Tag: smarthome2020
The best smart speakers you can buy
When Amazon first introduced Alexa and the Echo speaker years ago, the idea of talking to a digital assistant wasn’t totally novel. Both the iPhone and Android phones had semi-intelligent voice controls — but with the Echo, Amazon took its first step toward making something like Alexa a constant presence…
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The best smart displays you can buy
Smart displays have evolved quite a bit since the initial debut of Amazon’s first Echo Show back in 2017. In fact, the category didn’t really come into its own until Google joined the fray with its own line of hardware about a year later. Now, both of these companies are…
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I am my own spy: A personal surveillance story
One of the first webcams I purchased was a Dropcam several years ago. We'd had a couple of package thefts, and I wanted to see if I could catch the perpetrator in the act. I positioned the camera at our front window, with the lens pointed at the step… Source
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My quest to fix my terrible home WiFi
When I was young — in high school or so — my sister and I had a system worked out. Our Comcast cable internet service routinely seemed to flake out, so she and I would take turns running downstairs to the router, unplugging it, waiting for what fel… Source
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How to buy a smart display in 2020
Smart displays are some the newest forms of consumer electronics of the past couple of years. Essentially smart speakers with a screen, the first to debut was Amazon's Echo Show back in 2017, and the tiny Echo Spot followed later that same year. Yet… Source
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The best smart speakers
When Amazon first introduced Alexa and the Echo speaker five years ago, the idea of talking to a digital assistant wasn't totally novel. Both the iPhone and Android phones had semi-intelligent voice controls — but with the Echo, Amazon took its firs… Source
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