Get up and running with the fundamentals of Amazon Alexa and build exciting IoT projects Key Features Gain hands-on experience of working with Amazon Echo and Alexa Build exciting IoT projects using Amazon Echo Learn about voice-enabled smart devices Book DescriptionAmazon Echo is a smart speaker developed by Amazon, which connects to Amazon's Alexa Voice Service and is entirely controlled by voice commands. Amazon Echo is currently being used for a variety of purposes such as home automation, asking generic queries, and even ordering a cab or pizza. Alexa Skills Projects starts with a basic introduction to Amazon Alexa and Echo. You will then deep dive into Alexa Programming concepts such as Intents, Slots, Lambdas and maintaining your skill's state using DynamoDB. You will get a clear understanding of how some of the most popular Alexa Skills work, and gain experience of working with real-world Amazon Echo applications. In the concluding chapters, you will explore the future of voice-enabled applications and their coverage with respect to the Internet of Things. By the end of the book, you will have learned to design Alexa Skills for specific purposes and interact with Amazon Echo to execute these skills. What you will learn Understand how Amazon Echo is already being used in various domains Discover how an Alexa Skill is architected Get a clear understanding of how some of the most popular Alexa Skills work Design Alexa Skills for specific purposes and interact with Amazon Echo to execute them Gain experience of programming for Amazon Echo Explore future applications of Amazon Echo and other voice-activated devices Who this book is forAlexa Skills Projects is for individuals who want to have a deep understanding of the underlying technology that drives Amazon Echo and Alexa, and how it can be integrated with the Internet of Things to develop hands-on projects.

Audio Content Security: Attack Analysis on Audio Watermarking describes research using a common audio watermarking method for four different genres of music, also providing the results of many test attacks to determine the robustness of the watermarking in the face of those attacks. The results of this study can be used for further studies and to establish the need to have a particular way of audio watermarking for each particular group of songs, each with different characteristics. An additional aspect of this study tests and analyzes two parameters of audio host file and watermark on a specific evaluation method (PSNR) for audio watermarking.

Over the last century, developments in electronic music and art have enabled new possibilities for creating audio and audio-visual artworks. With this new potential has come the possibility for representing subjective internal conscious states, such as the experience of hallucinations, using digital technology. Combined with immersive technologies such as virtual reality goggles and high-quality loudspeakers, the potential for accurate simulations of conscious encounters such as Altered States of Consciousness (ASCs) is rapidly advancing. In Inner Sound, author Jonathan Weinel traverses the creative influence of ASCs, from Amazonian chicha festivals to the synaesthetic assaults of neon raves; and from an immersive outdoor electroacoustic performance on an Athenian hilltop to a mushroom trip on a tropical island in virtual reality. Beginning with a discussion of consciousness, the book explores how our subjective realities may change during states of dream, psychedelic experience, meditation, and trance. Taking a broad view across a wide range of genres, Inner Sound draws connections between shamanic art and music, and the modern technoshamanism of psychedelic rock, electronic dance music, and electroacoustic music. Going beyond the sonic into the visual, the book also examines the role of altered states in film, visual music, VJ performances, interactive video games, and virtual reality applications. Through the analysis of these examples, Weinel uncovers common mechanisms, and ultimately proposes a conceptual model for Altered States of Consciousness Simulations (ASCSs). This theoretical model describes how sound can be used to simulate various subjective states of consciousness from a first-person perspective, in an interactive context. Throughout the book, the ethical issues regarding altered states of consciousness in electronic music and audio-visual media are also examined, ultimately allowing the reader not only to consider the design of ASCSs, but also the implications of their use for digital society.

With this comprehensive and accessible introduction to the field, you will gain all the skills and knowledge needed to work with current and future audio, speech, and hearing processing technologies. Topics covered include mobile telephony, human-computer interfacing through speech, medical applications of speech and hearing technology, electronic music, audio compression and reproduction, big data audio systems and the analysis of sounds in the environment. All of this is supported by numerous practical illustrations, exercises, and hands-on MATLAB (R) examples on topics as diverse as psychoacoustics (including some auditory illusions), voice changers, speech compression, signal analysis and visualisation, stereo processing, low-frequency ultrasonic scanning, and machine learning techniques for big data. With its pragmatic and application driven focus, and concise explanations, this is an essential resource for anyone who wants to rapidly gain a practical understanding of speech and audio processing and technology.

About This Book Enable a full cost-effective unified communications server solution Go from a single server configuration to a multi-site deployment Implement the Call Center module and take advantage of all the VoIP and Unified Communications features available Who This Book Is ForThis book is aimed at those who want to learn how to set up an Elastix Unified Communications Server without losing ground on Unified Communications and Voice over IP.

"Logic Pro X - How it Works" from the GEM series (Graphically Enhanced Manuals) explains Apple's popular music production application "Logic Pro" with rich illustrations and diagrams that are not found in any other manual. This nnn pages letter size book presents this software application in great detail with that easy to understand, visual approach.- What are Graphically Enhanced Manuals (GEM)? They're a new type of manual with a visual approach that helps you UNDERSTAND a program, not just LEARN it. No need to read through 500 of pages of dry text explanations. Rich graphics and diagrams help you to get that "aha" effect and make it easy to comprehend difficult concepts. The Graphically Enhanced Manuals help you master a program much faster with a much deeper understanding of concepts, features and workflows in a very intuitive way that is easy to understand.