alexa

  • Amazon Wants You to Start Paying for Alexa

    Amazon Wants You to Start Paying for Alexa

    More than 75 million people use Alexa, but by Amazon’s standards, the service is a total failure. The problem is Alexa doesn’t make any money, and the service is a huge drain on company resources. Apparently, Amazon has a last-ditch plan to save its digital assistant by supercharging it with AI and charging you for…


  • How to Use Your Smart Speakers as Intercoms

    How to Use Your Smart Speakers as Intercoms

    You might not have realized all the tricks that your smart speakers can do yet: As well as answering questions, setting timers and alarms, queueing up music, and everything else, these gadgets can also double up as intercom systems for your entire home. It’s a feature available on Google, Amazon, and Apple smart speakers. So,…


  • Program Your Smart Speaker to Automatically Play Music in Your Bathroom

    Program Your Smart Speaker to Automatically Play Music in Your Bathroom

    Being a good host is about predicting what guests might need and creating small moments of delight. A well-stocked bathroom is a great example—keeping mouthwash, Band-Aids, tampons, and painkillers, all accessible and ready to be grabbed when needed. At some point, I found myself noticing what fancy restaurants and hotels have in their bathrooms to…