Siri

Software
September 14, 2012
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Siri-controlled iTunes could be coming to future Macs

By on September 14, 2012 at 3:00 PM.

Siri-controlled iTunes could be coming to future Macs

Siri On Macs Apple Patent

Voice control is the way of the future, or at least that’s what Apple (AAPL) wants people to believe. With the launch of Siri on last year’s iPhone 4S, Apple opened up a new world of using a natural language user interface to the masses. Today, Siri is on the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPad, and it will land on the new iPod touch, too. And with Apple’s rumored HDTV supposedly coming with a Siri-like interface, it seems fitting that the Cupertino-based company is also toying with the idea of a personal assistant on Mac computers. More →

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Business
September 11, 2012
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Siri co-founder Cheyer parts ways with Apple

By on September 11, 2012 at 4:55 PM.

Siri co-founder Cheyer parts ways with Apple

Siri Co-Founder Adam Cheyer

Another one of Siri’s daddies is leaving home. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday afternoon that Siri co-founder Adam Cheyer was parting ways with Apple (AAPL) just two-and-a-half years after the electronics giant acquired his company. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg that Cheyer had left the company “recently” after spending time with Apple’s mobile software group. The sources did not list a reason for Cheyer’s departure. As Bloomberg notes, Cheyer is the second major Siri-related departure from Apple over the past two years as former Siri CEO Dag Kittlaus left the company in October 2011.

More →

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mobile
August 28, 2012
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IBM envisions its Watson supercomputer becoming a supercharged voice assistant

By on August 28, 2012 at 7:10 PM.

IBM envisions its Watson supercomputer becoming a supercharged voice assistant

IBM Watson Smartphone Integration

Apple (AAPL) introduced its Siri voice assistant with the launch of the iPhone 4S last October and since then, a number of copycat apps have been made available. While all these services show potential, in their current state they are just too limited for everyday use. IBM (IBM) is looking to change that, however, with the help of its supercomputer Watson. Bernie Meyerson, IBM’s vice president of innovation, said that he always envisioned a voice-activated Watson that would answer questions based on location data, historical trends and scientific studies. More →

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Services
August 2, 2012
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Hate Siri all you want – it’s still the future

By on August 2, 2012 at 11:20 AM.

Hate Siri all you want – it’s still the future

Siri Criticism Analysis

I recently penned a quick piece on Apple’s (AAPL) Siri and Google’s (GOOG) new voice command support in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, explaining that while there are undoubtedly issues to iron out, services like these are going to change the way we interact with devices. But people are still fed up with Siri, and rightfully so says David Pogue in the latest issue of Scientific American. “We’re used to consumer technology that works every time: e-mail, GPS, digital cameras,” he wrote. “Dictation technology that relies on cellular Internet, though, only sort of works. And that can be jarring to encounter in this day and age.” More →

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Legal
July 30, 2012
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University sues Apple for allegedly stealing tech that powers Siri

By on July 30, 2012 at 2:40 PM.

University sues Apple for allegedly stealing tech that powers Siri

Apple Patent Lawsuit Siri

A Taiwanese university has sued Apple (AAPL) for allegedly infringing upon its voice recognition patents, Reuters reported. Taiwan’s National Cheng Kung University claims the technology found in the iPhone-maker’s Siri voice assistant infringes on two of the school’s U.S. patents dealing with speech recognition technology. The suit was filed on Friday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. More →

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Featured
July 18, 2012
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Featured
IPhone Security Encryption Law Enforcement

The truth about Siri

By on July 18, 2012 at 12:25 PM.

The truth about Siri

Poor, poor Siri. Apple’s (AAPL) virtual personal assistant was welcomed with open arms when it was unveiled last year, and the new feature was also credited with being the driving force behind Apple’s record iPhone 4S sales. But in tech, new features quickly lose their luster and in recent months, complaints surrounding Siri have mounted. Several lawsuits have even been filed against Apple claiming that its Siri commercials are “misleading and deceptive” when they portray the virtual assistant as being easy to use and quick to respond. There is no question that Apple’s personal assistant needs work — I’ve had my fair share of disagreements with Siri (NSFW) — but an article titled “The Stupidity of Computers” published in a recent issue of n+1 magazine helps explain just how impressive Siri really is. More →

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Legal
July 5, 2012
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A Chinese company you’ve never heard of says it invented Siri first

By on July 5, 2012 at 12:30 PM.

A Chinese company you’ve never heard of says it invented Siri first

Apple Siri Chinese Patent Lawuit

There’s been a lot of angst recently over America’s trade deficit with China, but it seems the United States has finally found something that it can successfully export to the People’s Republic: patent suits! Per the Dow Jones Newswire, a Chinese company called Shanghai Zhi Zhen Internet Technology has filed a patent suit against Apple claiming that it had originally patented the technology behind Siri all the way back in 2004. A company spokesman says that Zhi Zhen holds a patent for a digital personal assistant known as Xiao i Robot, a Mandarin-language automated voice system that’s “similar to Siri.” This all raises an obvious question, of course: How long until Steve Wozniak comes out and says that Xiao i Robot is superior to his former company’s voice-enabled software in every respect? More →

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Software
June 29, 2012
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Siri still can’t match old-fashioned Google search, analyst says

By on June 29, 2012 at 3:30 PM.

Siri still can’t match old-fashioned Google search, analyst says

Google Tops Siri Search Accuracy

Fortune reports that Piper Jaffray has conducted a little study comparing Siri and Google in terms of both query comprehension and response accuracy, and has not surprisingly found that Google bests Siri in each category. In a way this isn’t a fair fight since Siri has to recognize the human voice and speech patterns while Google has to interpret text that’s (presumably) clearly written. At the same time, the results are pretty interesting: the firm found that Google comprehended queries 100% (A+ grade) of the time and gave accurate responses 86% (B grade) of the time while Siri comprehended queries 89% (B+ grade) of the time and gave correct answers 68% (D+ grade) of the time while in a quiet room. More →

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General
June 22, 2012
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HTC teases voice assistant to compete with Apple’s Siri

By on June 22, 2012 at 4:20 PM.

HTC teases voice assistant to compete with Apple’s Siri

HTC Siri Voice Assistant Teaser

HTC on Friday posted an image on its Facebook page teasing a voice assistant that may look to compete withApple’s Siri and Samsung’s S-Voice. While the image contains the caption, “Ever wonder what your pet has been trying to tell you all these years,” but we are almost certain HTC isn’t releasing a dog translator. With enhanced voice command and voice assistant features growing more popular, it is only logical that HTC would follow suit and roll out a service that will compliment its Sense user interface and service layer. More →

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Software
June 14, 2012
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Woz says Siri used to be way cooler before Apple bought it

By on June 14, 2012 at 3:25 PM.

Woz says Siri used to be way cooler before Apple bought it

Steve Wozniak Siri Criticism

Steve Wozniak, who seems to relish needling the company that he co-founded, told Albany’s Times Union that he liked Siri a lot better before Apple purchased it in 2010. “I start telling everyone I knew and speaking around the world about how this was the future of computing, speaking things in normal ways, feeling like you’re talking to a human,” Wozniak said of the original Siri program. When asked for an example of how Siri used to be better when it was just a third-party iOS app, Wozniak said that he used to be able to get Siri to list prime numbers greater than 87, but when he asks Siri to do that now it thinks he’s talking about prime ribs. This is not the first time that Wozniak has slagged off his former company, as he has in the past said that Android and even Windows Phone do many things better than iOS. More →

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Tablets
June 4, 2012
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Siri for iPad coming this fall with iOS 6

By on June 4, 2012 at 1:15 PM.

Siri for iPad coming this fall with iOS 6

Apple iPad Siri

Apple’s intelligent personal assistant Siri, which is exclusively available on the iPhone 4S right now, will reportedly arrive on the Cupertino-based company’s latest iPad tablet this fall. When the new iPad launched this past March it featured Voice Dictation, but lacked the full Siri experience. According to 9To5Mac, Siri for iPad will bring all of the features found on the iPhone 4S, except the phone-related commands for obvious reasons, to Apple’s tablet. Even though tablets tend to be positioned further away from a user’s mouth, Siri on the iPad is said to have “similar accuracy to the iPhone 4S.” Unlike the iPhone version, however, Siri for iPad will not be a full screen experience due to the tablet’s larger 9.7-inch display. The iPad version will instead open in a small window on top of whichever program the user has open. Apple is expected to unveil iOS 6 at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco on June 11th, although it is unclear if Siri for iPad will be included in the announcement. A mockup of Siri for iPad in use follows below. More →

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Legal
May 17, 2012
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Apple, on Siri complaints: Buy a different phone

By on May 17, 2012 at 10:10 AM.

Apple, on Siri complaints: Buy a different phone

Apple Siri Lawsuit

Some believe Siri is a driving force behind Apple’s record-breaking iPhone 4S sales, but not everyone is impressed with the Cupertino, California-based company’s virtual assistant. Apple’s TV ads depict Siri as an impressive, fast-acting feature that intelligently offers help or information in responds to a wide range of and commands. A number of users have found that Siri is not as helpful as Apple leads consumers to believe, however, and the company has been hit with a number of lawsuits as a result. More →

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General
May 7, 2012
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Apple 'iTV' details emerge from source claiming to have seen a prototype

By on May 7, 2012 at 11:35 AM.

Apple 'iTV' details emerge from source claiming to have seen a prototype

Apple iTV details emerge: Aluminum case, Siri, Facetime

Apple’s upcoming high-definition television is real, and it will reportedly feature an aluminum construction, Siri, FaceTime video calling and more. An anonymous source speaking with Cult of Mac claims to have seen a prototype of Apple’s upcoming “iTV” in action, and a number of details have been reinforced as a result. “It resembled an Apple monitor, only much larger,” the unnamed source told the site, referring to the aluminum LED Cinema Displays Apple currently sells alongside its Mac computers. Cult of Mac, which has revealed accurate details surrounding unannounced Apple products in the past, also reports that the HDTV will feature Siri, Apple’s sophisticated voice recognition software, and an iSight camera for FaceTime video calling. Many expect Apple to launch its debut television later this year, though a recent report suggests that it may not hit the market until 2014. More →

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