Amazon had a record-breaking holiday season in 2018, with over one billion items bought and millions of Prime memberships sold.
Search: smart home
Owner's Parrot Uses Alexa to Play Music, Order Food
The Times writes: “The African grey parrot has become so adept at giving orders to Amazon’s smart speaker system while his owner is out that he uses it to play songs, tell him jokes and even order treats.” I wonder if the parrot instructs Alexa to open the smart home door so Amazon can bring the food to the cage.
Amazon Unveiling New Hardware at Surprise Event Today
Amazon is hosting a surprise media event 1 PM eastern time on Thursday to announce new hardware products. The company isn’t saying what it’ll introduce, but it’s a safe bet the Echo is involved. Along with new smart speakers and a rumored Echo subwoofer, we may see some other gear outside the smart speaker space. The Verge says,
Amazon could be shifting focus toward Alexa in general, with plans to unveil up to eight smart home devices this year. Rumored products range from a voice-controlled in-car accessory to a smart microwave oven. The latter is particularly interesting given Amazon recently began offering Blue Apron-style meal kits, both online and at its Amazon Go cashier-less outposts. The smart oven, if confirmed, could potentially be tied to Whole Foods as well.
So maybe you’ll be talking to your microwave oven soon, or at least sharing more of your cooking habits with Amazon.
Sonos Further Expands Wireless Speakers with New APIs, IFTTT Integration, and new Sonos Amp
Wireless speaker pioneers Sonos today announced the upcoming availability of their first-ever set of public APIs available to all Sonos speakers, as well as the Sonos Amp, a new piece of hardware aimed at allowing folks to use their own speakers within a Sonos system.
Siri Improves in Loup Ventures AI Showdown, Still Trails Google Assistant
Loup Ventures conducted its annual test to see how popular voice assistants perform, and Apple’s Siri came in second behind Google Assistant.
MacBook Pro, FreezerGate and a Tempest in a Teapot
There was a disruptive event this week in the Apple community that made screaming teenage girls at a concert look calm and sensible by comparison.
Here Are All of the iOS Apps on macOS Mojave [Update]
Craig Federighi schooled Mark Gurman, the originator of the rumor that iOS and macOS will merge.
Comcast Joins the Wi-Fi Mesh Market with xFi Pods
Comcast joined the Wi-Fi mesh market on Tuesday with the official launch of its xFi Pods. The plug-size devices extend the range of Comcast’s Xfinity broadband Wi-Fi network in your home.
This Amazon Doorbell Let a Man Spy on His Ex-Boyfriend [Update]
Ring—which Amazon acquired in February—makes a smart doorbell that has a camera connected to Wi-Fi.
The Voice Assistant War: Alexa and Google Assistant Versus Siri
We’re still in the early stages of voice assistant technology so we can’t declare a winner yet, regardless of which you prefer. Based on what we’re seeing, however, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are putting Apple’s Siri in a serious catch up position.
Is It Time to Replace Your AirPort Router? – Mac Geek Gab 707
APFS support in third-party apps continues to grow, there’s now an app to search for 32-bit apps, secondary iCloud IDs might work well for you, and Apple’s official acknowledgement of the end of the AirPort router line brings up one of our favorite topics again: what Wi-Fi solution is best for your home? John and Dave talk through all of this, all for you. Just like Sister Hazel sang. Or something like that. Just press play and enjoy!
It's Shortsighted for Apple to Discontinue AirPort Products
For two decades, Apple has been there for its customers who want a great, easy-to-understand, easy-to-set-up, Wi-Fi system. Why give that up?
Will Amazon's Fire TV Edition Do What Apple Could Not?
Amazon is folding its Fire TV into a smart 4K/UHD TV, called the Fire TV Edition. It’s what some have called on Apple to do. Will Amazon’s vision pay off?
As Far As You Know He’s Not a Real Doctor – Mac Geek Gab 702
Your questions, answered! That’s what we do here. Today’s show starts with some Cool Stuff Found items, including at least one that answers a question from a previous show about auto-captioning your videos! Then it’s on to figuring out where all your storage is being used, whether or not you should ignore those iOS relogin requests, and migrating Aperture to Photos. You like Quick Tips? We’ve got those, too. All this and more, folks!
TMO's Top 5 Picks from CES 2018
CES 2018 brought loads of interesting products to Las Vegas for us to check out. These are our top picks from everything we got to look at.
CES - Elgato Releases Second Generation Eve Room Indoor Sensor
The Eve Room is US$99.95 and will be available in March at Elgato, Amazon, and Apple.
CES - Use Your iPhone With a Bluetooth Metal Detector
It’s not a finished product, but a working prototype.
Top Apple Hardware Announcements for 2017
Check out Jeff’s picks for Apple’s top hardware announcements for 2017.
Amazon Intros Echo Plus and Spot, Fire TV 4K
Amazon just ramped up its smarthome game—and Echo product line—with new Echo and Echo Plus smart speakers, and the Echo Spot.
Terminal Tinkering: Say Hello to TMO's New Podcast for Tech Enthusiasts
Say hello to Terminal Tinkering, TMO’s brand new podcast where you can learn all about going under the hood with your tech gear to make your own smart home devices, build a Hackintosh, and more.
My USPS Lets You Preview Your Snail Mail
Believe it or not, the United States Postal Service actually takes a picture of every piece of mail you receive, and lets you view those images in most areas — slightly creepy, but very cool.
How to Set Up Multi-room Music Streaming for the Echo and Echo Dot
Here’s how to set up Amazon’s new multi-room music streaming for your Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Show devices.
Here's How to Control Your WeMo Switches From Your Mac
Controlling the WeMo devices in your smart home isn’t a task that has to be limited to your iPhone or iPad—your Mac can get in on the action, too.
Senate Bill Calls for Stronger IoT Security
A new Senate bill is calling for baseline security standards for Internet of Things devices sold to the U.S. government.