For years, I’ve had Amazon Echo smart speakers. I have three of them in my house and one on the way to replace the device in my kitchen that died. I’ve enjoyed listening to music, books, and podcasts, playing games, and getting the weather and other information.
I recently signed up for early access to Alexa Plus, a new, improved set of AI features on these speakers. This will be free for a while, but eventually, we’ll have to start paying about $20 a month for the service unless we have Prime, which I don’t at the moment. I may get Prime if I like Alexa Plus. Will see.
Last week, I received an email, saying I could upgrade my devices. It was a simple matter of clicking a button on the website and presto! Goodbye, old Alexa. Hello, new Alexa Plus. I didn’t have to do anything with the app on the phone or the devices themselves.
I love the new voices. They’re more natural-sounding, and you can carry on a conversation with them. I’ve set each speaker in my home to a different voice. You can choose from four feminine voices, and I’m sure there are as many masculine ones, but I prefer females.
According to the app, there are some new features I doubt I’ll use. Once you make necessary connections, you can ask Alexa to, say, text your child’s school to let them know little Suzie is sick or email the veterinarian to schedule an appointment for your dog. You can ask Alexa to book a ride with Uber. I’m sure there’s a lot more you can do that I haven’t discovered yet.
Granted, a few skills I use don’t work with Alexa Plus yet, but I’m sure they will eventually, and I can get along without them. Meanwhile, the new Alexa is making me smile, and I can’t wait to get my new Echo Pop for the kitchen. It should be here Thursday.
Your Turn
What made you smile this past week? You can tell me about it in the comment field or click below to participate on your blog and read other responses. Thank you for stopping by, and keep smiling.
The Weekly Smile for the 9th of June, 2025 #weeklysmile | Trent’s World (the Blog)
Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography
Photo Resize and Description
by Two Pentacles Publishing
New! Living Vicariously in Wyoming: Stories
Copyright 2025 by Abbie Johnson Taylor
Published independently with the help of DLD Books.
Image Description written by Leonore Dvorkin of DLD Books.
As defined in the first story, living vicariously means living your life through someone else’s. You’re invited to live vicariously through the lives of the people in these stories. There’s the lawyer who catches his wife in the act with a nun. A college student identifies with a character in a play. A young woman loses her mother and finds her father. And a high school student’s prudish English teacher strenuously objects to a single word in her paper.
In Wyoming, as in any other state, people fall in love, and sometimes relationships are shattered. Accidents, domestic violence, prejudice, and crimes all occur. Lives are torn apart, and people are reunited. Ordinary people deal with everyday and not–so–everyday situations.
The 25 stories in this collection, most of which are set in Wyoming, are about how the various characters resolve their conflicts—or not.
Click here for more information and ordering links.
About My Monthly Newsletter
If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to News from My Corner by sending a blank email to: newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io . You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go. Happy reading!
My Corner 