OT: Siri

[elocomotive]

Got the new iPhone 4S yesterday.

Have to say the technology behind Siri is pretty amazing. Not only does it find any information you need (tallest building in the U.S., multiple 84*173, what's the temperature tomorrow, etc.), but it has a pretty good sense of humor. I tried to trip it up with a few funny questions and here is what I got...

Me: "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"
Siri: "It depends on whether it is African wood or European wood."

Me: "Is there a god?"
Siri: "I'm really not equipped to answer such questions."

Me: "Talk dirty to me."
Siri: "Humus. Compost. Silt. Gravel."

Seriously though, it makes scheduling, texting, calling, playing music, finding information, etc. SO easy. Best innovation for smartphones since the invention of the Blackberry/iPhone/Android themselves. I'm now going to be annoyed that I can't just talk to my computer. Haha.

 

[SLY]

lol, I am so tempted to get the 4s (I have the 4), but I am holding out for the 5 that should be coming out some time in Fall.

 

[JMlion71]

I've found it to be best to use in the car. You can just say 'call contact-name', or tell it the name of a place (for directions).

 

[fordman84]

lol, I am so tempted to get the 4s (I have the 4), but I am holding out for the 5 that should be coming out some time in Fall.

Yes, wait. I've had the 4S for a while and it isn't anything special. I had the original 3G and needed a new phone, so I upgraded. 4 to 4S won't be much. Siri was fun for a few days, now I never use it because she just pisses me off.


Two things, the Funny of Die guys have some hilarious Siri videos. The racist one still makes me laugh. Second, try telling Siri you are horny. Good stuff.

 

[puckhead]

whenever there is an opportunity to post this video.... you do it. you just do.
i love this so very very much.

 

[elocomotive]

Yes, wait. I've had the 4S for a while and it isn't anything special. I had the original 3G and needed a new phone, so I upgraded. 4 to 4S won't be much. Siri was fun for a few days, now I never use it because she just pisses me off.

I had my 3G for nearly 4 years, so the battery was getting awful and the 4S is just so much faster.

And yeah, Siri isn't perfect, but it gets exactly what I say about 90% of the time and has some intuition on what I want. I don't have to feed it exact words for it to pull up the type of program or information I need. That is pretty cool. It just gets me excited for the future when we don't have to type anymore and can just communicate with computers with our voices. I'm guessing we're only 10-15 years from that being fully integrated. The efficiency gains would be dramatic.

 

[fordman84]

I had my 3G for nearly 4 years, so the battery was getting awful and the 4S is just so much faster.

And yeah, Siri isn't perfect, but it gets exactly what I say about 90% of the time and has some intuition on what I want. I don't have to feed it exact words for it to pull up the type of program or information I need. That is pretty cool. It just gets me excited for the future when we don't have to type anymore and can just communicate with computers with our voices. I'm guessing we're only 10-15 years from that being fully integrated. The efficiency gains would be dramatic.

My issue with siri is that everything I ask comes back with "would you like me to look that up for you"? Using the google app with voice is faster.

I am excited for what the future holds too, but I'm tired of all the Siri commercials that can't be replicated and all the apple people saying "well, Siri is just a beta so of course it doesn't work perfectly". Yet they are still hyping it up and rolling it out to the iPad. Why keep rolling out something that is "beta"? Because it isn't beta, it just doesn't work like they hope someday it will. The day that it can interact with apps like ESPN is the day I really like it. Why can't I say "what is the Cowboys score" and have it know if ESPN is running in the background? They spent a lot of time putting "cutesy" crap in there and forgot to actually give it any teeth.

 

[elocomotive]

My issue with siri is that everything I ask comes back with "would you like me to look that up for you"? Using the google app with voice is faster.

I am excited for what the future holds too, but I'm tired of all the Siri commercials that can't be replicated and all the apple people saying "well, Siri is just a beta so of course it doesn't work perfectly". Yet they are still hyping it up and rolling it out to the iPad. Why keep rolling out something that is "beta"? Because it isn't beta, it just doesn't work like they hope someday it will. The day that it can interact with apps like ESPN is the day I really like it. Why can't I say "what is the Cowboys score" and have it know if ESPN is running in the background? They spent a lot of time putting "cutesy" crap in there and forgot to actually give it any teeth.

I guess I just haven't had that experience. Siri does exactly what I want it to and the Google app. is nice for Web searches, but it can't set my alarm clock, give me a reminder, play a song I want to hear, get me directions, send a text, call someone hands free, etc. I'm sure they'll add more to it as time goes on, but having computers understand language (and importantly, meaning) is much more complex than having it understand typing or a touch command, which can be broken down into simple code. I think it's an amazing first step, but maybe my experience has been better than yours. I don't know.

 

[whyoh]

My issue with siri is that everything I ask comes back with "would you like me to look that up for you"? Using the google app with voice is faster.

I am excited for what the future holds too, but I'm tired of all the Siri commercials that can't be replicated and all the apple people saying "well, Siri is just a beta so of course it doesn't work perfectly". Yet they are still hyping it up and rolling it out to the iPad. Why keep rolling out something that is "beta"? Because it isn't beta, it just doesn't work like they hope someday it will. The day that it can interact with apps like ESPN is the day I really like it. Why can't I say "what is the Cowboys score" and have it know if ESPN is running in the background? They spent a lot of time putting "cutesy" crap in there and forgot to actually give it any teeth.

aww man...i wish i had a phone three years ago that would do that....

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

I guess I just haven't had that experience. Siri does exactly what I want it to and the Google app. is nice for Web searches, but it can't set my alarm clock, give me a reminder, play a song I want to hear, get me directions, send a text, call someone hands free, etc. I'm sure they'll add more to it as time goes on, but having computers understand language (and importantly, meaning) is much more complex than having it understand typing or a touch command, which can be broken down into simple code. I think it's an amazing first step, but maybe my experience has been better than yours. I don't know.

Google Voice doesn't have the personality that Siri has, but it can do a lot of the stuff you mention.

This article is probably the best comparison I've seen from a website that didn't seem to have any bias for Android or iPhone:

Siri vs. Android: Which Is Better at Understanding Voice Commands?

 

[beantownmaniac]

Are you trying to tell me my flip phone is out dated? Also, what's a "G"?

 

[Slimpikins]

Are you trying to tell me my flip phone is out dated? Also, what's a "G"?

If my street cred is still up to date a "G" is short for Gangsta' or a reference to $1000.00. Although I am a Caucasian accountant raised in a republican suburban county, so I think my urban friends might have been feeding me misinformation...

 

[puckhead]

If my street cred is still up to date a "G" is short for Gangsta' or a reference to $1000.00. Although I am a Caucasian accountant raised in a republican suburban county, so I think my urban friends might have been feeding me misinformation...

last I heard, this was a 'G'

 

[awaz]

 

[fordman84]

G doesn't exist, it is just a spot the ladies tell us exists to keep our ego's in check

 

[KillerVee]

whenever there is an opportunity to post this video.... you do it. you just do.
i love this so very very much.

The best part of that video is that he's American, not Scottish. I think his dad is from Scotland though so he picked up on his accent.


Edit: my bad, he's Canadian actually. But you canadiens are Americans too, aintcha?

 

[whyoh]

The best part of that video is that he's American, not Scottish. I think his dad is from Scotland though so he picked up on his accent.


Edit: my bad, he's Canadian actually. But you canadiens are Americans too, aintcha?

 

[dash]

Edit: my bad, he's Canadian actually. But you canadiens are Americans too, aintcha?

Reported!

 

[elocomotive]

Google Voice doesn't have the personality that Siri has, but it can do a lot of the stuff you mention.

This article is probably the best comparison I've seen from a website that didn't seem to have any bias for Android or iPhone:

Siri vs. Android: Which Is Better at Understanding Voice Commands?

I'm not really talking about personality. I'm talking about AI and I think I explained poorly. And I don't want to make this a Apple/PC or iPhone/Google thing either. I appreciate both and I think that both will push the other to be better. Classic capitalism. Too often these things get hinged on I like my side and you like yours and let's make fun of people on the other side (like the jab above about Android doing this two years ago).

Google Voice operates off very simple commands. You say certain words to utilize different native applications. If you want to text or listen to a song, you say a precise "command word" to make the phone do something in particular.

This is where Siri is a little different. You just say what you want. It doesn't respond to a "command" but interprets your own natural language and performs the function you want. So, for the calendar, if you say "schedule an appointment for...", "what is my next appointment," or "what am I doing tonight," it does different things with your calendar to best answer your question. It even answers questions for you at times - if I ask what the high temperature is, not only does it bring up the weather report, but it tells me so if I'm driving I don't even have to look at my phone.

That's powerful stuff that will surely help voice activated computing. We've seen some of this language interpretation skills from IBM's Watson. It's cool to see it already being used in something like a phone. Surely even cooler stuff to come from both Apple and Google on this.

 

[whyoh]

I'm not really talking about personality. I'm talking about AI and I think I explained poorly. And I don't want to make this a Apple/PC or iPhone/Google thing either. I appreciate both and I think that both will push the other to be better. Classic capitalism. Too often these things get hinged on I like my side and you like yours and let's make fun of people on the other side (like the jab above about Android doing this two years ago).

Google Voice operates off very simple commands. You say certain words to utilize different native applications. If you want to text or listen to a song, you say a precise "command word" to make the phone do something in particular.

This is where Siri is a little different. You just say what you want. It doesn't respond to a "command" but interprets your own natural language and performs the function you want. So, for the calendar, if you say "schedule an appointment for...", "what is my next appointment," or "what am I doing tonight," it does different things with your calendar to best answer your question. It even answers questions for you at times - if I ask what the high temperature is, not only does it bring up the weather report, but it tells me so if I'm driving I don't even have to look at my phone.

That's powerful stuff that will surely help voice activated computing. We've seen some of this language interpretation skills from IBM's Watson. It's cool to see it already being used in something like a phone. Surely even cooler stuff to come from both Apple and Google on this.

sorry....fordman and i have a back and forth going


its all in good fun though