ALEXA, START MY DAY

The battle between Amazon’s “Echo” and Google Home never ends. Which is all good for us.

The other day we turned to Google’s smart speaker and said “Hey Google, play ‘La Bamba.’” That launched a playlist with some of the best rock ‘n’ roll of all time. Joy could hardly stop dancing and return to the column.

Alexa has her own new tricks. For instance, you can give her several commands at once without having to say “Alexa” each time. We said, “Alexa, turn the volume to 7.” A second later, we said “Call Bob,” and Bob’s cell phone started to ring.  We also plied it with questions. “Alexa, what’s the population of North Korea? What’s the population of South Korea?” Note that we only had to say the opening command “Alexa” the first time.

To set this up, tap the Amazon Alexa app on your phone. Then tap the hamburger icon (three stacked lines) and tap settings, choose your device and scroll down until you see “Follow Up Mode.”  In settings, you can also set up what you want to hear when you say “Alexa, Start My Day.” This can be a fun way to start your wakeup.

We have ours set up to give us the weather and the latest podcast from Planet Money. The first time we tried it, we heard about Grace Owen, a New Hampshire woman who got the lowest Social Security number ever issued: 001 01 001. Grace appeared on “What’s My Secret?” and guess what, that was her secret.

Google Home Strikes Back

We tried a similar new feature for the Google Home smart speaker called “Routines.” You can start by saying, “Hey Google, How’s My Day?”

This launched a weather and traffic report, followed by news briefings from National Public Radio, Fox News, Anchor News, Bloomberg Business News, Score Sports and the BBC Minute. Joy said “Hey Google, skip” during the sports briefs, but not before hearing about March Madness, whatever that is. This was all pre-set; we provided no instructions.

To learn how to customize this daily report, we went to our computer and searched on “Set Up and Manage Routines on Google Home.”

Some of the “Routines” are best for after work. For instance, you can say “Hey Google, let’s go home,” and the Assistant will give you a traffic report, send text messages, read unread texts, and play whatever you’ve chosen, whether it’s music, news, a podcast or nothing. It will even broadcast to all the Google Home speakers at your home that you’re on your way.

Once you get there and settle in, the doorbell might ring. If you have one of these three security cameras – Nest Cam, Logitech Circle, or Tend Secure, you can say “Hey Google, who’s at the front door,” and see the person on your TV. But that also requires the $35 Chromecast plugged into the back of the TV. It also requires that at least one of those security cameras be focused on the front door.

Getting help for a Google Home speaker is easy. When we were on their support website, a small window popped up allowing us to chat with a Google employee. This one was a guy named Ian, from the Philippines. Later, he sent us a replay of our chat by email and added that if we replied to it, he would deal with any other Google-related issues. (By the way, there are 7,614 islands in the Philippines.)

Big Clipboard

The 2013 and 2016 versions of Microsoft Word have an extended clipboard feature. So instead of copying just one item and pasting it in, you can copy dozens and later choose the ones you want from a list.

Here’s how: In Windows 7 or 10, copy something from the web or elsewhere and it automatically saves in the clipboard. To copy, highlight the item with your mouse and hold down the “Ctrl” key on your keyboard while tapping the letter “C” to copy it. On a Mac, hold down the “Cmd” key and then tap the “C” on your keyboard.

Now, in Microsoft Word, change the settings for the clipboard. (You only have to do this once.)  Click the “home” button, then click the little arrow next to the word “Clipboard” in the upper left of your screen. If you want the list to show up whenever you have Word open, click “options” at the bottom of the clipboard and choose “Show Office Clipboard Automatically.” When you’re ready to paste, choose the one you want from your list.

Bob has long used multiple saved clips to use with emails. You can make a standard sign off, with name and web site, or address or whatever. It can be good for canned replies: “Thank you for contacting us,” etc. He has long admired the canned response that the late Sen. Metzenbaum of Ohio used to send to people who wrote him with wild accusations and comments: “Dear Sir or Madam: We think you should know that some crank is sending out letters signed with your name.”

 Internuts

  • Bookstore.gpo.gov is the U.S. government bookstore. They used to have bookstores in many cities, but now it’s just Washington, D.C. You can order online, and the range of topics is enormous; Bob has long been a fan of their titles. Under the “Best Sellers” category, there’s a tax guide for individuals and a book on protecting your family from lead exposure in the home. They also have ebooks.
  • Search on the phrase “Mesmerizing Wind Patterns” to find a page from LaughingSquid.com. It pictures a globe showing wind patterns and speed. Turn the globe to see various regions. Click on one to get precise wind speeds and directions. Scroll down the page to see another map of ocean currents, and an animated visualization of every meteorite recorded since 861 A.D.
  • Search on the phrase “Kingsoft Office Free” to find a free word processor, spreadsheet, and PowerPoint program similar to Microsoft Office.

 

 

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