# iOS 5 Assistant



## Kid_Eternity (Sep 30, 2011)

One of the more interesting rumours about the coming iPhone is the one about an in built 'assistant'. Macrumours have helpfully got someone to put together a video showcasing how it might work for those whose brainz prefer to let YouTube do the imagining.


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## sim667 (Oct 3, 2011)

Is it for those too stupid to work out you press what you want to select to do stuff, then use the singular buttonto exit an app


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## editor (Oct 3, 2011)

So, just about exactly the same as what you'll find on the Samsung S2.


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## sim667 (Oct 3, 2011)

Im not sure what i dislike more, the fact that people are idiots or the fact that tech companies pander to idiots thus creating more idiots.


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## editor (Oct 3, 2011)

sim667 said:


> Im not sure what i dislike more, the fact that people are idiots or the fact that tech companies pander to idiots thus creating more idiots.


Google Voice can also do all of the above too, and that was released over a year ago.


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## Kanda (Oct 3, 2011)

editor said:


> Google Voice can also do all of the above too, and that was released over a year ago.



So, naturally, if it's useful, Apple will release it on their next phone...as their last one was released over a year ago...


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## editor (Oct 3, 2011)

Kanda said:


> So, naturally, if it's useful, Apple will release it on their next phone...as their last one was released over a year ago...


It's software. You don't need to upgrade the entire phone to make it work.


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## sim667 (Oct 3, 2011)

Oh its not what I assumed it was, i thought it was like a help thing for people who didnt know how to use their phones. (cant watch the video at work).....

I never use voice control on phones, I feel like a right twat talking to a machine, so it makes no difference to me.


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## Crispy (Oct 3, 2011)

Has anyone used this sort of thing for real? Or know anybody who does? I just can't imagine myself talking to my phone.


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## Kanda (Oct 3, 2011)

editor said:


> It's software. You don't need to upgrade the entire phone to make it work.



Next IOS release then...  fair point.

Tearing up again about Google/Android on an Apple thread again? Have a facepalm yourself


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## skyscraper101 (Oct 3, 2011)

I've found google voice pretty slow to respond sometimes its just easier to type it out. Plus it helps to not look like a numpty on the bus talking in web-search-speak at the phone.


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## editor (Oct 3, 2011)

Crispy said:


> Has anyone used this sort of thing for real? Or know anybody who does? I just can't imagine myself talking to my phone.


I barely ever use the feature, and it generally feels uncomfortable barking commands into a phone.

In fact, the only time I ever use it is for a quick search or, even more rarely, 'navigate to' commands. I don't think voice control is a particularly compelling feature, no matter how slickly it may be implemented.





Kanda said:


> Tearing up again about Google/Android on an Apple thread again? Have a facepalm yourself


Come on: if someone's going on about a phone feature that is seemingly worth a whole new thread of its own, itr's entirely valid to compare it with the competition.

Even Windows Phone, for example, has had something similar as far back as 2009:


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## Kanda (Oct 3, 2011)

Fair enough but iPhone does have voice features though... Can't watch that that vid at moment to see what other functionality it's on about though...


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## Crispy (Oct 3, 2011)

Yeah, iphone's had voice commands for a while. The Assistant feature is supposed to be more conversational - ie. asking you questions to refine commands. I would feel even more uncomfortable talking to my phone if it was going to talk back to me.


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## editor (Oct 3, 2011)

It's one of those techie things like video phones that sound really cool as an idea, but in practice just don't work for most people.

(Great for those with certain disabilities though).


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## elbows (Oct 3, 2011)

I still believe that humans find it a bit demeaning to talk to machines, and this is a major barrier towards such tech vastly increasing in popularity. I don't even think we are that keen on machines talking to us.


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## sim667 (Oct 3, 2011)

elbows said:


> I still believe that humans find it a bit demeaning to talk to machines, and this is a major barrier towards such tech vastly increasing in popularity. I don't even think we are that keen on machines talking to us.



Its the lack of seperation between a mechanical interface and a human interface i dont like, and most voice stuff is simply not up to scratch.


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## Crispy (Oct 3, 2011)

I have a script on my home computer that keeps an eye on my inbox. If I get a mail from someone in my address book it says out loud, "new mail from xxxx". I find it very useful.


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## editor (Oct 3, 2011)

Crispy said:


> I have a script on my home computer that keeps an eye on my inbox. If I get a mail from someone in my address book it says out loud, "new mail from xxxx". I find it very useful.


I think it's a different thing when you're sat in the privacy of your own home.


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## Crispy (Oct 3, 2011)

editor said:


> I think it's a different thing when you're sat in the privacy of your own home.


Definitely.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 3, 2011)

Kanda said:


> So, naturally, if it's useful, Apple will release it on their next phone...as their last one was released over a year ago...



It's shocking isn't it. A company releases something, it's successful, another company incorporates it. Strange world we live in...


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 3, 2011)

elbows said:


> I still believe that humans find it a bit demeaning to talk to machines, and this is a major barrier towards such tech vastly increasing in popularity. I don't even think we are that keen on machines talking to us.



I think it's because Sci Fi has raised expectations beyond current or even near future functionality. Think about all those people watching Star Trek etc and saying 'computer do such and such' compared to talking to mobile saying 'ring James' and it searching for pizza online...


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 3, 2011)

editor said:


> Google Voice can also do all of the above too, and that was released over a year ago.




Given the tech company this is coming from and it's state funded background I expect this Assistant will be pretty decent in time. I just don't expect HAL like interactions on my smartphone. Yet.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 3, 2011)

9to5mac interviews the founder behind the software of Assistant:



> *9to5Mac: Is this Siri ‘Assistant’ a big deal?*
> _Norm: Let me first say I have no knowledge of what Apple plans to do with the Siri purchase.  I read the rumors just like everyone else and it appears that Apple is getting ready to reveal what it has done with Siri over the past year and a half (we were actually expecting it at WWDC).  Make no mistake: Apple’s ‘mainstreaming’ Artificial Intelligence in the form of a Virtual Personal Assistant is a groundbreaking event.  I’d go so far as to say it is *a World-Changing event.  *Right now a few people dabble in partial AI enabled apps like Google Voice Actions, Vlingo or Nuance Go.  Siri was many iterations ahead of these technologies, or at least it was two years ago.  __*This is REAL AI with REAL market use. *__If the rumors are true, Apple will enable millions upon millions of people to interact with machines with natural language.  The PAL will get things done and this is only the tip of the iceberg.  We’re talking another technology revolution.  A new computing paradigm shift._



World changing? Big claim. I guess we'll find out tomorrow what proportion of that is just hype.


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## editor (Oct 3, 2011)

'World changing'. LOL.


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## FridgeMagnet (Oct 3, 2011)

Voice commands have always seemed like an example of the failure of imagination on the part of futurists, to me. The idea of being able to say "gadget, do this, this and this!" comes from a time when (a) getting a machine to do anything at all was a skilled job (b) it was both a mark of social success to be in a position to give verbal orders to people, and not an unknown one - nowadays domestic servants aren't really that common - and (c) mobile technology wasn't really envisaged much; computers were to be things you had in the house or office.

Even voice recognition turned out to be pretty difficult, though it's got a lot better recently, and natural language processing to any useful level is still really hard. In the meantime, other controls have got much easier to use, and we've become accustomed to learning how to use them as well and not to expect that we can talk to them as if they were humans. And we use gadgets in company and in noisy situations. Imagine a tube full of people talking to their mobiles, or an office full of people talking to their computers.


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## editor (Oct 3, 2011)

I was sent the latest top of the range voice recognition software (plus a natty Bluetooth headset) months ago and I still haven't been arsed to even open the box. No matter how awesomely cunning the voice software might be on a phone, I'd be equally disinclined to use it.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 3, 2011)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Voice commands have always seemed like an example of the failure of imagination on the part of futurists, to me. The idea of being able to say "gadget, do this, this and this!" comes from a time when (a) getting a machine to do anything at all was a skilled job (b) it was both a mark of social success to be in a position to give verbal orders to people, and not an unknown one - nowadays domestic servants aren't really that common - and (c) mobile technology wasn't really envisaged much; computers were to be things you had in the house or office.
> 
> Even voice recognition turned out to be pretty difficult, though it's got a lot better recently, and natural language processing to any useful level is still really hard. In the meantime, other controls have got much easier to use, and we've become accustomed to learning how to use them as well and not to expect that we can talk to them as if they were humans. And we use gadgets in company and in noisy situations. Imagine a tube full of people talking to their mobiles, or an office full of people talking to their computers.



Indeed, I guess it depends on whether this functionality extends beyond the iPhone...


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## Shippou-Sensei (Oct 3, 2011)




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## paolo (Oct 3, 2011)

Every other year someone comes out with some supposedly 'amazing' voice recognition thing and, without fail, it massively undelivers. I can imagine Apple doing a very cute version of it, but in the grand scheme of things it will be inconsequential. I've never seen anyone talking to a phone.

Do people really do it in private? Hands up? Anyone?


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## editor (Oct 3, 2011)

The paperclip was cool, mind. He should have got his own TV series.


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## Crispy (Oct 3, 2011)

Kid_Eternity said:


> 9to5mac interviews the founder behind the software of Assistant:
> 
> World changing? Big claim. I guess we'll find out tomorrow what proportion of that is just hype.


The keynote speech by the Siri guy in that interview is telling

The demonstration app presents its information on the screen. And the interface is most usable when touching it. The "semantic autocomplete" for example, is a really good idea. Predict your likely search queries based on your personal information, your location, the time of day etc. That interface would be slow and cumbersome via speech. I'm with Fridge on this one - voice control is a future of the past.


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## Crispy (Oct 3, 2011)

paolo999 said:


> I've never seen anyone talking to a phone.


Are you sure about that? 

Trouble is, it can only _talk_ back to you. If you have to constantly swap between holding it to your ear and looking at the screen, then you really will feel like a div.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 3, 2011)

@ Crispy It's funny because Microsoft disagrees, they're moving in this direction with Kinect. I reckon this is just the beginning...


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## Crispy (Oct 3, 2011)

Kid_Eternity said:


> @ Crispy It's funny because Microsoft disagrees, they're moving in this direction with Kinect. I reckon this is just the beginning...


I've got a kinect. It's a fantastic piece of technology, but I haven't touched it one bit since I got it. No decent software at all. Why would I want to say out loud "Kinect! Play DVD!" when it's much easier to push a button and not look like a massive tool?


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## editor (Oct 3, 2011)

Imagine a tube full of people all braying into their phones: "Play Toploader!," "Launch Scrabble," "Email to boss: we need to proactively leverage our customer-centric offering..." etc etc.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 3, 2011)

Crispy said:


> I've got a kinect. It's a fantastic piece of technology, but I haven't touched it one bit since I got it. No decent software at all. Why would I want to say out loud "Kinect! Play DVD!" when it's much easier to push a button and not look like a massive tool?



I remember when people didn't like mobile phones for fear of looking like a twat. That lasted long..!


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## elbows (Oct 3, 2011)

I suppose I would have one use for voice stuff. If upon hearing me shouting and swearing when the computer crashes or does something I didn't mean for it to do, it magically travelled back to the state it was in before my wailing began, that would be something. Or patented knuckle-proximity technology put to a similar purpose. Wave your fist at the device to stop it being naughty.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 3, 2011)

It'd be utterly brilliant for drivers too.


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## elbows (Oct 3, 2011)

Kid_Eternity said:


> I remember when people didn't like mobile phones for fear of looking like a twat. That lasted long..!



Was that partly down to their comical size at the time though?

I remember people staring strangely at me when I had a phone that could use mp3s back when most ringtones were all bleepy. I didn't like it (loved the feature, hated the attention).


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## editor (Oct 3, 2011)

Kid_Eternity said:


> It'd be utterly brilliant for drivers too.


But disastrous for safety.



> Talking on a mobile phone while driving your car is just as dangerous when using hands-free equipment as when holding the phone in your hand, according to a Swedish study published on Monday.
> http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2003/06/59371


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 4, 2011)

elbows said:


> Was that partly down to their comical size at the time though?
> 
> I remember people staring strangely at me when I had a phone that could use mp3s back when most ringtones were all bleepy. I didn't like it (loved the feature, hated the attention).



Nah it was back when the first decent sized motorollas came out around 93/4. A mate had one and got cussed endlessly for snarling around talking on it while walking down the street.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 4, 2011)

editor said:


> But disastrous for safety.



Nope. HUGE difference having a conversation and telling your phone to play your favourite tune.


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## editor (Oct 4, 2011)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Nope. HUGE difference having a conversation and telling your phone to play your favourite tune.


Ah, so you weren't including being able to send texts/make calls/write emails/look up info etc when you were describing voice control as being "utterly brilliant for drivers"?


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## elbows (Oct 4, 2011)

Well the key is how much your attention is diverted by the task. The most trivial voice-controlled task may not require as much attention as a proper conversation, but I can imagine a multi-step interaction with the device would cause more attention loss.

Are conversations with other people who are physically in the car with you as bad as talking on a mobile?


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## editor (Oct 4, 2011)

And it seems that _any_ kind of distraction increases the risk of accidents - even selecting songs.


> "Hands-free device are no less risky than using a handheld phone," said Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which sponsored the study. "And this indicates that the issue is really about the distracted driver. It's much bigger than drivers using cell phones."
> 
> In other words, it's the distraction--and not a cell phone, per se--that causes accidents. Tuning the radio, selecting a song on an iPod, programming a GPS navigation system, eating french fries, digging in a purse for change while approaching a toll booth on the Garden State Parkway, or turning around to scream at the kids--all done while behind the wheel of a car--are things that distract drivers and could potentially cause collisions.
> 
> ...


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## elbows (Oct 4, 2011)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Nah it was back when the first decent sized motorollas came out around 93/4. A mate had one and got cussed endlessly for snarling around talking on it while walking down the street.



Nowadays if you wanted that sort of reaction you'd probably need to be a Segway owner. Not sure the stigma of those will ever diminish, god I hope not.


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## editor (Oct 4, 2011)

elbows said:


> Are conversations with other people who are physically in the car with you as bad as talking on a mobile?


Quite the reverse according to one study:


> Another study demonstrates that talking to passengers, as opposed to talking on a cell phone, actually makes adult drivers safer, because passengers help alert drivers to potential driving risks, the NSC stated.
> 
> http://www.livescience.com/3220-cell-phones-banned-driving.html


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## elbows (Oct 4, 2011)

In that case all the smartphone needs to do is be sure to shout 'whoa there look out for that lorry' at random moments during the voice interaction and all will be fine.


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## editor (Oct 4, 2011)

elbows said:


> In that case all the smartphone needs to do is be sure to shout 'whoa there look out for that lorry' at random moments during the voice interaction and all will be fine.


Might be a bit distressing if they're parked.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 4, 2011)

elbows said:


> Well the key is how much your attention is diverted by the task. The most trivial voice-controlled task may not require as much attention as a proper conversation, but I can imagine a multi-step interaction with the device would cause more attention loss.
> 
> Are conversations with other people who are physically in the car with you as bad as talking on a mobile?



Me saying 'play sad but true' ain't gonna make me crash the car while driving. Seriously this is fantastic for drivers but that doesn't mean people will use all functionality all the time does it?


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## elbows (Oct 4, 2011)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Me saying 'play sad but true' ain't gonna make me crash the car while driving. Seriously this is fantastic for drivers but that doesn't mean people will use all functionality all the time does it?



Well you say that but I was once a front seat passenger in a car when that old song with lyrics 'goodbye my friend its hard to die' was playing on the radio, and we were on a dual carriageway when the bonnet decided to fly one and completely obscure the drivers view. That was fun.


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## elbows (Oct 4, 2011)

editor said:


> Might be a bit distressing if they're parked.



GPS, gyroscopes etc can be used to establish some vehicular parameters.

Perhaps one day the cars themselves will tweet to each other at blazing speed as part of auto-safety systems, saying things like 'hey back off' or 'did you know your left brake-light is out' or 'there is a dead dwarf hanging from your radiator'


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## Kanda (Oct 4, 2011)

So how do we feel about the proposed 80mph speed limit?

Oh.. wrong thread, couldn't tell...


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 10, 2011)

This is interesting, will Siri be coming to Apple TV? Certainly makes sense, Microsoft are about to introduce voice activated stuff with Kinect so Siri on your telly would be a good way for Apple to stay current...









> _One interesting application of the Siri technology would be with Apple TV (either the existing device or actual TV’s that Apple may launch). We think this would solve the industry’s difficulties with remote controls… We think it would be very compelling to own a TV or a device that could quickly answer the request, “I want to watch the Yankees/Red Sox game,” by changing the TV channel without requiring the user to look at a guide or use a remote control, or even specifying HD or standard definition feeds, since you would want the HD channel if available. Or, you could instruct the device to record all new episodes of a show, without leaving the program you are currently watching. Finally, since you are online, a Siri enabled TV could answer whether your iPhone or computer has received a new message, and let you respond accordingly._


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Oct 10, 2011)

editor said:


> Quite the reverse according to one study:



Depends on the passengers somewhat I'd say!


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 10, 2011)

Much nicer video of Siri. Have to say I'm quite impressed with this, can see this becoming HUGE.


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## editor (Oct 10, 2011)

The bit where the bloke asks it for an exchange rate shows how annoying it can be when it doesn't get it right, and it's going to be fucking annoying if you end up sat next to someone on a bus doing all this stuff (thankfully that won't happen on a tube because it needs a signal).

I remain unconvinced about how popular this is going to be. My phone can already do most of this stuff and I've used it, err, once, I think. The only bit I like is the alarm setting command - but then when I set my alarm I've usually already put the phone into flight mode, so that won't work either.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 10, 2011)

This is going to be huge because this is just the beginning, this will come out for the iPad and the Mac...it's (and voice activated software generally once the market gets going) going to do for computing what the mouse and keyboard has...


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## editor (Oct 10, 2011)

Only if you like talking to a gadget and getting a robotic voice talking back at you.

How many people would want to start reading out their text messages and appointments in public, or have them read out loud in the street?

It has its uses, for sure, but my phone already does most of this and I never use it.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 10, 2011)

You're looking at this too narrowly, like I said this is just the beginning, one day (and this isn't actually far off), you'll be able to talk to all computers, voice synthesis will get better as will the AI running them. We're literally going to see sci fi levels of coolness in our life time!


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## editor (Oct 10, 2011)

Oh, if you mean in the future, then yes, there may be some development of this tech that will make sense, but right now, having to talk into a phone and getting an easily confused Sparky the Magic Piano voice coming back at you is not what I see as revolutionary.

Loads of phones have done this for some time, and although Apple's implementation is probably the slickest of the lot, it's still right there with FaceTime and 3D in terms of day-to-day practical usefulness.


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## spacemonkey (Oct 10, 2011)

That video is impressive, I could definately see myself using it for finding information quickly.

Currency checking is really annoying for example, as is setting calendar reminders. I probably wouldn't use it in public, but at home or when I'm by myself, sure.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 10, 2011)

spacemonkey said:


> That video is impressive, I could definately see myself using it for finding information quickly.
> 
> Currency checking is really annoying for example, as is setting calendar reminders. I probably wouldn't use it in public, but at home or when I'm by myself, sure.



Imagine it on your laptop? Just telling it to search for stuff? Or pausing music while you pick up your phone?


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Oct 10, 2011)

Kid_Eternity said:


> You're looking at this too narrowly, like I said this is just the beginning, one day (and this isn't actually far off), you'll be able to talk to all computers, voice synthesis will get better as will the AI running them. We're literally going to see sci fi levels of coolness in our life time!



When we can already read faster then a machine can speak I can't see it replacing text for a while.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 10, 2011)

Global Stoner said:


> When we can already read faster then a machine can speak I can't see it replacing text for a while.



Um ok. Really can't see where I mentioned it reading for us! I'm talking about voice commands, your PC becoming an AI assistant...


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## editor (Oct 10, 2011)

spacemonkey said:


> Currency checking is really annoying for example, as is setting calendar reminders.


The currency checking didn't work in that video.


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## Crispy (Oct 10, 2011)

One small note: There's a "raise to talk" option, so instead of having to hold a button or tap something, you just raise the phone to your ear without dialling a number first. The accelerometer and proximity sensor can tell, and Assistant starts. That should feel quite natural, especially if it responds with verbal feedback promptly.


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## editor (Oct 10, 2011)

Crispy said:


> One small note: There's a "raise to talk" option, so instead of having to hold a button or tap something, you just raise the phone to your ear without dialling a number first. The accelerometer and proximity sensor can tell, and Assistant starts. That should feel quite natural, especially if it responds with verbal feedback promptly.


That bit seems to be missing from the promo video where it shows a woman putting cakes into a hot oven with the phone sat some distance away on the kitchen surface.

The Samsung lets you 'wake up' the phone with a voice command - something daft like "Hey Galaxy." The iPhone one is probably better but you can see the S2 one here.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Oct 10, 2011)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Um ok. Really can't see where I mentioned it reading for us! I'm talking about voice commands, your PC becoming an AI assistant...



I was thinking about talking it talking back. Even opening stuff, I'm fairly sure I could do faster with a keyboard then with voice commands.


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## mauvais (Oct 10, 2011)

Shippou-Sensei said:


>


Luks lyk UR r1tin @ txt LOL


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 11, 2011)

Crispy said:


> One small note: There's a "raise to talk" option, so instead of having to hold a button or tap something, you just raise the phone to your ear without dialling a number first. The accelerometer and proximity sensor can tell, and Assistant starts. That should feel quite natural, especially if it responds with verbal feedback promptly.



Yeah read that. Interesting idea...wonder how long before we see this on OSX?


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## Crispy (Oct 11, 2011)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Yeah read that. Interesting idea...wonder how long before we see this on OSX?


Fucked if I'm lifting my imac to my ear


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 12, 2011)

Lol sorry meant the voice thing not it's activation.


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## Kanda (Oct 14, 2011)

Some funny ones: http://thisismynext.com/2011/10/12/siri-weird-things-iphone-4s/


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 14, 2011)

Haha there's some brilliant replies Siri has I've seen about. Btw can some kind Mod change the title of this thread to something like iOS 5 - Siri?


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## elbows (Oct 14, 2011)

That wouldn't be the best title for it, seeing as its iPhone 4S-only at the moment and iOS 5 tends to imply it works on multiple devices.

It looks like it might just be good enough to stand a chance of catching on, so long as you haven't got an accent which baffles it.

Heres a video which gave me some sense of certain strengths and weaknesses, although some of the tedium appears to be down to the user breaking the info down into too many steps (e.g. not initially specifying who to send a text/email to).


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 14, 2011)

Interesting little video here from the Guardian, and I agree with his closing comment about how this could the next step forward in how we use devices.


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## elbows (Oct 14, 2011)

One more video, I can certainly see me using it for reminders and instead of typing quite a number of words.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 15, 2011)

Heh that meaning of life answer was cute. Haha the answer to being drunk is BRILLIANT! Interesting to remember that this is actually beta, wonder what kind of updates it will get in 2012.

Can see this being useful for dictating and sending long emails on the phone too...


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## elbows (Oct 15, 2011)

Hmmm, sounds like some of the processing is done on servers, which means Siri needs a data connection and is likely to eat into data allowances in a big way if used quite a lot. I have a number of problems with this.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 15, 2011)

Oh yeah Siri does need a data connection which means those on the tube are fucked but those like me with all you can eat data plans aren't.


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## Bob_the_lost (Oct 15, 2011)

Depends, if it's doing all the voice processing on the handset then the data sent and received is going to be in bytes rather than kilobytes.


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## Crispy (Oct 15, 2011)

> I used up about 10MB after asking Siri roughly 15-20 different things, and dictating about 5 SMSs. Not bad really if you have a data plan.



http://www.ifans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=357840


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## 19sixtysix (Oct 15, 2011)

I have never got this voice op stuff to work reliably and wonder how it handles accents. I've been trying apple's voice recognition out since it was an add on to OS7 for my quadra. The little listening microphone symbol has survived and I do wonder how much of the original software is in the modern app.


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## elbows (Oct 15, 2011)

19sixtysix said:


> I have never got this voice op stuff to work reliably and wonder how it handles accents. I've been trying apple's voice recognition out since it was an add on to OS7 for my quadra. The little listening microphone symbol has survived and I do wonder how much of the original software is in the modern app.



Probably pretty much none, since they acquired a company for this tech within the last few years.

Early reports are that it does not work well with some accents. Its supposed to 'learn' over time but Im always a bit cynical about AI learning stuff, tends to be hyped but I expect it is actually getting better as the years roll by.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 15, 2011)

Got me an iPhone 4S so no doubt have some impressions of Siri in the next couple days!


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 15, 2011)

First impressions are this has a high novelty factor!


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 16, 2011)

I was thinking about this yesterday while me and the other half were mucking about with seeing how far we could push Siri:



> Many readers are now enjoying some of the quirkier responses coming from Siri, Apple's intelligent assistant built into the iPhone 4S. The Wall Street Journal spoke with one of the co-founders of the original Siri and how they approached instilling Siri with personality:
> 
> _*"There were many conversations within the team about whether it should be gender neutral" or "should have an 'attitude,' " said Mr. Winarsky, who didn't go to Apple, and still works at SRI. The result, before the software was bought by Apple, was "occasionally a light attitude," he said.
> 
> *_​According to a different person who actually worked at Apple on the Siri project, Apple focused on keeping Siri's personality "friendly and humble -- but also with an edge". According to their source, they were thinking "How would we want a person to respond?" while developing the software.



Siri reply screen shots have almost become a meme unto itself!


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Oct 16, 2011)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Oh yeah Siri does need a data connection which means those on the tube are fucked but those like me with all you can eat data plans aren't.



How do you get data on tube?


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 16, 2011)

Global Stoner said:


> How do you get data on tube?



You can't, hence those wanting to use Siri on the tube being screwed.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Oct 16, 2011)

Ah, I get you, you don't travel on the tube. 

_
_


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 16, 2011)

Global Stoner said:


> Ah, I get you, you don't travel on the tube.



Not if I can help it! Thankfully my current job means no daily tube commute which is almost like some kind of travel utopia.


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## editor (Oct 17, 2011)

Review here:


> Siri on the iPhone 4S still feels like a work in progress. I think it could have used another few months of development before it was released to push it well beyond gimmick territory. But Apple was already later than usual in its product cycle with this iPhone 4S, so might have been compelled to release it early. Even so, Siri as it stands now gives us a hint at what’s to come, and the future looks bright.


http://mashable.com/2011/10/16/iphone-4s-siri-review/


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 17, 2011)

I'd say that review is spot on, Apple are saying it's a beta so I don't expect it to be all singing and dancing any time soon.


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## Backatcha Bandit (Oct 17, 2011)

I can't see what the fuss is about.  I've had one since 1987.  

​

Here's a bit more on Siri's history (2008).


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## mrs quoad (Oct 17, 2011)

T & P said:


> So, has anyone got a iPhone 4S yet?


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 17, 2011)




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## Kid_Eternity (Nov 1, 2011)

Now this is interesting and expected. I reckon Siri would be bloody great on my computer. Having it running in the background and being able to bark commands at it would be sweet!



> Separately, we’ve also heard an unverified claim that Siri could replace the existing Speech Recognition module and have ties into Spotlight for a future version of Mac OS X. Siri would offer a significant improvement in voice recognition, dictation, and a new way to search on the Mac platform.


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## skyscraper101 (Nov 1, 2011)

Now that I could be interested in. Talking to my phone in public though is an altogether different matter.


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## sim667 (Nov 1, 2011)

Not my computer i dont think....

my sitting room set up tv/dvd etc it would be awesome


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## Kid_Eternity (Nov 1, 2011)

skyscraper101 said:


> Now that I could be interested in. Talking to my phone in public though is an altogether different matter.



Heh you never answer the phone unless you're in the house? 

But seriously, yeah I know what you mean, that feels unnatural at the moment. One day however when voice activate computing is as big as using a mouse and keyboard it wont. When Siri comes to the mac it'll be another step toward that future and a welcome one imo.


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