Controversy with Siri

A blogger started something he didn’t expect when asking readers to ask apples voice activation Siri questions about abortion clinics.

Siri supposedly had many unhelpful answers relating to abortion and abortion clinics, raising many questions and making some angry . Apple said this is a mere over sight that would be fixed.

Though apple is such a genius company able to spot many things in their products, consumers can’t expect for them to think of all these little details.

Voting goes Apple- Ipads now used for election

My grandpa barely can handle the Internet, he would probably flip if he had to vote on an Ipad. Thats what I instantly thought of first before I started reading further into this article.

Disabled voters in Oregon were able to use an Ipad for assistance for the special election held last Tuesday. Election officials went out to nursing homes and community centers to help out residents who may be disabled and have trouble filling out the traditional paper ballot forms. 

They are able to call out the right ballot, and simply tap the screen to pick the candidate, which they can then print and put in an envelope. What is really unique about this is if a person has poor vision or trouble reading, an Ipad is able to read aloud the options, as well as adjust the color and size of text and images to increase visibility. 

Apple donated several Ipads for the experiment to see if it helped those who were disabled vote easier and still be able to vote independently without telling an official who they are voting for. This was a really good idea in my mind, and for once maybe technology will help older and disabled people rather than confuse them! 

(Source: Yahoo!)

Male vs Female: Why the female voice is heard more

From GPS systems in cars with British female accents, to now Siri (besides the UK and France) having a distinct female voice, has any one else noticed that voice commands and other technological prompts are dominated by female voices?

This aspect of technology has many reasons for it. It could go as far as biology, to which researchers have found that while in the womb, babies only respond to their mother’s voice, as opposed to other females or even their own fathers. History shows that female voices have always been preffered over men’s, dating back to World War II when women were employed in airplane cockpits because they stood out over men. Researchers have shown that more people respond in a better light to a warm, soothing voices, culturally characteristic of females, as opposed to a dominating and powerful voice of a male when it comes to technology. 

Companies hold “voice castings”, and will let a group rate the voice on areas such as warmth and friendliness to see what the market will like.

This article is interesting because of how Siri has taken over the world with “her” personality. It has raised some gender issue questions though, such as forums flooding with “funny questions to ask Siri” and if you look, most of the questions surround her being a woman. One such question has been “what are you wearing” to which Siri has replied “I don’t know why everyone keeps asking me that”. 

Just something interesting and different to think about!! 

(Source: CNN)

So many tweets!

I thought this was an interesting article about stats surrounding Twitter, as of recently. 

Not only did the company pass 200 million tweets per day, but of these twitter uses 50% of them log in every day. Crazy to think about how many times you may log into twitter, or re-fresh it on your phone?

Another interesting aspect concerning twitter is that when Apple came out with iSO 5 operating system, Twitter was immensely boosted because of how the company is integrated with the system. 

Since iSO 5, the amount of twitter signups have tripled since the announcement of the operating system. Shows how another company can really put you on the mark for social networking. 

Think about how much you use Twitter on your phone, and how maybe a year or two ago, you didn’t even know what Twitter was or deemed it as “just another social networking site.” And look at it now. 

(Source: Mashable)

Steve jobs day :)

California declared October 16th Steve jobs day. This is when the memorial service will be held at Stanford university for the creative genius who changed the world . Other states have done the same. I am sure every every year now jobs death will be remembered . But it’s hard to forget him because our world, the very things we use everyday, was changed because of him. On the 19th there will be an employee only service some where at a store in California . Look for coverage in California tomorrow on the event .

Two Free Iphones In A Month? Believe it

Steve jobs, the previous CEO and creator of Apple, stunned the world by resigning, and suggested that Tim Cook, who has been with Apple for thirteen years, proceed him as the next CEO. 

It has been reported that Apple will be giving Tim Cook a stock grant of one million shares; estimated to be about $383.6 million dollars. This will only happen however, if Cook agrees to stay with Apple until 2021. Smart move by Apple, if I must say so my self.

I found this to be an interesting story because of how Apple runs their stores, and how well they treat their customers with respect to replacements of products and other services. 

Out of every company I have ever dealt with or been a customer at, Apple by far has surpassed any of them with customer service and relations. I have been there twice for my Iphone 4, both times they have had cracks, and each time they have looked at me and said “This one is on us.” And have given me a brand new Iphone 4 to replace my old one.

With a company that has more revenue than the US government, they certainly are placing priority on making their customers happy with all their technology products, as well as trying to ensure Apples future by getting Tim Cook to head their company.

Their money seems to be going in the right places. Apple’s market cap is at $355.6 billion dollars. Which easily makes the most valuable traded company in the entire world. All eyes will be on Tim Cook and what he will do with the company. 

(Source: CNN)