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control the dimmable ceiling led lights
You can do this with Hue lights - 'alexa - kitchen light brighter' definitely works. Some combination of dim kitchen light or kitchen light dimmer works too.
I have a group set up for the evening lamps so when it gets dark I can switch on the lamps that have switches hidden under sideboards and sofas - I use tp link plugs for those.
Thanks for the psa will have a look, I really want sonos integration so I can use my 5 and 1 more often.
[i]so you could live out your Tony Stark fantasies.[/i]
Iron Man 4: Tony Dims His Kitchen Light
[quote=Alphabet]Currently I have a Sonos Play 5 in the kitchen which I use with Spotify. Am I right in thinking that if I bought an echo Dot then I would be able to connect it to the Sonos speaker via a 3.5mm stereo cable and then access Spotify via voice commands?
No cable required. Once the Sonos / Alexa integration is released (currently in beta testing, Spotify not currently supported) you just wirelessly pair your Alexa stuff with your Sonos stuff and that's it - just tell Alexa to 'play Celine Dion in the kitchen' etc.
Thanks for the replies to my question. My Sonos speaker is on top of one of the kitchen cupboards so I guess I could put the Echo Dot up there too if it wasn't too far away to hear voice commands and use a cable to connect it to Sonos until the wireless connectivity comes out.
Oh and the point about alexa struggling to hear if the music is up is true. If I have the echo playing at vol 5 and above I have to move closer to get a response. Kind of to be expected though isn't it...?
Come on with the sonos integration!
Kryton, Dez, and all the other people trying SOOOOO hard not to love Alexa ( 😉 ), No, i didn’t just buy them to turn on and off lights!!
First and foremost I bought them as music players/internet radio type devices.
For this they are brilliant.
I can walk into a room and start/stop my choice of music, or play a radio station, or play a pod cast, just by talking...
Not that big a deal, but...I never really listened to the radio in my bedroom as it’s the other side of the bed, and when getting ready in the morning it’s nice to just ‘ask’ for music/radio..
Plus you can easily set alarms via voice command.
THe other bits; unit conversions/timers/shopping list/thermostat control/light control are all useful extras..
Anyway, I”m not on commission, and you don’t need to buy one. Just don’t try too hard to ignore the benefits and joy!!!
DrP
First and foremost I bought them as music players/internet radio type devices.
Same here.
The main use of my Dot is to play music in the kitchen while I am cooking or cleaning. (Music is via TuneIn Radio, Amazon Music or Spotify Free, depending on what I want).
Something quite satisfying about saying [i]"Alexa, play the album Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd"[/i] and it just happens without faffing about with CDs or browsing through MP3s/stream on my phone.
Other handy uses include hearing the news from my chosen news sources, getting local weather, setting timers while cooking, unit conversion, random google searches.
Obviously none of this is [i]essential[/i], because we've done just fine without it. But it's all nice to have, works very well and feels like being one step closer to living in the future (she can't make hoverboards though. Or jetpacks)
I quite fancy the idea of the show.
I wonder if you can get one of these things to tell you things without you asking?
So for example, when we go downstairs into the kitchen in the morning, have it tell you what's on for the day; or check the traffic and warn you if something's gone wrong without you asking.
Surely it’s “Alexa, turn the big light on!”
They do look pretty cool and nice update, might make a nice Xmas box fo the kids.
Surely it’s “Alexa, turn the big light on!”
Like it.
You could also have [i]"Alexa, 'sake it's like Blackpool Illuminations in here!"[/i] to turn all the lights off 😉
I wonder if you can get one of these things to tell you things without you asking?
So for example, when we go downstairs into the kitchen in the morning, have it tell you what's on for the day; or check the traffic and warn you if something's gone wrong without you asking.
My Google home does that "hey google, tell me about my day" replies with weather, news, traffic and any appointments in my calendar
But you still ahve to ask it. I want to know if it can do something you ask based on (for example) a motion sensor.
Molgrips wants a telepathic personal speaker.
You could hook up a motion sensor as a trigger via IFTTT I guess. Not sure if you can push commands to Alexa though, not had a look through the API yet.
You could hook up a motion sensor as a trigger via IFTTT I guess. Not sure if you can push commands to Alexa though, not had a look through the API yet.
Alexa doesn't have any "that" actions on IFTTT (I just checked).
[quote=GrahamS said]You could hook up a motion sensor as a trigger via IFTTT I guess. Not sure if you can push commands to Alexa though, not had a look through the API yet.
Not currently supported.
Looks like there is a "Notifications" API that lets you push a notification to an Alexa device, but I think it just makes the ring pulse yellow and relies on the user spotting that and asking "Alexa, what are my notifications?"
Everything else is all request-response. I guess you might be able to somehow inject a pre-recorded command to the Amazon Voice Service as if it came from Alexa and get it to respond that way. Nasty though.
There is also a Device Messaging API, but I don't think that hooks into Alexa yet.
https://developer.amazon.com/device-messaging
I'm not really trying hard to not love Alexa - I can just think of better things to spend £100 on! And I'm a bit set in my playing-of-music ways - so if Alexa doesn't play off my NAS then she ain't no good to me
If you have Plex running on your NAS than Alexa works with that, although at a limited level i.e it won't stream your NAS tunes through the Amazon device.
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Santa’s been.
Got to wait for mine - getting delivered to the UK then shipped to Hollandland.
I need to find a new lamp that will fit the Hue bulb as well.
Can someone please try 'Alexa - are Ling's T&C's legally binding' please and post the definitive answer in the relevant thread please.
It needs putting to bed now...
I need to find a new lamp that will fit the Hue bulb as well.
I bought some converters.
Just as a heads up. From midnight tonight:
Early Black Friday deal - Amazon Echo 2nd Gen £69.99 / Amazon Echo Dot £34.99 @ Amazon.
Google Home reduced to £79 - Google Home Mini Smart Speaker £34 @ AO.com
So I’ve got to spend £10 more to get a few little things delivered by Saturday (Prime add ons). I can’t really think of anything I want apart from an Echo. So I’m wondering if the speaker is so much better on the Echo plus to warrant shelling out on that? Or is the Echo 2nd gen fine? Or do I just buy a Dot or two and link them up with the sound bar/Bluetooth speaker?
Any advice gratefully received.