Echo Tips

In this week's episode we cover additional educational skills on the Amazon Echo. These might be good for pre-schoolers, kindergartens, and more.

In this episode we look at three Skills that might be useful for your little ones. Aiding them with letters, numbers, counting, and more.

In this episode we review a number of sleep sound skills available on the Alexa Store. I even have a recommendation in here for my dear Uncle Todd. Enjoy!

In an effort to help a client who wanted to see folks on her big screen TV, we came up with this solution for Zoom Meetings.

In this episode we go back to episode 56, a super popular episode about Old Time Radio.

Trying to listen to an old episode of a podcast? Learn how you can tell your Echo to play a specific episode.

In the April Alex Blog Roundup, Amazon discussed this new feature. Which allows a Ring Video Doorbell and soon a Google Nest Camera to send an alert to your Amazon Echo when a person or package is detected. Follow along as we discuss the step-by-step guide at bit.ly/frontdooralexa

Want to dip your toes into home automation? Learn how your Echo can detect people in the room or when its empty; an respond accordingly. In today's episode we demo an Echo Show 10 using its camera for occupancy detection but hopefully we'll give the Echo Dot a try in the future. And see how the ultrasonic detection works in comparison. 

Battling Allergies? Learn how your Amazon Echo can reveal the pollen count for the day in your area! We will also look at how you can learn about the current air quality in your area.

Learn how you can get your reminders sent to your phone via a text message! Great for folks who don't have a smartphone.

Want to save a buck or two? Learn how your Amazon Echo can give you notice that an item in your wish list or cart is about to go on sale. [Revision: An Edit was added to this episode on 4/13/2022 at 9:45am EST, highlighting that this feature is advertised as a Amazon Prime feature.]

Trying to diet? Learn how your Amazon Echo can help you with food facts, so you know what you're eating!

Learn how you can join Zoom Meetings on a modern Amazon Echo Show.

In this episode we discuss the new "Notify When Nearby" accessibility feature. Ever missed a notification on your Amazon Echo; can't see the yellow ring spinning to indicate you've missed something. If so, this feature is for you and really anyone who doesn't want to miss their important notifications. 

In this episode learn how your Amazon Echo can help connect your symptoms to possible causes.

Learn some of the verbal commands you can use with your Echo Show 10 with Motion. You can easily toggle this feature on and off; and a whole lot more.

In this episode learn all about the "Alexa Answers" service and how it can aid Alexa to answer those odd-ball questions. Also how you can be a contributor and make Alexa smarter. To learn more, check out the website: https://alexaanswers.amazon.com/

In this episode learn how you can control for how long your Amazon Echo retains voice recordings in the cloud and whether human curation is allowed, to make Alexa smarter. In episode 181 we cover additional privacy controls, so if you missed that, please go back and give that a listen.

Move over Hal 9000, Alexa is going to space! Learn about how Alexa is going to the moon on an upcoming NASA mission, and how you can stay in the loop on what's happening with the mission.

We dive into privacy controls for your Amazon Echo, that you can interact with purely by your voice.

Are you trying to keep up with the Olympic Games? If so check out this episode where we demo several different ways to stay informed.

Learn how to make Alexa less chatty, especially with home automation tasks. In this episode we test the Brief Mode on the Amazon Echo using a smart plug.

The Blue Ridge Reading skill serves Virginians who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise can't access print reading materials by reading local newspapers, magazines and other publications. Use this skill to access the live stream, hear the daily schedule or listen to recent programs or podcasts. The Blue Ridge Reading Service Alexa Skill is provided by WVTF and New Vision at Goodwill®. WVTF is...

Learn how your Amazon Echo can learn from your food preferences so it can better recommend recipes that fit your diet! That's right Keto, Vegan, Kosher, and More!

In this episode we demo two different Alexa Skills that can aid you in Bible reading from various Translations and Versions. We also discuss how you could listen to a Kindle or Audible version of the Bible.