Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

What do you think of Siri on the Mac?

  • It's amazing

    Votes: 21 16.9%
  • It's okay

    Votes: 74 59.7%
  • I don't like it

    Votes: 29 23.4%

  • Total voters
    124

dogslobber

macrumors 601
Oct 19, 2014
4,670
7,809
Apple Campus, Cupertino CA
No. It offered a solution - creating a reminder - that is workable, and compatible with Siri. Expecting Siri to make app recommendations presents a whole other set of problems, not the least of which is not knowing if those other apps are Siri-enabled.

This sounded like the default else clause of the Siri algorithm where all other options failed. It didn't do what was requested so is useless for that task. D grade.
[doublepost=1473613793][/doublepost]
I have never liked the Dashboard, and still don't. I think it is just plain ugly, just like their built in calculator design. It doesn't even match the color scheme of the rest of the OS, as bland as it is to begin with. :p

Apple should have added Siri to the Dashboard screen only. It just makes sense to put it there. In fact, Dashboard should be front and center of the OS X OS, not some cast off from a bygone decade.
 

blasto2236

macrumors 6502a
Nov 4, 2012
798
392
Front and center? Seriously? Not on my machine. Never! Bleh! :D

I think what they're saying (and I still don't necessarily agree) is that it should get a visual overhaul and be featured prominently. I just enabled it as a Space on my Mac and looked at it for the first time in years. Wow! Talk about a bygone era. The skeuomorphism! Make it stop!
 

RumorzGuy

macrumors 6502
Sep 17, 2008
264
82
Guam, Mariana Islands, U.S.A.
I think what they're saying (and I still don't necessarily agree) is that it should get a visual overhaul and be featured prominently. I just enabled it as a Space on my Mac and looked at it for the first time in years. Wow! Talk about a bygone era. The skeuomorphism! Make it stop!

Well, in my case, it is not just the Dashboard's ugly appearance -- reminds of the wooden window frame they once gave to GarageBand, which also made it so out of place with the rest of the OS's GUI -- but also its huge size, and the fact I never ever used the few widgets that the Dashboard contained. For me, it was just a waste of space.
 

Undecided

macrumors 6502a
Mar 4, 2005
710
185
California
This sounded like the default else clause of the Siri algorithm where all other options failed. It didn't do what was requested so is useless for that task. D grade.

I disagree. She may not have done what you requested but so what. She still provided a workable solution. I can think of all sorts of things I would like Siri to do for me, but that doesn't mean the fact that she doesn't do them is a fail. Siri operates as designed, and your expectation that we can all just leapfrog to HAL-like functionality is unreasonable.
 

=E=

macrumors regular
Nov 8, 2013
132
8
.se
When I ask Siri "when is my birthday" she answers with the date the day after my birthday. And yes, I have it set to the correct date. Anyone else?
 

blasto2236

macrumors 6502a
Nov 4, 2012
798
392
When I ask Siri "when is my birthday" she answers with the date the day after my birthday. And yes, I have it set to the correct date. Anyone else?

She got mine right. Is it correct on the contacts card on your Mac? I noticed that mine was showing on my phone but not in the Contacts app on my Mac, although they sync via iCloud. Anyway, I updated it in Contacts on my Mac and Siri now responds w the correct date.
 

fischersd

macrumors 603
Oct 23, 2014
5,380
1,942
Port Moody, BC, Canada
When I ask Siri "when is my birthday" she answers with the date the day after my birthday. And yes, I have it set to the correct date. Anyone else?
Mine works fine.
Double-check that you don't have yourself duplicated in any of your contact lists.
Delete , then save and re-enter your birthday on your contact card.
Also ask Siri "Show my contact card" Maybe you're not you! ;)
 

SlCKB0Y

macrumors 68040
Feb 25, 2012
3,431
557
Sydney, Australia
Next, I asked Siri to close Messages. Her response? She can't close apps. WHAT??? A basic function like closing apps is not possible?
...
Next, I asked Siri to empty the trash. She informed me that it is beyond her abilities at the moment.

Next, I asked Siri to launch Disk Utility, which she interpreted as "dish utility", but she did open it. :)

It's unlikely they will allow Siri to perform actions which involve potential loss of data for obvious reasons...
 

RumorzGuy

macrumors 6502
Sep 17, 2008
264
82
Guam, Mariana Islands, U.S.A.
It's unlikely they will allow Siri to perform actions which involve potential loss of data for obvious reasons...

If what you are saying is Apple's true motivation behind Siri's current very poor performance on desktop Macs -- personally, I am not convinced that this is their motivation -- then this is just more evidence of how much Apple has been dumbing down things for quite some time now, and acting as if we are all idiots.

There are a million and one ways for a user to lose data on their machine or device. Apple cannot baby us every step of the way, or protect us from all of them. We need to take responsibility for our actions on our machines, and think things out.

If Apple is concerned about data loss via commands given to Siri, then they can easily build in certain safeguards, just as they do with the rest of the OS; but in my view, they should not take away such basic choices from us, such as shutting down apps, emptying the trash, etc.

For example, in the Finder preferences, we have the option to be warned and questioned before the trash is emptied. In Siri's case, instead of just saying that "she" can't empty the trash, she could say "Such and such is in the trash. Are you sure you want to empty it?"

I am sure that it would be very easy for Apple's coding geniuses to implement such safeguards, instead of taking these options from us, and making the decisions for us, as if we are little children.

You may not agree, but that is my take on it. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: tomnavratil

=E=

macrumors regular
Nov 8, 2013
132
8
.se
Mine works fine.
Double-check that you don't have yourself duplicated in any of your contact lists.
Delete , then save and re-enter your birthday on your contact card.
Also ask Siri "Show my contact card" Maybe you're not you! ;)
She got mine right. Is it correct on the contacts card on your Mac? I noticed that mine was showing on my phone but not in the Contacts app on my Mac, although they sync via iCloud. Anyway, I updated it in Contacts on my Mac and Siri now responds w the correct date.

Mine works fine.
Double-check that you don't have yourself duplicated in any of your contact lists.
Delete , then save and re-enter your birthday on your contact card.
Also ask Siri "Show my contact card" Maybe you're not you! ;)

I only have one contact with me, and all the information is correct. Very odd. I have checked multiple times.
But thanks guys for trying to help me out. Its not really a biggie I just thought it was strange.
 

matt9013

macrumors 6502
Oct 27, 2013
333
16
Is Siri able to open anything? Every time I ask her to open something like itunes, vlc, firefox etc all she says is she can't find the app and I should visit the app store.
 

steve62388

macrumors 68040
Apr 23, 2013
3,100
1,962
One of the dumbest things ever is that you have to click to activate Siri. Why? The argument used to be that 'Hey Siri' was only active on old iPhones when plugged into the mains because they didn't have the low power listening mode new phones had. Well I've got news for for you Apple, iMacs are always plugged into the power. Duh.

If the argument is 'there is noise around a desktop potentially triggering rogue activations', well that's no different from now with iPhones. They suffer from false activations (at times with very amusing results).

I haven't tried it but here is a workaround to get 'Hey Siri' operating on a desktop http://lifehacker.com/how-to-go-hands-free-with-siri-in-macos-sierra-1786858883
 

matt9013

macrumors 6502
Oct 27, 2013
333
16
Just tested open iTunes, open Safari, open Mail. Works great here.
Got it working now. Took awhile for some reason though.

Still find this totally useless though if we have to clikk whenever we want Siri. Easier/faster to just do what I want than to have to click siri and than tell her.
 

RumorzGuy

macrumors 6502
Sep 17, 2008
264
82
Guam, Mariana Islands, U.S.A.
Got it working now. Took awhile for some reason though.

Still find this totally useless though if we have to clikk whenever we want Siri. Easier/faster to just do what I want than to have to click siri and than tell her.

Have you tried the "Hey Siri" method by activating dictation, as has been suggested? It does work . . . although, as I said, Siri's incompetence will frustrate you to no end.
 

FurbyUK

Suspended
Jul 9, 2016
661
251
Up North
Finally, I said "Launch the Terminal", and Siri showed me four movies that include the word "terminal". You fail yet again, Siri!

User error there, Siri will open Terminal, your mistake was saying 'Launch the Terminal' as opposed to 'Launch Terminal', which works perfectly fine.
 

ntlman

macrumors regular
Nov 21, 2005
153
261
Siri on iOS and on macOS is garbage.

Siri has no ability to improve speech recognition on iOS, and I see it continuing to fail on macOS. I asked Siri to play a specific song by a specific artist in my iTunes library this morning ("Taxman" by the Beatles). It almost never played the correct track, even after multiple attempts in different context. Not only that, but it immediately set iTunes on shuffle.

Siri, please play "Taxman" by the Beatles.
Playing "Girl" by the Beatles. [puts iTunes in shuffle mode]
[user turns off shuffle mode]
Siri, please play "Girl" by the Beatles.

Playing "Girl" by Beck [puts iTunes in shuffle mode]

We Apple die-hards have to swallow a real truth that is becoming readily apparent: this company is incapable of proper product management without Steve Jobs.
 

C5.4

macrumors member
Sep 22, 2016
41
27
I think people forget that computers tend to have more sensitive data than a cell phone would. Especially those who use their mac for work. I don't want siri to have access to many of the files on my hard drive and I think Apple understands this. I do however want her to be able to do basic tasks like iTunes, opening a web browser, control Hue lights, and setting calendar appointments. Right now Siri has been only somewhat accurate at those tasks.

Don't make her stupid, just keep her unintelligent.
 

mr.bee

macrumors 6502a
May 24, 2007
750
468
Antwerp, belgium
"Siri, create a new blank page in pages" doesn't work
"Siri, create a new document in pages" doesn't work.
"Siri, add 5 and 2" works... "Siri, add 5 and 2 and 4" doesn't work...

"Siri, call my brother" works..."Siri, call my other brother" doesn't work...

Very basic... their own apps, doesn't work...

but examples of some Hollywood films and sports during demos... yay! And I don't even like these...
 
  • Like
Reactions: tomnavratil
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.