BUSINESS
May 24, 2012 | By Michelle Maltais
Siri has had her visitor badge revoked at IBM. Apparently she can't keep quiet about what she hears. Although IBM has allowed the iPhone 4S and other employee-owned consumer smartphones and tablets, like so many other companies barraged by their smartphone-toting workers, company Chief Information Officer Jeanette Horan has said it's been more of a migraine than a cost-saving solution. "We found a tremendous lack of awareness as to what constitutes a risk," Horan recently told MIT's Technology Review . Now they're trying to educate their employees.
BUSINESS
April 17, 2012 | By Michelle Maltais
A new pair of ads for iPhone 4S may have personal assistants around town a little concerned. Siri has gone Hollywood, helping celebrities figure out things like rain and where to find organic mushrooms. In a departure from Apple's earlier ads that used celebrities only for warm and authoritative voice-overs, a couple of new TV ads feature actor Samuel L. Jackson and "New Girl" actress Zooey Deschanel engaging with Siri. Fans note that Sam Jackson doesn't curse and Zooey Deschanel doesn't sing in these ads. You'll have to wait for the parodies that will certainly come.
BUSINESS
May 21, 2012 | By Salvador Rodriguez, This post has been updated. See the note below for details.
Samsung's S Voice, a Siri-like feature that was supposed to be one of the main attractions of its upcoming Galaxy S III, has leaked. The company announced its upcoming phone and the feature earlier this month, and the device is scheduled to begin selling in Europe next week. "The Galaxy S is more like a good friend that listens to you and responds quickly," Samsung vice president Jean Daniel said regarding the S Voice feature at the Galaxy S III announcement, according to ABC News . But the S Voice feature has reportedly been leaked and can run on any device operating on Android's latest OS version, called Ice Cream Sandwich. The feature can be downloaded and installed on devices such as the Galaxy Nexus and work the way it's supposed to, according to website Redmond Pie . With the launch of the device so near, the news cannot be good for Samsung.
BUSINESS
May 24, 2012 | By Michelle Maltais
In a new ad, the voice of iPhone 4S meets the embodiment of all things eerie and slightly off-kilter - John Malkovich. Really and truly, the ad made me nervous for Siri. Typically scenes that start with the "Un bel dì vedremo" aria from Puccini's "Madame Butterfly" echoing through the room (think "Fatal Attraction"), Malkovich sipping coffee and asking one-word questions while exhaling audibly usually don't end well for the others in them. I know most of us who have seen "Being John Malkovich" hope Siri answers his single-word queries with "Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich.
BUSINESS
March 30, 2012 | By Michelle Maltais
Siri may be talking to more devices in the near future, according to a patent Apple filed. The patent application suggests that Apple may be looking at connecting and controlling devices via Siri on the iPhone. In the filing, Apple wrote:"Portable electronic devices, such as digital media players, personal digital assistants, mobile phones, and so on, typically rely on small buttons and screens for user input. Such controls may be built into the device or part of a touch-screen interface, but are typically very small and can be cumbersome to manipulate....
BUSINESS
October 4, 2013 | By Salvador Rodriguez
For two years, she was the voice of Apple, giving directions to iPhone users and sometimes responding with quirky comments. At times Siri became butt of jokes on late-night TV, and all along, iPhone users wondered who was behind the voice. Ponder no more. Thanks to CNN , Apple fans finally know who voiced the feature. Her name is Susan Bennett, and she is a voice-over actress who lives in Atlanta. Bennett told CNN she has done countless voice gigs since the '70s, many of which have been used for commercial jingles, GPS systems and even as the voice customers hear at Delta Air Lines terminals.