Neither of those upset me. The problem is the "alternatives" can't do anything close to what Siri can/is supposed to, because of the limited nature of multi-tasking and the restrictive APIs.
It's built into the OS. There is even HW in the A5 chips specifically for Siri. So if you want something that has EVERYTHING that Siri has you jut aren't going to get it. But there are clearly alternatives.
But all that is beside the point. Apple calls it a beta. You know what a beta is so why expect Apple to show a service that doesn't work on a 30 second ad. Nothing in technology works every time. On paper you can make things flawless but in the real world there are bandwidth hiccups, there are server glitches... and we're not even talking about a nascent service that isn't even 6 months old.
Do you realize why this was released as a beta with so much focus on the customer? Simple answer: It needs to be used in order to become great. It's as simple as that. You can't work out all the kinks of the world's languages, dialects, speech patterns and "what one meant when they said something else." Case in point, even in plain text you misinterpreted something I wrote:
Quote:
Sorry, for some reason when you mentioned "Mail" I got it in my head you were talking about the Mac versions.
Just curious. How many dialects are there in Japan, and are some quite different from the more common?
There are more dialects than prefectures, there are some similar and some very different, going from Okinawa to Saporoto me they are almost different languages.
Now that I remember, I learned English in SoCa and when a moved to Ky, it took me a while to get hang of the accent
You can't work out all the kinks of the world's languages, dialects, speech patterns and "what one meant when they said something else." Case in point, even in plain text you misinterpreted something I wrote:
Yes, but I'm not marketing nor selling my services. They are clearly in beta though.
Tried it in Japanese a couple of times yesterday, it worked fine for simple requests. Can understand that there would be some teething problems, however.
Some voice-recognition experts have suggested that Apple needed to release a beta version of Siri to the public in order to acquire a volume of voice samples sufficient for refining the service.
Oh thank God. I was so worried.
It's ok to deceive customers into paying to help you develop your product so long as you really need to. I mean, if there's no other way, there's no other way, right? What's important is that the product ultimately be a success, i.e., that it make a huge profit. And waiting to sell something until it's worth buying is hell on cash flow.
Now that it's 100% legal for anyone with the money to buy as many Congressman as he, she, or it can afford, we can all look forward to the time in the near future when pharmaceutical companies are finally free of those irksome regulations that all-too-often prevent them from pursuing this strategy.
It's just "marketing," right? After all "lying" is what poor people do, and being as we're all "temporarily inconvenienced millionaires," we wouldn't want to be confused with them, would we?
It's ok to deceive customers into paying to help you develop your product so long as you really need to. I mean, if there's no other way, there's no other way, right? What's important is that the product ultimately be a success, i.e., that it make a huge profit. And waiting to sell something until it's worth buying is hell on cash flow.
If Apple didn't release a beta there is no way they can find out how it will be like in the real world and through use by the many people's it will and can be refine.
You mean other companies don't release a beta to find faults.
Now that it's 100% legal for anyone with the money to buy as many Congressman as he, she, or it can afford, we can all look forward to the time in the near future when pharmaceutical companies are finally free of those irksome regulations that all-too-often prevent them from pursuing this strategy.
Tell that to goog.
It's just "marketing," right? After all "lying" is what poor people do, and being as we're all "temporarily inconvenienced millionaires," we wouldn't want to be confused with them, would we?
Liars are everywhere regardless of status ok, you are perfect and you don't ever lie so good for you.
The issue with all voice recognition software is that although the population of each country mostly speak the same language there are many dialects and accents.
For example, in the UK English is the main language but as you move from the south of England to the North of Scotland Nd Northern Ireland the accents become stronger and the rate at which people speak increases and words effectively meld together.
So, if you are Scottish and ask. 'where am I'
Siri responds: 'I don't understand, Rhianna'
If you then slow down and space the words a little Siri understands you, although as you are in the UK Siri can't help you as maps etc only works in the USA.
As a work in progress Siri is ok, however there is a huge amount of work for Apple to do to get it to work for everyone without them having to talk like a total fanny to get it to understand you.
It would be really cool if there are new innovative language related products from third party companies for Siri. Or perhaps even from Apple.
I have always wanted to be able to speak in another language, but the current software solutions are really clunky. I tried a class but to busy with work right now.
Just imagine having a conversation with a native speaker while on vacation, then being able to ask Siri on the fly, then as you repeat that to the speaker, the spoken words are automatically recorded and stored in a database for later reference.
It has been said that we only use about 600 common words on average in everyday use. Not sure of this truth, but the prospect of using something like Siri as a learning aid seems more organic than memorizing thousands of words out of context.
Again, an old idea that has practical application. It seems to be a natural evolution.
I was going to bring up the smartphone as a Universal Translator a la Star Strek, but where is the fun in that? Languages are so rich and beautiful, we should be able to speak at least a few of them other than our own.
It is a bit embarrassing to go in a foreign country and everyone else has to speak English because I can't speak theirs. I am a Filipino and my wife is Russian. She can speak Spanish, French, English and of course, her native language.
For example: Gabagool appears to be a Sicilian pronunciation for the Italian word Capicola.
But isn't Sicilian generally held to be at best a distant dialect of modern Italian, at worst a different language? (just as Portuguese and Castillian, being Iberian romance languages, are more closely related to each other than to say French, but still very, very different.)
One could argue that slurring and general apathy toward stringent pronunciation is one aspect that helps creates distinct dialects. And one could then argue that for Siri (or any voice dictation software) to be complete it needs to understand different dialects. And one could argue that it also needs to learn to understand particular user's voice patterns the way iOS learn to understand commonly used words that aren't previously in...
Instill say it needs a "teach" feature. When siri gets it wrong you should be able to correct it and thus help the database along. With pronouncing, too: "Say it like this siri..."
I just told Siri "I have a stomach ache".. and it said it doesn't know what I mean.
if it doesn't answer when asked in engrish...
Why should it? "I have a stomach ache" isn't a question.
Seriously, do people expect Star Trek to happen overnight? Siri is a great product that does some great things. I don't recall Apple ever saying that it would answer every single possible question from every single person. If it doesn't answer your question, slow down and speak more clearly. My car's navigation system is far worse - and my car cost a lot more than an iPhone. Heck, even the navigation system cost more than an iPhone.
Technology has limitations. Expecting perfection (especially on the first version and especially when it's still in beta) is ridiculous.
And if you don't like it, you can return the phone.
Just curious. How many dialects are there in Japan, and are some quite different from the more common?
I have seen estimates as high as over 400. Basically, in the Edo period and before, each village effectively had its own dialect. Remember, Japan is effectively a country at the top of a mountain range, so travel was difficult. Given the differences in dialects across Japan - even native speakers of Japanese have difficulty on occasion - it is not surprising that Siri has trouble. Akita-ben anyone?
Asking for info comprehends the question, then prompts to see if you want to check the web. Press OK and Safari comes up.
"I love you" brings up several responses.
I can't ask a question in English while it is set to Japanese.
Directions don't work and say that it works in the US and needs English.
As for dialects: where I've, there are three major ones within 50 miles. Within each area, sometimes limited to a single village, there are several more. There's one town about 20 miles away where I can't understand a thing. Many of my neighbors, all Japanese, say they have trouble, too.
Then Apple shouldn't be making it the focal point of their ad campaign, let alone making it work flawlessly in those.
Exactly. Siri is very cool. Not ready for prime time but fun to play with. Worth having for sure. But the fact that it's still in beta doesn't address the fact that Apple is not promoting it as a beta function. If you did a survey of MacDonald's eaters and asked if they ever ate pink slimed reconstituted chemically cleaned chicken they'd say no, and it's not because MacDonald's had ever lied about it. The 95% of iPhone buyers who didn't know it was beta is not mostly constituted of people who are dumb or refuse to read labels.
You can't get this sort of service "perfect" without people using it. Look at what the service does. Can you see how a few programmers could possibly program in every thing a person from anywhere in the world might say? Of course not!
Quote:
But the fact that it's still in beta doesn't address the fact that Apple is not promoting it as a beta function.
Comments
Neither of those upset me. The problem is the "alternatives" can't do anything close to what Siri can/is supposed to, because of the limited nature of multi-tasking and the restrictive APIs.
It's built into the OS. There is even HW in the A5 chips specifically for Siri. So if you want something that has EVERYTHING that Siri has you jut aren't going to get it. But there are clearly alternatives.
But all that is beside the point. Apple calls it a beta. You know what a beta is so why expect Apple to show a service that doesn't work on a 30 second ad. Nothing in technology works every time. On paper you can make things flawless but in the real world there are bandwidth hiccups, there are server glitches... and we're not even talking about a nascent service that isn't even 6 months old.
Do you realize why this was released as a beta with so much focus on the customer? Simple answer: It needs to be used in order to become great. It's as simple as that. You can't work out all the kinks of the world's languages, dialects, speech patterns and "what one meant when they said something else." Case in point, even in plain text you misinterpreted something I wrote:
Sorry, for some reason when you mentioned "Mail" I got it in my head you were talking about the Mac versions.
Just curious. How many dialects are there in Japan, and are some quite different from the more common?
There are more dialects than prefectures, there are some similar and some very different, going from Okinawa to Saporoto me they are almost different languages.
Now that I remember, I learned English in SoCa and when a moved to Ky, it took me a while to get hang of the accent
You can't work out all the kinks of the world's languages, dialects, speech patterns and "what one meant when they said something else." Case in point, even in plain text you misinterpreted something I wrote:
Yes, but I'm not marketing nor selling my services. They are clearly in beta though.
Yes, but I'm not marketing nor selling my services. They are clearly in beta though.
You are most certainly selling and marketing yourself on this forum when you reply.
Some voice-recognition experts have suggested that Apple needed to release a beta version of Siri to the public in order to acquire a volume of voice samples sufficient for refining the service.
Oh thank God. I was so worried.
It's ok to deceive customers into paying to help you develop your product so long as you really need to. I mean, if there's no other way, there's no other way, right? What's important is that the product ultimately be a success, i.e., that it make a huge profit. And waiting to sell something until it's worth buying is hell on cash flow.
Now that it's 100% legal for anyone with the money to buy as many Congressman as he, she, or it can afford, we can all look forward to the time in the near future when pharmaceutical companies are finally free of those irksome regulations that all-too-often prevent them from pursuing this strategy.
It's just "marketing," right? After all "lying" is what poor people do, and being as we're all "temporarily inconvenienced millionaires," we wouldn't want to be confused with them, would we?
Oh thank God. I was so worried.
It's ok to deceive customers into paying to help you develop your product so long as you really need to. I mean, if there's no other way, there's no other way, right? What's important is that the product ultimately be a success, i.e., that it make a huge profit. And waiting to sell something until it's worth buying is hell on cash flow.
If Apple didn't release a beta there is no way they can find out how it will be like in the real world and through use by the many people's it will and can be refine.
You mean other companies don't release a beta to find faults.
Now that it's 100% legal for anyone with the money to buy as many Congressman as he, she, or it can afford, we can all look forward to the time in the near future when pharmaceutical companies are finally free of those irksome regulations that all-too-often prevent them from pursuing this strategy.
Tell that to goog.
It's just "marketing," right? After all "lying" is what poor people do, and being as we're all "temporarily inconvenienced millionaires," we wouldn't want to be confused with them, would we?
Liars are everywhere regardless of status ok, you are perfect and you don't ever lie so good for you.
While Siri is having some trouble with Japanese, she is still a cunning linguist in my book.
So you're saying oral is a better experience than aural!
For example, in the UK English is the main language but as you move from the south of England to the North of Scotland Nd Northern Ireland the accents become stronger and the rate at which people speak increases and words effectively meld together.
So, if you are Scottish and ask. 'where am I'
Siri responds: 'I don't understand, Rhianna'
If you then slow down and space the words a little Siri understands you, although as you are in the UK Siri can't help you as maps etc only works in the USA.
As a work in progress Siri is ok, however there is a huge amount of work for Apple to do to get it to work for everyone without them having to talk like a total fanny to get it to understand you.
I have always wanted to be able to speak in another language, but the current software solutions are really clunky. I tried a class but to busy with work right now.
Just imagine having a conversation with a native speaker while on vacation, then being able to ask Siri on the fly, then as you repeat that to the speaker, the spoken words are automatically recorded and stored in a database for later reference.
It has been said that we only use about 600 common words on average in everyday use. Not sure of this truth, but the prospect of using something like Siri as a learning aid seems more organic than memorizing thousands of words out of context.
Again, an old idea that has practical application. It seems to be a natural evolution.
I was going to bring up the smartphone as a Universal Translator a la Star Strek, but where is the fun in that? Languages are so rich and beautiful, we should be able to speak at least a few of them other than our own.
It is a bit embarrassing to go in a foreign country and everyone else has to speak English because I can't speak theirs. I am a Filipino and my wife is Russian. She can speak Spanish, French, English and of course, her native language.
For example: Gabagool appears to be a Sicilian pronunciation for the Italian word Capicola.
But isn't Sicilian generally held to be at best a distant dialect of modern Italian, at worst a different language? (just as Portuguese and Castillian, being Iberian romance languages, are more closely related to each other than to say French, but still very, very different.)
One could argue that slurring and general apathy toward stringent pronunciation is one aspect that helps creates distinct dialects. And one could then argue that for Siri (or any voice dictation software) to be complete it needs to understand different dialects. And one could argue that it also needs to learn to understand particular user's voice patterns the way iOS learn to understand commonly used words that aren't previously in...
Instill say it needs a "teach" feature. When siri gets it wrong you should be able to correct it and thus help the database along. With pronouncing, too: "Say it like this siri..."
I just told Siri "I have a stomach ache".. and it said it doesn't know what I mean.
if it doesn't answer when asked in engrish...
Why should it? "I have a stomach ache" isn't a question.
Seriously, do people expect Star Trek to happen overnight? Siri is a great product that does some great things. I don't recall Apple ever saying that it would answer every single possible question from every single person. If it doesn't answer your question, slow down and speak more clearly. My car's navigation system is far worse - and my car cost a lot more than an iPhone. Heck, even the navigation system cost more than an iPhone.
Technology has limitations. Expecting perfection (especially on the first version and especially when it's still in beta) is ridiculous.
And if you don't like it, you can return the phone.
Just curious. How many dialects are there in Japan, and are some quite different from the more common?
I have seen estimates as high as over 400. Basically, in the Edo period and before, each village effectively had its own dialect. Remember, Japan is effectively a country at the top of a mountain range, so travel was difficult. Given the differences in dialects across Japan - even native speakers of Japanese have difficulty on occasion - it is not surprising that Siri has trouble. Akita-ben anyone?
Setting alarms is easy.
Simple messages OK.
Making calls is OK.
Making schedules is OK.
Asking for info comprehends the question, then prompts to see if you want to check the web. Press OK and Safari comes up.
"I love you" brings up several responses.
I can't ask a question in English while it is set to Japanese.
Directions don't work and say that it works in the US and needs English.
As for dialects: where I've, there are three major ones within 50 miles. Within each area, sometimes limited to a single village, there are several more. There's one town about 20 miles away where I can't understand a thing. Many of my neighbors, all Japanese, say they have trouble, too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_dialects
Here's a start
It's beta ok?
Then Apple shouldn't be making it the focal point of their ad campaign, let alone making it work flawlessly in those.
Exactly. Siri is very cool. Not ready for prime time but fun to play with. Worth having for sure. But the fact that it's still in beta doesn't address the fact that Apple is not promoting it as a beta function. If you did a survey of MacDonald's eaters and asked if they ever ate pink slimed reconstituted chemically cleaned chicken they'd say no, and it's not because MacDonald's had ever lied about it. The 95% of iPhone buyers who didn't know it was beta is not mostly constituted of people who are dumb or refuse to read labels.
Not ready for prime time but fun to play with.
You can't get this sort of service "perfect" without people using it. Look at what the service does. Can you see how a few programmers could possibly program in every thing a person from anywhere in the world might say? Of course not!
But the fact that it's still in beta doesn't address the fact that Apple is not promoting it as a beta function.
They've promoted it as a beta since the start.
But the fact that it's still in beta doesn't address the fact that Apple is not promoting it as a beta function.
They did in the keynote. Multiple times. And on every Siri page on their website since then.