Siri

Apple's voice assistant, Siri, was put under the microscope this week with a tough test and the arrival of a new opponent, and it did not fare well at all. Siri, the signature feature of the Apple iPhone 4S that was introduced in October, has received a lot of criticism from consumers, with many saying it does not do many of the things Apple shows it doing in its commercials. But those were only anecdotes until now, thanks to an analyst who has given Siri a rigorous test that shows she is currently doing poorly at her job. Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray reportedly sent a note Thursday to clients explaining that he had asked Siri a series of 1,600 questions to get some hard data on how well it works and asked the same questions of the Google search engine for a comparison.

The Samsung Galaxy S III is set to make its U.S. debut Thursday for T-Mobile and for Sprint a week later. And we have in our hot little hands the Galaxy S III from T-Mobile. The things that jumped out at us and made notable first impressions were its huge screen, sleek design and S Voice. Clearly, the very first thing you can't help noticing is that expansive 4.8-inch screen, whose largeness seemed to be offset by the phone's light weight and slim design. It never became too difficult to navigate, although it could take some getting used to for fingers accustomed to stretching across a 3.5-inch screen.

Is that rain? Yes, it appears to be raining a storm of tweets making fun of Zooey Deschanel's ubiquitious commercial for the iPhone in which she quizzes Siri. And the bulk of them are coming from one Twitter account. Zooey Asks Siri, or @ZooeySiri, began tweeting in early May and is dedicated entirely to making fun of the Deschanel/Siri commercial at least two times a day but normally more like five times. And the account has gained quite a following, amassing more than 27,000 followers thanks to tweets like " Siri, what do you think it's like to have whiskers?

Steve Wozniak used to tell all his friends about Siri. Now he can't tell why Siri's become "poo-poo. " Wozniak, one of Apple's cofounders, laid out his criticisms of Siri on Wednesday during an interview, and he did not hold back. The Woz said he first used Siri when it was a standalone third-party app on iOS and said he thought Siri was the future. "I said 'What are the five largest lakes in California?' and it came up one, two, three four five -- shocked me," Wozniak said, according to the Albany (N.Y.)

The idea of Siri giving directions in the upcoming iOS 6 Maps app that's replacing the native Google Maps app didn't elicit even a "woo-hoo" from me since my confidence in her wisdom wavers every time she can't figure out a simple request. And, frankly, in L.A. traffic, there's no room for an argument with your phone. Typically, to get around, I have used a blend of the Google Maps app for a quick look at the route and the traffic and the TomTom app for eyes-free navigational help.

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple is mapping a course that it hopes will help it sail past smartphone rival Google. Come fall, new Apple Inc. iPhones and iPads will have a slew of new features, including a souped-up mapping feature that will give spoken directions to drivers and let users simulate flying over lifelike three-dimensional versions of cities they're navigating. Apple executives showed off the new Maps app, along with a smarter version of Apple's robotic assistant, Siri, and a line of new Mac laptops and software, during Monday's opening keynote for the company's developer conference here.

Those awaiting the Samsung Galaxy S III's arrival have finally received something to hold on to: The next big Android phone will launch on all major U.S. carriers this month. Samsung announced that its flagship phone will be available on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon, along with U.S. Cellular, sometime in June. The company did not reveal exact pricing or dates, saying that information will be announced in the next few weeks by each of the networks. But according to an Associated Press report, the phone will be available starting at $199.

Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook, submitting to a rare public interview Tuesday night, said he's never been more amazed by the secret products the tech company is working on. “The juices are flowing, and we have some incredible things coming out,” Cook said on the first night of the D10 conference in Rancho Palos Verdes. Cook touched on various topics at the interview, including succeeding Steve Jobs as CEO and Apple's future in the TV market. All the while, Cook maintained a careful balance between keeping the company's secrets and dropping enough hints to generate excitement about the future.

Is Bob your uncle? Probably depends on what language you're speaking. In Urdu, if Robert's your father's brother, he's your chacha -- but not if he's your father's older brother ( taaya), your mother's brother ( mamu), your father's sister's husband ( phupa) or your mother's sister's husband ( khalu). In the Native American language Crow, your father's brother is also called your father. So is your father's sister's son. In any language, each kinship system balances simplicity with specificity, according to a study in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

Apple Inc. announced that Chief Executive Tim Cook would be passing up on $75 million by not participating in the Cupertino, Calif., company's quarterly dividends. With the company set to start giving out a quarterly dividend of $2.65 a share by the fourth quarter of this year, Cook decided not to collect the dividends for his 1.125 million shares, which would amount to $75 million before they each vested. Cook's decision to decline the payments was announced Thursday by the company through an SEC filing.