Dot Deals

@mehbee

the same one they sold on Woot recently

Do you mean “the same one they sold on meh recently”?

@GLaDOS @mehbee Yes, and the meh one was $10 less.

I got one of those, not arrived yet, and I also bought two of these, which with sale price and discount code were also $20 each. Those I have.

They work pretty well. The one downside I recently discovered is that they have to be turned on after a power outage; they don’t just come on when power is applied.

@craigthom @GLaDOS I received mine yesterday. Of course we probably won’t have an outside party any time soon but no one said you can’t boogie when you’re doing yard work! Glad to hear they work well.

@craigthom I know it’s stupid but I like the whisper mode. I turned it on so I can turn my lights off whim done reading without waking my husband up… but I think she sounds a little creepy when you ask ask for something like the weather and she answers in a whisper. It makes me laugh. I also love when she sings a campfire song. I saw the Google thing for in the kitchen, do you think it’s any better than Alexa for that? I have a show that I can move in there whenever I need it

@mehbee I just tried Whisper Mode. It makes absolutely zero difference with my Dot. Odd.

@craigthom @mehbee I love my show. It keeps me company in the kitchen.

@ruouttaurmind And you whispered to her?(like she’s a real person…lol)

@craigthom @sammydog01 I think I’m just going to move mine to the kitchen

@mehbee Yup. She didn’t respond any differently.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

@mehbee @ruouttaurmind You have to whisper to it for it to whisper back. It works with the two I’ve tried it with.

But it makes a beeps going into and out of whisper mode, which sort of negates the benefit.

@mehbee @ruouttaurmind and I had to actually whisper, with no vocalization. If I’m making any sound with my voice it doesn’t interpret that as a whisper. Just aspiration.

@craigthom Yup, that’s what I were doing wrong. Not enough to speak very softly, you need to do a breathy whisper without any vocals at all. Alexa’s whispering voice is kinda creepy like. After a couple interactions I had to go back to regular annoying Alexa mode didn’t I.

@craigthom @ruouttaurmind oh I didn’t have any problems when I whispered. But then Alexa and I are really tight!

@craigthom @ruouttaurmind I tried it again, maybe I was already doing very breathy

Forgot to mention Prime members only.

@sammydog01 waiting till Black Friday so I can get a smart plug for $5 with an Alexa device

@reg036 @sammydog01 The Amazon smart plugs aren’t well reviewed, but I guess for five bucks it’s worth a shot.

I’ve got two TP Link Kasa outlets. In over a year I’ve had to cycle power on one twice. The other has had no problems.

@sammydog01 Is there a link for this deal? If it’s cheap enough I might get an Echo Plus and retire my first generation Hue hub.

@craigthom Its Alexa only so you have to ask her.

@craigthom @sammydog01 Yeah at $5 it can’t be that bad, I have 1 TP-link plug now, The cost of these things kept me from really getting more as there isn’t much I really have a need to have on a plug…I’m thinking my Dymo label printer but I really should whip out the kill-a-watt and see if it really draws anything sitting there.

That first Gen Hue hub might be worth a few bucks on the Bay, I have a 1st Gen Wink hub that has been rock solid for 2 years now after a shakey start. Hues are nice but pricey, eventually I’ll grab a used hub for cheap somewhere.

@reg036 @sammydog01 The first generation Hue hub is still doing what it’s supposed to do, since I just have white lights.

I got it right here from Meh for $30 with two of the Lux bulbs. A couple of months ago I picked up a four-pack of the newer Hue White bulbs, but I can’t remember where I got them, and I can’t find them on any of the usual suspect sites. Weird. But I know they were under $45. And I got two more from somewhere, because I’ve got eight.

So I’ve got the hub and six bulbs for probably under $100, which isn’t a bad deal. And they are bright enough, and I like the way the fade in and out.

@craigthom Nice, I got in on Wink real early from a Home Depot deal, they had a bad week and gave everyone store credit which equaled 4 new GE bilbs for me, then Target 2 years ago clearanced their GE bulbs and I scored more then I needed for under $5 a bulb.

@heartny at least you can still set up and use the Dot. My Meh dock will arrive today but the Woot Dot doesn’t arrive until Wednesday.

@heartny Every morning tell it “good morning” and do set up your flash briefing and look into the skills section of the Alexa app, try Jeapordy!

@ruouttaurmind SWEET! I missed out and I’m in my last month of some free upgrade so I wouldn’t qualify I think.

There was also some Audible sign up get a 2nd Gen for $1 but that died before I could post.

@ruouttaurmind Thanks for telling us a day late. (Congrats!)

@sammydog01 The first thing I did was get in on the deal. Immediately after, I started a posting in the Deals topic. By the time I finished writing the post, the Dot deal was dead.

/giphy I tried

@reg036 There was also a Spotify/Google Home deal on Saturday afternoon. 3 mos. Spotify Premium plus a Google Home Mini for a buck. Again, grabbed one, and by the time I wrote the post for Deals topic, the deal was dead. Unfortunately they only had the coral color left, but WTH, a coral Home Mini for a buck is ok (maybe it’s not so fugly in person?)

@ruouttaurmind I got in on the free google home mini with a family plan offer a couple weeks ago, don’t even want the mini but I was like hell it’d make a good gift.

@reg036 @ruouttaurmind I got one after Christmas with my half-priced Walmart Nest E and gave it to my brother. I’ve got an Echo and several Dots, so I figured the Google Home Mini would make a nice gift. it did.

@craigthom @reg036 I’m curious to take the Mini for a spin to see if I get on better with Google Assistant than I have with Alexa. For an IA, she seeems lacking a bit in the I part. Maybe it’s more accurate to refer to her as iA because she’s really only a little smart.

@reg036 @ruouttaurmind Google Assistant is much better at answering questions, and I often have questions that need answering. She also knows what time dawn and dusk are.

But she’s also on my phone, so I can use it when I need her. I thought (and still think) that having both a Google Assistant and an Echo would just leave me confused about who I was talking to, and I’ve got devices that Google Assistant can’t control. yet, anyway.

@craigthom I really prefer Siri to Alexa. I’ve only messed with Google Assistant a few times. Unfortunately there are some devices Siri can’t control (Belkin Kasa devices for example). There are very very few devices Siri can control that Alexa can’t (my Honeywell Lyric Round thermostat for example). But Siri is much better at overall interaction and voice recognition. She’s also a bit friendlier than Alexa, and much better at general knowledge. For me, Alexa excels at IoT control, and Amazon stuff (purchases, playing Audible, Amz Music). But everything else, Siri kicks Alexa in the junk.

Initially I was more hopeful Apple’s Home Kit would gradually become more supported. But it’s been a few years, and still very little progress. It’s not that helpful that Apple tries to coerce Home Kit devs into exclusive support either. I’m afraid the Home Kit project will become like so many other Apple bleeding edge technologies. False start, ending in a quiet death.

@ruouttaurmind We find Siri on her phone to be dumb lol, Google is the best at answering questions but I like Alexa best for overal interaction and voice recognition.