4 ms·

Yeah, so what? If you read HCI papers from the 90s (it's what I do for a job-- I'm a PhD student in HCI), you'll see that a lot of very respected researchers cl

Yeah, so what? If you read HCI papers from the 90s (it's what I do for a job-- I'm a PhD student in HCI), you'll see that a lot of very respected researchers claimed that speech technology is not useful (their claim is well-founded: it is slow, environmental noise is unavoidable, what to say is often not obvious, and there's the Midas problem). But, here we are, with people praising Siri. It's how technology works-- every input modality is useful for some tasks, and at some level of maturity. Dismissing technological potential based purely on past technology is short-sighted. [For examples of how Pen+touch is a good idea see http://billbuxton.com/Pen+TouchUIST.pdf http://billbuxton.com/Pen+TouchUIST.pdf. Add type, and it could be powerful indeed]

Samuel_Michon 14y ago
For what it's worth: I'm not entirely convinced that Siri will ever work as advertised. I think the new car smell is gone and lately I've read nothing but complaints. Apple really needs to step it up. I expected more of the iOS 6 announcement, like a Siri API for third party apps and better communication between apps. That is what's needed to even come close to the 80s Knowledge Navigator idea. I mean, the dictation part is nice, but otherwise, I haven't found much use for Siri.
- jawngee 14y ago
  I use Siri constantly: - change playlists when when I'm working out or biking - set the alarm when I go to bed - reminders (a lot) - the weather - looking up something on wikipedia and imdb - and sending short sms messages I'd say my use has grown over the last few weeks as I'm biking a lot more. There was an initial trust issue, and I still sometimes have this weird feeling of being on the spot when I'm dictating to Siri, but otherwise best "app" on the phone for me.
  - Mythbusters 14y ago
    sample size of 1.
    - rweir 14y ago
      how much anecdata do you demand?
blhack 14y ago
Do people actually use siri? The extent to which I've seen it used has been: 1) Making it say silly things about hiding dead bodies in ravines. 2) Trying to make it text things, only to give up and type the message by hand. Usually done while driving, and usually spanning the course of around a minute. It's not even remotely close to something usable yet, at least not from what I've seen. Just look at how people use it, they don't even understand [or maybe they just don't like?] the interface for it! Most people I see address it by name, like you would the computer on star trek. They hold down the button, and then say: "Siri, where can I get a blah blah blah nearby?" Which usually doesn't return a useful result. In this time I'm usually searching on google maps, and telling them the instructions before they've finished their attempt at an interaction. You don't invoke the service by addressing it. The service was invoked by pressing the button. Seriously I have yet to see a person who uses siri for something useful.
- taligent 14y ago
  I use it at least 4-5 times a day mainly for setting events and alarms. It is much, much quicker to say "remind me about X tomorrow at 6pm" than unlock screen, find the app, open it up, create event etc.

Samuel_Michon 14y ago

For what it's worth: I'm not entirely convinced that Siri will ever work as advertised. I think the new car smell is gone and lately I've read nothing but complaints. Apple really needs to step it up. I expected more of the iOS 6 announcement, like a Siri API for third party apps and better communication between apps. That is what's needed to even come close to the 80s Knowledge Navigator idea. I mean, the dictation part is nice, but otherwise, I haven't found much use for Siri.

jawngee 14y ago
I use Siri constantly: - change playlists when when I'm working out or biking - set the alarm when I go to bed - reminders (a lot) - the weather - looking up something on wikipedia and imdb - and sending short sms messages I'd say my use has grown over the last few weeks as I'm biking a lot more. There was an initial trust issue, and I still sometimes have this weird feeling of being on the spot when I'm dictating to Siri, but otherwise best "app" on the phone for me.
- Mythbusters 14y ago
  sample size of 1.
  - rweir 14y ago
    how much anecdata do you demand?

blhack 14y ago

Do people actually use siri? The extent to which I've seen it used has been: 1) Making it say silly things about hiding dead bodies in ravines. 2) Trying to make it text things, only to give up and type the message by hand. Usually done while driving, and usually spanning the course of around a minute. It's not even remotely close to something usable yet, at least not from what I've seen. Just look at how people use it, they don't even understand [or maybe they just don't like?] the interface for it! Most people I see address it by name, like you would the computer on star trek. They hold down the button, and then say: "Siri, where can I get a blah blah blah nearby?" Which usually doesn't return a useful result. In this time I'm usually searching on google maps, and telling them the instructions before they've finished their attempt at an interaction. You don't invoke the service by addressing it. The service was invoked by pressing the button. Seriously I have yet to see a person who uses siri for something useful.

taligent 14y ago
I use it at least 4-5 times a day mainly for setting events and alarms. It is much, much quicker to say "remind me about X tomorrow at 6pm" than unlock screen, find the app, open it up, create event etc.