What Happens When Siri and Google Voice Play Operator

Remember when you were in preschool, sitting around in a circle, whispering a message from person to person until it reached the last kid in the chain and was completely different? As part of his "Digital Humor Theory" thesis, Pratt Institute graduate student Michael J. Silber did just that with Siri's text-to-voice…

Read…
55A

How Apple Is Taking Over Your Car

It's no secret that late Apple CEO Steve Jobs was keen on bringing the company's technology to the automotive world. In fact, according to longtime Apple board member Mickey Drexler, "Steve's dream before he died was to design an iCar." Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Shiller, echoed those…

Read…
115A

Sherpa, the Lovechild of Siri and Google Now

Bark something at Siri and it might get back to you with what you're looking for. Google Now is supposed to serve up relevant information when you need it without having to do the legwork yourself. Now imagine the two merging together to form a Voltron-like personal assistant. Sherpa is that Voltron and it's finally …

Read…
36A

The Most Realistic Virtual Human Ever Is a Fully Expressive Talking…

Hoping to be holding the personal assistant of the future, researchers at the University of Cambridge have unveiled what's supposedly the most realistically esxpressive controllable avatar ever. Move aside, Siri—this is what you get for mouthing off.

Read…
87A

Watch Siri Turn Into a Home Automation Master With the Help Of…

With home automation being all the rage these days, it was only a matter of time before Siri got her little, occasionally holier-than-thou claws into the action. All it took was YouTube user Elvis Impersonator, a Raspberry Pi, and enough trust in Siri's goodness to believe she won't devolve into a Hal 9000 wannabe.

Read…
56A

Cloud-Based Voice Recognition Could Make Oral Commands Actually Useful

Think of voice recognition, and you probably think of Siri. Now, though, the company behind Apple's tech, Nuance, is planning a cloud-based, cross-platform system which could make the tech properly useful.

Read…
36A

Never Ask the IRIS 9000 iPhone Dock To Lie

Though cleverly named the IRIS 9000 to dodge any legal trouble with MGM, 2001: A Space Odyssey fans should have no trouble recognizing this HAL 9000 doppleganger that's designed to make using Siri feel a little more sci-fi. But whatever you do, don't ask it to lie or conceal the truth.

Read…
15A

Would You Ever Name Your Child After a Gadget?

Because all the good names are already taken, it's tempting for mothers to just pop out a kid, look around the room, and say I name thee Curtain Rod. But even that would be preferable to the actual rise in people naming their kids after technology.

Read…
161A
 Loading more stories…