"Siri's Embarrasing"

[ixodes]

Just came across this article:

"A new report quotes a former Apple employee as saying that people at the company are "embarrassed by Siri" and late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs would have "lost his mind" over the feature's performance.

The most-recent issue of Fortune profiles Apple CEO Tim Cook as a capable leader who is leaving his own mark on the company. However, author Adam Lashinsky notes that Siri may also reflect a change in the quality of Apple's products.

"People are embarrassed by Siri," Lashinsky quoted a "former insider" as saying. "Steve [Jobs] would have lost his mind over Siri."


What's your take on this?

http://www.appleinsider.com/article..._jobs_would_have_lost_his_mind_over_siri.html

 

[MacDawg]

What's your take on this?

Nonsense designed to generate attention

 

[ixodes]

Nonsense designed to generate attention

I don't follow AppleInsider, is this typical of them?

 

[mrsir2009]

Again with what Steve jobs would have done....

 

[-aggie-]

Yeah, they're so embarrassed that Apple has almost every commercial on the iPhone 4S have something to do with Siri.

 

[MacDawg]

I don't follow AppleInsider, is this typical of them?

Websites want to generate hits
What better way than to have an article about:

• What Woz says about _______ at Apple
• What Steve Jobs would or wouldn't have done about ________
• Any other opportunity to create controversy (fill in the blank)

 

[ixodes]

Websites want to generate hits
What better way than to have an article about:

• What Woz says about _______ at Apple
• What Steve Jobs would or wouldn't have done about ________
• Any other opportunity to create controversy (fill in the blank)

Oh of course, I am well aware of that.

My question was specifically about AppleInsider, as I don't read the site and after your comment wondered if it wasn't a reliable source.

I use RSS & other resources to provide the news of interest to me, this just happened to be something that I saw today, so I thought I'd ask for opinions.

 

[Gutwrench]

So all Siri development came along after Jobs left? Not likely. It was years in development and planning.

 

[DollaTwentyFive]

Sounds like a media attention grab

 

[Mrpwagner]

Siri is useless

I find that Siri stinks. It is useless in my opinion.

 

[mrsir2009]

I find that Siri stinks. It is useless in my opinion.

Personally I wouldn't use any voice recognition software, no matter how good it was. It just doesn't fit in with my lifestyle, as I'm around other people almost all of the time, and I don't want to pretty much announce what I'm doing on my phone.

 

[rocknblogger]

So all Siri development came along after Jobs left? Not likely. It was years in development and planning.

Yes but would he have signed off on its release? I for one don't think so. Maybe one or two more generations down the line. I think he would have demanded better performance.

 

[Gutwrench]

Yes but would he have signed off on its release? I for one don't think so. Maybe one or two more generations down the line. I think he would have demanded better performance.

I agree with you here, rocknblogger.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

While I don't think Apple Insider's the best place for information, I can't disagree. Siri is an absolute failure at understanding me. Sometimes it returns good results, and in a fantastic fashion, but the other 1/2 of the time, it's lack of ability to simply understand the words I'm speaking makes it more than worthless.

Honestly, Microsoft's Tell Me works more consistantly.

 

[noteple]

With all the Siri featured ads?
Ya, everyone at Apple is embarrassed.

 

[Benguitar]

No company or product is perfect. I'm sure a lot of people remember the MobileMe drama.

The way I see Siri, is she is still beta software, and while it is progressing. It is still a few years away before Siri will be able to do the same things 'Jarvis' can do in the Iron Man movies.

I think Siri will eventually evolve into doing more things like Jarvis in the sense that, you will have more of a real-time conversation with her, rather than a call and response conversation. Although I'm not saying Siri will be able to detect the differences between terrorists and civilians, but to be able to schedule her to wake you up in the morning with the local weather forecast and any new emails you have received overnight sounds more plausible to me.

My guess is that it will also start to learn your activities/lifestyle (if you allow her to) where if you commonly ask her for directions to a certain style of restaurant, she will ask you what kind of food would you like for lunch today, based upon what you have previously asked her.

As far as embarrassment goes, I think in time her performance will improve and when she becomes more of a common feature among devices, people will warm up to her.

To me, I still am a little surprised when I see people using FaceTime around where I work, and I feel uncomfortable as to walk into their picture or something, but again. As more people start using a feature, the more and more people warm up to it.

Anyway, those are just my thoughts. Take them with a grain of salt.

 

[AndyK]

Steve is dead, time to change the record of reasons why things aren't as people want them. Things change, people change but the whine stays the same.

 

[Primejimbo]

People think Steve Jobs wasn't involved with Siri??

 

[The Phazer]

I'm sure it must be true. I'd hope Apple was embarrassed about Siri.

The fact is trying to make a product out of it was a dumb decision. Voice recognition is ten or twenty years from being ready, much like touch screens in the days of the Newton weren't ever going to be a mainstream product because they just didn't work well enough or consistently enough. Sure, a few people swore by them, but enough people weren't, and weren't until the advent of multitouch finger screens.

Likewise, Siri won't work until we have a significant improvement in how voice recognition works.

But it's not just that - Siri isn't even a very good implementation. Downtime is embarrassingly high, it's crippled internationally, Apple haven't released the promised international services on time (UK locations was supposed to be coming Q1) and there's no sign of them or any other improvements coming, and most of all, CLAIMING SOMETHING YOU ADVERTISE ON TELEVISION AS A MAIN FEATURE AS BEING A "BETA" SO YOU CAN ******** YOUR WAY AROUND IT NOT WORKING PROPERLY.

Hopefully iOS6 will focus on making iOS actually *better* for users, and not just implausibly ambitious gimmicks like Siri.

Phazer

 

[kaielement]

I don't like how "Siri" has to bounce everything off of Apple's servers. Now correct me if I am wrong I have heard then even to change something in your calendar or listen to a song on your phone it has to hit Apple's servers. That is a big reason I don't use or want to own a 4s I have a limited data plan and I wouldn't want it eaten up just because I ask it to play a song. Also I am constantly in areas where I don't have internet connection. I live in a real small town and areas don't get connection. So that's my two cents I guess. I would love to see the next generation iPhone have some sort of way to be able to do simple tasks with our running up my data just to listen to a song lol.

 

[Sekelani]

I don't like how "Siri" has to bounce everything off of Apple's servers. Now correct me if I am wrong I have heard then even to change something in your calendar or listen to a song on your phone it has to hit Apple's servers. That is a big reason I don't use or want to own a 4s I have a limited data plan and I wouldn't want it eaten up just because I ask it to play a song. Also I am constantly in areas where I don't have internet connection. I live in a real small town and areas don't get connection. So that's my two cents I guess. I would love to see the next generation iPhone have some sort of way to be able to do simple tasks with our running up my data just to listen to a song lol.

Fair enough man. I feel the same

 

[vonWachtstain]

I feel sorry for people who bought a cellphone just because they wanted "electronic personal assistant" in beta development stage.

 

[chrono1081]

Nonsense designed to generate attention

This.

Honestly I have never had a problem with Siri yet. I really don't get why people dog it so much. I use it all the time for stores, restaurants, etc. It helped me find my new apartment building.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Again with what Steve jobs would have done....

Of course. Apple is his company. It'll always be that way. Always. A lot of people consider him the best CEO ever, of any company. So what he would say or think about things will always come up, especially with his own company.

 

[Dr McKay]

This.

Honestly I have never had a problem with Siri yet. I really don't get why people dog it so much. I use it all the time for stores, restaurants, etc. It helped me find my new apartment building.

Well I guess it's somewhat more useful in America, but out here it can't do any of that. It's been nearly 8 months and Siri hasnt shown any signs of improvement, we just get told "It's a Beta, be patient!" So all Siri can do for me is set alarms and reminders. Me personally I don't have any speech impediments or a regional accent, yet Siri normally has trouble understanding me. She's nailed setting alarms because thats all I use her for now.

Everytime people at work hear I have a 4S, they ask me to demonstrate Siri, and it nearly always fails miserably.

"Call Dan"

Siri: Calling Tom Field.

"No, Call Dan"

Siri: I'm sorry, I don't understand Core Dan

After seeing the commercial with Siri, I tried to get Siri to remind me to put the gazpacho on ice. It literally took me 30+ attempts, with Siri flodding my calender with reminders to "Put the Dispatcher on Ice".