On Computers: Alexa also makes a good soundbar
Alexa, the voice inside the Echo smart speaker, has a lot of tricks up her sleeve. Did you know she makes a good soundbar?
A soundbar connects to a TV to make programs easier to hear. Instead, you can use Alexa. Put her next to you on the sofa and say: “Alexa, connect.” She’ll take it from there – if your TV has Bluetooth. You’ll know in a minute if it doesn’t, because Alexa will tell you she can’t connect.
Another Alexa trick is remembering where you put things. You can say: “Alexa, remember that I put my glasses on the kitchen counter.” Then, instead of searching for them, say: “Alexa, what did I ask you to remember?” Unfortunately, when I tried it just now, I had six things on my list and she repeated them all. To delete the oldies, I opened the Alexa app on my phone, tapped “More” in the lower right corner, tapped “Lists and Notes,” then tapped “Notes.” Each one has its own card. Tap one to delete it.
Alexa’s reminders are even better. If I say: “Alexa, remind me at 11 a.m.” She’ll say: “What’s the reminder?” I’ll say, “Have lunch with Frieda.” When 11 o’clock rolls around, she’ll remind me pronto. It works with appointments, chores and anything you don’t want to forget.
New voices for Alexa
“Historical Voices,” a free skill for your Alexa devices, brings you 50 famous or semifamous people and events. Once it’s set up, just call out a name.
I’ve listened to Harry Truman, Bill Gates, Albert Einstein, Nicola Tesla and Agatha Christie, among others. That’s how I learned why Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple should never meet. Poirot is a complete egoist, Christie said. He wouldn’t dream of being lectured by Miss Marple. I also heard from Smedley Butler. He was a Marine who fought in four wars, including the Boxer Rebellion and World War I. Some of the recordings sound ancient.
To set it up, go to Amazon.com and find the search bar at the top. Change the word “all” to “Alexa skills” from the drop-down list. Now type “Historical Voices” in the search bar. Click “enable” when it comes up. Now you can say “Alexa, open Historical Voices” to get it going.
Slow as molasses
“My large iPad gets slow as molasses,” a reader wrote. He was stumped. Here are five things you can do if it happens to you.
First, try unplugging your router off for 30 seconds or so. That seems to clear its head and speed up your internet.
Second, swipe up from the bottom of the screen till you see thumbnails representing everything you have open. There might be a rogue app that’s up to no good. Swipe up on it to close it.
Third, turn off “Background App Refresh.” You can find it under “Settings,” then “General.” This feature lets apps update even when they're closed, but it takes up battery life and could slow you down.
If all else fails, reset your device. It’s under “Settings,” “General,” and “Transfer or reset iPad.”
Jammed
A reader told me that burglars in his neighborhood are getting away with stuff. “Ring security cameras have been jammed while vehicles were being ransacked,” he said.
A Wi-Fi jamming device, which starts at $10, puts out so much radio noise that the wireless signal can’t get to the receiver. The answer is the Ring Alarm Pro, which stores your videos on a micro SD card. They’ll show the burglary even if the Wi-Fi signal is jammed.
Voice isolation
A few readers said they couldn’t figure out “Voice Isolation,” which helps you hear better on your iPhone or iPad. That’s because it only works with the iPhone XR, XS, XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and iPhone 13. To try it with Facetime on your iPad, you need a Generation 8 or newer.
To set it up, open the Control Center by swiping down from the top right. Tap “Mic Mode” and choose “Voice Isolation.” If you don’t see it, your iPhone or iPad doesn’t support this feature.
More power to you
Anker sent me its new 521 Power Strip, $40 on Amazon. I keep it next to the dining room table where I sometimes work. Now I can charge my laptop without unplugging the lamp.
The 521 has three AC outlets on its back and two USB-A ports as well as a USB-C port on its front. The idea is to keep your cords neatly organized so they don’t tangle up. For example, my lamp cord isn’t getting tangled with the computer cord. Best of all, the power strip’s USB-C port enables 30-watt high-speed charging.
Sounds for sleeping
The sound of ocean waves can be nice to sleep by, and it’s built in to the iPad and iPhone. Go to “Settings,” tap “Accessibility,” then “Hearing,” then “Audio/Visual.” Toggle the “Background Sounds” switch to “on.” Besides ocean waves, they have rain, white noise and something called “dark noise.” Is that the sound of a black hole?
Internuts
• “Why Electric Car Battery Recycling Matters as Much as Cars Themselves” is an intriguing article from CNET. We could face a “battery bomb” in 10 years if electric car batteries are not recycled or repurposed.
• RedwoodMaterials.com says: “The largest lithium and cobalt mines in the Western hemisphere can be found in America’s junk drawers.”
You can send your old electronics to them.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: On Computers: Alexa also makes a good soundbar
