but anyway I have not forgotten the demo Apple did over a year ago that offered more life-like female voices for Siri... WTF ever happened to that!!?
You have to get it under Settings, General, Accessibility, Speech, Voices, then (I'm assuming) English, and click on Enhanced Quality to download it. Make sure it stays checked, mine didn't the first time. I'm using Enhanced Irish, but Canadian is nice too. She pronounces my name correctly with them, unlike when I have it set as English. You can also adjust the speed, which helps because it sounded like Siri was that Micro Machines guy at first.
I thought Siri was much improved in iOS 8 but after the last update it's really FUBAR.
Not sure how much you've "trained" her, but it helps. I barely use mine and had to retrain after upgrading to iOS 8. My Sister uses her's all the time and hasn't had a problem. My Mom never uses her's and even staying on iOS 7, Siri barely works. It also is pretty dependent on Internet.
I hit a dead spot and she doesn't even want to voice dial, which she really doesn't need to search the net to do. That's one of her downsides I was hoping would be fixed, but in my experience is as bad as on iOS 7. On 6 it usually worked fine. Time for a new phone anyway I guess.
1) Effective? I don't know, but I did enjoy the ad. The line at the end was excellent.
2) It's usually bad to show your competitors products, but in this case I think it works to MS' advantage. The iPhone and iOS are playing it safe with a look everyone is familiar with, even if your smartphone isn't an iPhone. There is a lot wrong with that Nokia HW just from that top-view but for their target market it just looks [I]fresher[/I]. Will that translate into pulling people from the iPhone? I'm not convinced of that. I'd think it's more likely to pull people from cheaper Android-based devices, but perhaps that's their goal since the I-hate-Apple crowds may be open to Nokia and MS so long as it isn't Apple. [I]Enemy of my enemy and so forth. [/I]
I was just looking for usable image emoji to use in Photoshop. This comparison is surprisingly relevant.
[image]
I wonder if that permeates through all the Emoji? Seems like a rather large divide between Apple's sophisticated rendering, Google's cartoonish feel, and MS' DOS-Emoji styling.
You have to get it under Settings, General, Accessibility, Speech, Voices, then (I'm assuming) English, and click on Enhanced Quality to download it. Make sure it stays checked, mine didn't the first time. I'm using Enhanced Irish, but Canadian is nice too. She pronounces my name correctly with them, unlike when I have it set as English. You can also adjust the speed, which helps because it sounded like Siri was that Micro Machines guy at first.
Cool, thanks! I did this immediately after reading your post. But I honestly can't tell if she sounds any better or not. Siri always sounded just fine to me. And she works great for the rare occasion I have to use her.
"Microsoft on Friday released a short ad bashing lack of enhancing Siri when it released the latest iPhone 6 models, expectedly touting Windows Phone-based Cortana virtual assistant technology."
Is this even English? I think it translates to:
"On Friday Microsoft released a short ad contending that Apple's Siri gained no new features with the release of the latest iPhone 6 models. The ad touts the Cortana virtual assistant technology of Window Phone."
1) Effective? I don't know, but I did enjoy the app. The line at the end was excellent.
2) It's usually bad to show your competitors products, but in this case I think it works to MS' advantage. The iPhone and iOS are playing it safe with a look everyone is familiar with, even if your smartphone isn't an iPhone. There is a lot wrong with that Nokia HW just from that top-view but for their target market it just looks fresher. Will that translate into pulling people from the iPhone? I'm not convinced of that. I'd think it's more likely yo pull people from cheaper Android-based devices, but perhaps that's their goal since the I-hate-Apple crowds may be open to Nokia and MS so long as it isn't Apple. Enemy of my enemy and so forth.
Those are good points. Remember much of the success of Windows was convincing people that all GUI interfaces are basically the same, so why not get the one that is a little cheaper. In this case, if Windows Phone can be thought as "basically the same" as an iPhone, MS wins. "We have a talking phone, Apple has a talking phone, ergo go with the fresh snarky Microsoft rather than stick-up-the-butt Apple." (Wow, how times have changed when anyone can even imagine that MS is the one with fresh ideas and that Apple is "your parents'" conservative choice.)
Why doesn't MS release Cortana for iOS? If it's that good maybe they'll get some converts from it.
I fail to see how; it couldn’t be used in any way like Siri. No one would convert to it.
Something else related to this: Apple’s dictation processing software is ~1.2 gigabytes. They offer it as a download in Yosemite so that all the processing can be done locally, with NO data sent to Apple.
How much longer will we have to wait for iOS to have this option with Siri?
I fail to see how; it couldn’t be used in any way like Siri. No one would convert to it.
Something else related to this: Apple’s dictation processing software is ~1.2 gigabytes. They offer it as a download in Yosemite so that all the processing can be done locally, with NO data sent to Apple.
How much longer will we have to wait for iOS to have this option with Siri?
Where's that option in Mac OS X? Is that the "Use enhanced dictation" option?
I used all three of the personal assistants! Siri start off as very unique and machine like but it made a lot of mistakes and was very slow to reply. It did not have too much of a personality to speak of. It was non offensive too. Google Now; is a step up on Siri; it was much faster and was more accurate too. It could understand better; one phrases and could reply back for clarification if it did not understand your request. Cortana, takes this even further then Google Now; it has personality, can tell jokes, has a sense of humor too as well as being slightly better then Google Now for accuracy and interaction.
Cortana is much more entertaining to use, is quick and has more depth!
I thought Siri was much improved in iOS 8 but after the last update it's really FUBAR. No longer respends to "Hey Siri," and when I manually woke him up to ask "What are your new features?" the reply was "Here's what I can do now:" And that was it.
I use "Hey Siri" several times every day and every single update (except 8.0.1) has been installed, and no problems whatsoever. Call AppleCare and ask for assistance. Just an educated, experience based guess, but maybe you just need to backup/restore your iPhone, as that seems to be the fix to all problems I have ever had with all the iPhones I have owned.
However, I got the same empty response when I asked Siri what are the new features. Since you said "him" when referring to Siri, I wonder if that is a common thread, as I too have Siri set to "English (United Kingdom)" and gender set to "Male."
Why are we even talking about a company with <2% of the mobile market?
Well three reasons things really.
1. You guys wouldn't shut up when Apple had under 1%
2. They have more than 2% market share
3. They are the market leader, or in number two position in a number of areas
- coming up with any original product ideas that haven't already been done by Apple and/or Google
Are you really going to try and argument this one out? Everything Apple and Google have added to their platforms are a rehash of things others have done in the past
C'mon Microsoft, there was a time when you could rest on your own accomplishments and lead by example in the software industry. Now you've been reduced to nit picking the competition for not completely annihilating the competition, which you barely qualify as being. That's your best card to play? Whomever is disgracing Microsoft with these grade school level ads should be added to the next huge wave of Microsoft layoffs.
Layoffs are never good, but I have to ask, do you understand who is being laid off from Microsoft in this instance?
do you understand who is being laid off from Microsoft in this instance?
Yes, Microsoft employees. Is there an assumption that employees obtained through acquisitions/mergers are somehow freely "expendable" and okay to dispose of?
My point here is that Microsoft has fallen into a recurring pattern of only promoting their products based on trivial feature by feature comparisons against the market leader's products. I know that Microsoft is capable of doing much more. They still have a huge force of outstanding engineers and designers. This nit picking and nibbling around the edges of their me-too implementation of features like Siri strike me as very small thinking from a company that has very large potential. I don't see this as a game changing strategy if they want to make major inroads into the connected device market and internet of all things. Maybe they are treating this as a sideshow to let the general consumer market know they are still in business while they build out their business back end systems and infrastructure. Who knows what they intend to accomplish, but these silly ads don't engender much confidence.
For a change, I'd like to see Microsoft step up and tell us what Microsoft is doing to change the game. They can't be a follower forever.
Comments
You have to get it under Settings, General, Accessibility, Speech, Voices, then (I'm assuming) English, and click on Enhanced Quality to download it. Make sure it stays checked, mine didn't the first time. I'm using Enhanced Irish, but Canadian is nice too. She pronounces my name correctly with them, unlike when I have it set as English. You can also adjust the speed, which helps because it sounded like Siri was that Micro Machines guy at first.
-
Not sure how much you've "trained" her, but it helps. I barely use mine and had to retrain after upgrading to iOS 8. My Sister uses her's all the time and hasn't had a problem. My Mom never uses her's and even staying on iOS 7, Siri barely works. It also is pretty dependent on Internet.
I hit a dead spot and she doesn't even want to voice dial, which she really doesn't need to search the net to do. That's one of her downsides I was hoping would be fixed, but in my experience is as bad as on iOS 7. On 6 it usually worked fine. Time for a new phone anyway I guess.
2) It's usually bad to show your competitors products, but in this case I think it works to MS' advantage. The iPhone and iOS are playing it safe with a look everyone is familiar with, even if your smartphone isn't an iPhone. There is a lot wrong with that Nokia HW just from that top-view but for their target market it just looks [I]fresher[/I]. Will that translate into pulling people from the iPhone? I'm not convinced of that. I'd think it's more likely to pull people from cheaper Android-based devices, but perhaps that's their goal since the I-hate-Apple crowds may be open to Nokia and MS so long as it isn't Apple. [I]Enemy of my enemy and so forth. [/I]
I wonder if that permeates through all the Emoji? Seems like a rather large divide between Apple's sophisticated rendering, Google's cartoonish feel, and MS' DOS-Emoji styling.
Why are we even talking about a company with <2% of the mobile market?
Because we like to 'Rag' on Microsoft. We like it a lot!
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:no:
I selected Male, the voice sounded more natural to me. For some reason the Female is still very synthetic in American English.
Cool, thanks! I did this immediately after reading your post. But I honestly can't tell if she sounds any better or not. Siri always sounded just fine to me. And she works great for the rare occasion I have to use her.
"Microsoft on Friday released a short ad bashing lack of enhancing Siri when it released the latest iPhone 6 models, expectedly touting Windows Phone-based Cortana virtual assistant technology."
Is this even English? I think it translates to:
"On Friday Microsoft released a short ad contending that Apple's Siri gained no new features with the release of the latest iPhone 6 models. The ad touts the Cortana virtual assistant technology of Window Phone."
1) Effective? I don't know, but I did enjoy the app. The line at the end was excellent.
2) It's usually bad to show your competitors products, but in this case I think it works to MS' advantage. The iPhone and iOS are playing it safe with a look everyone is familiar with, even if your smartphone isn't an iPhone. There is a lot wrong with that Nokia HW just from that top-view but for their target market it just looks fresher. Will that translate into pulling people from the iPhone? I'm not convinced of that. I'd think it's more likely yo pull people from cheaper Android-based devices, but perhaps that's their goal since the I-hate-Apple crowds may be open to Nokia and MS so long as it isn't Apple. Enemy of my enemy and so forth.
Those are good points. Remember much of the success of Windows was convincing people that all GUI interfaces are basically the same, so why not get the one that is a little cheaper. In this case, if Windows Phone can be thought as "basically the same" as an iPhone, MS wins. "We have a talking phone, Apple has a talking phone, ergo go with the fresh snarky Microsoft rather than stick-up-the-butt Apple." (Wow, how times have changed when anyone can even imagine that MS is the one with fresh ideas and that Apple is "your parents'" conservative choice.)
Why doesn't MS release Cortana for iOS? If it's that good maybe they'll get some converts from it.
Also, if it's that good it'll put pressure on Siri to improve. How humiliating would it be to pick up your phone and tell Siri to open Cortana App?
I fail to see how; it couldn’t be used in any way like Siri. No one would convert to it.
Something else related to this: Apple’s dictation processing software is ~1.2 gigabytes. They offer it as a download in Yosemite so that all the processing can be done locally, with NO data sent to Apple.
How much longer will we have to wait for iOS to have this option with Siri?
I fail to see how; it couldn’t be used in any way like Siri. No one would convert to it.
Something else related to this: Apple’s dictation processing software is ~1.2 gigabytes. They offer it as a download in Yosemite so that all the processing can be done locally, with NO data sent to Apple.
How much longer will we have to wait for iOS to have this option with Siri?
Where's that option in Mac OS X? Is that the "Use enhanced dictation" option?
I used all three of the personal assistants! Siri start off as very unique and machine like but it made a lot of mistakes and was very slow to reply. It did not have too much of a personality to speak of. It was non offensive too. Google Now; is a step up on Siri; it was much faster and was more accurate too. It could understand better; one phrases and could reply back for clarification if it did not understand your request. Cortana, takes this even further then Google Now; it has personality, can tell jokes, has a sense of humor too as well as being slightly better then Google Now for accuracy and interaction.
Cortana is much more entertaining to use, is quick and has more depth!
I didn't think you had to do any GUI setup. I thought you just had to double tap the fn key to start dictation in a text field.
edit: OK, Enhanced Dictation is the local, offline dictation but hitting the fn key twice will call the setup windows if you hadn't yet set it up.
I thought Siri was much improved in iOS 8 but after the last update it's really FUBAR. No longer respends to "Hey Siri," and when I manually woke him up to ask "What are your new features?" the reply was "Here's what I can do now:" And that was it.
I use "Hey Siri" several times every day and every single update (except 8.0.1) has been installed, and no problems whatsoever. Call AppleCare and ask for assistance. Just an educated, experience based guess, but maybe you just need to backup/restore your iPhone, as that seems to be the fix to all problems I have ever had with all the iPhones I have owned.
However, I got the same empty response when I asked Siri what are the new features. Since you said "him" when referring to Siri, I wonder if that is a common thread, as I too have Siri set to "English (United Kingdom)" and gender set to "Male."
Well three reasons things really.
1. You guys wouldn't shut up when Apple had under 1%
2. They have more than 2% market share
3. They are the market leader, or in number two position in a number of areas
Are you really going to try and argument this one out? Everything Apple and Google have added to their platforms are a rehash of things others have done in the past
Layoffs are never good, but I have to ask, do you understand who is being laid off from Microsoft in this instance?
Yes, Microsoft employees. Is there an assumption that employees obtained through acquisitions/mergers are somehow freely "expendable" and okay to dispose of?
My point here is that Microsoft has fallen into a recurring pattern of only promoting their products based on trivial feature by feature comparisons against the market leader's products. I know that Microsoft is capable of doing much more. They still have a huge force of outstanding engineers and designers. This nit picking and nibbling around the edges of their me-too implementation of features like Siri strike me as very small thinking from a company that has very large potential. I don't see this as a game changing strategy if they want to make major inroads into the connected device market and internet of all things. Maybe they are treating this as a sideshow to let the general consumer market know they are still in business while they build out their business back end systems and infrastructure. Who knows what they intend to accomplish, but these silly ads don't engender much confidence.
For a change, I'd like to see Microsoft step up and tell us what Microsoft is doing to change the game. They can't be a follower forever.