[{"totalItems":"32,400","totalPages":10800,"currentPage":0,"items":[{"id":"phhg4e\/node\/235427","site":"https:\/\/www.popsci.com\/","hash":"phhg4e","entity_id":235427,"entity_type":"node","bundle":"basic_content","bundle_name":"Basic content","ss_language":"und","path":"node\/235427","url":"https:\/\/www.popsci.com\/control-computer-notifications","path_alias":"control-computer-notifications","label":"Take control of your computer's annoying pop-up notifications","content":" Save your productivity. And your sanity. Take charge of your notifications. David Nield Notifications pop up on your computer screen to tell you about important security updates, messages from friends, or even tweets. But if you enable alerts from all of your applications, the barrage of new information can overwhelm and distract you at the worst possible times. That's why operating systems like Windows and macOS come with built-in controls for taming the number of messages that intrude on your screen. Here's how to configure which apps can display alerts, set times when interruptions are forbidden, and clean up that list of notifications. On Windows computers Microsoft's Windows notifications appear in a panel on the right side of the screen called the Action Center. To pull up all your notifications in one place, click the Action Center icon, a small dialog-box symbol in the lower right-hand corner. As alerts about completed virus scans or new emails come in, they show up in pop-up boxes in the lower right-hand corner. You can dismiss them individually by clicking the Dismiss X button in the top-right corner. Or empty the list all at once by clicking Clear all notifications. Beyond dismissing read notifications, you can take more control over which alerts appear and when. Open the Start menu, click the Settings button (the cog icon), and choose System followed by Notifications & actions. A batch of toggle switches will appear. These let you decide whether notifications should appear on the lock screen and, more important, enable or disable certain alerts. For example, you might choose not to receive Windows hints and tips or updates on new features. Further down the screen, you'll see a full list of apps and system utilities, like volume adjustments. Turn off the toggle switches next to each one to prevent it from sending notifications. As a last resort, you can block all notifications by turning off the Get notifications from apps and other senders switch. However, rather than disabling them completely, we recommend you turn off only distracting alerts or those that come from unimportant apps. You can also dial down the level of distraction for some apps without switching notifications off altogether. To exert this more granular control, click the name of the app rather than its toggle switch. On the next screen, you can decide whether they should include a sound and how many of them can appear in the Action Center at one time. You can also determine how visible the alerts will be. For example, if you switch off Show notification banners but leave on Notifications, you won't see the app's alerts as pop-ups, but they will still appear in the dedicated Action Center panel. In addition to individual app settings, you can set up certain windows of time when no notifications are allowed to disturb you. Go back to Settings, open the System page, and select Focus assist. This setting has three modes: with Off, all notifications run; with Priority only, only notifications from priority apps come through; and with Alarms only nothing except for pre-set alarms will appear or make a sound. Choose a mode and then, if you've opted for Priority only mode, click Customize your priority list to configure which apps are most important. Further down the screen, you'll see settings for automatically turning on one of the Focus assist modes at certain times. You can also order it to kick in when you're duplicating your display or playing a game. On macOS computers Apple's macOS features a similar suite of notification options, although everything works slightly differently and (of course) has a different name. For instance, alerts appear in the Notification Center, rather than the Action Center. To make it visible, click the Notification Center icon (a bulleted list symbol) in the top right-hand corner of your display. When you open it, you can switch between Notifications, where you view your alerts, and Today, a list of widgets and other information (such as upcoming calendar events). When a new notification comes in, a pop-up dialog appears briefly in the top right corner of the screen. These boxes often let you take action, so you can use them to accept an incoming call or install a pending software update. Alternatively, dismiss the notification by clicking the X icon to its right. Click the X icon at the very top of the panel to dismiss all the notifications at once. To adjust your notification settings, click the Settings icon (the cog symbol) at the bottom of the Notification Center panel or open the Apple menu and select System Preferences followed by Notifications. Here, you'll see a list of all the applications that want to show notifications. Click any of them to change the notification settings for that particular app. You can either turn off notifications or adjust the way they appear: as banners that disappear automatically or alerts that stay on screen until you dismiss them. Set whether those messages appear in the Notification Center by ticking or unticking the Show in Notification Center box. This gives you some flexibility\u2014you could, for example, hide a program's pop-up notifications but have those alerts stay in the Notification Center, waiting for you to check on them. In addition, you can determine whether notifications should appear on the lock screen, sounds should play, and badge icons (tiny alerts that show up over the application icons in the launcher) should appear. These settings let you limit the number of notifications you see on an app-by-app basis. To switch off alerts for all apps at once, select Do Not Disturb. When this mode is active, no pop-ups or notification sounds will bother you. You can turn it on and off manually with the toggle switch at the top of the Notification Center. Or set this mode to begin and end automatically at certain times of day, perhaps when you know you'll be asleep or working. In addition, you can disable notifications when the Mac display is off or you're mirroring the screen to a television or projector. ","teaser":" Save your productivity. And your sanity. Take charge of your notifications. David Nield Notifications pop up on your computer screen to tell you about important security updates, messages from friends, or even tweets. But if you enable alerts from all of your applications, the barrage of new","ss_name":"davidnield","tos_name":"davidnield","ss_name_formatted":"davidnield","tos_name_formatted":"davidnield","is_uid":1692,"bs_status":true,"bs_sticky":false,"bs_promote":true,"is_tnid":0,"bs_translate":false,"ds_created":"2018-03-17T13:30:00Z","ds_changed":"2018-03-17T13:30:01Z","ds_last_comment_or_change":"2018-03-17T13:30:01Z","bs_field_sponsored":false,"bs_field_custom_page":false,"bs_field_display_social":true,"bs_field_feed_builder_exclusion":false,"bs_field_display_author_bio":true,"bs_field_display_bottom_recirc":true,"bs_use_sir_trevor_body":true,"bs_field_flag_gallery":false,"bs_field_flag_video":false,"bs_field_display_off_ramp":true,"bs_in_nps":false,"bs_use_sir_trevor_custom_page":true,"bs_field_x90_hide":false,"bs_field_last_updated":false,"bs_field_exclude_from_cl":false,"ts_bonnier_summary":"
The constant barrage of pop-up notifications on your computer can wreak havoc on your concentration. Here's how to control\u2014or entirely shut off\u2014these alerts.<\/div>","ts_bonnier_summary_long":"
The constant barrage of pop-up notifications on your computer can wreak havoc on your concentration. Here's how to control\u2014or entirely shut off\u2014these alerts.<\/div>","ts_bonnier_eyebrow":"
DIY<\/a><\/div>","timestamp":"2018-03-17T13:30:02.229Z","bm_field_display_off_ramp":[true],"sm_field_image":["https:\/\/www.popsci.com\/sites\/popsci.com\/files\/styles\/325_4x3\/public\/images\/2018\/03\/00-mac-note.jpg?itok=uJqAAC8r&fc=50,50"],"bm_use_sir_trevor_custom_page":[true],"bm_field_sponsored":[false],"bm_field_flag_gallery":[false],"bm_field_custom_page":[false],"bm_field_flag_video":[false],"bm_field_display_bottom_recirc":[true],"bm_use_sir_trevor_body":[true],"bm_field_x90_hide":[false],"tid":[224389,212167,223577,64,212887,224038],"sm_field_layout_standard":["right-sidebar"],"sm_field_primary_channel":["diy"],"tm_vid_2_names":["David Nield"],"tm_vid_1_names":["tech hacks windows macOS DIY computer"],"spell":["Take control of your computer's annoying pop-up notifications"," Save your productivity. And your sanity. Take charge of your notifications. David Nield Notifications pop up on your computer screen to tell you about important security updates, messages from friends, or even tweets. But if you enable alerts from all of your applications, the barrage of new information can overwhelm and distract you at the worst possible times. That's why operating systems like Windows and macOS come with built-in controls for taming the number of messages that intrude on your screen. Here's how to configure which apps can display alerts, set times when interruptions are forbidden, and clean up that list of notifications. On Windows computers Microsoft's Windows notifications appear in a panel on the right side of the screen called the Action Center. To pull up all your notifications in one place, click the Action Center icon, a small dialog-box symbol in the lower right-hand corner. As alerts about completed virus scans or new emails come in, they show up in pop-up boxes in the lower right-hand corner. You can dismiss them individually by clicking the Dismiss X button in the top-right corner. Or empty the list all at once by clicking Clear all notifications. Beyond dismissing read notifications, you can take more control over which alerts appear and when. Open the Start menu, click the Settings button (the cog icon), and choose System followed by Notifications & actions. A batch of toggle switches will appear. These let you decide whether notifications should appear on the lock screen and, more important, enable or disable certain alerts. For example, you might choose not to receive Windows hints and tips or updates on new features. Further down the screen, you'll see a full list of apps and system utilities, like volume adjustments. Turn off the toggle switches next to each one to prevent it from sending notifications. As a last resort, you can block all notifications by turning off the Get notifications from apps and other senders switch. However, rather than disabling them completely, we recommend you turn off only distracting alerts or those that come from unimportant apps. You can also dial down the level of distraction for some apps without switching notifications off altogether. To exert this more granular control, click the name of the app rather than its toggle switch. On the next screen, you can decide whether they should include a sound and how many of them can appear in the Action Center at one time. You can also determine how visible the alerts will be. For example, if you switch off Show notification banners but leave on Notifications, you won't see the app's alerts as pop-ups, but they will still appear in the dedicated Action Center panel. In addition to individual app settings, you can set up certain windows of time when no notifications are allowed to disturb you. Go back to Settings, open the System page, and select Focus assist. This setting has three modes: with Off, all notifications run; with Priority only, only notifications from priority apps come through; and with Alarms only nothing except for pre-set alarms will appear or make a sound. Choose a mode and then, if you've opted for Priority only mode, click Customize your priority list to configure which apps are most important. Further down the screen, you'll see settings for automatically turning on one of the Focus assist modes at certain times. You can also order it to kick in when you're duplicating your display or playing a game. On macOS computers Apple's macOS features a similar suite of notification options, although everything works slightly differently and (of course) has a different name. For instance, alerts appear in the Notification Center, rather than the Action Center. To make it visible, click the Notification Center icon (a bulleted list symbol) in the top right-hand corner of your display. When you open it, you can switch between Notifications, where you view your alerts, and Today, a list of widgets and other information (such as upcoming calendar events). When a new notification comes in, a pop-up dialog appears briefly in the top right corner of the screen. These boxes often let you take action, so you can use them to accept an incoming call or install a pending software update. Alternatively, dismiss the notification by clicking the X icon to its right. Click the X icon at the very top of the panel to dismiss all the notifications at once. To adjust your notification settings, click the Settings icon (the cog symbol) at the bottom of the Notification Center panel or open the Apple menu and select System Preferences followed by Notifications. Here, you'll see a list of all the applications that want to show notifications. Click any of them to change the notification settings for that particular app. You can either turn off notifications or adjust the way they appear: as banners that disappear automatically or alerts that stay on screen until you dismiss them. Set whether those messages appear in the Notification Center by ticking or unticking the Show in Notification Center box. This gives you some flexibility\u2014you could, for example, hide a program's pop-up notifications but have those alerts stay in the Notification Center, waiting for you to check on them. In addition, you can determine whether notifications should appear on the lock screen, sounds should play, and badge icons (tiny alerts that show up over the application icons in the launcher) should appear. These settings let you limit the number of notifications you see on an app-by-app basis. To switch off alerts for all apps at once, select Do Not Disturb. When this mode is active, no pop-ups or notification sounds will bother you. You can turn it on and off manually with the toggle switch at the top of the Notification Center. Or set this mode to begin and end automatically at certain times of day, perhaps when you know you'll be asleep or working. In addition, you can disable notifications when the Mac display is off or you're mirroring the screen to a television or projector. ","tech hacks windows macOS DIY computer","David Nield","
The constant barrage of pop-up notifications on your computer can wreak havoc on your concentration. Here's how to control\u2014or entirely shut off\u2014these alerts.<\/div>","
The constant barrage of pop-up notifications on your computer can wreak havoc on your concentration. Here's how to control\u2014or entirely shut off\u2014these alerts.<\/div>","
DIY<\/a><\/div>"],"bm_field_feed_builder_exclusion":[false],"im_field_author":[224038],"bm_field_display_social":[true],"bm_field_exclude_from_cl":[false],"bm_field_last_updated":[false],"sm_field_sponsor_label":[""],"bm_in_nps":[false],"sm_field_subtitle":["Save your productivity. And your sanity.\n"],"bm_field_display_author_bio":[true],"im_field_tags":[224389,212167,223577,64,212887],"im_vid_2":[224038],"sm_vid_Authors":["David Nield"],"im_vid_1":[224389,212167,223577,64,212887],"sm_vid_Tags":["tech hacks","windows","macOS","DIY","computer"]},{"id":"phhg4e\/node\/235437","site":"https:\/\/www.popsci.com\/","hash":"phhg4e","entity_id":235437,"entity_type":"node","bundle":"basic_content","bundle_name":"Basic content","ss_language":"und","path":"node\/235437","url":"https:\/\/www.popsci.com\/volcano-thunder-recordings","path_alias":"volcano-thunder-recordings","label":"Listen to the first-ever recordings of volcanic thunder","content":" The sounds of science. A plume of ash and gas rises from Bogoslof volcano last year. Dave Schneider \/ Alaska Volcano Observatory & U.S. Geological Survey. It\u2019s an explosion that starts within the earth, a release of pressurized gases and bits of rock; either as sharp shards or molten fragments or both. A volcanic eruption is one of the most powerful demonstrations of the dynamism of the planet that we usually think of as solid and unyielding. It\u2019s also loud. Really, really loud. Underwater eruptions can sound like gunshots or bombs reverberating through the water. Looking for a single, ephemeral sound within all that noise of tons of lava and gas and ash and rock all getting slammed out of the Earth\u2019s crust is like listening for a whisper in a thunderstorm. Or like, you know, listening for thunder in the middle of a volcanic eruption. That\u2019s exactly what some researchers managed to record during eruptions of Alaska\u2019s Bogoslof volcano last year. They noticed that cracks and pops in the recordings lined up with the timing of volcanic lightning in the same area. Volcanic lightning occurs when eruptions that send a lot of ash into the atmosphere. During their speed run into the air, the ash particles rub against each other, creating an electric charge a lot like when you rub a balloon against your hair. As the particles spread out, that electric charge discharges into lightning\u2026.and apparently, thunder. Researchers had heard volcanic thunder before, so they knew it existed, but it hadn\u2019t been recorded before. These first recordings were just announced in a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters by Matt Haney, a seismologist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory and colleagues. You can listen to one of their sped-up recordings here: The deep rumble is the eruption itself, which stops around 10 seconds in, and the cracks are thunder. The researchers had set up the microphones to monitor volcanoes in the area, and seem to have caught the thunder on tape by happenstance. The Bogoslof volcano is not only remote, but is mostly underwater, and so volcanologists couldn't set up instruments directly on the volcano. Instead, they relied on instruments set up on nearby volcanoes, including microphone arrays, to monitor Bogoslof for eruptions and ash plumes. Being able to isolate thunder within a volcanic eruption could help researchers better understand the nature of an ash plume, which, in addition to just being an interesting insight into an eruption can also help inform air traffic controllers. Ash from volcanic eruptions can be hazardous to planes, so avoiding the plume is crucial. \u201cUnderstanding where lightning is occurring in the plume tells us about how much ash has been erupted, and that\u2019s something that\u2019s notoriously difficult to measure,\u201d geophysicsist Jeff Johnson, who was not connected to the study told the American Geophysical Union. \u201cSo if you\u2019re locating thunder over a long area, you could potentially say something about how extensive the plume is.\u201d There\u2019s still so much to learn about volcanic thunder, including how it relates to volcanic lighting, and what kinds of other characteristics it might have. Dense arrays of microphones closer to the eruption might help tease out some of those tantalizing details. Using acoustics to listen in on volcanoes is pretty common. Installing sensors directly onto a volcano is rare and expensive, but using more remote options like microphones or seismometers can help researchers keep track of volcanoes, sometimes in really interesting ways. Recordings of earthquake activity before the 2009 eruption of Redoubt (also in Alaska) showed that activity near the volcano created a high-pitched "scream' just before the eruption. The noise from an erupting underwater volcano can travel thousands of miles through the ocean. Other researchers are using hydrophones to record exactly when lava spills onto the seafloor. The sounds of volcanoes are incredible, and while some, like some of the noises at Redoubt are hard for us to hear on the surface, others, like that volcanic thunder would have been noticeable for people observing the eruption. So the next time you find yourself in a safe and secure location watching part of the earth explode in front of you, replete with lightning-laced plumes of ash, listen up. Maybe you'll get to hear not only the erupting earth, but also a rumble from the sky. ","teaser":" The sounds of science. A plume of ash and gas rises from Bogoslof volcano last year. Dave Schneider \/ Alaska Volcano Observatory & U.S. Geological Survey. It\u2019s an explosion that starts within the earth, a release of pressurized gases and bits of rock; either as sharp shards or molten fragments","ss_name":"Mary Beth Griggs","tos_name":"Mary Beth Griggs","ss_name_formatted":"Mary Beth Griggs","tos_name_formatted":"Mary Beth Griggs","is_uid":242,"bs_status":true,"bs_sticky":false,"bs_promote":true,"is_tnid":0,"bs_translate":false,"ds_created":"2018-03-16T22:00:00Z","ds_changed":"2018-03-16T22:17:34Z","ds_last_comment_or_change":"2018-03-16T22:17:34Z","bs_field_sponsored":false,"bs_field_custom_page":false,"bs_field_display_social":true,"bs_field_feed_builder_exclusion":false,"bs_field_display_author_bio":true,"bs_field_display_bottom_recirc":true,"bs_use_sir_trevor_body":true,"bs_field_flag_gallery":false,"bs_field_flag_video":false,"bs_field_display_off_ramp":true,"bs_in_nps":false,"bs_use_sir_trevor_custom_page":true,"bs_field_x90_hide":false,"bs_field_last_updated":false,"bs_field_exclude_from_cl":false,"ts_bonnier_summary":"
It\u2019s an explosion that starts within the earth, a release of pressurized gases and bits of rock, either sharp shards or molten fragments or both. A volcanic eruption is…<\/div>","ts_bonnier_summary_long":"
It\u2019s an explosion that starts within the earth, a release of pressurized gases and bits of rock, either sharp shards or molten fragments or both. A volcanic eruption is one of the most powerful demonstrations of the dynamism of the planet that we usually think of as solid and unyielding.<\/div>","ts_bonnier_eyebrow":"
Science<\/a><\/div>","timestamp":"2018-03-16T22:17:35.521Z","bm_field_display_off_ramp":[true],"sm_field_image":["https:\/\/www.popsci.com\/sites\/popsci.com\/files\/styles\/325_4x3\/public\/images\/2018\/03\/bogoslof-eruption-5-28-17.jpg?itok=995FO9m9&fc=50,50"],"bm_use_sir_trevor_custom_page":[true],"bm_field_sponsored":[false],"bm_field_flag_gallery":[false],"bm_field_custom_page":[false],"bm_field_flag_video":[false],"bm_field_display_bottom_recirc":[true],"bm_use_sir_trevor_body":[true],"bm_field_x90_hide":[false],"tid":[213221,224144,224541,206612,62,212470],"sm_field_layout_standard":["right-sidebar"],"sm_field_primary_channel":["science"],"tm_vid_2_names":["Mary Beth Griggs"],"tm_vid_1_names":["Volcano volcanic eruption thunder lightning Science"],"spell":["Listen to the first-ever recordings of volcanic thunder"," The sounds of science. A plume of ash and gas rises from Bogoslof volcano last year. Dave Schneider \/ Alaska Volcano Observatory & U.S. Geological Survey. It\u2019s an explosion that starts within the earth, a release of pressurized gases and bits of rock; either as sharp shards or molten fragments or both. A volcanic eruption is one of the most powerful demonstrations of the dynamism of the planet that we usually think of as solid and unyielding. It\u2019s also loud. Really, really loud. Underwater eruptions can sound like gunshots or bombs reverberating through the water. Looking for a single, ephemeral sound within all that noise of tons of lava and gas and ash and rock all getting slammed out of the Earth\u2019s crust is like listening for a whisper in a thunderstorm. Or like, you know, listening for thunder in the middle of a volcanic eruption. That\u2019s exactly what some researchers managed to record during eruptions of Alaska\u2019s Bogoslof volcano last year. They noticed that cracks and pops in the recordings lined up with the timing of volcanic lightning in the same area. Volcanic lightning occurs when eruptions that send a lot of ash into the atmosphere. During their speed run into the air, the ash particles rub against each other, creating an electric charge a lot like when you rub a balloon against your hair. As the particles spread out, that electric charge discharges into lightning\u2026.and apparently, thunder. Researchers had heard volcanic thunder before, so they knew it existed, but it hadn\u2019t been recorded before. These first recordings were just announced in a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters by Matt Haney, a seismologist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory and colleagues. You can listen to one of their sped-up recordings here: The deep rumble is the eruption itself, which stops around 10 seconds in, and the cracks are thunder. The researchers had set up the microphones to monitor volcanoes in the area, and seem to have caught the thunder on tape by happenstance. The Bogoslof volcano is not only remote, but is mostly underwater, and so volcanologists couldn't set up instruments directly on the volcano. Instead, they relied on instruments set up on nearby volcanoes, including microphone arrays, to monitor Bogoslof for eruptions and ash plumes. Being able to isolate thunder within a volcanic eruption could help researchers better understand the nature of an ash plume, which, in addition to just being an interesting insight into an eruption can also help inform air traffic controllers. Ash from volcanic eruptions can be hazardous to planes, so avoiding the plume is crucial. \u201cUnderstanding where lightning is occurring in the plume tells us about how much ash has been erupted, and that\u2019s something that\u2019s notoriously difficult to measure,\u201d geophysicsist Jeff Johnson, who was not connected to the study told the American Geophysical Union. \u201cSo if you\u2019re locating thunder over a long area, you could potentially say something about how extensive the plume is.\u201d There\u2019s still so much to learn about volcanic thunder, including how it relates to volcanic lighting, and what kinds of other characteristics it might have. Dense arrays of microphones closer to the eruption might help tease out some of those tantalizing details. Using acoustics to listen in on volcanoes is pretty common. Installing sensors directly onto a volcano is rare and expensive, but using more remote options like microphones or seismometers can help researchers keep track of volcanoes, sometimes in really interesting ways. Recordings of earthquake activity before the 2009 eruption of Redoubt (also in Alaska) showed that activity near the volcano created a high-pitched "scream' just before the eruption. The noise from an erupting underwater volcano can travel thousands of miles through the ocean. Other researchers are using hydrophones to record exactly when lava spills onto the seafloor. The sounds of volcanoes are incredible, and while some, like some of the noises at Redoubt are hard for us to hear on the surface, others, like that volcanic thunder would have been noticeable for people observing the eruption. So the next time you find yourself in a safe and secure location watching part of the earth explode in front of you, replete with lightning-laced plumes of ash, listen up. Maybe you'll get to hear not only the erupting earth, but also a rumble from the sky. ","Volcano volcanic eruption thunder lightning Science","Mary Beth Griggs","
It\u2019s an explosion that starts within the earth, a release of pressurized gases and bits of rock, either sharp shards or molten fragments or both. A volcanic eruption is…<\/div>","
It\u2019s an explosion that starts within the earth, a release of pressurized gases and bits of rock, either sharp shards or molten fragments or both. A volcanic eruption is one of the most powerful demonstrations of the dynamism of the planet that we usually think of as solid and unyielding.<\/div>","
Science<\/a><\/div>"],"bm_field_feed_builder_exclusion":[false],"im_field_author":[212470],"bm_field_display_social":[true],"bm_field_exclude_from_cl":[false],"bm_field_last_updated":[false],"sm_field_sponsor_label":[""],"bm_in_nps":[false],"sm_field_subtitle":["The sounds of science.\n"],"bm_field_display_author_bio":[true],"im_field_tags":[213221,224144,224541,206612,62],"im_vid_2":[212470],"sm_vid_Authors":["Mary Beth Griggs"],"im_vid_1":[213221,224144,224541,206612,62],"sm_vid_Tags":["Volcano","volcanic eruption","thunder","lightning","Science"]},{"id":"phhg4e\/node\/235438","site":"https:\/\/www.popsci.com\/","hash":"phhg4e","entity_id":235438,"entity_type":"node","bundle":"basic_content","bundle_name":"Basic content","ss_language":"und","path":"node\/235438","url":"https:\/\/www.popsci.com\/smart-home-routines-apple-google-amazon","path_alias":"smart-home-routines-apple-google-amazon","label":"Stop shouting at your smart home so much and set up multi-step routines","content":" This week, Google pushed out its multi-step smart home actions you can start with a simple voice command. Philips Hue Outdoor Lights These folks are using the Apple Hue lights, which are compatible with just about every smart home platform you can throw at them. Philips Shouting commands at your smart home devices is supposed to be easier than flipping physical switches\u2014you don\u2019t even have to get up off your couch. But, the whole experience often still feels too segmented. If I want to turn off specific Philips Hue lights in my house without going through the trouble of assigning them to a group or zone, I have to shout repetitive commands like the loudspeaker at the airport. This week, however, Google pushed out the Routines functionality for the Home platform, which allows for multi-step processes that fire with the prompt of a single voice command. The release comes roughly five months after Amazon pushed out a similar Routines feature to its Alexa-based Echo smart hubs. Apple\u2019s Home has similar capabilities called Scenes baked into its Home app. Here\u2019s a look at how these multi-step routines work on the various platforms, as well as a few workarounds in case they still don\u2019t do what you want. Google Home Routines Right now, there are six different Routines you can enable in Google Home: Good Morning Leaving Home I\u2019m Home Commuting to Work Commuting to Home You can get a full rundown of what each one does in its default setup on the official Google help page. \u201cGood Morning\u201d for instance, takes your Android phone off silent mode, turns on smart devices like plugs, tells you about customizable information like weather, traffic, or your calendar, and then plays music, the radio, or even a podcast as the soundtrack for getting ready. The Routines also tie into the Google-owned Nest thermostat, so you can set it to warm up or cool down, depending on what part of your day it is. In order to set up Google Home Routines, you\u2019ll have to use the Google Home App. You\u2019ll also need the app to initiate the commuting-based Routines, which makes sense since you\u2019re going to be on the road anyway. One nice advantage for the Google Home routines comes from the fact that Google can recognize different voices and sync them to individual Google accounts. So, if you and your partner or roommate have different morning routines, the device will recognize who is speaking and take the correct action. Alexa Routines Saying "good morning" to a speaker and light bulb never made so much sense. Amazon Amazon Alexa Alexa has been triggering routines since last fall, so the service has had a little time to mature and grow. It has pluses and minuses when compared to Google\u2019s system. One of the big boons for Alexa is that the Routines are customizable. You can create custom smart home recipes that don\u2019t have to remain tied to predetermined commands or arrangements. Like with Google, Alexa\u2019s Routines are a mixture of information and smart home control. So, you can easily make a custom morning sequence that turns off the smart plug powering your white noise machine, turns up your thermostat, and gives you information. You can set the Routines to repeat on a daily basis, or on specific days, so if you want to use it as an alarm and wake up everyday for work, but not on the weekends, you can do that. While the customizability is a success in some areas, it falls a little short in others, mostly due to compatibility issues. You can\u2019t, for instance, have Alexa start playing music after your briefing is over. You also can\u2019t integrate things like audiobooks into your Routines, so your \u201cAlexa, read me a story\u201d command won\u2019t create the cozy listening atmosphere you want just yet, at least without a few voice commands. You also can\u2019t trigger skills developed by third parties as part of a Routine for the time being. Apple Scenes Apple's Home app is the command center for its Scenes. Apple Apple Home Scenes Siri and company over in Cupertino were grouping smart home commands together as part of the HomeKit platform before Google or Amazon. In order to enable this function, you have to create a scene in the Home iOS app by dragging and dropping icons for compatible devices into groups. Assuming you have all your devices setup properly and connected to Wi-Fi, it\u2019s a very simple implementation. You can trigger scenes with a tap in the Home app, or by asking Siri to set things in motion for you. Siri still can\u2019t tell the difference between users\u2019 voices, however, so you have to set them up separately for each. The Home platform does a solid job allowing you to arrange your devices into separate rooms and zones, which you can use to specify where commands take effect. So, if you made an \u201cI\u2019m home\u201d scene, you could turn on the lights by the door to see what you\u2019re doing. In terms of hardware, Apple is in a different situation than Google or Amazon, both of which primarily rely on dedicated home hubs and speakers, like the Google Home speakers or the ever-expanding line of Amazon Echo devices. Apple only offers the $350 HomePod as a dedicated speaker, but the company also deputizes other devices like the Apple TV to act as hubs for smart home control. IFTTT The If This Then That app allows you to make actions out of devices and services that may not be otherwise compatible. IFTTT What if none of these do what I want? Synergy between devices will improve as we go forward, but if you want an action now and it\u2019s not specifically supported, check with a service called If This Then Than, or IFTTT (Android, iOS). It\u2019s an external platform that creates recipes from individual actions. So, if you want to have your lamp send a tweet to your followers every time your turn on the lights, you could do it if you wanted to. This is a good solution if you want to integrate Alexa skills into more complex actions, or you want to rope in third-party services like social media sites. Staying up to date While your options are still somewhat limited at the moment, especially compared to the fully-automated, robotic smart homes of your dreams, the companies are constantly adding new functionality in order to try and rope users into their platforms. Keep your respective home apps updated and check the support pages from time to time to check for new stuff. ","teaser":" This week, Google pushed out its multi-step smart home actions you can start with a simple voice command. Philips Hue Outdoor Lights These folks are using the Apple Hue lights, which are compatible with just about every smart home platform you can throw at them. Philips Shouting commands at your","ss_name":"stan.horaczek","tos_name":"stan.horaczek","ss_name_formatted":"stan.horaczek","tos_name_formatted":"stan.horaczek","is_uid":1732,"bs_status":true,"bs_sticky":false,"bs_promote":true,"is_tnid":0,"bs_translate":false,"ds_created":"2018-03-16T21:00:08Z","ds_changed":"2018-03-16T21:14:55Z","ds_last_comment_or_change":"2018-03-16T21:14:55Z","bs_field_sponsored":false,"bs_field_custom_page":false,"bs_field_display_social":true,"bs_field_feed_builder_exclusion":false,"bs_field_display_author_bio":true,"bs_field_display_bottom_recirc":true,"bs_use_sir_trevor_body":true,"bs_field_flag_gallery":false,"bs_field_flag_video":false,"bs_field_display_off_ramp":true,"bs_in_nps":false,"bs_use_sir_trevor_custom_page":true,"bs_field_x90_hide":false,"bs_field_last_updated":false,"bs_field_exclude_from_cl":false,"ts_bonnier_summary":"
Whether your smart home is based on the Google, Apple, or Amazon platform, you can cut down on the number of commands you have to shout.<\/div>","ts_bonnier_summary_long":"
Whether your smart home is based on the Google, Apple, or Amazon platform, you can cut down on the number of commands you have to shout.<\/div>","ts_bonnier_eyebrow":"
Technology<\/a><\/div>","timestamp":"2018-03-16T21:14:55.901Z","bm_field_display_off_ramp":[true],"sm_field_image":["https:\/\/www.popsci.com\/sites\/popsci.com\/files\/styles\/325_4x3\/public\/images\/2018\/03\/alexa.jpg?itok=Fks6oNYI&fc=50,50"],"bm_use_sir_trevor_custom_page":[true],"bm_field_sponsored":[false],"bm_field_flag_gallery":[false],"bm_field_custom_page":[false],"bm_field_flag_video":[false],"bm_field_display_bottom_recirc":[true],"bm_use_sir_trevor_body":[true],"bm_field_x90_hide":[false],"tid":[213133,205551,204974,212886,200968,210040,216973,221927,201432,224394,201159,205953,63,224126],"sm_field_layout_standard":["right-sidebar"],"sm_field_primary_channel":["technology"],"tm_vid_2_names":["Stan Horaczek"],"tm_vid_1_names":["smart home how-to Google Apple amazon siri alexa Google Home automation AI apps internet of things Technology"],"spell":["Stop shouting at your smart home so much and set up multi-step routines"," This week, Google pushed out its multi-step smart home actions you can start with a simple voice command. Philips Hue Outdoor Lights These folks are using the Apple Hue lights, which are compatible with just about every smart home platform you can throw at them. Philips Shouting commands at your smart home devices is supposed to be easier than flipping physical switches\u2014you don\u2019t even have to get up off your couch. But, the whole experience often still feels too segmented. If I want to turn off specific Philips Hue lights in my house without going through the trouble of assigning them to a group or zone, I have to shout repetitive commands like the loudspeaker at the airport. This week, however, Google pushed out the Routines functionality for the Home platform, which allows for multi-step processes that fire with the prompt of a single voice command. The release comes roughly five months after Amazon pushed out a similar Routines feature to its Alexa-based Echo smart hubs. Apple\u2019s Home has similar capabilities called Scenes baked into its Home app. Here\u2019s a look at how these multi-step routines work on the various platforms, as well as a few workarounds in case they still don\u2019t do what you want. Google Home Routines Right now, there are six different Routines you can enable in Google Home: Good Morning Leaving Home I\u2019m Home Commuting to Work Commuting to Home You can get a full rundown of what each one does in its default setup on the official Google help page. \u201cGood Morning\u201d for instance, takes your Android phone off silent mode, turns on smart devices like plugs, tells you about customizable information like weather, traffic, or your calendar, and then plays music, the radio, or even a podcast as the soundtrack for getting ready. The Routines also tie into the Google-owned Nest thermostat, so you can set it to warm up or cool down, depending on what part of your day it is. In order to set up Google Home Routines, you\u2019ll have to use the Google Home App. You\u2019ll also need the app to initiate the commuting-based Routines, which makes sense since you\u2019re going to be on the road anyway. One nice advantage for the Google Home routines comes from the fact that Google can recognize different voices and sync them to individual Google accounts. So, if you and your partner or roommate have different morning routines, the device will recognize who is speaking and take the correct action. Alexa Routines Saying "good morning" to a speaker and light bulb never made so much sense. Amazon Amazon Alexa Alexa has been triggering routines since last fall, so the service has had a little time to mature and grow. It has pluses and minuses when compared to Google\u2019s system. One of the big boons for Alexa is that the Routines are customizable. You can create custom smart home recipes that don\u2019t have to remain tied to predetermined commands or arrangements. Like with Google, Alexa\u2019s Routines are a mixture of information and smart home control. So, you can easily make a custom morning sequence that turns off the smart plug powering your white noise machine, turns up your thermostat, and gives you information. You can set the Routines to repeat on a daily basis, or on specific days, so if you want to use it as an alarm and wake up everyday for work, but not on the weekends, you can do that. While the customizability is a success in some areas, it falls a little short in others, mostly due to compatibility issues. You can\u2019t, for instance, have Alexa start playing music after your briefing is over. You also can\u2019t integrate things like audiobooks into your Routines, so your \u201cAlexa, read me a story\u201d command won\u2019t create the cozy listening atmosphere you want just yet, at least without a few voice commands. You also can\u2019t trigger skills developed by third parties as part of a Routine for the time being. Apple Scenes Apple's Home app is the command center for its Scenes. Apple Apple Home Scenes Siri and company over in Cupertino were grouping smart home commands together as part of the HomeKit platform before Google or Amazon. In order to enable this function, you have to create a scene in the Home iOS app by dragging and dropping icons for compatible devices into groups. Assuming you have all your devices setup properly and connected to Wi-Fi, it\u2019s a very simple implementation. You can trigger scenes with a tap in the Home app, or by asking Siri to set things in motion for you. Siri still can\u2019t tell the difference between users\u2019 voices, however, so you have to set them up separately for each. The Home platform does a solid job allowing you to arrange your devices into separate rooms and zones, which you can use to specify where commands take effect. So, if you made an \u201cI\u2019m home\u201d scene, you could turn on the lights by the door to see what you\u2019re doing. In terms of hardware, Apple is in a different situation than Google or Amazon, both of which primarily rely on dedicated home hubs and speakers, like the Google Home speakers or the ever-expanding line of Amazon Echo devices. Apple only offers the $350 HomePod as a dedicated speaker, but the company also deputizes other devices like the Apple TV to act as hubs for smart home control. IFTTT The If This Then That app allows you to make actions out of devices and services that may not be otherwise compatible. IFTTT What if none of these do what I want? Synergy between devices will improve as we go forward, but if you want an action now and it\u2019s not specifically supported, check with a service called If This Then Than, or IFTTT (Android, iOS). It\u2019s an external platform that creates recipes from individual actions. So, if you want to have your lamp send a tweet to your followers every time your turn on the lights, you could do it if you wanted to. This is a good solution if you want to integrate Alexa skills into more complex actions, or you want to rope in third-party services like social media sites. Staying up to date While your options are still somewhat limited at the moment, especially compared to the fully-automated, robotic smart homes of your dreams, the companies are constantly adding new functionality in order to try and rope users into their platforms. Keep your respective home apps updated and check the support pages from time to time to check for new stuff. ","smart home how-to Google Apple amazon siri alexa Google Home automation AI apps internet of things Technology","Stan Horaczek","
Whether your smart home is based on the Google, Apple, or Amazon platform, you can cut down on the number of commands you have to shout.<\/div>","
Whether your smart home is based on the Google, Apple, or Amazon platform, you can cut down on the number of commands you have to shout.<\/div>","
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