Siri is a UI game changer

[Kobold Avenger]

I've done some looking and Siri isn't the only natural language recognition around, others have existed too. Some of them are available on the various app markets. And while a certain bar has been set, many are rushing in to any of the voids left.

But people needed to be reminded about voice recognition in general being elsewhere, because there's the recent tendency for people and the media to think that Apple came up with voice recognition software. Now while it's good that they've put the spotlight on such technology, in such a way that no other company really can.

What's working against any such thing, is that right now for the most part, all of such technology is generally frivolous for most users. There's a "Wow this is really neat!" and then it's use falls off. And there's a reason why most people step away from others when speaking on a phone, and that'll happen too with telling a phone to do something.

For the other points brought up here:

As for home appliances, most people won't care that you can't speak to it so it's already a very niche area, but there's also a thing from Google to get "Android Everywhere", and chances are they might beat Apple to that.

Similarly most companies that make HDTV stuff, all don't make iPhones but some do make other phones, it'll have to be some add-on device if such a thing is ever to happen with an iPhone. Meanwhile Sony or someone else is going is more likely to get something without an add-on device that can respond to voice by itself or with a phone that they've made.

Apple and Amazon, that's never going to happen. Apple has burned a lot of bridges with Amazon, including trying to sue Amazon over the use of "App Store" and Amazon is certainly looking for ways to bypass Apple, including it's web-based version of the reader. So if there is a big partnership with a merchant it's going to have to be with someone else.

 

[Morrus]

But people needed to be reminded about voice recognition in general being elsewhere, because there's the recent tendency for people and the media to think that Apple came up with voice recognition software.

I don't believe such a creature exists. Nobody I've met or any media report I've seen have led me to believe that they think Apple invented voice recognition. They just think Apple has integrated it extremely well and cleverly marketed it as mainstream.

 

[Janx]

I don't believe such a creature exists. Nobody I've met or any media report I've seen have led me to believe that they think Apple invented voice recognition. They just think Apple has integrated it extremely well and cleverly marketed it as mainstream.

True. Sure, there are probably civillians who think Apple invented everything (I met one who thought the Macintosh was the first computer). But then again most Americans don't know where other states are on the map.

So facts aside, Apple does a very good of setting the bar for a feature and for taking ownership of an idea in the minds of people.

Apple OWNS the mp3 player
Apple OWNed the graphical user interface
Apple OWNS the smartphone (until iPhone, Blackberry and PDAs were for business pros)
Apple OWNS the tablet
Apple now OWNS the natural speech UI

everybody else will catch up, but for awhile, Apple is going to dominate.

The importance or Siri is that it will be a turning point for adoption of the technology. My Kinect does voice recognition too, but I don't use it.

Having it hooked into your TV as a command center for getting info, setting reminders, buying stuff like tickets, etc is like having your own personal assistant (the original point of a PDA).

 

[Morrus]

True. Sure, there are probably civillians who think Apple invented everything.

"Civilians"?

 

[Janx]

"Civilians"?

"Muggles"?

Anybody not fully versed in the topic at hand.
People in the computer industry tend to know the history of technology, just as people in the aeronautic industry know the history of flight beyond the wright brothers first flight (which I would have to google to check if it was 1908 or 1912 but I know it was around then).

Anybody else not directly working with a given industry usually knows very few if any facts of the history of that topic.

Thus, when Apple trots out a technology and it takes off, most people assume that Apple invented it, because that's the first major occurance of it they are aware of.

If you'd never seen a Mac, and worked with MS Windows your whole career, you might assume Microsoft invented the graphical user interface and that Apple must have copied them.

 

[Morrus]

"Muggles"?

Anybody not fully versed in the topic at hand.

Thus, when Apple trots out a technology and it takes off, most people assume that Apple invented it, because that's the first major occurance of it they are aware of.

Your view of the general public is very cynical - and, I believe, you underestimate people. As I said, I do not believe there is such a person as the who believes Apple invented voice recognition.

And I don't know anybody in that industry - including myself! Everyone knows voice recognition has been around for years.

 

[Janx]

Your view of the general public is very cynical - and, I believe, you underestimate people. As I said, I do not believe there is such a person as the who believes Apple invented voice recognition.

And I don't know anybody in that industry - including myself! Everyone knows voice recognition has been around for years.

Americans are notorious for being ignorant. The classic example being able to point to a given state on the map.

I'm not claiming that anybody has said they think "Apple invented voice recognition"

But already in this thread, some folks don't know the difference between simple voice command parsing and natural speech recognition.

And I personally spoke to somebody who thought the Macintosh was the first computer ever and did not know who Steve Jobs was, despite the fact that she had an iPhone4 in her hand and has never owned a Mac.

Additionally Apple fans are often derided because their zealotry implies they think Apple invented everything.

to sum up, there ARE some people who are woefully ignorant as to the history of the innovation of the products they favor.

And there is plenty of precendent for people being generally ignorant of the history of any given topic outside of their fields of interest. Especially Americans who tend to hyper specialize on topics.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

1) Paul McCartney once said the first time he felt old was when he encountered an enthusiastic young fan who had "all his stuff."

"Even The Beatles?" he asked.

Wide eyed, she responded, "You were in a band before Wings?"

2) At one point in history, Chinese nobles were awestruck by inventions brought by merchants from the West...that the Chinese had actually invented hundreds of years before.

3) None of my relatives from New Orleans- except those who have lived away for most of their lives (like me and my parents)- can distinguish the 4 cardinal points. If you give them directions involving N S E W, they will br utterly flummoxed.

IOW, no matter how common or widespread the knowledge, there will be those who do not know it.

So, while I'm not one of them, I can believe there are fellow Applephiles who see the company as the innovator in every aspect of home computing.

 

[Morrus]

1) Paul McCartney once said the first time he felt old was when he encountered an enthusiastic young fan who had "all his stuff."

"Even The Beatles?" he asked.

Wide eyed, she responded, "You were in a band before Wings?"

2) At one point in history, Chinese nobles were awestruck by inventions brought by merchants from the West...that the Chinese had actually invented hundreds of years before.

3) None of my relatives from New Orleans- except those who have lived away for most of their lives (like me and my parents)- can distinguish the 4 cardinal points. If you give them directions involving N S E W, they will br utterly flummoxed.

With all due respect, and I'm certainly not trying to impugn your honesty here, I find these very hard to believe. Other than the last one (and I guess only you would know) are you sure these aren't just urban myths?

That said, the cardinal directions one would flummox most British people. We don't have roads which go N, S, E, or W, so cardinal directions are useless for giving directions. Instead we have to use "left at the pub" and so forth. I couldn't tell you which way was which unless I was in my own home (since I happen to know that). Certainly not via the stars or anything, though if I thought about it I could probably make a guess based on the sun.

Of course, we all know "Liverpool is up north from here" and such in a larger-scale geographical way but not locally - we couldn't direct you to our house by saying "Go north along X road then west along Y road".

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The first came from an interview with Paul I heard on the radio, told by Sir McCartney himself.

The latter I've seen in more than one history text. As I recall, one of the devices was a water clock, the other was a musical automaton.