Alexa
McFedries, Paul2019
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"Whether you'll use Alexa to send text messages, play music, control your thermostat, look up recipes, replenish your pantry, or just search the internet for information, you'll find detailed instructions in this fun and easy-to-understand guide. Amazon's hugely popular family of Echo devices has made Alexa a household name. She can answer your questions, entertain you, and even help around the house. Alexa for Dummies is the perfect guide for Alexa users who want to get up and running with their Echo devices. From basic setup to making the most of Alexa's powerful smart home capabilities, this is your one-stop resource to all things Alexa. Set up and personalize your Alexa device with an Amazon account and custom settings, including your preferred Alexa voice. Use Alexa to play music throughout your home, stream videos online, and meet all your entertainment needs. Unlock the power of advanced features like Alexa Skills and make your Alexa accessible. Turn your ordinary house into a modern smart home with advanced smart home features and Echo accessories. The virtual assistant you've dreamed of is now a reality with your favorite Echo device."--Publisher's description.
Main title:
Alexa / by Paul McFedries.
Author:
Imprint:
Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2019.©2018.
Collation:
xiii, 280 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
Series title:
Notes:
Includes index.
Contents:
Machine generated contents note: About This Book -- Foolish Assumptions -- Icons Used in This Book -- Beyond the Book -- Where to Go from Here -- ch. 1 Getting to Know Alexa -- What Is This Alexa That Everyone's Talking About (Or, Really, To)? -- Meet your new assistant -- Alexa's components -- How Alexa works -- Where Do You Get Alexa? -- Figuring Out Which Alexa Device You Need -- Checking out Amazon's Echo devices -- Choosing an Alexa device -- Learning What Alexa Can Do -- Playing media -- Communicating -- Shopping -- Getting help around the home -- Getting news and information -- Answering your questions -- Accessing skills -- Automating your home -- Having fun -- ch. 2 Setting Up Alexa and Your Devices -- Installing the Alexa App -- Signing in to your Amazon account -- Taking a tour of the Alexa app -- Giving Alexa access to your device microphone -- Alexa Feng Shui: Positioning Your Alexa Device -- Adding Your Alexa Device -- Adding your Echo device --Contents note continued: Adding a third-party Alexa device -- Personalizing Your Alexa Device -- Creating a voice profile -- Giving the device a fun name -- Setting the device location -- Setting the device time zone -- Changing the device language -- Changing the measurement units -- Changing the background image if your device has a screen -- Connecting External Speakers to Your Alexa Device -- Connecting speakers or headphones using a cable -- Connecting speakers or headphones via Bluetooth -- Disconnecting paired Bluetooth speakers or headphones -- ch. 3 Learning Alexa Basics -- Getting to Know Your Echo -- Taking a closeup look at the far-field microphone -- Pushing the Echo's buttons -- Getting feedback from Alexa -- Operating the Echo touchscreen -- Getting to Know Alexa -- Getting Alexa's attention -- Keeping Alexa's attention -- Ending the conversation -- Enabling Brief mode -- Some Useful Alexa Commands -- Everyday-info commands -- Information requests --Contents note continued: Audio commands -- Video commands -- Alarm and timer commands -- Calendar, reminder, and list commands -- Communication commands -- Shopping commands -- Smart-home commands -- ch. 4 Playing Media -- Listening to Music on Alexa -- Playing music through Alexa -- Linking to a music provider -- Setting up a default music provider -- Voice commands for controlling music -- Accessing Alexa via the Amazon Music app -- Playing third-party music through Alexa -- Adjusting music quality -- Listening to Other Audio Sources on Alexa -- Tuning in to a radio station -- Listening to a podcast -- Hearing an audiobook -- Having a Kindle book read out loud -- Streaming Mobile Device Audio through Alexa -- Watching Video on Alexa -- Watching a movie trailer -- Locating and playing web videos -- Watching Amazon's Prime Video -- Taking Photos with Alexa -- ch. 5 Communicating with Alexa -- Managing Your Alexa Contacts List -- Giving Alexa access to your contacts --Contents note continued: Giving a contact a nickname -- Editing contacts -- Blocking a contact -- Managing your profile and settings -- Exchanging Text Messages -- Sending a text using voice commands -- Sending a text using the Alexa app -- Receiving a text message -- Making Voice or Video Calls -- Making voice calls with voice commands -- Making voice calls using the Alexa app -- Making video calls with voice commands -- Making video calls using the Alexa app -- Connecting Alexa to your landline with an Echo Connect -- Answering an incoming Alexa-to-Alexa call -- Ending a call -- Dropping In on Other Alexa Users -- Letting folks drop in on you -- Dropping in on someone using voice commands -- Dropping in on someone using the Alexa app -- Configuring global Drop In settings for your Alexa device -- Using Your Alexa Device as an Intercom -- ch. 6 Using Alexa at Home -- A Quick Word about Household Profiles -- Shopping with Alexa -- Enabling voice purchases --Contents note continued: Getting product recommendations -- Placing an order -- Reordering an item -- Ordering multiple items -- Setting up a Voice Code for purchases -- Check your delivery status -- Getting delivery notifications -- Making a donation -- Creating Lists -- Creating and managing lists -- Adding and managing list items -- Getting the Information You Need -- Getting the weather forecast -- Checking traffic -- Hearing the latest news with the Flash Briefing -- Configuring Alexa's sports update -- Letting Alexa Manage Your Calendar -- Linking your calendar to Alexa -- Setting the default calendar -- Unlinking a calendar -- Managing calendar events -- Setting Alexa Alerts -- Getting Alexa to remind you of something -- Setting an alarm -- Running a timer -- Customizing your alarm sounds -- Putting Alexa in Do Not Disturb Mode -- ch. 7 Asking Alexa Questions -- Searching for Nearby Places -- Asking for Financial Info -- Getting Symptoms and Other Medical Facts --Contents note continued: Asking Alexa to Do the Math -- Converting Units -- Getting Science Answers -- Quizzing Alexa about the Culture -- Bugging Alexa about Books -- Asking Linguistic Questions -- Asking Questions about Companies -- Asking about Dates and Times -- For Everything Else: Querying Wikipedia -- ch. 8 Adding Skills to Alexa -- Understanding What a Skill Is -- Checking Out Amazon's Alexa Skills Department -- Enabling a Skill -- Enabling a skill with a voice command -- Enabling a skill using the Alexa app -- Working with Skills -- Invoking a skill -- Viewing your enabled skills -- Changing skill settings -- Disabling a skill -- Thirty Cool Alexa Skills to Try -- Building Your Own Skill -- ch. 9 Making Alexa Accessible -- Controlling Alexa If You Have a Speech Impairment -- Making Alexa more speech accessible -- Installing a text-to-speech app -- Using Tap to Alexa -- Texting without speech -- Checking Out Alexa's Features for the Hearing Impaired --Contents note continued: Making Alexa more hearing accessible -- Enabling Closed Captioning -- Enabling Alexa Captioning -- Enabling Alexa's Features for the Vision Impaired -- Making Alexa more vision accessible -- Navigating with VoiceView -- Zooming in with Screen Magnifier -- ch. 10 Setting Up Your Smart Home -- What's So Smart about a Smart Home? -- Working with smart-home devices -- Understanding smart-home connections -- How does Alexa fit in? -- Do you need a smart-home hub? -- Setting Up Your Smart-Home Devices -- Installing a Wi-Fi smart-home device -- Understanding Wi-Fi Simple Setup -- Discovering smart-home devices using an Alexa skill -- Discovering Zigbee smart-home devices -- Managing Smart-Home Devices -- Viewing your smart-home devices -- Renaming a smart-home device -- Changing the device type -- Disabling or deleting a smart-home device -- Working with Smart-Home Devices -- Controlling a smart-home device -- Working with device scenes --Contents note continued: Turning smart plugs on and off -- Working with smart lights -- Controlling smart thermostats -- Keeping an eye on things with smart cameras -- Other types of smart-home gear -- ch. 11 Uncovering Some Smarter Smart-Home Techniques -- Creating Device Groups -- Creating a smart-home group -- Controlling a smart-home group -- Managing a smart-home group -- Alexa in Stereo: Working with Speaker Sets -- Creating a speaker set -- Playing music through a speaker set -- Streaming Music to Multiple Rooms -- Setting up multi-room music -- Playing multi-room music -- Fixing multi-room music sync problems -- Automating Alexa with Routines -- Understanding routine actions -- Creating a routine -- Running a routine -- Working with IFTTT Applets -- Connecting your IFTTT and Amazon accounts -- Enabling an IFTTT applet -- Checking out some Alexa applets -- ch. 12 Ten (Times Ten) Ridiculously Fun Alexa Tricks -- Ten Ways to Ask Alexa to Tell a Joke --Contents note continued: Ten Alexa Wordplay Tricks -- Ten Ways to Get Alexa to Sing -- Ten Oddball Things to Ask Alexa to Do -- Ten Funny Questions to Ask Alexa -- Ten Ways to Get Alexa to Tell a Story -- Ten Ways to Get Personal with Alexa -- Ten Movie Easter Eggs -- Ten TV Easter Eggs -- Ten Music Easter Eggs -- ch. 13 Ten Things That Can Go Wrong with Alexa (And How to Fix Them) -- Troubleshooting 101 -- Restarting your Echo -- Updating your Echo -- Resetting your Echo -- Alexa or Your Echo Device is Unresponsive -- Your Echo Device Isn't Using the Latest Software -- You Can't Connect to Your Wi-Fi Network -- You're Having Trouble Streaming Media -- You're Having Trouble Connecting a Bluetooth Device -- You don't see a Bluetooth device -- You can't pair with a Bluetooth device -- You Ordered Something Accidentally -- Alexa Doesn't Understand Your Commands -- You're Having Trouble Making Calls -- You Changed Your Wi-Fi Network Password --Contents note continued: A Smart-Home Device Doesn't Work Properly -- ch. 14 Ten Ways to Beef Up Alexa Security and Privacy -- Make Sure Your Wi-Fi Network Is Locked Up Tight -- Change Alexa's Wake Word -- Stop Alexa from Listening (And Watching) -- Trash Sensitive Alexa Recordings -- Configure Alexa Not to Use Your Personal Data -- Shut Down Alexa's Communications -- Turn communications off -- Revoke access to your contacts -- Secure Your Amazon Account -- Give your Amazon account a bulletproof password -- Turn on Amazon's Two-Step Verification -- Delete Your Saved Wi-Fi Passwords -- Revoke a Skill's Permissions -- Deregister Your Alexa Device.
ISBN:
9781119565864 (paperback)
Dewey class:
006.3
Language:
English
Subject:
BRN:
368088
More Information:
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penrith | Nonfiction | 006.3 ALE | Available |