"Don't speak its name" vol. 3 *

I was in Connecticut over Columbus Day weekend. There was a point where I was at my uncle's house and my aunt comes over to where I was sitting. She stands in front of a floor lamp next to me and asks a command that it be turned on. In a matter of a blink, it turned on.

Huh?

Let me back track for a minute and set the scene. I was visiting family because there is a wedding in a few months. This particular weekend was the bridal luncheon and we were in the groom's parents house (my aunt and uncle), celebrating the weekend as well as having the bride open presents. The place that made the most sense to do this was in the living room. I happened to be sitting on the couch, and between me and the wall was a decent floor lamp. Next to the floor lamp and against the other wall is a book case with an unnoticeable device (hidden due to the height of the lamp and its shade).

So...

When it came time to need more light, my aunt walks over to where I was sitting, looks at the lamp and says "Alexa, turn on the lamp in the living room". On it went... like magic.

Come to find out, my aunt and uncle own an Echo. Through out the weekend, someone would say "Alexa, play..." and mentioned an artist. Again, magically there was music. I asked my uncle how the light turned on, and instead of giving me some fluff of an answer, he plainly stated "there's a wall switch attached to the Echo and each electronic. You just tell it what item you want on or off and it does it". He proceeded to give me the example of the light, but instead of saying "living room", he said "outlet 2" or whatever it was attached to. On the lamp went.

What I didn't see was where the hub was plugged in to. I guess from what my uncle told me (among other things) all you need is a smart outlet to plug your furnishings in to, let Alexa know what it is, and when you're ready to use it, she can turn it on.

There is a lot I don't understand about this and I can admit to it. I know I'm missing some information somewhere, as I went looking for the hub and I don't really know if my uncle paid for the Echo Plus (which sells for $149.99) or the basic Echo that costs $99.99.

One of the things I wonder is the simple fact that if you buy the Echo, do you have to buy the hubs separately and let Alexa find each device? What happens if you have multiple rooms - do you need multiple Echos and multiple hubs? I keyword searched "smart hubs compatible with alexa" and a list of items came up. Since they range in price, the question becomes "what did my uncle buy to make it all work?". I know I should have gone into more detail with specifics, but it was a whirlwind of a weekend and I wasn't paying too much attention to those details.

It's nice that if you buy into the whole hub situation, you can tell a device (that always seems to be listening) to unlock your front door or turn on a light. Maybe even your TV if you're so inclined.

We're turning into a society wanting to rely on ever changing technology. I keep saying "I'm saving for Prime" but won't get Alexa. I don't have that much of a need, truthfully. I'll get Prime to stream the original content and get the shipping rate, but outside of that, maybe the $99 for the year is a waste? I don't know yet because I'm still trying to talk to people about it.

I do know that the smarter our houses become, the more it reminds me of Ray Bradbury's There Will Come Soft Rains. No spoilers, but it's an open concept of an interpretation and I challenge people to read it.

Until the next device peaks my interest...

Cheers;










See Also:
* I skipped a "volume" specifically because I wanted a crazy reference to the following albums ("just because"):



See also (aka music in my head, outside of the above references):
I have a very specific memory of this song from when I worked in Boston. Thanks, "T", for making our job more fun!