John Martellaro and Charlotte Henry join host Kelly Guimont to talk about the leaked TV+ Pricing and the latest AI hire at Microsoft.
SIri
Battery/Email PSAs, Siri Spotify Teamup – TMO Daily Observations 2019-08-14
Andrew Orr and Charlotte Henry join host Kelly Guimont to talk about a couple of PSAs for Apple folks and how Siri and Spotify might team up.
Siri May Soon be Able to Play Spotify Content
Spotify and Apple are reportedly in talks to allow Siri to play content from the music streaming service, despite an ongoing antitrust battle.
Suspending Siri Grading, MacBook Saga Ends – TMO Daily Observations 2019-08-02
John Martellaro and Adam Christianson join host Kelly Guimont to talk about Siri’s grading program and the end of John’s MacBook repair saga.
Germany Orders Google to Stop Human Review of Voice Recordings
On the same day that Apple pauses Siri grading, a Germany privacy watchdog ordered Google to stop its human review of voice snippets.
Apple Will Give Customers a Choice About Siri Grading
Apple is pausing the Siri grading program that sends some Siri queries to its servers for better processing.
Future Apple Headphones Could Tell Which Ear They’re In
New patents reveal that future Apple headphones could tell which ear they’re in using machine learning.
Apple notes that “During operation, capacitive sensor electrodes may be used by the control circuitry in capturing capacitive sensor ear images that are processed by a machine learning classifier. The machine learning classifier may be used to determine whether the headphones are being worn in a reversed or unreversed orientation.
100,000 Live Radio Stations Coming to iPhone, HomePod
Apple announced at WWDC19 that over 100,000 live radio stations would be coming as part of iOS 13. Some people report it working already.
Former Siri Chief Bill Stasior Talks Virtual Assistants
Bill Stasior previously led Siri development at Apple. He sat down to discuss virtual assistants and how they can improve in the next 3-5 years.
UN Report Says Making Siri Voice Female by Default is Sexist
A report from the United Nations says that making virtual assistants like Siri have female voices by default is sexist.
As voice-powered technology reaches into communities that do not currently subscribe to Western gender stereotypes, including indigenous communities, the feminization of digital assistants may help gender biases to take hold and spread. Because Alexa, Cortana, Google Home and Siri are all female exclusively or female by default in most markets, women assume the role of digital attendant…
I think it’s a fair point.
Scriptable Can Make Shortcuts and Siri More Powerful
Scriptable is an automation tool that enables you to write scripts that integrates with native features of iOS such as files, calendars, reminders, documents and much more. An extensive support for Siri Shortcuts enables you to present images, tables and more in Siri as well as making Siri read out loud a text when you run a script from a Siri Shortcut. Your scripts can be run from the Scriptable app, from a Siri Shortcut or from other apps using the share sheet extensive or Scriptable’s URL schemes. Features include writing and running JavaScript; auto complete of variable names, functions, keywords and properties as you type; access lots of native iOS features from your JavaScript code, including managing files, calendars, reminders, contacts, photos, location, pasteboard, web views and more. App Store: Free (Offers In-App Purchases)
2019 Voice Report Shows Siri, Google Assistant Tied
Microsoft‘s recent 2019 Voice Report shows that usage of Google Assistant and Siri are tied at 36%, while 41% of survey respondents are concerned about privacy.
iOS 13 Could Include Dark Mode, Smarter Mail, and More
A fresh batch of iOS 13 rumors has dropped this morning, which include dark mode, better multitasking, Mail upgrades, and a lot more.
Migration Is (Not Only) For The Birds – Mac Geek Gab 757
Siri, Stringify, Space Lens, and Emergency Bypass don’t all begin with the letter ‘S’, but they have one thing in common: your two favorite geeks discuss them in this week’s episode of Mac Geek Gab. In addition, listen as John F. Braun and Dave Hamilton answer your questions, including some about migrating to a new Mac the right way. The best way. Press play and enjoy learning at least five new things!
Female British Siri Voice Given an Upgrade
LONDON – Apple customers in the UK might be feeling that Siri is just that little bit more human. It is reported that the digital assistant’s British female voice has been given an upgrade. Cult of Mac noticed a number of users commenting on the improvement to the voice on iPhone, iPad, and HomePod. The male voice was improved earlier in 2019.
Apple launched a mission to make Siri sound less robotic in 2017. The release of iOS 11 that fall brought big improvements to Siri’s voice in a number of markets, and the improvements have slowly but surely continued since then. Apple is thought to be using machine learning techniques to make its assistant sound more natural. It hasn’t changed the voice artists behind Siri — at least not for the British accents — but they now sound more human.
For Hire: An Analyst to Share Negative Siri Feedback With Team
The employee will have the power to lead “rapid-response solutions” to fix problems with Siri that are trending or viral.
Siri Shortcuts Might Just Be Misunderstood
Thursday’s update to Siri Shortcuts got writer Lance Ulanoff wondering if the feature is actually widely misunderstood. He saw it in action, working with apps that made an Espresso on command or could order your favourite pizza. He posted a column on Medium about the demo, and how Siri Shortcuts works. He concluded that the “ability to take deep dives into disparate apps without even touching your phone” is “the most compelling aspect” of the feature.
Getting Siri to launch an action isn’t that surprising, but what iPhone and iOS 12 users might not realize is the extent to which Siri’s been watching them and using local machine learning to build up a potential library of Siri Shortcut actions. It starts pretty simply. If you drag your thumb down on your home screen, you’ll immediately see a collection of 4-to-8 apps selected by Siri as those you use most often. There are also those Siri Suggestions that helpfully popup on your lock-screen offering to, for instance, initiate a call that its gleaned from your schedule.
Siri Privacy and Team Changes – TMO Daily Observations 2019-02-04
Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro discuss Siri with host Kelly Guimont: Both what Siri should keep to herself and team leadership changes.
Apple HomePod: $296.10
We have a deal on an Apple HomePod. This is Apple’s Siri-based speaker with a built-in subwoofer, 7 tweeters, and microphones to hear your commands for Siri. It retails for $349, and our deal is for $329. But, our friends at Stack Commerce gave us coupon code “HOMEPOD10” that will save 10%, for a checkout price of $296.10. Our link points to the Space Gray mode, but you can also choose the White version in the deal listing. Get it while you can.
Voice of Hebrew Siri Sues Apple for Illegitimate Usage
Ms. Gura-Sini performed the voice for Nuance Communications, which Apple acquired in 2016. She said she only authorized the use of her voice for “legitimate” purposes.
Here's How Siri Works on the HomePod
Although the journal entry is highly technical in nature, it’s a fascinating glimpse into the technology underpinning the HomePod.
Offline Siri Edges Closer to Reality With Silk Labs
Last week Andrew Orr wrote about a patent that Apple filed regarding more offline Siri capability. He thinks the latest news about Silk Labs provides stronger evidence for that.
Offline Siri, SMS Data Breach – TMO Daily Observations 2018-11-16
Andrew Orr and John Martellaro join host Kelly Guimont to talk about Offline Siri and the latest data breach, (this one involves text messages).
How to Turn Off Siri Suggestions in iOS 12
Today’s Quick Tip is about Siri Suggestions in iOS 12. Have you seen reminders to call people back on your lock screen? Don’t like those prompts? We’ll tell you what to do!