automatically 30 minutes prior to sunset and go off at midnight, if I forget to tell Alexa to turn them off...a motion sensor in the bedroom that automatically turns on the bedside lamps when anyone walks into the room during evening hours....two smart thermostats...etc.)

Fun times.

[video=youtube;LMW6aXmsWNE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMW6aXmsWNE[/video]

8.) Swamp Fox - 02/06/2016

Well, I know you're a lost cause, so this question is for the young guys...LOL:


How much are you looking forward to arguing with a computer? :wink

9.) DParker - 02/06/2016

She's go that covered too.

[video=youtube;lC81xMqg2C8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC81xMqg2C8[/video]

10.) bluecat - 02/06/2016

So it's just a glorified "clapper".

11.) bluecat - 02/06/2016

"Alexa, tune bow."

12.) Swamp Fox - 02/06/2016

LOL...I remember there's a pretty funny video of somebody asking Siri to open the pod bay doors, too.

I have (roughly, LOL) three questions:

I suppose you buy special doors or locks to get them to lock remotely. What are the basics of that? How are they powered, etc.?

The speakers also work as two-way "intercoms"? You're all the way on the other end of the house and as long as a speaker can hear you, it communicates to Hal? Sorry...Alexa? What's the cost and labor of installing speakers all over?

Lastly, does anyone know if the guy who did the whole-home automation video has ever touched a girl's boob? A girl who wasn't a relative, I mean. :wink

13.) DParker - 02/06/2016

[QUOTE=bluecat;39000]So it's just a glorified "clapper".[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=bluecat;39001]"Alexa, tune bow."[/QUOTE]

Who are you, who are so wise in the ways of science?

But seriously, I thought you Amish guys weren't allowed to use the internet?

[video=youtube_share;H2fkXt__lck]http://youtu.be/H2fkXt__lck[/video]

14.) Swamp Fox - 02/06/2016

[QUOTE=DParker;39004]Who are you, who are so wise in the ways of science?

But seriously, I thought you Amish guys weren't allowed to use the internet?

[/QUOTE]



LMAO!


:grin:

15.) DParker - 02/06/2016

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;39002]I have (roughly, LOL) three questions:

I suppose you buy special doors or locks to get them to lock remotely. What are the basics of that? How are they powered, etc.?[/quote]

Several of the major door hardware manufacturers offer a variety of options in "smart" door locks that generally communicate with your control hub via either ZigBee or Z-Wave (currently the two dominant home automation wireless network standards). All are battery-powered...and all are kinda' pricey, which is why I haven't tried any out yet.

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;39002]The speakers also work as two-way "intercoms"? You're all the way on the other end of the house and as long as a speaker can hear you, it communicates to Hal? Sorry...Alexa? What's the cost and labor of installing speakers all over?[/quote]

Both the speakers and microphones are built in to the Echo unit, so it's all in the can, so to speak. The ceiling speakers you saw in the home automation video were part of a custom system the guy put together himself and that don't have any direct connection to the Echo. But the microphone array in the Echo is sufficiently sensitive and well engineered that it can accurately hear and interpret your verbal commands even from a respectable distance (I regularly issue commands to the Echo in the family room while I'm in the kitchen, 15-20 feet away), even with a fair amount of ambient noise. It also works well even when you're not facing it while you're speaking.

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;39002]Lastly, does anyone know if the guy who did the whole-home automation video has ever touched a girl's boob? A girl who wasn't a relative, I mean. :wink[/QUOTE]

You'd be surprised hown many hot young women are into techie kind of stuff these days.

Next up: Employing sheeps' bladders to predict earthquakes.

16.) Swamp Fox - 02/06/2016

This new learning amazes me.

Thanks. :wink

I've not only heard about these techie girls, I dated one. I'd rank it up there with the time I dated a vegetarian girl. LOL Not bad for a while, but eventually the crazy started to show. :wink

17.) DParker - 02/06/2016

A couple years ago my son and I went to a gun show at Dallas Market Hall. While we were waiting in line for the doors to open we got to watch a parade of costumed young women get into another line for the Cosplay convention going on at the building across the street. It wasn't the first time I found myself envying my single, dating-age son.

18.) Swamp Fox - 02/06/2016

Welcome to Valhalla...It's awesome. :wink

19.) DParker - 02/06/2016

Now I'm going to have [i]The Immigrant Song[/i] stuck in my head all night. Pass the mead.

20.) DParker - 02/12/2016

I just became 20% lazier, following notification from Amazon that my Echos now work directly with my EcoBee3 smart thermostats.

"Alexa, set downstairs to 72 degrees."

At this point she's practically SkyNet.

21.) Swamp Fox - 02/13/2016