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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: New Toys    New Toys              EmptySun Sep 16, 2018 7:45 pm

It's kind of a tradition around here every year that when Mrs. NoCo goes back to her family farmstead in MN for two weeks, I buy something stupid.

One year I bought her a new car.  (We'd talked about it.)

One year I bought my new computer.  

One year I bought a gas lawnmower.  You get the idea.

This year I was thinking about a new video doorbell, just because it's cool technology.  No real need for it -- I'm almost always home, it's a single-story house, nobody ever comes to the front door -- but they're only like $140 which is cheaper than a new car.  Checking around online, I found Best Buy had them for $170 but that including a new Amazon Echo Dot free-of-charge, normally a $50 product.  I didn't need that either, but again, I like fun toys.

Echo Dot:New Toys              Untitled_design_720x

  • Voice-activated
  • Sits on the kitchen counter
  • Things you can say:
  • What's the weather gonna be today?
  • How's traffic on I-5?
  • Give me directions to Best Buy
  • What's on my schedule today (it's linked to my IOS devices)
  • Play Pandora [name of station] (it's linked to Pandora]
  • Make a shopping list, add butter & eggs (this will then be available on my phone when I go out)
  • Order food from [name of restaurant here]
  • Order [x] from Amazon (I password-protected this one...)
  • What's the status on my Amazon order?
  • Call Frankie Lymon
  • Text Melissa McCarthy
  • What's the height of Mount McKinley?
  • Play NPR
  • Play Rachel Maddow
  • Tell me a joke
  • Read "Finnegans Wake"
  • Set a timer for ten minutes
  • Set an alarm for 7:00
  • What time do the Seahawks play?
  • What year did Betty Grable die?

I think it'll be a fun toy, even if it's not strictly-speaking essential.

Ring Video Doorbell:New Toys              YqV5krYzWnM9NoBvzUziOEAvvpz2p8agZD-L_2TWvrmvLe5IKjmtCSfjUvdEq9hr1j7Mn-m197wtH_sTsdkZEZ1V3HI4LONPt41TkKwVes3oa8iYlhFmp0gWegd-pmhwznGYqQbrVeqSrzZycf_n7r3m-i-1TbsQ_iT0gSyGHnzY1piMXcQ=s1600-pd-e365-pc0xffffff

  • Mounts by the front door
  • Connects to your wi-fi network
  • Allows you to see a wide-angle shot of the front yard from your phone / iPad / desktop computer anytime from anywhere
  • When somebody rings the bell, it notifies your phone
  • Camera and microphone (two-way) activated
  • You can record what you see, if you find it suspicious
  • You share the recordings with neighbors (there are already several package-stealers nearby)
  • Package came with a window-sticker "protected by Ring"
  • Motion detector (adjustable) can turn on the camera even if the button isn't pressed
  • If I'm expecting someone, when the camera picks them up I can say "Come on in, the door's unlocked" without coming out of my music room
  • Rechargeable ni-cad battery for those of us without low voltage doorbell wiring

I'll be playing with both devices in the ensuing weeks to determine what additional capabilities they have.  For instance, the Echo can connect via Bluetooth to my TV or my Bluetooth-enabled desktop stereo.  Haven't been able to get it to pipe Pandora to them yet, but it SHOULD work.
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptySun Sep 16, 2018 8:47 pm

I know it's a minor thing, but I'm impressed by thoughtful touches like this.  Not only are mounting screws included -- both long (for wood) and short (for masonry) but also plastic wall anchors (for masonry)... AND a suitable masonry bit.  Who does that?

Wires (and wire extenders and wire nuts and a diode) are included for those with suitable outdoor wiring.

Bezels are included for angling the doorbell's camera up or down, left or right, or mounting it to uneven house siding.

A tiny bubble level was included.

The instruction booklet is clear, with good illustrations, and just the right amount of catering to the incompetent (with warnings to seek help if you don't understand this).  There are even some lines in there that made me chuckle: "If you're installing in wood, skip this step and toss the anchors in that drawer of stuff you never use."

Troubleshooting suggestions are logical, in depth, and doable.  But I didn't need any.
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyMon Sep 17, 2018 8:24 am

Me: "Alexa, will you be my valentine?"

Alexa: "You're sweet to ask, but I already have a strong connection to your wi-fi."
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyTue Sep 18, 2018 12:27 pm

When the motion sensor picks up motion at my front door, I get a live picture superimposed over whatever I'm doing on the computer (desktop or iPad). I can dismiss it if it's nothing. Or say "Hi" if it's not.
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyTue Sep 18, 2018 1:21 pm

Me: "Alexa, fart for me."

Alexa: [a very loud, very wet fart noise]
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyThu Sep 20, 2018 6:34 am

Even though my printer is connected to my wi-fi network, Alexa doesn't know what to do with "Alexa, print my shopping list."
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyThu Sep 20, 2018 9:07 am

Me: "Alexa, tell me the funniest joke in the world."

Alexa: "I would, but I am afraid you might die laughing."
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyThu Sep 20, 2018 9:21 am

Me: "Alexa, who's on first?"

Alexa: "That's what I keep telling you: Who's on first. What's on second."

Unfortunately she stops there. I was hoping for the whole routine.
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyThu Sep 20, 2018 11:22 am

NoCoPilot wrote:
Even though my printer is connected to my wi-fi network, Alexa doesn't know what to do with "Alexa, print my shopping list."
The Amazon Dot has what are called "skills" which you set up in the Amazon Alexa app. It links the unit to outside devices and services.

Including my printer.

Works now.
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyThu Sep 20, 2018 2:07 pm

Wired Magazine wrote:
Amazon Alexa will soon notice if you talk to it sotto voce—and whisper its response back to you.

The new feature, announced by Amazon today, is one of several upgrades that will expand the virtual assistant’s ability to listen to and understand the world around it. Alexa will able to confer with you in whispers before the end of the year, making Amazon’s voice-operated assistant less awkward to use when someone is, say, sleeping nearby. Amazon will also make its assistant capable of listening for trouble such as breaking glass or a smoke alarm when you’re away from home, a feature called Alexa Guard.  To activate it, you’d call out “Alexa, I’m leaving” or a similar phrase to an Echo or other device on your way out the door. If an Echo device in a home hears the sound of breaking glass or a smoke alarm while you’re gone, it will send a notification to your phone with a link to a recording of the sound that triggered the warning.  It was trained in part by using audio samples from public domain video, although Prasad says development also involved some destruction. “We did break a lot of glass in our internal testing,” he says.

Meanwhile, inside Amazon’s labs, the company is experimenting with giving Alexa a rudimentary form of emotional awareness, enabling it to listen for the sound of frustration in a person’s voice.

That latter capability was available in high-end Interactive Voice Response Units back when I programmed and deployed them for a living.
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyThu Sep 20, 2018 2:18 pm

I am actually thinking of buying a second Dot for the bedroom.

“Alexa, wake me up at 6:30 to NPR.”

“Alexa, play 30 minutes of ocean sounds.”

“Alexa, remind me in the morning to call Bernadette.”

“Alexa, I just had the most amazing dream. Write this down.”
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyThu Sep 20, 2018 5:43 pm

There’s a skill available called “Virtual Trump.” Spews forth random Trump sound bites in apparently no rhyme or reason (I didn’t enable it).

Page after page of one star reviews from offended Republicans. The ones that are more than one or two syllables are mostly misspelled.
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyFri Sep 21, 2018 2:31 pm

NoCoPilot wrote:
I am actually thinking of buying a second Dot for the bedroom.
Version 3 (announced yesterday) comes out October 11, with better sound and a slightly better look.  On order.
New Toys              D_cc._CB483408371_

Meanwhile the remaining Vers 2's have dropped to $39.95 -- but when I ordered the 3 I got a $10 "Alexa Voice Coupon"(?) so it came out the same anyway.
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyThu Oct 11, 2018 1:40 pm

A few years ago I bought an iHome clock-radio for the bedroom: AM/FM, alarm clock, charging station for iPhone.
New Toys              Ihome-110-240-volts-clock-radio-alarm-with-lightning-dock

It has always been a disappointment:

  • The charging plug (on top) doesn't work with my Otterbox case
  • The controls for updating the time (DST) are so convoluted that I ALWAYS have to read the instructions
  • There is one big button across the top that dims the display.  Press it twice and it brightens the display (to "blinding").  My cat has learned to do this when she wants to be fed at 2:45am
  • There are ten identical, unlit, flat (no Braille) buttons on top.  ONE of them silences the alarm when it goes off.  If you hit any one of the other buttons, it DE-activates the alarm silencer and you cannot turn off the alarm.
  • The other nine buttons are labeled with arcane (probably unique) symbols, look like runes.  I have no idea what they do; have never used them.

So when my new Amazon Alexa came today I was more than happy to retire the iHome.  The setup on the Alexa was amazing: plug it in.  Wait 10 seconds, then it says "ready to set up with the Alexa app."  Open the app on my iPad, give Alexa a name ("Bedroom Alexa"), connect it to my wi-fi.

Done.

Unplug, move to the bedroom.

The sound on the Vers 3 is noticeably better!
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyThu Oct 11, 2018 2:07 pm

You can set the "awake" word.

Instead of "Alexa, what's the time?" you can set it up to respond to "Computer: on."
New Toys              Dc75f678e4b58c4f12156e1ad7be83b4
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyThu Oct 11, 2018 2:53 pm

Wired Magazine wrote:
Amazon Alexa will soon notice if you talk to it sotto voce—and whisper its response back to you.

The new feature, announced by Amazon today, is one of several upgrades that will expand the virtual assistant’s ability to listen to and understand the world around it. Alexa will able to confer with you in whispers before the end of the year, making Amazon’s voice-operated assistant less awkward to use when someone is, say, sleeping nearby.
Is this implemented yet?  I whispered, "Alexa, can you whisper?" and it replied, in a whisper, "I can whisper.  I learned how after realizing people take nap time VERRRY seriously."

Yet when I whispered, "Alexa, what time is it?" I got the time back in a normal voice.

Hmmm.  Half-implemented?
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptyFri Oct 12, 2018 10:50 am

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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptySun Oct 14, 2018 4:38 am

Mrs NoCo has long preferred, especially in the summertime, to sleep with a fan blowing at low speed.  She says the gentle white noise helps her block out distracting noises.  Me, I'm fine with the quiet, and our new house is DEAD QUIET.

But this was one more use for the Alexa to explore.  There's a skill (app) you can enable called "Sleep Sounds" which includes the following:

  • Rain Sounds
  • Ocean Sounds
  • Babbling Brook
  • Fireplace Sounds
  • Airplane Sounds
  • Fan Sounds
  • Oscillating Fan Sounds
  • City Sounds
  • Rainforest Sounds
  • Train Sounds
  • Cricket Sounds
  • Frog Sounds
  • Bird Sounds
  • Clock Sounds
  • Cat Sounds
  • Vacuum Sounds
  • Pink Noise
  • Brown Noise
  • White Noise
  • Wind Sounds
  • Windy Leaves
  • Windy Trees
  • Rain on a Tin Roof
  • Rain on a Tent
  • Distant Thunderstorm
  • Shower Sounds
  • Space Deck
  • Hair Dryer Sounds
  • Clothes Dryer Sounds
  • Dishwasher Sounds
  • Wind Chimes
  • Whale Sounds
  • Windy Meadow
  • Heavy Rain Sounds
  • Dripping Water
  • Fountain Sounds
  • Waterfall Sounds
  • Forest Night
  • Washing Machine Sounds
  • Heartbeat Sounds

Each of these plays on a continuous loop until you tell them to stop.  I have not explored all of them yet, but I did suggest to the developer that they create a few others:

  • The sound of someone gently sleeping next to you -- breathing, light snoring (very light!) but not right next to the mic.  I can imagine anyone who has lost a spouse might miss this sound (or anyone whose spouse travels)
  • Far away traffic noises as heard from, say, a 43rd floor apartment window.  For anyone who grew up in the city
  • Freight train in the distance with the clickity-clack of rails and a distant periodic echoey whistle.  I miss this from our old house, which was about a mile from Burlington-Northern's main north-south route
  • The tick-tick-tick of a clock with a mechanical escape mechanism (I see they have a "clock sounds" option above -- must check it out)


Here's a humorous review from Amazon:
Dave B wrote:
This is one of the more frustrating apps. Not sure if it’s the app or Echo or both, but it’s annoying either way. I ONLY have success getting the ambient noises to play AFTER a full power cycle. Also, the “loop function only loops for 3 hours and not indefinitely as the description suggests. There’s nothing more annoying than waking your spouse up in the middle of the night as you shout commands at Alexa because she’s stopped looping, and then having to reset the Echo because Alexa won’t obey your command. Sucks. Also, why the hell would Amazon not allow you to trigger the app via an app click? No, you’re forced to use voice commands which sucks for your partner or anyone else in the house when you’re laying there at 4am barking orders. Skynet has an IQ less than that of a cocker-spaniel.
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptySun Oct 14, 2018 5:03 am

Huh.  On Amazon there are other "Sleep Sounds" listed from the same developer:

  • Gregorian Monks
  • Medieval Sounds
  • Country Night
  • Blizzard Sounds
  • Tibetan Bowls
  • Eternity Sounds
  • Native American Flute
  • Celtic Sounds
  • Beautiful Dream
  • Zen Garden Sounds
  • Wolf Sounds
  • Jungle Night
  • Mountain Lake
  • Relax Sounds
  • River Sounds
  • Sleep Little Babies
  • Small Lake
  • Swiss Massage
  • Rainforest Sounds
  • Underwater Sounds
  • Forest Bird Sounds
  • Music Box
  • Box Fan
  • Forest Night Sounds
  • Grandfather Clock
  • Cat Purring
  • Distant Train Sounds
  • Car Ride Sounds

Much to explore. Maybe the burbling of a 55-gallon aquarium would be another addition?
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptySun Oct 14, 2018 5:19 am

Yesterday we put on a song and turned the volume all the way up. As you know, I'm somewhat picky about sound quality but even I was impressed. There's no real bass, and there's no real ultra high end either, but what's there is smooth and honest and flat and undistorted even at full volume. It definitely sounds about five times bigger than it is.
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptySun Oct 14, 2018 6:09 am

There’s a “Night Light” app, sorta like the flashlight app on your phone, turns on the gentle blue ring LED for getting up to pee in the night. Clever.
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptySun Oct 14, 2018 6:48 am

Okay, here’s an unexpected app.  Alexa lets you use your Automatic car diagnosis software using voice commands.  I just pulled the dongle out of the glove box and plugged it back in.

I’d stopped using it because it was too intrusive.  Every time I stopped too fast or accelerated too fast it beeped*.  Also the CEL comes on periodically, I have a defective EGR temperature sensor and the shop says A. It’d cost $1000 to fix it and B. It’s non-impactful and besides the light goes off after a few hours of driving all by itself so I don’t need to manually clear it each time (which is a cumbersome procedure).

But with the Alexa app it might be fun to see what it offers.  

If nothing else, it gives my phone a “find my car” GPS location which might come in handy next time I have an Alzheimer’s brain fart.



* - turned these off for now
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptySun Oct 14, 2018 8:00 am

Alexa links to my Ring video doorbell. I can talk to the front door from any Alexa.

Can’t see the camera of course
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptySun Oct 14, 2018 8:06 am

Alexa would link to my Logitech Harmony smart remote, if I still used it.  Would allow me to control the TV’s power, channel, volume using voice commands.

Comcast’s Voice Remote does channels via voice.  Don’t need power and volume.  The remote is by the TV.  Alexa isn’t.

Besides, the big disadvantage of the Harmony — which would only be exacerbated by going through Alexa — is that it goes through the internet to change your channel.  Once you punch a command it takes a couple of seconds to go up to Comcast headquarters and back down to your TV.  MUCH easier to just point an infrared remote at the TV.


Last edited by NoCoPilot on Mon Oct 22, 2018 2:54 pm; edited 2 times in total
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NoCoPilot

NoCoPilot


Posts : 20158
Join date : 2013-01-16
Age : 69
Location : Seattle

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PostSubject: Re: New Toys    New Toys              EmptySun Oct 14, 2018 8:14 am

There are currently more than 50,000 Alexa skills (apps) with more being added every day. So far all the ones I’ve seen have been free.
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