Apple To Open Up Siri To Developers, Release An Amazon Echo Competitor (bgr.com) 82
An anonymous reader quotes a report from BGR: According to a new report from The Information, Apple is finally ready to let Siri grow up. Specifically, the publication relays that Apple will finally offer official Siri APIs to developers, thus paving the way for third-party integrations, the kind that Amazon Echo users can't seem to get enough of. Things like ordering an Uber or pizza are currently impossible, because Siri is locked down by Apple. What's more, Apple is also reportedly working on a standalone device meant to compete with the Amazon Echo and Google's recently unveiled Google Home. If that's true, it's huge news -- Apple has been lacking any kind of smart home hub until now, but a Siri-powered device would be a serious play to get Apple into our homes. Google is the latest tech giant to announce a virtual home assistant. It unveiled Google Home, a small round gadget with microphones and speakers that listen and respond to your questions and commands.
Cat Fight? (Score:5, Funny)
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Will we be able to watch them fight though? ;)
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If Apple maintains its privacy oriented stance I might actually consider one of these.
Re:This will change EVERYTHING (Score:5, Insightful)
It'll probably cost double what the Echo does, and you'll have to buy a new one once a year.
Yes, because every single Apple machine turns into a pile of dust one year after it's bought.
You might choose to buy a new one every year because you get excited by the Apple event where the new one is introduced, but you don't have to do that. (I have to buy a new iPhone this year, but that's because next year it becomes an iPod touch with an extra useless radio [att.com]. It still works, and is actually still mostly usable on the Intertubes.)
Re: This will change EVERYTHING (Score:1)
Still using an iPhone4 and and Mac mini from 2006, macbook from 2007 and a 2 year old air. Typing from a Sony xperia z3 which I use daily.
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Considering the original iPhone was released in 2007, I am having a bit of trouble with your claim.
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It was an early prototype iPhone 4. You know, made by that leather case company in China.
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Considering the original iPhone was released in 2007, I am having a bit of trouble with your claim.
I think there might have been a missing comma after "iPhone4". Just replace the first "and" with a comma, then place the string " a " after that, and all will make sense.
Do you value privacy? (Score:2)
Yes, privacy is more expensive. Do you value privacy?
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It'll probably cost double what the Echo does
I have an Amazon Echo. I would gladly pay double for something twice as good. The Echo is nice, but it has a lot of limitations, and there is plenty of room for improvement. For instance, I can tell it to "turn off the kitchen light" and I can tell it to "set a timer for 5 minutes", but I can't tell it "in five minutes, turn off the kitchen light". Another nice feature would be to recognize individual voices of household members, so if my daughter says "play some music" it plays something she likes, and
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Another nice feature would be to recognize individual voices of household members, so if my daughter says "play some music" it plays something she likes, and if I say "play some music" it knows I prefer Willie Nelson over Taylor Swift.
That's a move AWAY from "speaker independence", which has been one of the great breakthroughs in natural-language speech recognition. No thank you.
Not to defend Echo; but is it REALLY too hard to ask it to "Play some Willie Nelson"
Honestly, speech recognition is getting damned good; but CONTEXTUAL recognition is almost as hard, and an entirely different problem.
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Wow, You're confusing things. The ability to recognize speech without training by each speaker is, yes, a great advancement. Having speaker identification, used for preference, is totally different. Stop trolling. If you're not trolling, then unfortunately, your just a an idiot.
I'm not trolling; nor am I an idiot. I'm an embedded developer with nearly 4 decades of paid experience; so I think I understand the issues involved.
Maybe (probably) we have gotten to the point where we can separate pitch, cadence and other "identifying factors" from the actual "words" themselves. In that regard, perhaps it would be possible to distinguish speakers reliably (however I kind of doubt it). Things like siblings of the same gender/age and mood of the speaker might be enough to make that an unr
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except that Siri sucks.
I was cooking dinner the other day and needed 598 divided by 5. my hands were a mess so hey, I haven't tried siri in a while let's try her.
it took 6 tries, for siri to reconigize my voice, and give me a result. the correct numbers and operators appeared on the screen of my iPhone 4 out of 6 of those times, but siri kept failing to find a result.
I don't have a tough accent, I don't stumble my words, yet when i speak voice recognition software falls (done on purpose) every time.
70% acc
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It is probably your accent because siri works great for me. Just tried it and got it first try, just to be sure.
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Wait wait wait...so your answer for a shit product is 'they were saying it wrong'. Yeah, that is a real selling point for a pile of dog shit. It doesn't really taste like dog shit, you are just eating it wrong.
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For voice recognition, saying it wrong will absolutely ensure failure.
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That's pretty funny, but he's not off the mark. Voice recognition software loves my voice. I've had great results even on crummy old software from the mid-90's. I've had success getting the things to recognize all sorts of unusual words, words that sound similar to common words, etc. That's great for me, but no one else I know has had the luck with voice recognition software that I've had. I have very little doubt that there are people on the opposite end of the spectrum as well, who can't get the soft
Re: This will change EVERYTHING (Score:2)
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it took 6 tries, for siri to reconigize my voice, and give me a result.
One thing you didn't mention: What was the ambient environment like, audio-wise?
Speech recognition in the "real world" is QUITE a different problem than it is with a headset, or with your mouth a couple of inches away from the microphone in a relatively quiet room.
My feeling is that you had the iPhone/iPad sitting on the kitchen counter (itself being a pretty acoustically-reflective surface), and you weren't exactly close to, or "on axis" with, the microphone. Add to that that kitchens often have a rela
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And if it can actually help you find things in the AppStore, I am sure that all Apple users will get one out of necessity...
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This is the start of the "Hey we have that too" reaction to product RND
You mean like they did with that failed MP3 player of theirs? What was it called the iMP3 or something?
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This is the start of the "Hey we have that too" reaction to product RND
You mean like they did with that failed MP3 player of theirs? What was it called the iMP3 or something?
I see you refrained from using either the word "Nomad" or the word "lame". :-)
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MP3 Players were also fairly inexpensive, and you didn't need to have a Mac with firewire, and install malware to load your music onto them.
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MP3 Players were also fairly inexpensive, and you didn't need to have a Mac with firewire, and install malware to load your music onto them.
WTF?
FireWire I'll give you, sort of. But once Apple opened-up iTunes to Windows, they dropped the FireWire-Only interface, and of course the Mac requirement. Before that, it was a moot point, since EVERY Mac came equipped with FIreWire. Next!
But "Malware"? I know a lot of people don't particularly like iTunes; but calling it "Malware" is a bit over-the-top, don'tcha think, even for you?
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It installs several background services without consent and even if you uninstall iTns, it leaves it there. It reports back to a central server the files on your computer and in some cases deletes your music. It occupies 100+MB for a glorified content downloader and often makes Windows more unstable.
I can see where he's coming from, even if it's filled with hyperbole.
If you count all the software that installs Services (which are "background" pretty much by definition; so your characterization is unnecessary and redundant), you would likely be surprised. I believe that in the case of iTunes, it is two Services: One that checks to see if you have plugged-in an iPod, and the other to check for Software Updates for iTunes, QuickTime and (when it was relevant) Safari.
That's not "several" it is "two". The Apple Software Update remains because QuickTime (and maybe Safari) r
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Yes, a shitty UI. That's why Apple paid Creative $100 million [cnet.com] for the rights to use that UI. Shitty, indeed!
It wasn't the UI. It was the DATA ORGANIZATION. Ya know, Artist/Album/Genre? That COMPLETELY UNIQUE method of Organization that NOBODY ELSE thought of?
Fucking idiot.
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Precisely. MP3 players were quite common, and Apple loved the UI of the Creative player, so they made their own and ripped off the UI. And then slickly marketed it!
Yeah, because organizing music by Artist, Album and Genre was SOOOO Unique and NON-OBVIOUS. I just can't IMAGINE how Creative thought of that, and I agree that PROVES that Apple ripped-off Creative. (Rolls eyes)
That was a bad court decision then, and simply parroting a bad decision doesn't make it better.
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...says the poster with the fanboi name...
Funny. Because, if we go back and look at what the Slashdotters said at the time [slashdot.org], the "mood" of most posters seems to be that Creative was only suing Apple because they were looking for some deep pockets to mine, and that Apple had "put it all together" with the iPod.
So, I guess those were all "fanbois" too, eh?
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You hang out in Timmy's basement bunker? What's your safeword?
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Timmy (and his Gay Lover Jonathan Ive)
Jonny Ive isn't Tim Cook's lover. That would be Eddy Cue. He even hinted at same at a Keynote, when he said that "Eddy wouldn't let me buy" a new set of Beats headphones. If you're gonna hate, at least try to make it "informed".
Sad to say that at Apple Inc. Cuper-town Infinite Loop Basement Bunker, there is no one who understands Lisp, let alone C.
You're not actually serious, are you?
So, the place that writes nearly EVERYTHING in a variant of C (Objective-C) doesn't have ANYONE who understands C? Is that REALLY your position? As for Lisp, I would bet there are some old-timers that have Lisp experience, and if not, Apple can
Double Loser (Score:1)
That would be more of a problem except that Google can't even compete with Amazon.
Amazon is Impressive (Score:4, Insightful)
Hey. Don't forget Google! (Score:2)
The summary didn't once mention the tech giant Google and their recent unveiling of Google Home.
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The summary didn't once mention the tech giant Google and their recent unveiling of Google Home.
The summary does mention Google Home. But this Apple announcement is way more interesting than the Google Home because it will have an open API. That will make a huge difference. A voice activated API opens up a world of possibilities. Google Home offers nothing new over the Amazon Echo.
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Was that an attempt to outdo TFS by mentioning Goigle Home three times rather than only twice, as in TFS? Granted, unlike TFS, you didn't use the same wording each time.
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Goigle. Good ol' Goigle. Sigh.
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Your paranoid nut case but thanks for the link to myCroft.
It looks really interesting I have some ideas for a better echo than echo but the Echo's api is too limited.
I want the option to use it as a multi room speaker system, intercom, support for google music, and some other functions as well. myCroft looks like it will really help me out.
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Open API? Not good enough. I want to be able to have completely open Infrastructure [mycroft.ai] under my direct control. Mycroft is the only AI that I'm probably going to build and rely on to operate my home. Why? Because if I'm going to have an assistant in my house, it's not going to be a closed box that someone else has the keys to with ownership over the hardware processing my information system. If I'm going to have an AI assistant, I'm going to be in sole control of the Hardware (on premisis), network infrastructure, and any APIs that operate the system. At least now I might have a use for my Tesla [unixsurplus.com] cluster that's been collecting dust (no I didn't pay nearly that much for the three of those).
So, that will be fine for you; but most people lack the time and/or the skills to make that a reality, even if they cared.
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The summary didn't once mention the tech giant Google and their recent unveiling of Google Home.
The summary does mention Google Home. But this Apple announcement is way more interesting than the Google Home because it will have an open API. That will make a huge difference. A voice activated API opens up a world of possibilities. Google Home offers nothing new over the Amazon Echo.
Yes it does. Data mining.
Start talking about "new cars" around the Google Home "hockey puck", and I'll bet a ZILLION dollars that you will start seeing new car ads appear in web pages.
Apple won't do that. In fact, they have completely disbanded their only foray into that sphere, iAd; proving that they see absolutely no value in coming anywhere near the stinky business of making their Customers their Product. But with Google (and to an extent, Amazon), that is really their ONLY business.
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The summary didn't once mention the tech giant Google and their recent unveiling of Google Home.
Oh, you mean their "Me too" "HomeKit", which Apple has had for a year or two now?
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No, I mean TFS mentioned it twice with nearly the same wording.
I don't get it (Score:2)
Why do we need a device to set on the counter? Can't we just as easily set a smartphone on the counter and do the same thing? Maybe this is aimed at people who refuse to buy a smartphone.
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Phone mics are terrible at picking up from across the room. That and an always-on gizmo won't have a dead battery, or be misplaced, like a phone.
Think of a light switch. Sure, you can automate them, but in the middle of doing something else, do you want to go digging for a smart phone or remote... or just flick the switch on the wall? Same sort of idea applies to voice recog gizmos like the Echo.
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An always on gizmo won't miss the conversation where the terraists talk about the van full of fertilizer. Or the conversation about Dear Leader that isn't reverent enough. Or even the sound effects of illegal sexual practices underway.
Granted, the cellphone will do a pretty good job of some forms of evesdropping ("Ok, Google" being something it ostensibly is always on to listen for), but not from a fixed geographic location that makes it easy to dispatch peace officers to intervene and stop the antisocial
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After I get home from work I put my phone on the charger so I do not have it with me all the time at home. You could of course put this software on your tablet and or smart phone.
The idea of the Echo and probably the home is a little different. Being a stand alone device that is always plugged in does have some advantages.
1. It can have much bigger speakers for better quality sound.
2. It can have a much more complex microphone array for better voice recognition.
The Echo is not that much more expensive than
virtual home assistant. Just another gimmick (Score:1)
Unless it can cook and clean, what good is it?
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What's worse, so many things that it SHOULD be able to do, it can't because you have to unlock it first, defeating much of the purpose of using the digital "assistant," and there doesn't seem to be a way to change that in the options or settings.
Believe that most of your concerns have been addressed with iOS 9 and the iPhone 6s and SE.
Time marches on. Things (usually) improve. Do try to keep up.
Hey Siri! Be more like how you used to be (Score:1)
Meanwhile the original developers of siri have moved on to viv [viv.ai].
But the real issue is that Apple have hobbled the usefulness of Siri by not letting it gather all the information on you like Google Now (Google Assistant) so it will never be as personal or as useful.
I'm predicting that they will make it, it will be good but not a best in class, it
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"But the real issue is that Apple have hobbled the usefulness of Siri by not letting it gather all the information on you like Google Now "
This right here is the double edged sword of these services. They really aren't very useful without forgoing privacy.