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Post by Boomzilla on Aug 11, 2018 19:42:19 GMT -5
We can get around tracking, Bonzo - Just set up a "tracker swap" on the Lounge & we'll all trade weekly. See how the insurance companies & big brother interpret THAT! |
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Post by garbulky on Feb 3, 2019 20:43:16 GMT -5
Another feature of the Fire TV I just found out. The Fire TV has the capability of communicating with bluetooth headphones in stereo!
This fixed a little conundrum. I was in the lviing room doing some work and listening to some Jazz on my HD 600 headphones with the DC_1 as a source. My wife was also next to me and she wanted to watch The Good Place on the Fire TV while folding clothes. The problem is using the firetv through the speakers would utilize my DC-1 which was currently playing jazz music.
So she paired a set of bluetooth headphones to the firetv and started watching show without disturbing me. I meanwhile continued to use my DC-1 to listen to music. Seamless and easy, it worked perfectly.
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Post by tasdom on Apr 27, 2019 17:00:39 GMT -5
My daughter asked why I was talking so softly. I said "I don't want the NSA listening" She laughed, I laughed......Alexa laughed  |
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Post by monkumonku on Apr 27, 2019 18:16:02 GMT -5
My daughter asked why I was talking so softly. I said "I don't want the NSA listening" She laughed, I laughed......Alexa laughed   |
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Post by 405x5 on Apr 27, 2019 19:04:51 GMT -5
I realize I’m outnumbered, but I never cared for voice command and will never do that in my house 🏡.
That being said, I have Apple 🍎 Car Play in my car, and I use Voice Text Messaging totally hands free....that’s cool 😎.
Bill
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Post by garbulky on Sept 7, 2019 11:33:38 GMT -5
I just got the Amazon Echo Auto.  www.amazon.com/Echo-Auto-Add-Alexa-your/dp/B07V2PS7M6So I guess I also talk to my car! I haven’t had a chance to do much with it. Just done one ride. I’ve only used it for asking the time and playing music with my voice which it does well. It’s nice not to have the input But I did figure out some interesting things. I was curious how it was going to get internet access. I thought I would have to enable personal hotspot on my phone and have my phone connect to the echo auto everytime I get in the car. But I did not have to do that. The echo auto acts as a bluetooth device. Which means it pairs automatically and then uses your phones internet THROUGH the alexa app. On my first try it did not connect with my phone in sleep. Perhaps I hadn’t given it enough time to boot up. I opened the Alexa app and then it worked fine (even with it in sleep mode). The other thing is that your car does not have to have Bluetooth. It will work with a regular bluetooth speaker (it will also work with a 3.5mm wired speaker connection/aux). It will navigate for you and even open the map app on your phone so that you can see where you are going on a screen. That’s useful because it uses your phone’s map app that you are used to. However currently the way it works it requires me to tap a confirmation on the phone to allow the Alexa app to open or end navigation which prevents it from being truly hands free. Also of use it will do hands free drop in, and announcements on all echo devices on my house. (Make an announcement “I’m on my way home”.) Pretty much what you can do on an echo dot. Only disadvantage is that even though the voice control comes from its inbuilt microphone the calling happens through the bluetooth speaker. Unfortunately my bluetooth speaker’s microphone is an afterthought which means it’s nowhere near as responsive as the Echo Auto. Only thing I used it so far is for using my voice to play music which it does very well. Also for telling the time. It seems promising mainly for people that are part of the Amazon ecosystem allowing them powerful hands free communication with alexa devices and the music library. I’m not sure it is much use for anybody else. |
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Post by garbulky on Sept 7, 2019 14:05:04 GMT -5
I tried it again and once more there was a significant delay in it connecting to my phone. I know my phone sometimes has poor internet so that may be the issue. However after it connected everything was quick and responsive.
I talked with Amazon support for a way for the echo auto to use its own microphones for calls vs my bluetooth speaker and they showed me a simple settings change in iOS that may do that. I just haven't had a chance to try it out yet.
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joelio
Seeker Of Truth
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Post by joelio on Oct 9, 2020 19:41:16 GMT -5
“The Harmony Hub is a PITA to figure out and configure. One of the things that first had me stumped was that whenever it would do anything it would turn off and on all devices. Ridiculous. I had to jump through some hoops to stop this from happening. But once configured, it works as expected.”
I have to know how you did this! I want to create a sequence that will toggle my projector’s aspect ratio but it adds the projector on at the beginning of the sequence which causes my projector to prompt me to hit the on/off button again to turn the projector off. Very frustrating. How did you get around the activity adding the on and off sequences? I ultimately want to add an Alexa routine to “toggle aspect ratio”. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Post by garbulky on Oct 9, 2020 20:18:03 GMT -5
“The Harmony Hub is a PITA to figure out and configure. One of the things that first had me stumped was that whenever it would do anything it would turn off and on all devices. Ridiculous. I had to jump through some hoops to stop this from happening. But once configured, it works as expected.” I have to know how you did this! I want to create a sequence that will toggle my projector’s aspect ratio but it adds the projector on at the beginning of the sequence which causes my projector to prompt me to hit the on/off button again to turn the projector off. Very frustrating. How did you get around the activity adding the on and off sequences? I ultimately want to add an Alexa routine to “toggle aspect ratio”. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I sent you a PM, but truth is I don't remember how. Maybe somebody here can help you. Good luck! |
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Post by garbulky on Oct 9, 2020 20:40:48 GMT -5
It's been some time, so I thought I'd give an update on how things are going. It's been a couple of years now since I fully automated my house. My house is significantly more automated than before. For instance, I can now talk to my microwave ("microwave 2 minutes"). Sounds lazy right? It sure is, and it's GREAT. Downside - it's not a good microwave. Leaves a lot of moisture on the bottom, not very powerful and can even overheat itself. Upside - it was 60 bucks and had a rotating tray. I talk to my echo clock. We've now got one in almost every room of the house. It's a nice device which is very helpful for staying on task - cooking, office work etc. It has a bar indicator that shows how much time you have left on multiple timers. So you can glance at the clock and see all your timers without having to ask the echo dot. Since its introduction, it can now be controlled via any echo dot in your house, but is pared only to one and will only show the timers on that specific device. I got better color changing lights. The old ones had a harsh light to them. The new ones are warmer and brighter. I got a waterproof speaker which is quite nice called the Anker Solar flare 2. It can pare with several solar flare 2's to give you an encompassing soundfield, though it stays mono. I pair it with my phone's alexa app. Since the phones alexa app is handsfree I can use it to play my favorite music by voice outdoors. Though this isn't necessarily a "smart device" I got solar powered waterproof colored outdoor lights. They require no maintenance. they turn on in the night and turn off in the day and doesn't use your electric bill as its powered by the sun. It has made my patio look quite nice. Annoyances: The biggest annoyance is that having so many smart devices means that you need a router that is designed to handle upwards of 30 devices at the same time. My old router crashed requiring hard resets and laborious re-setting up. My new router does not crash per se, but does lose connection often, though it usually regains connection after about ten minutes. Overall things work, but every once in a while, especially if you are turning off a group, you'll find one device that doesn't turn off and have to try again, which is aggravating over time. So not every router can handle it. My harmony hub has started having some glitches with alexa. So it tells me that it cannot find a certain routine, when clearly there is a routine by that name. And that's about it. I can't imagine ever going back to a non-smart house. The ability to control your house without even moving your head is pretty amazing. I'm also secure in the fact that I can do so no matter where I am. I can talk to my wife wherever she is in the house instantly. Add things to my to do lists. Set timers. Shop online. Change the thermostat. It all adds up. Over time, the responsiveness to your needs does give you a sense of comfort, almost like the house has got your back. You can count on it to change your environment to exactly how you want. I know that sounds weird, but you'll get it when you give it a go! Things on my wish list Echo Buds. Echo frames. This amazing Alexa enabled automatic detergent dispensing laundry machine. www.homedepot.com/p/GE-5-2-cu-ft-High-Efficiency-Diamond-Gray-Top-Load-Washing-Machine-with-Smart-Dispense-and-Sanitize-with-Oxi-ENERGY-STAR-GTW840CPNDG/311324409 |
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KeithL
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Post by KeithL on Oct 10, 2020 13:53:38 GMT -5
I have to admit that I prefer life in the exact opposite direction.... I agree entirely... with the part about being lazy. And I would love to have a home where all the appliances actually did exactly what I wanted them to when ordered to do so.
But I am also absolutely unwilling to accept many of the compromises.
For example, I agree it would be handy being able to tell my microwave oven how long to run by voice...
But, if it doesn't actually do a good job cooking the food, then that's sort of a deal breaker.
It's only convenient if it works easily and does what you actually want it to.
I also enjoy the fact that my cell phone is cordless, tells me who's calling on incoming calls, and has Internet access. However, my appreciation for all the cool things it can do drops right to zero when YET ONE MORE TIME IT DROPS A CALL. (When it does that my thoughts tend to drift towards how well it would bounce off the nearest wall.)
Thirty years ago I had a black office phone...
It was a big clunky heavy thing... With a dial... and no caller ID... and no memories... (It also had those fuzzy felt feet they used before switching to the rubber ones.)
But I'm also pretty sure that, in thirty years or so, I can't recall its EVER dropping a call.
Then, for a few years after that, I had a Motorola StarTac cell phone (one of the first "flip phones"). It wasn't nearly as reliable as that old office phone... But it still usually managed not to drop my calls... (I also had Verizon service, which was the most reliable service in the NY area, back when people talked about stuff like that...)
Nowadays, when I look at phone reviews, I see endless pages about how smoothly they can scroll movies at 4k... And how pretty the screen is... And how great the camera works in a dark room...
But rarely even a mention of how powerful their transmitter is... Or how well their antenna works in weak signal conditions... Or what percentage of the time they drop calls within 1000 yards of a tower on a clear day...
In fact, it almost seems like it doesn't matter if your new phone actually works as a phone at all...
(My old Motorola StarTac actually had an optional pull-up antenna that improved its range.)
I really like my new cell phone... And it is really handy when I have an urge to check out a website while sitting at a traffic light... Or take a picture of my cat when I don't have a real camera handy...
But, when I actually sit down to make an important phone call in my living room, I sure wish I still had "old Blacky"...
And, on that note, here's what I wonder about your cool programmable lights.... Do they always give you the actual exact color you tell them to? For example, can I calibrate them to deliver actual pure, high CRI white light, if I say: "lights: pure white". (Or have I traded all that convenience for the same "more or less white light" I got from incandescent bulbs thirty years ago.)
But, then, I still haven't found a streaming service where, when I punch up Dark Side of the Moon... it asks me if I prefer the MFSL UDCD version, or the EMI 2003 CD version, or the old 1972 version from the Japanese gold CD... (And, yes, I guess maybe I could get Roon to do all that.... if I had the time to program it all in...)
It's been some time, so I thought I'd give an update on how things are going. It's been a couple of years now since I fully automated my house. My house is significantly more automated than before. For instance, I can now talk to my microwave ("microwave 2 minutes"). Sounds lazy right? It sure is, and it's GREAT. Downside - it's not a good microwave. Leaves a lot of moisture on the bottom, not very powerful and can even overheat itself. Upside - it was 60 bucks and had a rotating tray. I talk to my echo clock. We've now got one in almost every room of the house. It's a nice device which is very helpful for staying on task - cooking, office work etc. It has a bar indicator that shows how much time you have left on multiple timers. So you can glance at the clock and see all your timers without having to ask the echo dot. Since its introduction, it can now be controlled via any echo dot in your house, but is pared only to one and will only show the timers on that specific device. I got better color changing lights. The old ones had a harsh light to them. The new ones are warmer and brighter. I got a waterproof speaker which is quite nice called the Anker Solar flare 2. It can pare with several solar flare 2's to give you an encompassing soundfield, though it stays mono. I pair it with my phone's alexa app. Since the phones alexa app is handsfree I can use it to play my favorite music by voice outdoors. Though this isn't necessarily a "smart device" I got solar powered waterproof colored outdoor lights. They require no maintenance. they turn on in the night and turn off in the day and doesn't use your electric bill as its powered by the sun. It has made my patio look quite nice. Annoyances: The biggest annoyance is that having so many smart devices means that you need a router that is designed to handle upwards of 30 devices at the same time. My old router crashed requiring hard resets and laborious re-setting up. My new router does not crash per se, but does lose connection often, though it usually regains connection after about ten minutes. Overall things work, but every once in a while, especially if you are turning off a group, you'll find one device that doesn't turn off and have to try again, which is aggravating over time. So not every router can handle it. My harmony hub has started having some glitches with alexa. So it tells me that it cannot find a certain routine, when clearly there is a routine by that name. And that's about it. I can't imagine ever going back to a non-smart house. The ability to control your house without even moving your head is pretty amazing. I'm also secure in the fact that I can do so no matter where I am. I can talk to my wife wherever she is in the house instantly. Add things to my to do lists. Set timers. Shop online. Change the thermostat. It all adds up. Over time, the responsiveness to your needs does give you a sense of comfort, almost like the house has got your back. You can count on it to change your environment to exactly how you want. I know that sounds weird, but you'll get it when you give it a go! Things on my wish list Echo Buds. Echo frames. This amazing Alexa enabled automatic detergent dispensing laundry machine. www.homedepot.com/p/GE-5-2-cu-ft-High-Efficiency-Diamond-Gray-Top-Load-Washing-Machine-with-Smart-Dispense-and-Sanitize-with-Oxi-ENERGY-STAR-GTW840CPNDG/311324409 |
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Post by Boomzilla on Oct 10, 2020 15:20:07 GMT -5
Why I don't want a "smart house" -
My wife would not learn to use the devices; she would become frustrated trying to use them; I'd become 24-7 technical support for her. Not my idea of a good time...
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Post by garbulky on Oct 10, 2020 15:25:03 GMT -5
I have to admit that I prefer life in the exact opposite direction.... I agree entirely... with the part about being lazy. And I would love to have a home where all the appliances actually did exactly what I wanted them to when ordered to do so.
But I am also absolutely unwilling to accept many of the compromises. For example, I agree it would be handy being able to tell my microwave oven how long to run by voice...
But, if it doesn't actually do a good job cooking the food, then that's sort of a deal breaker.
It's only convenient if it works easily and does what you actually want it to.
I also enjoy the fact that my cell phone is cordless, tells me who's calling on incoming calls, and has Internet access. However, my appreciation for all the cool things it can do drops right to zero when YET ONE MORE TIME IT DROPS A CALL. (When it does that my thoughts tend to drift towards how well it would bounce off the nearest wall.)
Thirty years ago I had a black office phone...
It was a big clunky heavy thing... With a dial... and no caller ID... and no memories... (It also had those fuzzy felt feet they used before switching to the rubber ones.)
But I'm also pretty sure that, in thirty years or so, I can't recall its EVER dropping a call. Then, for a few years after that, I had a Motorola StarTac cell phone (one of the first "flip phones"). It wasn't nearly as reliable as that old office phone... But it still usually managed not to drop my calls... (I also had Verizon service, which was the most reliable service in the NY area, back when people talked about stuff like that...) Nowadays, when I look at phone reviews, I see endless pages about how smoothly they can scroll movies at 4k... And how pretty the screen is... And how great the camera works in a dark room...
But rarely even a mention of how powerful their transmitter is... Or how well their antenna works in weak signal conditions... Or what percentage of the time they drop calls within 1000 yards of a tower on a clear day...
In fact, it almost seems like it doesn't matter if your new phone actually works as a phone at all...
(My old Motorola StarTac actually had an optional pull-up antenna that improved its range.) I really like my new cell phone... And it is really handy when I have an urge to check out a website while sitting at a traffic light... Or take a picture of my cat when I don't have a real camera handy...
But, when I actually sit down to make an important phone call in my living room, I sure wish I still had "old Blacky"...
And, on that note, here's what I wonder about your cool programmable lights.... Do they always give you the actual exact color you tell them to? For example, can I calibrate them to deliver actual pure, high CRI white light, if I say: "lights: pure white". (Or have I traded all that convenience for the same "more or less white light" I got from incandescent bulbs thirty years ago.)
But, then, I still haven't found a streaming service where, when I punch up Dark Side of the Moon... it asks me if I prefer the MFSL UDCD version, or the EMI 2003 CD version, or the old 1972 version from the Japanese gold CD... (And, yes, I guess maybe I could get Roon to do all that.... if I had the time to program it all in...)
It's been some time, so I thought I'd give an update on how things are going. It's been a couple of years now since I fully automated my house. My house is significantly more automated than before. For instance, I can now talk to my microwave ("microwave 2 minutes"). Sounds lazy right? It sure is, and it's GREAT. Downside - it's not a good microwave. Leaves a lot of moisture on the bottom, not very powerful and can even overheat itself. Upside - it was 60 bucks and had a rotating tray. I talk to my echo clock. We've now got one in almost every room of the house. It's a nice device which is very helpful for staying on task - cooking, office work etc. It has a bar indicator that shows how much time you have left on multiple timers. So you can glance at the clock and see all your timers without having to ask the echo dot. Since its introduction, it can now be controlled via any echo dot in your house, but is pared only to one and will only show the timers on that specific device. I got better color changing lights. The old ones had a harsh light to them. The new ones are warmer and brighter. I got a waterproof speaker which is quite nice called the Anker Solar flare 2. It can pare with several solar flare 2's to give you an encompassing soundfield, though it stays mono. I pair it with my phone's alexa app. Since the phones alexa app is handsfree I can use it to play my favorite music by voice outdoors. Though this isn't necessarily a "smart device" I got solar powered waterproof colored outdoor lights. They require no maintenance. they turn on in the night and turn off in the day and doesn't use your electric bill as its powered by the sun. It has made my patio look quite nice. Annoyances: The biggest annoyance is that having so many smart devices means that you need a router that is designed to handle upwards of 30 devices at the same time. My old router crashed requiring hard resets and laborious re-setting up. My new router does not crash per se, but does lose connection often, though it usually regains connection after about ten minutes. Overall things work, but every once in a while, especially if you are turning off a group, you'll find one device that doesn't turn off and have to try again, which is aggravating over time. So not every router can handle it. My harmony hub has started having some glitches with alexa. So it tells me that it cannot find a certain routine, when clearly there is a routine by that name. And that's about it. I can't imagine ever going back to a non-smart house. The ability to control your house without even moving your head is pretty amazing. I'm also secure in the fact that I can do so no matter where I am. I can talk to my wife wherever she is in the house instantly. Add things to my to do lists. Set timers. Shop online. Change the thermostat. It all adds up. Over time, the responsiveness to your needs does give you a sense of comfort, almost like the house has got your back. You can count on it to change your environment to exactly how you want. I know that sounds weird, but you'll get it when you give it a go! Things on my wish list Echo Buds. Echo frames. This amazing Alexa enabled automatic detergent dispensing laundry machine. www.homedepot.com/p/GE-5-2-cu-ft-High-Efficiency-Diamond-Gray-Top-Load-Washing-Machine-with-Smart-Dispense-and-Sanitize-with-Oxi-ENERGY-STAR-GTW840CPNDG/311324409Hi Keith. You make some good points. Often when new tech comes in cheap like this, you're gonna have quirks. For me, the quirks are still well worth it and over time I've figured out how to reduce most of them. But yes, I still do have annoyances. Throwing more money could solve some of my issues. More $$ in to better routers/repeaters. They have a significantly better microwave oven/convention oven for $250. My thermostat's batteries run down once every month or two but if I spent money I can get a guy to hook up a G or c-wire to take care of it... make your choice, pay your price. As for the color changing lights, the old ones had three diffferent colors and combined to make a harsh and weak white light. The current one has a separate filament for white and it doesn't feel harsh. I don't know what CRI white is. It does have a wide variety of colors it can deliver and it does pretty well at it. It has two different types of white like a cool white, and a warm white, and also a gold that tends to work what I want. It also can dim. It'll do things like indigo, dark blue, light blue, etc. You can also adjust it more if you use your phone's app, which I haven't btohered to do. I mainly use dim blue for movie watching or the white for normal use. |
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DYohn
Emo VIPs 
Posts: 18,489
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Post by DYohn on Oct 10, 2020 15:55:50 GMT -5
I agree with Keith. My son gave me two Echo devices last Xmas. They went into the trash. I had my A/C serviced earlier this year and the technician offered to install a "free" Nest thermostat. I declined. I don't have a "smart TV." I had some Phillips Hue programmable lights and some wifi enabled programmable outlets and garage door control. Got rid of them. I do use the web and I am sure my smartphone gets tracked, and that's enough.
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Post by garbulky on Oct 11, 2020 1:54:39 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure they know when I blow my nose.  |
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Post by Boomzilla on Oct 11, 2020 14:26:09 GMT -5
I honestly think that "smart" medical devices are going to dominate. Eventually, your insurance company will monitor your "smart toilet," and based on analysis, your insurance rates will vary with your diet. Your smart watch will continuously and non-invasively monitor your blood sugar, pulse, and blood pressure, sharing all information with your medical insurer. In danger of an epileptic siezure or a diabetic coma? The watch automatically calls EMS. Your car will also be linked to your smart watch - inebriated? Car won't start (or else won't allow the driver to drive - the car will drive you to your destination without your input). Don't want to be medically monitored? The cost of medical insurance (and doctor coverage, when needed) becomes prohibitively expensive. In other words, you'll consent to the smart-device monitoring or you'll not have medical insurance. Work in a sensitive industry? Show up for work & if your smart-device says you're fatigued, hung over, or still under the influence of alcohol or drugs then you'll either not work that day or be fired. In a traffic accident? The officer will scan your smart watch to check if you're inebriated or under the influence of drugs. The nuclear industry already employs some of this technology. If your involuntary eye contraction is different from your baseline, then you're not allowed to operate the crane. The invasiveness of "smart devices" is only beginning. Get used to it.
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DYohn
Emo VIPs
Posts: 18,489
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Post by DYohn on Oct 11, 2020 14:34:36 GMT -5
My company makes among other things IOT devices. That was why I purged my house as much as possible, and I will not participate in this technology going forward. YMMV.
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Post by monkumonku on Oct 11, 2020 14:50:13 GMT -5
My company makes among other things IOT devices. That was why I purged my house as much as possible, and I will not participate in this technology going forward. YMMV. What does "IOT" stand for? |
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Post by megash0n on Oct 11, 2020 15:18:01 GMT -5
My company makes among other things IOT devices. That was why I purged my house as much as possible, and I will not participate in this technology going forward. YMMV. What does "IOT" stand for? Internet of Things |
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DYohn
Emo VIPs
Posts: 18,489
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Post by DYohn on Oct 11, 2020 15:22:00 GMT -5
Yes, as above. It's all the little wireless smart devices that are being imbedded in small appliances, cars, roadside signs, shipping containers, watches, and as BOOM points out toilets and everything else that form the basis for the interconnectivity being touted as the next big thing. I know how they are programmed and what they can do, and I prefer to stay out of that Matrix.
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