Siri

TV Industry Scrambling to Beat Apple to the Punch

Cody Lee ∙ December 9, 2011

The rumor mill can be fairly accurate when it comes to predicting major Apple products. There was tons of gossip regarding an Apple smartphone for at least a year leading up to the iPhone announcement. And the same goes with iPad rumors.

Manufacturers, for some reason, have always ignored the chatter surrounding Apple rumors. But it looks like the folks in the TV industry aren't going to make that mistake this time around, as reports are coming in that TV-makers are already working on implementing voice control technology to beat Apple to the punch.

Our Own Video Demonstration of Siri Proxy in Action

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 9, 2011

Late last night I set out with the goal of getting the much talked about Siri Proxy server running on my iMac and iPhone 4S. After a couple of hours of tinkering, I could finally report success.

We've all seen the videos, but actually using it yourself is a whole different experience. It's really amazing what Pete “Plamoni” Lamonica has been able to pull off with Siri Proxy.

What's even better is that there's all sorts of plugins available to take advantage of. Check inside as we go hands-on with the Twitter and IMDB plugins for this wonderful Siri enhancer...

Scribblenauts App Store Game Introduces Gameplay Integration with Siri

Oliver Haslam ∙ December 8, 2011

Popular handheld puzzler Scribblenauts has seen an update to its iOS version that brings an iPhone 4S-only feature to the game.

For those not familiar with the concept, Scribblenauts' challenge comes from the requirement to achieve specific goals by manoeuvring Maxwell around the level by using adjectives and nouns to create in-world objects. Tell the game you want a flamethrower or ladder, for example, and you'll be given one. It's an interesting approach to the puzzle genre.

This new update goes one step further by allowing you to speak your conjuring requests using the power of Siri on the iPhone 4S.

The Siri-Controlled TV is Already Here, And Your iPhone is the Remote

Alex Heath ∙ December 6, 2011

We've covered many examples of the SiriProxy in action. We even interviewed the man behind the networking hackery that has allowed people to use Siri to unlock their cars, control their rooms, and talk to their Macs.

There's been a video example of Siri controlling a TV, but we've stumbled across a better video that integrates the TV experience with Siri in a more native way. With rumors circulating that Apple is looking to release a Siri-controlled TV set, we have a hard time figuring out how it could get much better than this setup by Todd Treece...

Why Apple Released Siri in Beta

Cody Lee ∙ December 6, 2011

Siri has garnered a lot of media attention over the last month. Even hackers with intentions to port the digital assistant to other devices are making headlines. But along with all of the attention comes criticism. There's a lot of folks that feel Siri isn't worth the hype.

Apple has taken quite a bit of heat over releasing Siri, even though it's labelled as "beta." The company is typically known for releasing finely-tuned products that "just work," and Siri doesn't seem to fit that bill. But maybe Apple felt that it had to release Siri...

Why You Shouldn’t Use H1Siri

Oliver Haslam ∙ December 6, 2011

When we told you all about a new jailbreak app claiming to bring Siri to non-4S iDevices yesterday, we were deeply skeptical about its authenticity. We later received confirmation that, yes, the H1Siri app did use some of Apple's own code and thus was indeed illegal.

As Pete "Plamoni" Lamonica shows in his latest video, questionable legality isn't the only reason that you shouldn't be using H1Siri – it could potentially give a third-party control over your iDevice, and with relative ease on their part.

As we warned yesterday, using H1Siri means that you are sending all kinds of personal data through someone else's servers, meaning that they can either eavesdrop on what is going on with your iDevice, or even take control of it as shown in Pete's video...

Siri, the Disappointment

Sébastien Page ∙ December 5, 2011

Gizmodo's Mat Honan writes about Siri, which he calls Apple's broken promise. The whole article is worth a read, but here is the conclusion:

And for me, once the novelty wore off, what I found was that Siri is not so intelligent after all—it's simply another voice program that will obey very specific commands. If it knows those commands. If it can understand you. And if it has a network connection. Were this Google, or Microsoft, I'd shrug. But it's not, it's Apple. And Apple is the company that sells perfection. It's a company that usually keeps its promises, and in its Siri ads, it promises far more than what it actually delivers. That's not what any of us signed up for.

No, Siri is not perfect. Yes, it's unusual for Apple to release a public beta of a product. But at the end of the day, it's still pretty darn good, and we know it's only going to get better.

ESRA: A Siri-Like Assistant For Older iOS 5 Devices

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 5, 2011

Let me preface this by saying that ESRA will be a disappointment to those who are expecting it to compete with Siri.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let's talk more about this jailbreak app. ESRA stands for Experimental Speech Response Application, and as you can see from the video, it more than lives up to the "experimental" portion of the ESRA acronym...

H1Siri: App Claiming Full Siri Functionality For the iPhone 4 Surfaces in Cydia

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Ever since videos started popping up online of Siri working on non-iPhone 4S devices, everyone has wondered one thing: when will it be available to the masses? Apple has restricted Siri to its latest handset, so hackers have taken it upon themselves to set it free.

Up until this point, the digital assistant port has only been possible for knowledgeable folks with access to iPhone 4S files. But a jailbreak utility has just surfaced in Cydia that could change that. The app is H1Siri, and it claims to offer full Siri functionality on the iPhone 4...

Hacker Uses Siri to Turn on Fireplace and More

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 18, 2018

By now most of you have heard about SiriProxy. The server hack enables knowledgeable users to create custom Siri commands that can make the digital assistant do things well outside of what Apple programmed it to do.

We've already seen several uses for the Proxy. We've even spoken with the mastermind behind it. Now, we'll take a look at Mark Hodder's setup in which he uses Siri to control his fireplace, Christmas lights, and other appliances...

Colbert: “Siri is Clearly an Arch-Conservative Woman”

Alex Heath ∙ December 1, 2011

In a recent episode of The Colbert Report, comedian Stephen Colbert cleverly addressed the recent scandal involving Siri not recognizing abortion clinics. Several publications were reporting that Siri was unable to locate local abortion clinics, therefore suggesting that Apple was imposing some hidden, pro-life agenda.

Apple issued a statement to The New York Times saying that the whole issue was a glitch that's going to be resolved quickly, however, that hasn't stopped Colbert from hilariously spinning the story into a comedy bit you won't want to miss.

Robin Williams Impersonates Siri as a Stereotypical Frenchman

Oliver Haslam ∙ December 1, 2011

We love Robin Williams here at iDB. He's just one of those comedians who clicks with us, and with a quick wit like his it's hard not to laugh, especially when he's working completely off the cuff.

We also like Siri, so when you have one of your favorite comedians using Apple's digital assistant in a gag, it's always going to be something to spark our interest.