I own an Amazon Echo and an Echo Dot, and I still don't know what they're good for

That's what I find myself asking my Amazon Echo voice-activated device more often than any other -- not aloud but on the inside, as the comedian Bobby Collins might say, because you don't really want a robotic presence in your house doubting your commitment to your mutual relationship. Alexa, you might know, is the female persona inhabiting the Echo, a Wi-Fi-enabled black cylinder about the size of a Pringles can, which you prime to answer your questions or perform services by invoking her name. I was given a $179 Echo last year as a gift, and a $49 Echo Dot -- a squashed down version endowed with a lousier speaker but equipped with Bluetooth capability -- as another gift for Father's Day. According to Amazon PR, these devices have ranked among the firm's most popular items. With Christmas approaching, Amazon has been pushing the Dot mercilessly as a gift item, even bundling it in six-packs.