Echo Tips

In the 286th episode of the Echo Tips Podcast , hosted by David Ward , we delve into a crucial topic: how to block the new Alexa AI Beta on your Amazon Echo . If you’re concerned about preventing youths or others from encountering explicit language or content, this episode is a must-listen. We explore whether it’s possible to block this beta feature and whether Amazon Kids’ parental filters can pr...

In this episode of the Echo Tips Podcast, we look at one of the very first games to demo Amazon's AI Large Language Models. We'll be playing a round of 20 Questions with Volley Inc.'s Amazon Skill called Volley games.

Are you playing with the Alexa Beta, but getting mixed results? If so, we'll show you how to figure out which Beta your on, at any given moment. We will discuss the notion of paying for a smarter AI enhanced Alexa and revisit some of the practical things you could use Character AI for. This an more on this episode of the Echo Tips Podcast.

In this episode we take a look at the all-new Character. AI Skill that was announced at CES 2024.

PopGun Labs announced during CES 2024 their Splash Music Skill on Alexa. Now using only your voice you can generate a song, lyrics, genre, and more simply via a voice command, using cutting edge AI! Have a listen as we go back down the AI rabbit hole!

As announced in September 2023, Character AI's characters are now available in the Alexa AI Beta. Imagine talking to Abraham Lincoln about a thorny political topic or asking Socrates a philosophical or moral question. Or imagine talking to Wonder Woman or Batman?! That's right, that's available and a whole lot more, check it out on this episode of the Echo Tips Podcast.

In recent news it was suggested that some advertising firms were selling info based on recordings acquired from 3rd parties. What's the real story about Amazon Echo's Alexa and her privacy controls? How does the technology work? Does she really listen to everything going on and record it? We'll tackle these items one by one and demonstrate some powerful privacy controls that are a sing...

What can the new Alexa AI Chat-Bot really do! Can it pull live content, can it pull website data, can it write a poem, and most importantly does it hallucinate? This an more, in this episode.

We heard back in September about new AI Large Language Model smarts coming to Alexa, an now we have a demo of these new Beta features to share with you! And as best as I can tell, we're the first to discuss and demo these new features.

In this episode we actually setup a Echo Dot that has been factory reset, to give you the feel for the setup process. The trick is making sure bluetooth is turned on, on your tablet or smartphone. This greatly speeds up and simplifies the process.

In this episode we cover how to setup a brand new Echo or Echo Show. The process has changed over time, and we'll mention some handy tips for various situations such as home automation setups & if your buying another Echo to augment your home.

In this episode we take a look at FireTV Stick Deals! And what you need to know, what's a good deal and what's not. FireTV Sticks of coarse have Alexa, with voice commands, which are super useful. We look at a starting price of $24.99 and discuss even why you should look at buying a FireTV stick even if you've already got a smart TV.

In this episode we give a simple run-down or buying guide for the Alexa line of products known as the Amazon Echo & Echo Show. We cover what's old and new, what a good price would be and what is a horrible price! Happy shopping!

We haven't visited this topic in a long time, but there is a wealth of high production choose your own adventure games on the Amazon Echo. In this weeks episdoe we discuss Batman, Superman, Star Finder, and more, as examples of truly amazing choose your own adventure games.

We revisit Notifications, especially with an eye on a new category that was annoying some folks called 'Interesting Stories". We'll discuss how to turn that off and do a high-level review of how Notifications can be useful.

In this episode we take a look at a wake routine bundled with Amazon Kids Plus, that's pretty cute. Alternatively, you could probably roll your own as a parent. We also discuss, a bug, I've seen lately where layered Alexa commands don't seem to work.

Amazon's announced AI and Large Language Models come first to Amazon Kids Plus, a paid for service by parents around the world. In this episode we demo some of its features, some work... some obviously are still a work in progress. See below for some of the latest articles on the topic. References: Tech Crunch https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/25/amazon-brings-conversational-ai-to-kids-with-launc...

In this episode, we dive back into the most recent Amazon Event. We take a look at some intriguing announcments, about features coming to the Amazon Echo Shows and Fire TV products which will meke finding your conent that much easier. In fact I'm very impressed by the demo, and I think you will be too!

In this episode of the Echo Tips Podcast, we take a third look at the Amazon Event, and take a peak at what Amazon says is coming for Parents & Children with Alexa, in the near future.

In this episode, we take a second look at Amazon's September Announcements. We learn that at least 25 new historical and other characters with associated voices are coming to Alexa devices in the future, along with more realistic voice inflections. We also surface, a key component in how that conversational mechanism works, an why a new Echo Show might be needed.

In this episode we take a look at Amazon's most recent September event, announcements, and hardware releases. We in particular scrutinize the AI features that are suppose to make Alexa smarter. Lastly, we tell you how to join the "Preview Program", so you can be on the bleeding edge.

In this episode we take a look at a seemingly new feature that allows you to get your reminders broadcast across all your Echos or a select number of them. We also revisit the options for repeating reminders, follow-up mode, and a few other options.

We delve into Timer settings that allow you to get those vital alerts on all your Echos and/or your telephone. Never burn that pizza again!

We delve back into our treasure chest of past episodes and pull out a oldie but a goodie, about Guard Mode. That's right the ability to use your Amazon Echo like a guard dog for your home, to alert you when something might not be right at home.

In this episode we take a deep dive into Amazon Music's Explicit Content Filters, Parental Controls, and utter lack of features compared to some 3rd party services. Did you know you can't block a song, album, or artist! Its true. Even if it was for benign reasons, for example two artist with the the same name, an you simply don't want to hear one but only the other. Or worse yet the Pa...