The Siri digital assistant that ships with all mobile compatible devices running iOS has been known to put its foot in its mouth on more than one occasion. Barely a day could pass in the early days of the digital assistant without someone using Twitter, Facebook or Reddit to post screenshots of Siri replying to a seemingly innocent question with a ridiculous, controversial or opinionated answer. Long periods of silence on the Siri front seemed to suggest that we had passed that stage but the existence of Samantha in the movie Her seems to have ruffled a few electronic feathers.
It has long since been common knowledge that certain government agencies use a number of digital spying tactics to keep tabs on certain activity. Only recently, details have begun to emerge of just how much intel the NSA has been collecting, to the point where it seems as though there's very little that anybody can do digitally without the NSA brown-nosing. With some products having leaked info to the NSA without the knowledge of the user, Apple has taken the opportunity to distance itself from such behavior in stating that it has "never worked with the NSA to create a backdoor in any products."
It takes a lot to be able to lead someone, to inspire and to change lives, and even more for corporations to do it. Yet, in today’s world, Apple has done it, and it all started not long before 2007, when the company unveiled the first iPhone to the world and changed everything - smartphones, at least - as we know it today. In an internal memo today, Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, reflected on what the company has been able to achieve in 2013, and their outlook for the upcoming next year. If it says anything, Apple is full of hopes for a better future.
One of the great things about the release of the Walter Isaacson biography detailing the life and times of Steve Jobs, was that we learned much more of events and instances that we'd only previously gathered the crux of. We hear names, we see keynotes, we enjoy products; but the ins and outs of what exactly goes on tend to remain obscured from the public eye - at least until another extensive book hits the market. Fred Vogelstein’s Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution, is a self-explanatory tale of two modern-day tech titans, and The Atlantic has posted an interesting piece dissecting a particular chapter about the release of the iPhone and notably, Google's reaction.
Apple gets more than its fair share of stick for supposedly not being innovative enough these days, but that wasn't what everyone was saying when the iPhone was first announced in 2007. Offering what, at the time, was the holy grail of mobile telecommunications in something the size of a smartphone, the iPhone was a truly revolutionary device.
Apple released iOS 7.1 beta 2 earlier today. Here we take a look at all the changes in iOS 7.1 beta 2 as well as first impressions of the new seed after a few hours of use.
Losing a leader like Nelson Mandela is always a huge loss not just for his own nation, but for all of humanity on the whole. When the former South African president and national leader passed away, almost everyone paid tribute to his achievements and his life in their own way, but seeing a corporation doing that is always different and noteworthy. Cupertino tech giant Apple has honored the great leader by updating its home page with the photo of Mandela, paying homage to a giant life that was taken away from us.
Apple's Siri voice-recognition technology might not yet have made waves among the iOS-using community, but the implementation first seen with the iPhone 4s back in 2011 shows no sign of disappearing. We've already seen how the likes of Honda and General Motors announce plans to include the Siri Eyes Free technology into upcoming production cars, and now, a new patent filing from Apple suggest that it too is ready to take Siri to the next level. Published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday, the filing outlines a speaker dock system that includes Siri integration, which would be interacted with via the in-built speaker system.
The holiday season deals kicked off this weekend and for large parts of today due to Thanksgiving, and with more festivities coming up during the next couple of weeks, it's a great month to be a tech fan. In the spirit of things, Apple has announced that it will ship items for free up until and including December 22nd, without any minimum spending requirement. Also, the company revealed the latest dates one can order certain items for receipt before December 24th, while extending its returns policy to January 7th for items purchased from November 1st to December 25th.
Apple has never been shy about supporting charities, which is why a glance through the iPad and iPhone accessories lists on the Apple Store will reveal one or two Product (RED) versions of cases and covers. The company has also been known to turn its stores red, and for the third year running selected Apple Stores in various countries have had their iconic glowing Apple logo turned red in support of World AIDS Day.
