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The camera's are to view outside and I have them set to only activate when I am out, the cameras are small and also link to Alexa so I can view my camera's on my 3 Echo Show's , my 2 Fire TV's or my mobile or any tablet with Alexa App installed. The Camera's have good amount of free cloud storage for recordings I get immediate text alerts on my phone if any motion is detected. Motion sensors and night vision are a great feature, you can adjust motion sensitivity also and use a grid of the area monitored to create blind spots, i.e. there may be a flashing light in the distance you can block out to prevent motion sensors continuingly going off.
Amazon offer monthly payments on Echo Tech and I always wait for price reductions on Black Fridays or Summer Sales etc. All the speakers I bought were half price and less than half price in some cases.
Ah, I thought you had cameras to detect motion inside the home. Having them outside makes more sense of course! They look very functional the way you describe them; have you had much use for them?
Keeping an eye on deals and price reductions is always worth it when it comes to tech. Like you write, many devices, speakers etc. can be a lot cheaper for a limited time period. Black Friday is probably when you see most special deals, and when I'm in the market for anything tech related, I try to wait until that time of the year – just to see if there are any price reductions.
I have a lot of RGB LED lights already attached to my PC so to have something else that's flashing to any custom setup you want is a welcome extra feature for me, it does look pretty cool lol
I have never streamed though I like the idea of hot keys for what ever you want to use them for, I will set a layer of keys for web short cuts, one key will be programmed to go to this site homepage and a key for FPL My Team page course lol
I have had a app version for ages though as its connected through WiFi I have had issues with my Firewall and Security System on my PC so wanted something to plug in.
Just added Next and Previous Track buttons, so handy not always having to use the mouse.
It does look very handy, and being able to have hot keys for that specific purposes is interesting. I might have been in the market for something like that myself, had I been a desktop user.
How did the app work?
Some devices you can program hotkeys for gaming and art programs. For example quick short cut to brush types etc though that maybe time consuming.
I am going to have to spend a few hours tomorrow reading about the software for the one I bought to fully see what its capable of doing.
But as a music player its great for that alone, it kind of reminds me of the old days off having a tape recorder (using the buttons) lol
I have a swivel arm chair one direction it faces my TV etc, then it swivels to my computer desk so I literally have the control right next to me.
Interesting. I use Photoshop quite a bit for work purposes (as well as Manga Studio occasionally), so there might be some use for an app like that when it comes to easily switching between tools in the software - though there are shortcuts in the software anyway. It's something to think about though.
You have to keep us updated on how the stream deck is like in use. My Macbook keyboard has some play/mute features which covers whatever I need for shortcuts, but it's not perfect (though I suspect those issues can be resolved playing around with settings).
Wish I had a setup as handy as that, haha! I currently don't have a desk, but should probably get one at some point. Haven't found one I'm happy with yet though.
Mine is not a Stream Deck though similar in fact it may turn out to do exactly what a stream deck does not sure yet. If you look online for Programmable Macro Keypad that's a better description. Day off tomorrow so will have a good look at the software, already found a few videos to watch.
The app I have that I no longer use is called Touch Portal the fundamentals are the same except your phone or tablet becomes the Keypad for your PC macros, I just don't like allowing things through my Firewall lol
Not obsessive at all sounds like you just want the set up as good as possible. I do the same regarding art resolution and make my own art if needed like yourself and replace art that is not up to my standard lol
I have multiple back ups of all my downloaded music, though I still stream as well due to having smart speakers.
Cheers. Albumartexchange is a great place for finding really good quality album covers. I want to learn how to use PaintShop in order to make professional looking covers for the odd thing. I've got Vampire's Kiss by Colin Towns and I love the soundtrack. Crappy cover though.
Thanks, I'll have a look online for more information. As I was working on some stuff this afternoon, I kept thinking if there was something I could use a keypad like this for, but beyond some very basic commands, there wasn't much. Even so, it's something to keep in mind should there be a need for more shortcut opportunities sometime in the future.
Interesting! I have a tablet I don't use that much, so an app might be just as good.
Being obsessive about the way we take care of our collections is part of the fun though, isn't it, @DrClatterhand?
I have a decent sized MP3 collection too, but far from everything is 320KBPS, so I haven't dedicated much effort to multiple backups and adding album artwork. I hope to do something about that though.
What is the model name of that Sony lossless player of yours?
Cheers I will check out that site for sure, I use GIMP 2.8 (its free as its open source) for graphic design and use it for altering CD art amongst other things. There are many tutorials on YouTube to get beginners started.
I watched numerous videos on YouTube yesterday stumbled on this one re: Digital Art, some of it maybe helpful, or give you a general idea of how it works.
I am not impressed with the software that came with my Macro Pad so likely to try the HID Macro software in the above video.
Edited: Well I downloaded HID Macro software and got a security warning also it appears the software is no longer supported. Though I have found a site listing many alternatives, I will update later which I think is best.
There are some good people on here, over the years I have been here I have learnt a lot from other members.
Thanks! I have an iPod I use whenever I don't use my iPhone/Macbook etc. for music listening, but at some point it could be an idea to get a lossless music player in order to get a better listening experience – especially when traveling.
Hope you are keeping well in these times too!
Thanks for the link! This was what I expected these decks could do for digital art. I can definitely see the upside of having one; the size of the decks and that you can have one placed right next to you as in the video above is probably just as big an upside IMO, as the functionality itself. With my current setup, having an additional deck might be one gadget too many. My Wacom tablet is getting a bit old and slow though, so if I decide I need a new one – and need some additional shortcut functionalities on top of that – then a deck might be the way to go.
I have managed to set up 27 macro keys so far with the software I got with it, though for some reason I can't get the second layer to work and frustratingly the Tutorial Video won't play on my PC despite trying numerous multi file format players, so I am stumbling my way through figuring out how it works lol
When I have had time to look at better software I will set up the pad for art programs myself, I use a few key commands on my larger wireless keyboard though will be far more efficient using the macro pad.
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Echo have just released there next gen smart speaker range, I am sure the tech has improved though not sure about the aesthetics...
At least with all these issues, you're really getting to know the deck and software(s)! This is usually the case whenever I try a new software or gadget and I don't get it to work properly; all the trial and error usually makes it easier to use when it's finally up and running.
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The third gen ones looked so much better than this! Maybe they wanted to differentiate themselves from the designs of say, Sonos?
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Amazon are definately targeting family's, with more buying tech because of pandemic makes sense from a marketing point of view.
This new Echo Show tracks movement...
:-O
It would be interesting to read Amazon's thought behind the change in the shape of the Echo speakers.
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Oooh, that's impressive! For a kitchen setup, auto-framing is certainly a nice touch. It's so easy to get smudges on the screen if you use an iPad or similar in the kitchen…
I have used and researched a lot of Assistive Technology over the years with regards to enablement, the screen tracking will be great for the elderly for example.
From a personal point of view the new speakers appear to occupy more space and I prefer the narrower 3rd gen Echo dot/plus etc, and literally all my tech is black lol
I have 3 echo shows with screen/camera's though rarely use them for video calls. they are handy as view screens for my security camera's. Sometimes I may watch a Bond film on one of them in my kitchen whilst cooking.
Finally got the other layer to work for my Macro Pad, one layer needed a key assigned which acts like a shift key. The :LED lights are great, when I toggle from one layer to another I can assign for example all Blue LED lights for Media control layer.
I think I will stick with the original software I am getting the hang of it, I just need to learn String Parsing lol
I have been looking at GIMP hotkeys to set up on it which I will start doing tomorrow, it will be handy for toggling through layers, quick change of colour etc for starters when working on a project.
Yes, I imagine for those that really can benefit from this technology, the Echo Show can be a great buy.
I prefer a design that takes up as little space as possible too, and I prefer speakers that don't stand out that much, in shape colour or design. My Marshall bluetooth speaker is the only exception, though I bought a white one which blends better with the colour of the living room wall.
Do you find that you use all three Echo Shows just as much?
I imagine much like many shortcuts, a shift key like functionality is needed (or cmd for those of us that use Mac/Macbook). It keeps it very similar to an ordinary keyboard though!
The backlighting is the only real negative I found with these decks. I prefer a very neutral backlighting – especially if sitting in front of a computer/Macbook in a dimly lit room – which I often do in the evenings. Can you turn the LED lights off?
No doubt! I use quite a few shortcuts when working in Photoshop etc., but I'm sometimes a bit lazy about learning new ones.
Thankfully the following layers you can assign a single key to toggle back and forth.
You can increase or dim the LED's or turn them off completely, or just select different preferences for each. i am a Star Trek fan so my primary layer is flashing like the original serious control panels lol Lights can be static or in pulse or wave form and other options also.
That makes it easier!
Nice. Having customisable preferences for each light looks like a great feature. Don't think I could handle pulse or wave lighting though!
You can change the rate of speed of LED, I have it on slow setting so the colour change is subtle and when looking away you don't notice it so its not a distraction.
How rapid are the light changes? I got a TV with backlighting where the light changes depending on the colours on the images on screen. It's fine when looking straight at it (which I normally do), but if you find yourself looking at an angle and the images change rapidly on the TV screen, it can be a bit distracting.
The light is very subtle when it changes on wave settings on the Macro Pad which I have for the first layer, second layer static Blue, third static green, fourth static red.
I have LED lights on the back of my TV and two on the back of my monitors though I tend to keep them all one colour, usually blue, my main light which is voice activated is blue also when I watch a movie.
Anything else but subtle light changes would be an instant turnoff for me, but subtle enough changes can be nice.
Unlike yours, I don't think my TV has an option for a single colour backlighting – at least I haven't found a setting for it. But as I mentioned above, it's really just an issue if looking at an angle anyway.
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Doing a bit of online browsing tonight, I had a look at the speakers you can get at Ikea. If I was in the market for a bluetooth speaker right now, I'd probably get the Symfonisk bookshelf speaker they've made in collaboration with Sonos. It looks really nice and minimalistic: