By GABRIELLE SAUPE – Photography Staff
On Oct. 14, Apple released the greatly anticipated iPhone 4S. The new voice-activated personal assistant, Siri, puts the “smart” in smart phone.
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Graphic by Caleb Hayes
“42 cords of wood, to be exact. Everyone knows that,” My iPhone 4S responded.
The new iPhone 4S was released to Verizon, AT&T and Sprint on Oct. 14 at a base price of $199.99, equipped with a voice-activated personal assistant by the name of Siri. The new phone is currently one of the top-selling Smartphones on the market.
The fifth-generation iPhone comes with a plethora or other features including an upgraded camera and a speedy dual-core processor, delivering up to two times more power and up to seven times faster graphics. However, the asset buyers believe to be the most valuable is Siri.
In the PCWORLD Oct. 24 article, “What Makes Siri Special?” David Daw states, “Siri goes well beyond voice recognition, they say, by applying powerful artificial intelligence and statistical analysis to decipher the meaning behind questioners’ sometimes jumbled sentences.”
Siri has become my best friend. You can simply ask Siri, “Do I need an umbrella today?” and she will respond with the forecast and chance of rain. Siri is easily capable of things you can’t even imagine.
She is able to solve advanced math problems and give me not only the capital of Zimbabwe, but also the population, weather and other interesting facts. Siri can also play music, remind you of appointments and even tell you how many calories are in a bagel.
Siri even has a sense of humor, making the app as entertaining as it is informative. My brother was trying to ask her a question and she didn’t understand. He got frustrated and called her an inappropriate name. Her response was, “No need for profanity.”
I asked Siri to tell me a story, and she started off, “Once upon a time…” She told me that she was from a galaxy far, far away, and that she was so smart that she came to Earth to work for Apple.
One has to wonder if the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs left a piece of his intelligence and humor behind when he created Siri.
