24 Days of Blogging, Day 11: Alexa, Turn In Christmas Lights!

During the past week, I remodeled the digital architecture of my apartment. These two additions, while not wildly ground breaking, represent changes to the ways I interact with technology and with media in general.

Last week I received two “smart plugs,” networked plugs that can be switched on and off directly or through an app on my phone. They can also be programmed to a schedule or switched from wherever I may be. I have been fascinated by smart devices in the home for some time. Some readers will remember my discussion of the Nest thermostat a couple of years ago. I love the idea of controlling resources through my fingers on my phone, or even by my voice with my Amazon Echo.

I used the plugs first to assist my Christmas illuminations. I set one plug to run the outdoor lights. These I put on a schedule similar to what I did with bulky timers in the past. The other plug runs the lights in the tree and the lighted garland around my living room. This plug I control through my voice, asking Alexa to turn on and off the lights. I even programmed a routine that when I say “Alexa Christmas” the lights come on and “The Christmas Song plays on the living room speaker. I have noticed that this voice control has made me more likely to turn on (and enjoy) the tree nightly. I wonder what I could have done with smart plugs and the large displays I used to set up at the house!

The other change is one on which I am actually a bit behind the curve. I have gradually been paring back my cable TV channels until I have had only the most basic stations. The only reason I have kept live TV at all is for sports. Recently I have discovered YouTube TV, a digital service providing all of the channels I needed for a fraction of the cost of the cable channels. Soon what little TV I watched was coming completely from this service and cable TV was no longer needed. My remaining tie to the cable company was for WiFi service. Cable companies, seeing a growing number of customers such as I, have been steadily raising the costs of WiFi bandwidth and limiting this service.

Into this realm came a new competitor. My apartment complex has been wired for Google Fiber, high speed, unlimited WiFi for a significantly lower cost. While I am no blind supporter of Google products, I am a supporter of competition. Until the Google option was available, the cable company had a stranglehold on my apartment complex.

I have the same media available to me as always, but I’m paying less, and I can pick and choose how I put the parts together.

As much as any practical purpose, I love to play with these devices to see what I can and can’t do. Different ways to interact with devices and with media are going to be significant in the lives of generations to come. It’s exciting to get a glimpse of it now.

Alexa, turn off Christmas lights!

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