Bad Move Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201379330

Amazon are cancelling the ability to upload your own .mp3’s from 2019, which the vast collection of music I have amassed on CD and ripped and then uploaded wont be available to Alexa and the Echo’s unless I re-purchase them in digital form, or subscribe to their full streaming service and hope everything I have previously purchased is also available from them.

Maybe there’s a way to write a skill that will reference my OneDrive where is all also backed up

Alexa – Voice identification – coming soon

Having a house full of Echo’s is useful, especially the multi-room audio , but Echo Dot

 

having the kids song choices populate my playlist can get annoying at time, so news that the Echo’s will personalise actions based on id’ing you based on your own voice is welcome.

It looks like it must be region specific at the moment as although I have the latest apps, I don’t have the menu option to set up.

more details at  https://www.digitaltrends.com/home/amazon-alexa-2/amp/ 

 

Echo Multi-room

Its finally arrived, the ability to pair or group multiple Echo’s and Dots into a mesh network, so I can stream the same song upstairs, downstairs or into the girls rooms on command.
Little test planned for tomorrow at 6:45am, get Alexa to stream Misirlou into the Girls rooms in syncro…

Amazon Echo

Been messing with the Amazon Echos and Dots in the house, trying to make the most of them.  I already have 4 smart plugs that let me control background lighting and front and back garden lights that come on and off on schedule and on demand by invoking Alexa.   Amazon Music has long been my streaming service of choice as available on a number of platforms (PC, Android, iOS, even on my Blackberry thru the Android compatibility mode).

Intercom mode has supposedly been launched  which would let me call the kids down to tea without bellowing up the stairs, but doesn’t look like it landed on UK shores yet.  It was only recently launched in the US.  (Our Merrycan friends can also make telephone calls by pairing with their mobile as glorified hands-free setup), which also doesn’t work here.

A key  missing feature for me is lack of support for kids profiles.   Amazon Household allows another Adult member to share content for books via Kindle, but seemingly not multiple accounts for calendar or even Music.   This means I can’t link the kids calendar to their Office365 accounts for their own personal schedule.  Musically they are linked to my music library which is no bad thing, but as they get older sure they will want to create playlists of their own, and I won’t Playlist recommendations based on their listening habits.

Finally the main feature though I would like to see is Mesh-Audio so the all the Echos, or a sub-set can play the same track at the same time.  Supposedly coming when they join up with Sonos.