“Alexa, do this.” “Alexa, do that.” “Alexa, fulfil my every whim.”
The Amazon Echo is a relatively new gadget – a little over a year old in the US – but it’s already crept its way into every corner of our home lives.
From playing our every musical fancy to turning up our heating, and from checking our train times to ordering us a pizza, Alexa has quickly become our best electric mate and one that rarely lets us down.
When you ask Alexa to do something she’s not capable of though it’s jarring. Why can’t she work with that device or service? This just isn’t good enough. Our belief that we’re really living in the sci-fi inspired future is broken.
Although the Echo has impressed, there’s still much that it needs to learn. Yes, Alexa is getting smarter by the day, but the sooner she adds support for this lot, the better.
Picture the scene: you walk through the door, kick off your shoes and bellow ‘Alexa, turn on my TV’. Hey presto, sorted. The telly is on while you get a beer from the fridge, no fuss, no fanfare just a single, simple command.
Most TVs are connected to the internet now anyway, so there’s no reason why they can’t use those smart skills to play nice with Alexa and adhere to your every vocal command.
From webOS to Android TV, all the individual Smart TV platforms would need an Alexa-friendly patch, but once set-up you’d be able to quit your nightly remote hunts and just talk to your TV instead.
VR’s still in its infancy, and unless its user interfaces improve, it could stay there longer than it should. Holding your gaze on menu options to make selections is effective, but seriously slow and repetitive.
Stating “Alexa, ask Vive to launch Office Simulator” or “Alexa, ask Oculus to open my 360 Photos” as soon as you don your VR headset would speed up the whole process no end. It would also save the problem of mistaken button presses that come with controllers you cant see.
It would have another benefit too. VR can be a solitary, isolating experience, but talking to Alexa while in the virtual world could help make the whole thing more of a two-way experience. Slightly.
How has this not already happened? Skype seems an obvious way to communicate through Alexa, with the service’s VoIP calls capable of being triggered just by asking: “Alexa, ask Skype to call Olivia.”
Not only would Alexa be able to place the calls for you, the Echo’s 360-degree speakers would pipe the conversation out into your home.
It would be just like having your call on speaker mode, except you can carry on pottering around your room, with the Echo’s seven beam-forming directional microphones picking up everything you utter.
“Alexa, ask Sky to record Arsenal vs Liverpool for me.”
Boom, sorted. How much easier would that be? That’s four minutes and about 18 button presses you’ve just saved yourself there as you scroll through the weekend’s fixture list, cussing under your breath as you realise the big match is actually BT Sport’s Monday night fixture.
The dream situation would be that Alexa has access to the week’s full TV listings and has been synced up to your own Sky Q box. Now when you want to set something to record later in the week, you’ll be able to ask rather than do the manual work and kick off time hunting yourself.
Thanks to Alexa, your Echo can look after your calendar and relay upcoming appointments to you to ensure you never miss a meeting. But what about those Facebook-hosted event invites and reminders?
Play time is just as important as work efforts, and hooking Facebook up to the Echo could be a way to find this balance.
Although you don’t need every motivational quote and humble bragbook post that pops up on your News Feed verbally relaying to you, being able to ask “Alexa, ask Facebook when Saturday’s party starts” or “Alexa, ask Facebook how old Harry will be on Tuesday” could have genuine benefits.
Amazon Music Unlimited is supported, obviously, But so too are TuneIn and even Spotify, so where is the Apple Music Alexa love?
If you pay for the streaming service, you’re going to want to listen to it where and however you want. With the rise of digital assistants and smart speakers, that now includes through devices like the Amazon Echo.
The foundations are already there – Alexa knows how to play music and Apple Music supports Siri – but the bit in the middle is currently missing. Given we’re still waiting for an Amazon Prime Apple TV app to drop, and Apple’s notorious need for independence, we can’t see this happening anytime soon, but we can dream can’t we?
OK, so those must have ’90s machines with the little blinking red light might not be commonplace anymore, but for those that have them, or those who still get voicemails on their smartphone, asking “Alexa, play my new messages” could be a welcome addition.
Like with Skype calls, these would then be piped out through the Echo’s circular speaker, letting you listen back to what you missed.
As you quickly work out whether the call is PPI junk or something actually important, follow up requests like “Alexa, delete” or “Alexa, return call” could be addressed too, doing away with all those traditional, fiddly button presses.
Netflix’s picture-led interface is pretty and the foundation for everything that’s followed (we’re looking at you Sky Q, Apple TV and Amazon Prime), but it’s also a bit on the busy side.
It’s all too easy to spend as much time scrolling through trying to pick a film as it does to watch the damn thing. That’s where Alexa could come in, using Netflix’s strong sub categories and search system to find you a film in double quick time.
Siri can dictate WhatsApp messages, so why can’t Alexa?
Perfect for when you’re phone’s charging on the other side of the room to where you’re sat, WhatsApp integration for Echo would give you the freedom to hold conversations without the endless and often error-strewn touchscreen typing.
As well as letting you read out the messages you want sent, WhatsApp support could also get Alexa reading your incoming messages to you, leaving your phone free for other tasks, such as browsing Facebook, sending Snapchats or a solid game of Hill Climb Racing 2.
Microsoft has already trialed voice-based Xbox commands, but being able to ask for your disc to be ejected isn’t exactly the biggest win. Syncing your internet-connected PS4 to your Echo, however, opens up a new world of possibilities.
It could get you gaming quicker too. Asking “Alexa, check my PS4 for updates” could do away with the disheartening disappointment that comes every time you sit down for a session and are forced to wait 30 minutes for six updates and game patches to download and install.
Once you’re finally gaming, you could speak out social chats to be written out and sent to rival gamers and even get feedback on high scores and handy hints – “Alexa, act as my wingman and alert me to sniper sightings.”
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【ワシントン＝加納宏幸、ロサンゼルス＝中村将】トランプ米大統領とメキシコのペニャニエト大統領は２７日、約１時間にわたり電話協議した。両首脳はトランプ氏が不法移民の流入阻止のため実現するとしているメキシコ国境への「壁」の建設費用について、協議を通じて解決を目指すことで一致した。 メキシコ政府はこの問題について当面、公の議論を差し控えることを両首脳が申し合わせたとしている。 トランプ氏は費用をまかなうためメキシコからの輸入品に対する課税を検討中だが、両国政府は電話協議が「建設的で生産的な対話だった」と強調。トランプ氏も２７日の記者会見で「私たちは公平で新しい関係に向けて取り組んでいる」と述べた。一方で、トランプ氏はメキシコが貿易で「米国をたたきのめしている」とし、北米自由貿易協定（ＮＡＦＴＡ）について再交渉する考えを重ねて強調した。 電話協議では、米国がメキシコに対して抱える貿易赤字の問題や、麻薬、銃器の密輸取り締まりでの協力なども話し合った。
【ワシントン＝河浪武史】トランプ米大統領とメイ英首相は27日の首脳会談で、２国間通商協定の交渉開始に向けて協議することで一致した。トランプ氏は記者会見で「米英は特別な関係だ」と強調し、メキシコや日本に向ける「米国第一」の通商政策とは異なる姿勢をみせた。 
EU離脱を決めたイギリスと、ドナルド・トランプ政権下のアメリカがどれくらい接近するのかという注目が集まる中で行われた、トランプ大統領とメイ首相の合同記者会見。大きな期待が集まったその会見のあとで、彼らは手を握り合っていた。 
安倍総理大臣は２８日夜遅く、アメリカのトランプ大統領と電話で会談し、初めての日米首脳会談の日程などを協議するものと見られます。 日米両政府は、安倍総理大臣とアメリカのトランプ大統領が２８日午後１１時から電話で会談すると発表しました。 安倍総理大臣とトランプ大統領は、大統領選挙後の去年１１月に、ニューヨークで会談しているほか、電話でも一度話していますが、大統領就任後に電話で会談するのは初めてです。 電話会談で安倍総理大臣は、トランプ大統領の就任に祝意を表し、個人的な信頼関係を構築したいという考えを伝えるとともに、日米同盟の重要性を確認したい考えです。 そして、来月行う方向で調整している初めての日米首脳会談の具体的な日程や議題などを協議するものと見られます。 トランプ大統領は、ＴＰＰ＝環太平洋パートナーシップ協定から離脱するための大統領令に署名し、日本を含むＴＰＰ協定の参加国と２国間の経済連携協定を目指す考えを示しています。 また、大統領選挙の期間中、日本に在日アメリカ軍の駐留経費の負担増額を求めるなど、同盟国との関係見直しを示唆する発言を繰り返してきました。 これに対し安倍総理大臣は、トランプ政権との間で、日米の同盟関係を一層強化していきたいとしているほか、ＴＰＰ協定の戦略的な意義や、自由貿易の重要性への理解を求めたいとしています。直接、会って話し合うのを前に、電話会談でのやり取りが注目されます。
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