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Alexa For Dummies book cover

Alexa For Dummies

Author:

Overview

Make your every wish Alexa’s command with this in-depth guide to the wildly popular Amazon smart speaker

You might be thinking, “All I have to do is plug in my Echo device and start using it!” And you’d be right. But if you really want to explore what that compact little device can do, then Alexa For Dummies is your go-to resource. This book shows you how to customize your device to respond to your requests and enhance your life.

Alexa For Dummies takes you on a tour of all things Alexa: its capabilities, tools, settings, and skills. Go beyond the basics of playing music, calling friends, reading the news, and checking the weather. You’ll learn how to make Alexa private and secure, connect it to your smart home devices, and even make it sound like Samuel L. Jackson, if you feel like it. You can also extend its capabilities by adding new skills.

Customize your device to respond to your voice
Troubleshoot when a light is signaling something’s wrong
Add skills to play music and audiobooks
Create routines to turn on lights, adjust the thermostat, set your security alarm, and lock your doors
Sync your smart devices throughout your home
Use Alexa to connect to a Zoom meeting or phone call with your friends or family

No matter which device you have—Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Studio, Echo Flex, Echo Loop, Echo Buds, or Echo Frames—Alexa For Dummies is the perfect companion. Ready to get started? Say “Hey, Alexa, order Alexa For Dummies!”

Make your every wish Alexa’s command with this in-depth guide to the wildly popular Amazon smart speaker

You might be thinking, “All I have to do is plug in my Echo device and start using it!” And you’d be right. But if you really want to explore what that compact little device can do, then Alexa For Dummies is your go-to resource. This book shows you how to customize your device to respond to your requests and enhance your life.

Alexa For Dummies takes you on a tour of all things Alexa: its capabilities, tools, settings, and skills. Go beyond the basics of playing music, calling friends, reading the news, and checking the weather. You’ll learn how to make Alexa private and secure, connect it to your smart home devices, and even make it sound like

Samuel L. Jackson, if you feel like it. You can also extend its capabilities by adding new skills.

Customize your device to respond to your voice
Troubleshoot when a light is signaling something’s wrong
Add skills to play music and audiobooks
Create routines to turn on lights, adjust the thermostat, set your security alarm, and lock your doors
Sync your smart devices throughout your home
Use Alexa to connect to a Zoom meeting or phone call with your friends or family

No matter which device you have—Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Studio, Echo Flex, Echo Loop, Echo Buds, or Echo Frames—Alexa For Dummies is the perfect companion. Ready to get started? Say “Hey, Alexa, order Alexa For Dummies!”

Alexa For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Alexa isn’t difficult to set up. But after the initial startup chores are complete, perhaps the most common question people ask is, “What do I do now?” It’s a reasonable question, especially if you’re looking at an Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Plus, which give you no hints about what your next step is supposed to be. As a way of helping you answer the “Now what?” question, this Cheat Sheet takes you through a few important initial tasks and customizations, as well as a fistful of voice commands to make Alexa do some useful and fun things.

About The Author

Paul McFedries has been writing about computers and technology for nearly 30 years. He has authored more than 100 books that have sold more than four million copies worldwide.