Alexa

You may already be used to telling your Alexa smart speaker what to do: play your Spotify playlist, set a timer for the hard-boiled eggs, turn on your smart lights. But you might not know that the voice assistant has a number of proactive features — things it can do without being prompted. One such feature is having an Amazon Echo speaker announce when motion is detected on a compatible security camera. Motion announcements work on a large number of Alexa-compatible cameras and, as of last week, that includes Google…

Amazon is introducing a new feature that allows Alexa to notify users if their security camera sees a person or a package. For people using an Echo Smart Display or Fire TV, you can also automatically pull up your live video feed to see whether there's a person or package at your video doorbell or security camera.As per reports from The Verge, the new feature will work with video doorbells and security cameras from Ring, Google Nest, and Abode, with more brands potentially adding the ability owing to a new API from…

A report released last week contends that Amazon uses voice data from its Echo devices to serve targeted ads on its own platforms and the web. The report, produced by researchers affiliated with the University of Washington, UC Davis, UC Irvine, and Northeastern University, said the ways Amazon does this is inconsistent with its privacy policies. Titled, “Your Echos are Heard: Tracking, Profiling, and Ad Targeting in the Amazon Smart Speaker Ecosystem,” the report concludes that Amazon and third parties (including…

Among the three most popular voice assistants for smartphones and smart devices, Amazon's Alexa is in my experience more versatile and reliable than Google Assistant and Apple's Siri. It works well on both Android and iOS as well as the company's own smart speakers and smart displays, plus third-party devices including wireless speakers, televisions, and various IoT gadgets and appliances. With the Amazon Echo Buds, Alexa now comes to the ultra-portable form factor of true wireless earphones.The idea of a voice-assistant…

Alexa has always had aspirations to be a type of digital butler, and today, it’s getting closer to that goal. Amazon’s voice assistant can now announce when there’s a person or package at your video doorbell or security camera. If you have an Echo smart display or Fire TV, it can also show you who or what is there by automatically pulling up a live video feed. The new feature will work with video doorbells and security cameras from Ring, Google Nest, and Abode, with more brands potentially adding the ability thanks to…

Written by James Kendrick, Rest in Peace…

Written by James Kendrick, Rest in Peace…