VV feb march 20 24th dec

WHAT’S THE POINT OF ALEXA?
When people talk about Alexa, they are most
commonly talking about an Amazon Echo
device of some sort. Alexa is also available on
other Amazon devices and through the
relevant apps on smartphones and tablets and
is the artificial intelligence software that you
converse with.
For the purposes of this article, when I refer to
Alexa, I will be talking about an Amazon Echo
device. See Amazon UK page here https://
amzn.to/2FcG8op
So what can you do with it? A quick Google
will come up with any number of amusing
things to get Alexa to answer. And some
useful things as well.
But when you have finished getting Alexa to
meow or play your favourite radio station or
answer an obscure question, what then? Well,
it depends on what other ‘smart’ gadgets you
have in your house and whether they are
Alexa compatible.
Apart from what comes pre-programmed in
an Echo, there is a very long list of ‘skills’ that
can be added to Alexa as necessary. These
skills expand the capability of Alexa to interact
with smart devices and access specific radio
stations and other internet services.
If you are a bit of a gadget freak, a simple
search on Amazon will reveal all manner of
gadgets to do things you never thought you
might need but suddenly feel are essential!
Some of the most common Alexa automation
is switching things on or off and controlling
audiovisual systems such as Sonos.
colour on your command or at a set time.
There are Alexa compatible light fixings which
you can plug regular LED bulbs into and voice
control with Alexa.
There are also Alexa compatible wall switches,
dimmers, plug sockets, adapters and door
locks which allow you to integrate your whole
home with voice control. However, as far as
wall light switches are concerned, it’s quite
unlikely you will be able to retro-fit them due
to the way UK light circuits are wired.
Now there are some security issues with
Alexa. But just as there isn’t enough space in
this article to cover all that Alexa can do, there
also isn't enough space to discuss security.
Maybe that’s an article for the future!
Controlling smart lighting can be a genuinely
useful use of Alexa and there are a number of
ways to do this. You can get Alexa compatible
bulbs which can be dimmed and change
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