siri

Martin Scorsese has become the latest celebrity enlisted by Apple to talk up Siri in a TV commercial.

The commercial, which premiered today, shows the movie director posing rapid-fire questions at the iPhone 4S voice assistant in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Following in the footsteps of Samuel L. Jackson, Zooey Deschanel, and John Malkovich, Scorsese is shown using the feature to review his calendar, reschedule appointments, locate friends, and check local traffic.

The commercial concludes with Scorsese telling Siri how much he likes her and saying that "she's going places."

As happy … Read more

Siri was hailed as a innovation when it was unveiled with the iPhone 4S. But do iPhone owners still talk to her?

In a column for yesterday's New York Times, writer Nick Bilton said he believes the romance may have soured between Siri and her users.

Initially enthused about the new voice assistant, Bilton found that too many of his conversations ended up in a failure to communicate, with Siri either unavailable or unable to provide the right information. And he doesn't seem to be the only one having communication problems with Siri.

Bilton also noted that many … Read more

Another day, another lawsuit out of China targeting one of Apple's products.

This time around, a Shanghai-based voice application developer, Zhizhen Network Technology, has reportedly sued Apple for allegedly infringing a patent it holds related to "a type of instant messaging chat bot system" it calls Xiaoi Bot. The company argues that the patent, which it filed for in August 2004 and was awarded in February 2006, is being violated by Apple's Siri.

Marbridge Daily, which was first to report on the story and obtained a copy of the suit, says that Zhizhen attempted to resolve the issue with Apple out of court in May. … Read more

With Justin Yu still under the weather, The 404 Show once again experiments with Joe Kaminski filling in. We consider ourselves very lucky to have a guest with super-powers on our program. The first power is his knack for going on obscenely long tangents about the most meaningless of topics. The second is the ability to give spoiler-free movie reviews, more specifically of The Amazing Spiderman, which was just released.

Next it's off to a discussion on Android and the fact that only 10-percent of those devices have Ice Cream Sandwich running on them. What's even more confusing is that Jelly Bean (ICS' successor) was just released last week. It's arguably the most annoying Android reality, so we weigh its pros and cons.

Finally, we touch on EA's recent statement that the company will soon be distributing games 100-percent digitally. This shouldn't be much of a surprise, since EA already goes out of the way to combat used game sales (see EA Online Pass).

But perhaps the most exciting news of the day is the introduction of the official 404 trucker hat (pictured above). These bad boys will be available should you come and hang out with us at ComicCon 2012. All the info you need is here. We also highly recommend participating on CNET's ComicCon Twitter Contest for your chance to win a game console. … Read more

Life can't be easy if you're Siri.

Apple's factota has to rely on your voice, regardless of whether you're drunk or sober, have a characteristically difficult regional accent or shriek when you're stressed.

So when redoubtable analysts at Piper Jaffray decided to pit her against venerable Google searches done via keyboard, this was a little like asking Adele to appear in a cage match with Chuck Norris.

Still, she bravely went out into busy Minneapolis streets -- there are some -- and tried to do her best.

Indeed, Fortune reports that, despite all the distractions … Read more

Even if you don't plan on buying a new car any time soon to take advantage of Apple's upcoming Eyes Free feature, you may still be able to get Siri in your car. Aftermarket electronics supplier Dice Electronics says that its MediaBridge component already has the capability to integrate Siri with some vehicles' electronics systems.

MediaBridge is a plug-and-play Bluetooth-enabled hardware "black box" that integrates Apple products with the vehicle's existing head unit. The device adds Bluetooth and streaming to the audio system, and in some cars, lets you access Siri with steering wheel controls. … Read more

Apple announced last week at the 2012 WWDC that many automakers have signed on to integrate Apple's Siri in their vehicles, but few have said which cars or when. However, two compacts from General Motors may be among the first to include the new "Eyes Free" feature in its vehicles, reports blog GM Authority.

The Chevrolet Spark and Chevrolet Sonic will be the first GM vehicles to get this latest infotainment feature. The two vehicles are already available with MyLink, an infotainment system that integrates with the driver's smartphone. MyLink leverages the handset's Internet connection … Read more

"A lot of people say Siri. I say poo-poo."

Yes, poo-poo.

No, these aren't the stink-ridden words of Larry Page or Mark Zuckerberg.

Troublingly, these bon mots reportedly issued from the lips of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Woz offered his disappointment on a visit to a horse farm in upstate New York -- where he met a no doubt sweet-smelling Belgian crossbreed called Woz. (Yes, named after him.)

Speaking to the Times Union, the Apple co-founder said of Siri: "I was using it to make reservations long before Apple bought it."

It? It? Siri is … Read more

Siri users in the U.S. have had access to location-based services since the application launched last year. Elsewhere around the world, however, that hasn't been the case. But iOS 6 will change that.

Reddit posters using iOS 6 living abroad reported today that when they tried to use Siri for location-based service, like finding a restaurant nearby or locating a gas station, it worked. Killian Bell over at Cult of Mac confirmed those claims, saying that he tried it out with iOS 6 in the U.K. However, Bell reported that it wasn't as accurate as he … Read more