#the move to the switch has made for some of the most unattractive map and environment design ever esp coming off the tail of fates and shad | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

michellelewis7162 · 5 years ago

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Ultra Violet Lighting For Ponds - Are They Practical?

Generally, ponds possess progressed along for centuries without the need for ultraviolet lights, so the concern stays; why should the present day pool caretaker bother with all of them whatsoever? Properly, pools of that time period were actually certainly not subject to the very same kind of toxic wastes as they remain in today's setting. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ultralife+Reef+Products/@41.335163,-73.08495,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x53c5b41b9943ed49!8m2!3d41.3351628!4d-73.0849496?hl=en-US

In nature, fish ponds were either only short-term (went along merely for a few weeks throughout the wet time and afterwards eventually ran out) or were connected to moving physical bodies of water like aboveground or even underground spring seasons, streams, waterways as well as creeks Ansonia. Ultra-V Uv Sterilizer

Additionally, throughout that time period there were actually not that a lot of chemicals in the atmosphere as there reside in today's atmosphere. Uv lightings for ponds have actually switched into a present day need to assist maintain the wellness of the fish ponds in today's contemporary setting.

What Do They Carry out?

Although aquariums need synthetic lights to copy sunlight for the fish, you perform not call for any sort of sort of artificial illuminations for fish garden ponds. Nevertheless ultraviolet illuminations are actually mostly used to disinfect in addition to filter pond water. This kind of technology is actually likewise taken advantage of in various markets, by doctors to receive sterilized water as well as by campers as properly as militaries for sterilizing their alcohol consumption water. Uv lights for pools burn out the algae.

Alga are actually the bane of any sort of form of aquarium tank for pool. It is a sort of intrusive threat kind of like The Blob for water atmospheres. The umbra of green might look pretty to some, however it will wind up gobbling all the air as well as any nutrients had in the water, making any kind of other plant, fish or pest extremely lifeless. Algae additionally has an inclination to smell up after a time period, while also fish that are healthy and balanced within good garden pond water possess no perceptible smell whatsoever Ansonia.

What Doesn't It Perform?

Ultraviolet illuminations for ponds are going to not completely disinfect a comprehensive pond loaded with water. Nothing can easily live for any extended amount of time in totally sterile water. The water needs to always includes some style of helpful germs within it. Some advantageous sorts of microorganisms might be actually killed, however certainly not in enough quantity to injure your pond.

Ultraviolet light for pools are actually additionally not an adequate replacement for an ordinary filter. Its primary function is actually the devastation of algae, not filtering system all the dangerous microorganisms. Of program it can easily help make the fish pond water look really clear, however very clear water still may be actually harmful for your plants or even your fish Ansonia.

Selecting Properly

Uv lights for fish ponds work well when the dimension of the light is actually properly picked for the fish pond. While it may be actually alluring to purchase the littlest and also least expensive of the ultraviolet lightings for garden ponds offered, many of the moment it will not perform an ample work. Due to the fact that the majority of producers do not make the same stamina or even styles of UV lightings, it is actually best to examine what the carton states to find just how a lot of quarts a UV light it may handle securely Ansonia.

Utilizing A UV Aquarium Sterilizer To Kill Algae Safely

Using an Ultra Violet Sterilizer or even UV Aquarium Sterilizer is among the most safe methods to kill algae in a fish container. Commonly, fish lovers utilized to depend on various chemicals to decimate the algae coming from their aquariums but these chemicals have actually proven to become hazardous to the fish and also helpful micro-organisms in the water. Though lots of folks now are relocating in the direction of making use of UV Aquarium Sterilizers, regretfully there are actually still several who use these harmful medication in their containers CT

. Ultra Violet Light or even UV Light is really a spectrum that is actually way lower than the array which our eyes are actually competent of finding. However though we may find it, tiny microorganisms are actually significantly influenced by it, with the possibility of eliminating all of them through interrupting the delicate connects that ties the atoms in particles together. The impact is actually controllable due to the scale selection, where a series of between pair of hundred to two eighty will usually be actually dangerous. This range which is additionally called the UV-C Spectrum is what our company are actually trying for when meaning to get rid of algae in the aquarium tank.

The Ultra Violet Sterilizer suits your normal aquarium filters in lessening the green water result which is actually frequently condemned on algae in the water. This is an extremely significant function since if the algae is left untreated, it will definitely not only produce the fish tank look unattractive yet would certainly additionally be actually hazardous in the long run to the fish CT

. When you initially decide to suit your aquarium with a UV Aquarium Sterilizer, there are actually some factors that you will must consider prior to creating your purchase. They are actually the lamp type, lamp duration, the concept, the water high quality as well as the water circulation.

The 2 kinds of UV lamps available today are the reduced pressure and higher tension lamps. Low stress lamps target an additional specific wavelength and therefore is actually more helpful than a higher pressure light which deals with a vast range of wavelengths. High stress lamps additionally usually tend to make more warmth and also illumination.

In relations to span, the longer the light, the additional amount of water will definitely be revealed to the UV light. However you would certainly also need to take the dimension of the tank in to point to consider.

The concept of the UV Aquarium Sterilizer finds out how much the water requires to take a trip coming from the light visibility area to the water restriction enclosure CT

. The top quality of the water is actually determined due to the Percent Transmittance where a much higher Percent Transmittance would certainly make it possible for an extra efficient procedure using an Ultra Violet Sterilizer 06401.

The water flow rate is the assessed due to the amount of water that moves through the sterilizer.

UV Water Sterilization For Pure Drinking Water

Consuming filtered water is crucial in order that you may shield yourself and also your family members coming from various water-born health conditions. There are actually various water procedure alternatives available on the market. These feature UV water sterilizers, reverse osmosis device, distillers as well as filters crafted from carbon dioxide or ceramic. UV filters are made use of to kill germs or even other living microbes existing in water without adding chemicals 06401.

UV water sterilizers could be utilized for residential, business along with commercial objectives. These devices cleanse the water without making use of any sort of chemicals. Since no international chemicals are included in the alcohol consumption water, the water generated due to the UV water filters retains its own PH worth and also taste. Likewise, it is economical, quickly readily available and also gets along to your septic tank also.

There are some microbes that are actually resisting to chlorine as well as various other chemical brokers, but none are resisting to ultra violet radiations. UV water sterilizers work versus the germs inducing hepatitis, Giardia, as well as microbiological pollutants like E-coli, Cholera, Salmonella, and staph. Reliable technology is utilized if you want to do away with these impurities from water 06401.

Water Purification - Safe Drinking Water Now at Your Water Tap

Water purification is an essential procedure called for to become done before water could be considered secure for consuming alcohol purposes. Natural water from different resources includes different impurities which might be chemical or natural in mother nature.

o Physical contaminants are actually generally in coming from of put on hold fragments, and biological pollutants differ otherwise in attribute from germs, algae to viruses.

o The storage tank water is an establishment residence for contaminants in from of bird droppings, bugs as well as various other microorganisms.

o Another unusual however, extremely usual pollutant of water system is plant food and also manures that run-off in to waterways coming from sprinkling lands.

o Also, the supply of water reaching houses after therapy at nearby water procedure plants often possesses above-normal quantities of chlorine which is harmful for human usage.

Usage of such neglected water may trigger mild to serious health problems. The procedure of water filtration clears away or reduces the attention of these impurities as well as creates water secure for all reasons.

The satisfactory criteria for water to become considered secure fro alcohol consumption is actually determined by the corresponding authorities or even through international body systems 06401.

Water Filtration

Water filtering is one of the most usual methods to cleanse water system getting to house devices. Many commercial water filtration devices are offered out there. The most crucial component of such filtration systems is a water filter. The filtration systems in the markets in these times consist of greater than one water filter, thereby making it possible for multi-step purification. The water protection is one such three-step filtering as well as UV device, and also the various filters in it conduct various filtering system jobs:

o The 1st purification step is actually carried out through sand filters with a level of active carbon over them, the part of leading coating being actually extraction of odors as well as various other poisons. It also enhances the total flavor and quality of water.

o Finer fragments and also some large micro-organisms and various other parasites are filtered out using a polypropylene filter (1 micron measurements).

o Filter ink cartridges are actually likewise constructed into the end product.

The Water Guard purification unit additionally contains an ultraviolet light sterilizer, the direct exposure to which gets rid of various other germs of even smaller dimensions including the usual E. coli This action guarantees 100 percent killing of all bacteria. The purification units include filter change indicators which are necessary to identifying when the filters will require substitute. Valves are actually found to control inlet as well as electrical outlet of water 06401.

Water Filters For the Household

Tidy distilled water for drinking and also preparing food is a need to guarantee well-balanced, disease-free long life for us and also our households. The demand for a water cleansing center at property at the factor of make use of is directed due to the reality that our "safe and clean" water system is simply contaminated. En route to our houses, it is revealed to various resources of impurities and toxins. Water, being actually a really good synthetic cleaning agent, has a tendency to soak up practically every thing that it comes in exchange along its path, including fuels, air and also air-borne pollutants. A few of the major pollutants are particulates like corrosions, great sand, revocations and debris; unsafe bacteria like germs, parasites, and also infections; pesticides as well as pesticides; unpredictable all natural substances; anti-bacterials like bleach which is contributed to deal with bacteria in water; hefty steels like lead and also mercury; gases like hydrogen sulfide, marsh gas; and also unfavorable colour, stench, and also taste United States.

If the resource of water is actually a community or city water system device, it is actually supposed that the water is actually already softened (indicating that Calcium and also Magnesium sodiums have actually been gotten rid of) and for that reason there is no requirement to include a water softener in the water filter unit. It is actually likewise supposed that the corporate or city water has actually likewise been actually treated with bleach (Chlorination) as a way to eliminate microbes, and also consequently there is actually a need to remove the chemical bleach current in the water in some kind United States.

The very best wager for a clean distilled water is a Reverse Osmosis (RO) system. For the home, it could be a straightforward, fairly small-scale home style, situated at the point of use, and also took advantage of the pipes device. The heart of an RO body is actually the semi-permeable membrane layer that screens out the tiniest particles in the water, featuring infections, microbes, ions, chemical compounds, salts, and so on. It is likewise the absolute most costly component of the filter system. That is why there is a need to pre-filter the water along with cheaper filters before it hits the RO membrane. The pre-filters project is actually to eliminate the bulk of the contaminants in order that merely the hard-to-filter pollutants are actually left behind for the RO membrane. This set up are going to prolong the membrane lifestyle United States.

For household use, the RO body need certainly not be thus complex or sophisticated. Having said that, it needs to have the necessary basic aspects required to remove the unwanted contaminants.

The RO pre-filters need to consist of an adsorption form of filter. One of the most popular is actually a Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC) Filter to do away with the chlorine and also various other natural chemicals, colors, as well as odor.

The various other pre-filters need to additionally include particulate filters of lessening pore-size to filter out the particulates in phases. The particulates can be great sand, dusts, rusts and also various other put on hold solids. The initial particle filter can be 20 micron pore-size, followed through 10 microns and also 5 microns. This suffices to wash the water prior to it hits the RO membrane United States.

The detoxified water is counted on to be actually only approximately 30 to 40% of the input water et cetera are actually denied. The decline though filtered of particulates, bleach as well as all natural chemicals, includes a high level of brine as well as may be used for a few other non-critical purposes like cleaning up the driveway as well as watering the vegetations. The refuse when dried out produces ranges as a result of to the high level of minerals. It ought to certainly not be actually utilized consequently for reasons where ranges are actually unfavorable, like vehicle washing and as radiator coolant.

The RO body features a storage tank made of an unique quality of stainless steel, where the RO purified water is stored before use. As the detoxified water in the storage tank is withdrawn for make use of, it is next passed with a carbon dioxide filter for further sprucing up before it is actually subjected to an Ultra Violet sterilizer to get rid of air-borne kind of microorganisms.

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sweatygardencollectorblr · 6 years ago

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Damien McFerran 23/01/2019 - 9:47am

Amazing specs for half the price of an iPhone

£499.00

While the battle began to banish bezels and create the ultimate big-screen smartphone has been rolling on for what seems like forever, we've yet to see a clear winner; sure, Apple's notch would appear to have emerged triumphant in the early rounds – based on the sheer volume of copycat devices that have launched since iPhone X arrived in 2017 – but the past 12 months has seen an impressive array of different solutions to this problem; we've had sliding camera modules, tiny top-and-bottom bezels and – more recently – 'hole punch' screens. The latter design has been hyped by more than one company, but it is Honor (also known as Huawei's budget brand) which has made it to western stores first.

Boasting Huawei's powerful new Kirin 980 processor and a staggering 48-megapixel Sony-made rear camera, the View 20 means business – but it's that eye-catching display which will arguably sell the phone. But does this breakthrough warrant a second glance, or is it just another screen gimmick, like the notch before it? Let's find out.

Honor View 20 Review; Design & Display

When it's switched off, the Honor View 20 looks like pretty much any other smartphone you could think of. It's got rounded, pebble-like edges, it has two cameras on the rear (along with a fingerprint scanner) and features metal and glossy, smudge-prone glass in its construction. Outside of the rather cool laser-etched 'V' pattern (Honor calls it 'Aurora Nanotexture') which is somehow baked into the glass back panel, there's nothing especially noteworthy about how the Honor View 20 looks. That's not to say it's unattractive – it's actually a very smart looking device – but at face value, you'd be pushed to tell it apart from the legions of other smartphones doing the rounds right now. That is, until you power up the screen.

The View 20 really does look stunning from the front. That 6.4-inch screen is remarkable; even when you take into account the potentially divisive hole punch and the tiny chin at the bottom, it's amazing to look at a display which appears to totally fill the phone's face. Over time, you quickly learn to mentally remove the hole punch, and it's striking how little impact it actually has over the UI experience; put it this way, if you lived with the notch then you're going to have zero issues here. It's definitely an improvement.

It's a shame that Honor couldn't have used an OLED screen, though – despite the general quality of the 1080 x 2310 pixel IPS LCD panel, there were times when we longed for the deep blacks, impressive viewing angles and punchy colours of an OLED display. Having said that, the View 20's screen is nonetheless impressive, and when placed alongside the iPhone XR's Liquid Retina LCD screen, it looked utterly fantastic in comparison. On the downside, our pre-production review unit had a small cluster of stuck pixels which were only noticeable when the screen was black. We've been assured by Honor that this is a problem that won't be present on the final production model.

Elsewhere, there's a USB-C port on the bottom, along with a powerful speaker. The View 20 lacks stereo sound which is a shame, but you're unlikely to miss a call or notification when the volume is set to maximum – this phone is seriously loud. The power and volume buttons are found on the right-hand edge of the phone, while the 3.5mm headphone jack is located on the top edge, accompanied by an IR blaster so you can use your View 20 as a remote control for other devices.

Another cool feature is the placement of the notification LED, which is found inside the tiny earpiece at the very top of the screen. It gently pulsates when you have an unread message, but is totally invisible when inactive.

It's worth noting that the View 20 carries no water or dust resistance rating, which may or may not be a big deal, depending on how often you accidentally drop your phone into bodies of water. Still, given that many other phones boast such ratings, it's worth mentioning. Honor includes a rather fetching silicone case in the box which fits snugly and – were it any other handset maker – would no doubt cost £30 separately. It covers up that lovely 'V' design on the back, but it provides a decent degree of protection.

Honor View 20 Review: Software

The View 20 is running Android 9 right out of the box, which is good news if you're sick of flagship phones rocking older variants of Google's OS. It sits beneath the Magic 2.0 UI skin, which looks and feels a lot like Huawei's EMUI – it even references Huawei in some of the app logos and legal messages which pop up the first time you open certain exclusive apps. This isn't an issue as such because EMUI is a fine Android skin, but it does make you wonder why Honor had to create a totally different name for it.

As well as featuring the usual suite of essential Google apps – like YouTube, Gmail, Drive, Google Photos and Google Maps – the View 20 also ships with several bespoke applications, such as its own music, video and app store. As ever, these apps needlessly duplicate functionality and are, by and large, a complete waste of time. Not only do you have to log into Huawei's own user account service to use many of them, some pre-installed apps cannot be disabled or uninstalled. While we understand that handset makers want to push you towards their own app stores in order to generate revenue, you almost always get a second-rate experience when compared to Google's own built-in Android services. Unless you're a seasoned Honor or Huawei fan, you're unlikely to bother.

That said, there are some nice touches on offer here. App Twin – the ability to have two different instances of the same application on the same device – isn't new, but it's handy if you need to keep different social media accounts separate. HiTouch is also quite cool – you hold down two fingers on an image and it will tell you where you can buy that item online – and Digital Balance is basically the View 20's version of Apple's screen time reports, so you can manage how much time you spend gawping at your phone's display. Oh, and Party Mode – which is also available on other Huawei devices – is present and correct, so if you want to hold an impromptu shindig by simultaneously sharing the same song with other people via their handsets, you can (although we're still not entirely sure why you'd want to).

Honor View 20 Review: Performance

Despite being a mid-range phone, the View 20 has the same Kirin 980 processor seen in Huawei's Mate 20 Pro, a phone which costs considerably more. Given that Huawei is keen to stress the 980's power when compared to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845, it's obvious that we're dealing with cutting-edge silicon here; the first Kirin chipset to be manufactured using the 7nm process, the 980 is one of the most powerful chips on the market, and benchmarks prove that.

In Antutu Benchmark, the View 20 scores 277,827, which just beats the likes of the Google Pixel 3 (269,901) and Samsung Galaxy S9+ (266,871) but is behind the likes of the OnePlus 6T (295,942) and Xiaomi Mi 8 (291,329). In Geekbench 4, it ranks 3312 in the single-core test and 9745 in the multi-core test. Those ratings compare very favourably with many Android rivals which cost the same or more, which proves that the 980's power – although it goes without saying that the Snapdragon 855, due this year, will most likely smoke the competition.

Still, the 980 is inside the View 20, a phone which costs £500, and it delivers incredible performance when you consider it costs half the price of an iPhone XS. Navigating the UI is silky-smooth, and there's little in the way of delay when you move between open applications. 3D games – always a solid test of a phone's internals – run without issue; even intensive titles like Mortal Kombat X gave no cause for concern. However, the weaker GPU does mean that there's a slight performance drop when compared to the Snapdragon 845, although Huawei's GPU Turbo system – which enhances things but has to be patched into games by the developer – resolves this to a degree.

While in-screen fingerprint scanners are likely to be one of 2019's most talked-about features, the View 20 doesn't have one – which shouldn't be too surprising, given that it's a mid-range device. The rear-mounted scanner is fast and accurate though, even if it feels a little high and hard to reach at times. The View 20 also supports face unlock, although as far as we could tell, it's just using a 2D image of your face rather than a 3D map, like the iPhone X, XS and XR. That means it could potentially be fooled by a photo of your face so it's not as secure, but on the plus side, the phone was quick to recognise and unlock using this system – quicker than the iPhone XR, in fact. However, in low light situations it struggles and we had to rely on the fingerprint scanner instead.

Honor View 20 Review: Camera

The headline news with the View 20's camera is that it's brand-new Sony IMX586, which has a 48-megapixel sensor and an f1.8 aperture. There's a second sensor on the back, but it's not used for x2 optical zoom – instead, it's a 3D 'Time of Flight' sensor which, in theory, should allow for some seriously impressive photo effects, including good AR functions, such as making a 3D model of an object you've snapped. The trouble is, at the moment these features aren't good-to-go as the View 20 is not officially supported by Google's all-important ARCore app and the ToF lens is pretty much redundant – but it's there, and when Honor does eventually turn it on, it could provide something pretty special to the mix.

Back to the main Sony-made camera, then. With all those lovely pixels to make use of, detail is pretty striking and Honor's advanced 'AI Vision' software does a good job of making even the most casual of snaps seem like a masterpiece. There are some pretty deep 'pro' settings as well, which is good news for photography nerds. The f1.8 aperture is good enough for low-light shooting, but Honor also puts the 48-megapixel sensor to good use by employing a technique known as 'pixel-binning', where multiple pixels are combined to allow more light into the sensor. The View 20's night mode shows this off to good effect, capturing decent shots that require you to hold the camera steady during the snap. They're not in the same league as the low-light snaps seen on Google's Pixel 3, but they're still impressive.

What's rather less impressive is the way the phone's portrait mode works; it often blurs out the wrong part of the image, but this is something that – theoretically, at least – should improve once the power of that 3D ToF camera is fully harnessed. Honor's clumsy attempt at Animoji effects is also forgettable; the 3D faces lack the charm of those seen on Apple's phones, and because that 25-megapixel front-facing camera doesn't have 3D-mapping capabilities, animations look jerky and imprecise. The final disappointment is that the phone's cameras lack optical image stabilisation – something we'd expect to see on a flagship handset, but perhaps not one that costs £500.

For video, the View 20 can shoot 1080p at 60fps, or 4K video at 30fps. It also has slow-motion effects which are backed up by intelligent software which automatically decides when to shoot in slow-mo.

Honor View 20 Review: Battery Life & Storage

With a roomy 4000mAh battery, the View 20 has plenty of stamina. Even when we were putting it through its paces with web surfing, game playing and video recording, it always made it to the end of the day with plenty of juice left in the tank. Huawei’s SuperCharge Fast-charging system helps top the battery up swiftly, but there's sadly no wireless charging, despite that eye-catching glass back.

While the phone has space for two Nano SIM cards, there's sadly no room for a MicroSD card, so you'll need to choose wisely when it comes to picking your on-board storage. The base model has 128GB, but a 256GB version is also on offer.

Honor View 20 Review: Verdict

The View 20 doesn't get everything right – there's no wireless charging or water resistance, and the absence of an OLED panel might annoy some mobile purists – but for £500, it's something of a marvel. The hole-punch screen design might seem like a gimmick but once we grew accustomed to it, we had trouble going back to a device with a notch or pronounced bezels. The screen is something of a show-stopper then, but the camera setup is almost as impressive, and if Honor can do some meaningful stuff with that 3D ToF camera, then this could shape up to be pretty special as far as image capture is concerned. Add in a powerful chipset and likeable software, and you've got an early contender for 2019's best mid-price handset. We're sure that the View 20 will have plenty of competition over the next 12 months, but for now, this is arguably the best way to spend £500 in the Android sector – yes, even better than the OnePlus 6T.

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danielphowley · 7 years ago

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Amazon’s imperfect Echo show is the smart device I’ve always wanted

yahoo

Amazon’s (AMZN) Echo is the most popular smart home assistant around, with the Alexa-powered speaker expected to capture north of 70% of the market by the end of 2017, according to eMarketer.

But for all of its capabilities — the ability to order pizza, call an Uber, turn on smart lights and, of course, play music — the Echo is still just a cylinder with a speaker.

Amazon’s new $229 Echo Show, however, looks to expand on the company’s success in the smart speaker market by including an innovative new feature: a screen.

And you know what? That little addition makes a world of difference. Sure, the Show isn’t without its flaws. It can’t show you items your shopping cart, or dive deep into your favorite apps like Yelp. But if you want the best version of Amazon’s Echo, the Show is the one you’re looking for.

Rough around the edges

The Amazon Echo Show’s look is … interesting.

Let’s get one thing out of the way from the start: The Echo Show isn’t a pretty device. Unlike the original Echo with its futuristic styling, the Echo show looks like an old-school CRT TV attached to a speaker.

Sitting on my desk at the office, scattered among my various gadgets and empty soda cans, the Echo Show’s black, angular form stands out rather starkly. More than a few of my colleagues stopped by to express their interest in the Show and let me know how unattractive they found it.

Still, when left on your nightstand or an end table, the Show seems to blend in better than the original Echo. I guess what I’m saying is, you’re not going to see the Show and be as enthralled with its design as when you originally saw the Echo, but it’s not nearly as ugly as many first impressions would seem to suggest.

More to see

You’re not buying the Echo Show for its looks, though. You’re buying it because it puts Amazon’s Alexa into a device with a display. And while it’s not going to blow away your 4K TV, the Show’s screen is as crisp and clear as you could want from a 7-inch panel. The Show’s display isn’t just a gimmick, either. In fact, it manages to add some genuinely helpful functionality to Amazon’s voice assistant.

You can watch Prime video on your Echo Show.

My personal favorite feature is the ability to look up recipes and then either read them or watch a video showing me how to prepare a specific meal using the Allrecipes skill. Of course, you can also check out YouTube videos and even watch Amazon’s Prime Video to do that. That said, I can’t imagine very many people will stand over the Show for an hour and a half watching a feature-length movie.

Amazon has already begun flooding the Alexa app with skills specifically designed to take advantage of the Show’s display. There’s a “Jeopardy” skill that lets you play a six-question round of the game show, a “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” skill that lets you watch last night’s monologue and a slew of flash briefing skills that provide you with news updates complete with video.

This is … the Echo Show!

One of the best skills the Show offers is its ability to work with security cameras. So if you’ve got a camera at your front door and hear a knock, you can open the skill on your Show and see who’s at the door without having to pull out your phone.

Calling up

Then there’s the ability to make video calls through the Show. I made a series of calls over my office’s oft-wonky public Wi-Fi and was surprised with the clarity of the call’s video quality. Unfortunately, you can only make video calls to other people with Echo Shows or through the Amazon Alexa smartphone app. Voice calls are also limited to Amazon’s Echo line of products including the standard Echo and Echo Dot.

Outside of standard video calling, the Show introduces a new feature called “Drop in.” With Drop In, you can call anyone with an Echo Show and almost instantly be able to see what they’re up to without their ever answering your call.

Dropping in on friends and family is a lot easier with the Echo Show.

If that sounds kind of creepy, it’s because it is. But Amazon has set up some guidelines for how Drop In works. In order to use it, you’ll first need to enable Drop In for the person you want to be able to reach you via the Alexa app. That person will then also have to enable Drop In on their device.

What’s more, Drop In won’t begin streaming video as soon as you reach out to a contact. Instead, you’ll see a kind of frosted glass effect that will slowly dissipate until the image is completely clear. So if you receive a Drop In call while making eggs without your pants on, you can quickly reject it or simply move away from your Show.

Setting expectations

If you’re hoping the Echo Show is an Echo married to a fully functional tablet, you’ve got to reset your expectations. This is an Echo with a touch screen and that’s it. The Show will display things like video, music lyrics, recipes and news — but don’t expect to be able to dive deep into your favorite apps.

Take Yelp, for instance. You can ask the Echo Show to give you a list of nearby nails salons, and you’ll receive a number of examples. Then you can tap them to see their locations and Yelp scores. But that’s about it. You can’t tab their addresses to see their locations on a map, or tap their phone numbers to call them.

You can order items easily with the Echo Show, but can’t check your entire shopping cart.

The Show also doesn’t eliminate those nagging issues the standard Echo suffers from. Alexa will still activate at seemingly random times when it think it hears its activation phrase, and it still has trouble understanding certain commands. It tried several times to get Alexa to recognize the command “play a trailer for ‘Spider-man: Homecoming’ “ without getting a response. Finally after about four attempts, the voice assistant recognized my request and began playing the video.

Should you get it?

If you’re already an Echo owner, then the Show might feel a bit underwhelming at first blush. But when you begin using the video calling and streaming features, the Show begins to shine. As someone who doesn’t regularly use a standard Echo outside of streaming music, the Echo Show feels like exactly the kind of smart home device I’ve always wanted.