Alexa is Amazon's voice assistant. Alexa also works with all kinds of other devices including a number of SKIKK Laptops and Mini PCs that have this built in and via the official Amazon Alexa app. But what good is it?
What is Alexa?
Alexa is Amazon's voice assistant and is named after the world-famous Alexandria Library. Alexa can answer questions and carry out commands that you give with your voice. For example, you can ask Alexa to play music or dim the lights.
You activate Alexa by shouting the activation word, followed by the command. As an activation word, you can choose from four options: Alexa, Echo, Amazon or Computer. You must choose one of these four words. Then you say what you want done. You use natural language for this, although it helps if you are and speak as clearly as possible.
How does Alexa work?
Amazon has been working on natural language processing systems for many years, this system from Amazon is called Alexa. Do you have an Amazon Echo speaker or a SKIKK Laptop or Computer with Alexa support and have you activated this? Then it listens continuously and immediately gets to work when you say the activation word (for example “Alexa”). The device only sends your command to the Amazon servers when you ask for something. Every question you ask will also appear in the app. You can delete the question afterwards if you wish.
You name the activation word and Alexa records everything you say afterward and sends it to Amazon's servers for analysis. If it concerns a question such as “Alexa, what is the weather in Kampen today?”, you will receive an immediate answer.
If you ask Alexa to play music, you can do so via Amazon Prime Music (Prime membership required), Spotify, TuneIn and the like. An example is: “Alexa, play Radiohead on Spotify”. You do need a Spotify Premium account for this.
You can also ask “Alexa, turn on the lights”, but you must first have correctly set up your smart home system in combination with Alexa.
In the US, you can also ask Alexa to buy stuff on Amazon. And there are even more possibilities, which Amazon calls 'skills'. These are third-party applications that Alexa can run. Amazon is open to all kinds of partners who want to work with it. Shopping with Alexa is only possible if you are an Amazon Prime member and it only works with Prime-enabled products.
What are Alexa skills?
You name the activation word and Alexa records everything you say afterward and sends it to Amazon's servers for analysis. If it concerns a question such as “Alexa, what is the weather in Utrecht today?”, the speaker will read out the answer.
You can also ask, “Alexa, what is my flash briefing?” to hear the latest NOS radio news. You can set this up via the app.
If you ask Alexa to play music, you can do so via Amazon Prime Music (Prime membership required), Spotify, TuneIn and the like. An example is: “Alexa, play Radiohead on Spotify”. You do need a Spotify Premium account for this.
You can also ask “Alexa, turn on the lights”, but you must first have correctly set up your smart home system in combination with Alexa.
In the US, you can also ask Alexa to buy stuff on Amazon. And there are even more possibilities, which Amazon calls 'skills'. These are third-party applications that Alexa can run. Amazon is open to all kinds of partners who want to work with it. Shopping with Alexa is only possible if you are an Amazon Prime member and it only works with Prime-enabled products.
Amazon Alexa and your smart home
In the Alexa app you can see which products Alexa works with. You can find them in the smart home section in the app. For example, think of the Nest thermostat, Philips Hue lighting and Belkin Wemo switches. The LiFX lights and Ecobee thermostats also work with Alexa, plus thousands of other products.
The great thing is that manufacturers can develop 'skills' themselves and do not have to ask Alexa for permission. With Apple's HomeKit everything is more strictly regulated and a manufacturer must first have the products tested by Apple. This can cause quite a bit of delay in the development of new products. Hence, there are many more accessories that work with Alexa than with HomeKit.
Initially you had to give one command per voice command, but you can now also combine this into multiple routines. Routines are activities that consist of several tasks, for example "Turn everything off in the bedroom" or "I'm coming home". You can also activate routines at a specific time, for example when you get up.
I also want a SKIKK Laptop or Mini PC with Amazon Alexa
For a SKIKK Mini PC you can go here: https://www.skikk.eu/desktop/mini-pc
For a SKIKK Laptop you can go here: https://www.skikk.eu/laptops
