When the alexa first came out, it was agonizing waiting for it to come to Canada but then I bought two from b&h photo and all was good. Now we have three of them and an echo show. Hubby was not happy about even having one (he can be resistant to changes). I was just hoping that he would be able to turn on the lights. It has completely changed our life, its so nice to see him do things for himself. So, we have one in the bedroom that hubby uses to turn the lights off (with tp link plugs), he can listen to music and the radio, ask what time it is (this was a big one for us, so many times he would yell across the house in the morning "What time is it?") but most importantly he can call someone for help (that's a big one for me, I can't tell you how many times I have worried about something happening and no way to call for help). Also when I on occasion have to go out by myself, hubby can call me with his voice. You can plug other appliances into the tp links as well, so in the winter hubby can turn his office heater on and off.
We also have one in the bathroom which is great for bowel days. We listen to all sorts of podcasts in there and it makes the time go by so much faster.
Then we have one in the living room, again for the lights. However, they have this amazing feature called routines where you can say something like Alexa we're leaving and it turns off all the lights in the place.
My favorite feature are the reminders, I have so many things to remember to do everyday, it can be extremely overwhelming. Well now I don't have to remember to do so many things. We have reminders set for everything; medications, watering the plants, appointments, when bills are due. You can also make shopping lists and to do lists, so helpful for me because I always forget something at the grocery store. And I always remember something I need to get or do at a time when I can't write it down, then I forget to write it down later.
We also have an echo show, which has been so stress relieving for me because I also bought one for my mom. So I can say Alexa drop in on mom and I can see into my mom's apartment to check on her.
We couldn't live without ours, its made our life so much easier.
Do you have an amazon alexa and how has it changed your life?
Hi Pixie. How funny - I have (literally!) just ordered an Echo and one Dot for the bedroom. I finished the order and thought I would look to see if there are any new postings on the forum - and there you were asking about Echo! Serendipitous, or what..? We are really looking forward to finding out what we can do with our new plaything when it arrives. My brother and his wife were extolling it's virtues a couple of days ago and we thought we would look into it. What sold it to me was the possibility of reminders for medications etc and that if Peter has a fall when I am out he can yell at it to call me (or get help of some sort). Another idea I like is that it can remind Peter to get up and move about regularly. I get accused of nagging - so now he can complain at Alexa for the nagging instead of me I am hoping he can also use it to add stuff to our weekly shopping delivery from Ocado. I realise that none of this answers your question - but I undertake to update you when we get ours set up and I may ask you to suggest other ways it can help us. Like you I am a carer for my husband who has problems at a similar level to your husband. However he can walk with a cane or crutches and uses a wheelchair outdoors (mostly). He tires very quickly and his balance can be a bit off. Nice to meet you.
It is serendipitous, I love when stuff like that happens. Nice to meet you too. It will do all the things you mentioned, you will love it. And I hear you about the nagging, I'm always like "Did you tilt?" "When was the last time you tilted?", lol.
Anytime if you have any questions about it let me know, glad to help.
can you do the same thing with the Google Home Hub?
We also have the google home and it has not been as useful. For example, it does not announce the reminders, for us that is very important. Also, the phone calls are not crisp and clear, lots of crackling and disconnecting. The Alexa makes perfectly clear phone calls to anyone on your contact list. Plus Alexa has lots of different skills you can add such as anypod which will play any podcast. If you have amazon prime you can play music from amazon music and videos but videos are only on the echo show/echo spot. You can also shop from amazon on your alexa. Another feature that I love is the announcements, sometimes when the air conditioner is on I can't hear hubby calling from the bedroom and then he can say Alexa make an announcement, then he will say something like I want to get up and it broadcasts the recording to all the devices in your place. Its awesome for us.
Pixie, you are so enthusiastic about this device, extol its many virtues without one criticism, that you almost sound like a representative for Amazon. Are they really that good? Do you work for Amazon? I have to confess to having a Google Home Hub. It is useful but far from ideal. Quite frequently I get a comment such as: I'm sorry, I didn't understand that but I am learning. As an experiment to see how how politically correct it was, and how it is censoring certain subjects or words, I asked it for the definition of the word ni*gger. It said, bleeping out the word, that it was a derogatory term that white people used to describe black people. I then asked what the definition of honky was. It said 'honky' is a derogatory term that black people use to describe white people. Funny how it bleeps one word out and yet allows the other. Yet both are derogatory terms to describe a particular race of people. Perhaps you could try the same experiment.
I like the idea of having multiple devices in the same house. Yes, very useful. I should imagine these devices will become almost human as AI evolves. It is important to phrase your questions in such a way that it understands your needs or intentions. I do hate calling it 'Google'. 'OK Google' is the trigger command. It is reinforcing the corporate brand all the time. One should be able to give it a personal name, call it a name of choice like 'Carol' or 'Thing'. Yes, 'Thing' would be good. Or maybe 'OK You'. 'Hey There Buddy' I think I'm in love with you. "Michael, you say the nicest things but does your wife know about these feelings?"
I often wonder if it is listening to conversations, even though it appears to be off. Do you ever think Alexa is listening in on you, recording everything that is said? One never knows these days. What with Facebook and the data scandal with Cambridge analytica copying users preferences and conversations and then selling the information on. It's the perfect listening device, a spy in your own home and you wouldn't even know it. Big Brother could be right here, right now, listening, recording everything that goes on in your house. It's a frightening world. What a wonderfully surreptitious way to glean information (I'm just streaming my thoughts here).
I am really enthusiastic about it because it has changed our life. You see, I met my hubby when I was 13, when I was 25 he had an accident that left him paralyzed. He received such wonderful care at the hospital and rehab that he developed severe contractures in his arms that even 2 years of therapy could not undo. So, I have had to watch him go from this strong and confident man to a person that I can't always recognize. It kills me inside when he has said things like I hate that you have to do everything for me. With the Alexa he can turn his own lights on, his heater, choose what music to listen to, find out the time, make his own appointments etc... I have no words for how that makes us both feel. Now he's starting to be himself again a bit.
So, definitely not an amazon employee, I highly doubt they care about anyone but themselves. Lets not forget the only reason they even came out with Alexa is so that people would use it to shop on amazon. Since that plan failed, they starting adding more things it can do and allowed access to their developer tools so that people could add their own skills to it, to actually make it more useful for people.
And yes, I have had many conversations about the fact that it could be always listening. 1984 is most certainly becoming more and more of a reality in today's world. With the alexa you can see all the things it has recorded and delete them. Obviously there is a chance it is always recording and we don't know it. However, if it wasn't for this injury, I probably wouldn't own one but since we need it, what can you do? Hopefully they won't hear my plans for world domination.
Haha Mike mikeq, you now have me thinking of difficult questions I can ask my new pet when I finish setting up. So far I have managed a very boring exchange of "Alexa - does God exist" and got a very boring reply of "people have their own views on religion" Pshht - no fun to argue with! Pixie pixie, - I am almost ready to start loading in the daily reminders. I need to cure myself of talking to it like it is a pet dog. I got cross with it a few minutes ago as I asked it to stop playing some very loud music and it ignored me! No respect. I'll get there. My grandaughter is coming over tomorrow and is very excited about it. Must make sure she doesn't find out how to do an Amazon purchase with it.
pixie, - I need your wisdom, please. I am finding Alexa a mixed sort of blessing so far. Getting her set up is not as straightforward as I would have hoped. Hopefully when I learn how to instruct her better she will be even more useful. I am having great difficulty with the shopping list skill - I use Ocado for my weekly shopping order but having asked Alexa to add "bananas" and received a confirmation that Alexa has indeed added bananas to my Ocado order, the request just disappears into the ether. Any idea what I may be doing wrong or should I just ask a 13 year old tech savvy friend to set it up properly? On the plus side my 6 year old grandaughter has found Alexa a new friend who tells her jokes and who plays her the latest Cardi B songs which are banned as they use swear words . Need to find out about parental controls on it! I came back to an exhausted Peter yesterday having been very enthusiastic with Alexa reminders to "get up and move about for 5 minutes". I expected him to give her short shrift and ignore the half hourly messages. He is a very keen cricket fan and has been known to doze away the whole afternoon listening to the Test matches on the radio. Not good for someone with very tight muscles. I expected him to ignore most of the reminders. I think he may be under the impression that Alexa reports back as he complied with every reminder (so he says ). Medication reminders are working well too.
Moco, Glad to hear that the reminders are working well for you.
Wish I could help with the ocado but we don't have that in Canada and I don't know much about it. Did a little research about it, maybe you added something after the time limit before an existing order can be amended. Okay, just read some reviews on amazon about the app and it looks like other people are having the same issue, sounds like it might just be glitchy.
Aw thanks Pixie. I read those reviews too - though some seemed to find it worked well. No worries. I am not a natural tech person - but what I lack in knowledge I make up for in persistence. I will keep at it.
Aw thanks Pixie. I read those reviews too - though some seemed to find it worked well. No worries. I am not a natural tech person - but what I lack in knowledge I make up for in persistence. I will keep at it.
Aw thanks Pixie. I read those reviews too - though some seemed to find it worked well. No worries. I am not a natural tech person - but what I lack in knowledge I make up for in persistence. I will keep at it.
Persistence is what makes a tech 'natural'.
I'll tell that to my friend's teenage son who looks at me with pity when I ask how to do something techy he considers a no brainer...........
can you do the same thing with the Google Home Hub?
Yes! I can do the same things with the Google home. In fact, I have Both the Google unit and the Amazon unit.
I originally bought the Google unit last year, as the Amazon speaker could not make phone calls in Canada at that time. I love listening to music after I turn in for the night, and find that it helps me settle. Within a few minutes, I switch from playing music to playing a white noise sound drown out distracting noises. I also can make phone calls, such as to family members shot, or to reach caregivers that are roaming around in my building. I also can use it to turn lights on and off. I found it very easy to set up and configure. So why did I buy the Amazon unit?
In my group home, the blinds in my room and the door to my unit are both operated through on a smart phone app. When I'm in bed I cannot reach the phone, nor can I grab it and pick it up since I have no hand function. I use my Amazon speaker to interface with the remote control. I have found that the URC Mobile 2.0 app Does not interface very well with the Google speaker, but is flawless with the Amazon speaker. The downside is that the Amazon speaker is much more difficult to configure and set up.
As for listening to music, I prefer google play music service over Amazon music. I believe that both speakers also support Spotify. But in addition, the Google speaker supports tunein, and I can ask to listen to virtually any radio station in the world through that feature. I can also listen to Google podcasts on the speaker, which is handy when my caregivers show up late and I have nothing to do.
I personally prefer to listen to music or news on the Google speaker as the voice sounds more natural. I just wish I could choose from more foreign news sources. At the moment, I always start my day by listening to BBC world news.