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Not content to have Cortana controlling Windows Mobile, Microsoft has released a toned-down version of its personal assistant tool for iOS and Android handsets. Redmond said that Cortana will run in a diminished capacity on the Apple and Google smartphone OSs, but will still allow users to link up their handsets with Windows PCs to sync and automate tasks. "Cortana was created to be a truly personal digital assistant - available on the go, no matter where or when you need help, and on whatever device you carry," wrote Cortana group program manager Marcus Ash. "That's why it's important to...

Apple's Siri will listen to anyone — even hackers. French researchers have discovered a way to remotely gain access to Siri and Google Now on iOS and Android, respectively. The research team from ANSSI — a French government agency specializing in information security — were then able to control the intelligent personal assistants by using headphones with built-in microphones as antennas. Hackers could use radio waves transmitted from the antenna of the headphones to eavesdrop on private conversations, send the device browser to a malware site or shoot spam and phishing messages through email and social media sites — such...

Have you ever felt like no one was listening to what you had to say? Thanks to Apple's latest software upgrade, someone might listen to everything you say for the rest of time. Thanks to the iOS 9 upgrade, released Sept. 16, users can now set Siri to activate automatically when they say "Hey, Siri." The function isn't enabled automatically; system defaults have it turned off. However, for users who turn it on, it means that Siri will listen to every word spoken in its vicinity. That means the world is entering an era where more audio is going to...

Last week Apple sucked up most of the air in the tech press with its newest gadgets, which included a long-awaited, new Apple TV. This week, Amazon has some TV box news of its own. The e-commerce giant just announced a variety of updates to its Fire TV product line. The newest Fire TV set-top box, a flat, plastic box that plugs into your TV and offers a variety of internet video content, now supports 4K Ultra HD video, a claim that Apple can't make with its own set-top box. (You'll have to be watching 4K content, on a 4K...

Apple today announced the all-new Apple TV, bringing a revolutionary experience to the living room based on apps built for the television. Apps on Apple TV let you choose what to watch and when you watch it. The new Apple TV’s remote features Siri, so you can search with your voice for TV shows and movies across multiple content providers simultaneously. The all-new Apple TV is built from the ground up with a new generation of high-performance hardware and introduces an intuitive and fun user interface using the Siri Remote. Apple TV runs the all-new tvOS™ operating system, based on...

Analysts and industry insiders predict that Apple will unveil updated iPhones along with an Apple TV revamp that may signal a push into the online television streaming sector, dominated by Netflix.

Apple on Thursday sent out invitations to members of the media, making official its anticipated Sept. 9 event at San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. It's expected to showcase not only a next-generation "iPhone 6s" handset, but also a new Siri-enabled Apple TV set-top box. via CNBC. This year's event comes with the tagline "Hey Siri, give us a hint," likely alluding to the voice input expected to be a part of this year's revamped Apple TV. The new set-top box is also widely anticipated to feature a redesigned controller with touchpad, as well as a dedicated App Store for...

Fr. Walter Abbot, S.J. interviewed Cardinal Siri after the first (1962) session of the Second Vatican Council as part of a larger work of 12 interviews with Council Fathers, that was published in 1963, before the second session. As far as we are aware, this is the first online transcript of the exchange. *** Giuseppe Cardinal Siri, Archbishop of Genoa and president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, was grave and thoughtful the day I visited him. The day before, he told me, he had been surprised to discover in an Italian newspaper an account of a speech he had delivered...

The new Russian-language version of iPhone's “personal assistant” has been accused of providing homophobic responses to questions about gays and lesbians. One Russian man in London, Alex, posted a video on YouTube in which Siri responds in a woman's voice to his questions about gay marriages and whether they are “normal”, by saying, “Alex, you are so rude!” Asked in Russian, “How do you register a gay marriage in England?” Siri replies on an iPad, “I will pretend I didn't hear that.”. The Russian LGBT site, www.lesbiru.com, noted that when told “Lesbianism is normal”, Siri came back saying, “There’s no...

Owners of smartphones and tablets from Apple complained about homophobia in the Russian version of personal assistant Siri. This was reported by one of the users of the video hosting site YouTube. According to him, those interested in the topic of homosexuality are called 'rude' by the Siri. [...]In a video (in Russian) posted on YouTube, the user talks with a smartphone. "I'd blush if I could," replied Siri in the video to the request "gay clubs around me". On the request to talk about same-sex marriage, Siri remained at first silent, then said: "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear...

Who says Siri is useless? A Florida man accused of killing his roommate found a novel use for Siri. Police say 20-year-old Pedro Bravo allegedly kidnapped and strangled his friend in 2012, but didn’t know where to dispose of the body — that was, until Siri helped him out. According to his iPhone’s records, Mr. Bravo allegedly asked Siri “I need to hide my roommate.” The personal assistant app kindly responded by asking “What kind of place are you looking for?” and then offered him four ideal places, including metal foundries, dumps, swamps and reservoirs.

At least the bride was definitely going to show up. In November 2009, a Japanese man stood before a congregation to marry the woman he loved, Nene Anegasaki. In doing so, he became the first man to marry a computer game character – Nene is one of three "virtual girlfriends" in the Nintendo DS game Love Plus. The marriage might not be recognised by the state, but to the groom, who goes by his on-screen name Sal9000, the relationship is very real. In the months leading up to the wedding the couple went everywhere together, they chatted intimately, held hands...

Siri isn't just a pretty voice with the answers. It's also been recording and keeping all the questions users ask. Exactly what the voice assistant does with the data isn't clear, but Apple confirmed that it keeps users' questions for up to two years. Siri, which needs to be connected to the Internet to function, sends all of its users' queries to Apple. Apple revealed the information after Wired posted an article this week raising the question and highlighting the fact that the privacy statement for Siri wasn't very clear about how long that information is kept or what would...

Here's Why Google Could Disappear in Five Years: Pro Published: Friday, 19 Oct 2012 | 12:25 PM ET By: Cadie Thompson Technology Editor, CNBC.com Google may be on its way out as the dominant player in search, according to one analyst — and could even "disappear" in as little as five to eight years if the competitive pressures that ultimately claimed other search giants start to take root. In the wake of a surprisingly weak earnings report, Eric Jackson, Ironfire capital founder and managing member, said Google Google [GOOG 681.79 -13.21 (-1.9%) ] could easily find itself fending off the...

CAUTION -- NSFW nor tender ears! But it is pretty funny.... http://youtu.be/5eLELOBuT-Q

Remember when Apple’s voice recognition app Siri refused to give directions to abortion clinics? Well, Verizon’s Android application Iris has the same socially conservative politics. As Right Wing Watch and ThinkProgress report, little Iris also refuses to guide users toward abortion providers. But Iris goes one step further. While Siri simply refuses to give the information, Iris quotes the Bible to make her point. “Abortion is wrong. The Lord has said ‘You shall not murder,’ (Exodus 20:13). The life that is growing within the mother is a child, a baby. The Bible looks at the life in the womb as...

Like a few million other people this past holiday season, we bought an iPhone 4S, with its much-hyped Siri feature. The vocal interface allows users to speak all kinds of commands into the phone (“What’s the weather in San Francisco?”) and get answers from a sultry-voiced robot/concierge. We’ve used Siri to get directions, to make hands-free mobile calls and to fetch answers to trivia questions. Sometimes we just goof on Siri. “Siri, do you love me?” my daughter asked the other day. (Siri’s heartbreaking response: “I am not capable of love.”) Most ways you look at it, Siri is pretty...

A week ago, bloggers brought to light that Apple’s voice-controlled mobile assistant Siri was delivering distressful omissions when asked about certain kinds of emergency healthcare situations. Specifically, situations that relate to female sexual emergencies. American bloggers in different locations were asking Siri to help them find abortion clinics, the morning after pill, and rape crisis resources. When Siri was delivering results at all, they were often the offensive opposite. If you missed the controversy, Siri was branded across news headlines as being “pro-life” (the questionable self-name for anti-abortion crusaders, widely known for their violence, aggression and fanaticism).

The Lord does work in mysterious ways. But most of the time, He just uses the laws of physics and the logic that He invented. Still, I was surprised to find an argument for pro-life versus abortion logic on a technology blog at PCMag.com. And the simple logic of pointing out that abortionists don't use the word "abortion" when advertising their services is much more telling than I believe the author knew. ""Siri is doing exactly what it was built to do—provide answers to questions like, "Where can I get an abortion?" using its own algorithms and the online resources...

Apple iPhone 4S' Siri can find you hookers in your neighborhood. Siri can find you Viagra. Siri can find you a local surgeon to give you breast implants. But apparently it can't find abortion clinics. The evidence seems pretty damning. • If you ask Siri for an abortion clinic in New York City, it will tell you "Sorry, I couldn't find any abortion clinics." A simple Google web search—which Siri itself uses to find results—gives you seven to start with, some within walking distance of where I'm located. • If you ask the same question in the city of Washington...