Smart Stuff

Our kids got us an Amazon echo for Christmas. I figured out how to turn it on today, and it can do some cute stuff. The real payoff, though, seems to be in the control of other internet connected smart stuff. Of course my lights, thermostat, garage doors, television, etc. are all still even dumber than their owner, so that's a potential problem. Even more annoying is the fact that it's less than obvious how one gets everything interfaced.

I have a partially voice controlled Roku, for example, but somehow I still have five or seven remote control buttons near the television. Several of them seem to be needed for most television watching.

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