The Costco Connection

How they work

After setup (see below), whether you’re right beside the speaker or across the room, you say the wake word, followed by what you want to know or what you want the speaker to do for you. Your voice request is quickly uploaded to the company’s servers (their computers), and the appropriate response is then downloaded for your speaker to say. It all happens ridiculously fast. And you can press a button to mute the microphone should you not always want it on.

What they can do

Many of these devices let you use your voice to make bill payments, order a ride-sharing service, have products delivered to your door and find out if a flight is on time (before you leave for the airport).

Most of them can also differentiate between multiple voices in your home, so you can ask how long it’ll take to get to the office—with traffic in mind—and you’ll get a different response than your partner who asks the same question. If you ask it to play your favorite music throughout the home, your smart speaker will know whose playlist to load up.

Speak easy
Voice digital assistants
help out at home

by MARC SALTZMAN

an you name the most natural and intuitive way to interact with technology? It’s speech.

Voice is powering the new digital assistants that are transforming the way we do many things in the home.

Here’s a look at how they work and what you can do with them in your home.

What they are

When connected to your home’s Wi-Fi, voice-activated personal assistants—such as Google Home and the Apple HomePod—are basically smart speakers with an array of sensitive microphones; place one somewhere you hang out a lot in your home, such as the kitchen. After saying the wake words— “OK, Google” for Google Home, or “Hey, Siri” for the HomePod—you simply ask a question or give a command, and you’ll hear a humanlike voice respond.

Ask to hear the news, a specific song, a podcast, trivia or a joke. Or set a timer for the oven, get homework help or use your voice to control your smart devices in your home, such as lighting, a video doorbell or a thermostat. Ask how many calories there are in a slice of cheesecake, or how to say “hello” in a specific language.

Setting it up

COSTCO CONNECTION

Costco o;ers Google Home and the Apple HomePod in warehouses and online at Costco.com.

C
Smart assistants are being
integrated into many other
Wi-Fi products in the home.

That includes TVs, thermostats and appliances.

Setting up these
digital assistants is
super easy. Simply
plug yours into the
wall and download
the companion app
on your smartphone
or tablet. Launch the
app and you’ll be
walked through the
setup process, which is
essentially joining the
device to your home’s
Wi-Fi network and then
logging in with any
relevant accounts you
have (required only
once). That’s about it.