So, the much anticipated Siri app became available tonight via the iTune store. I've been anxiously waiting for this particular app for months and though I have only been using it for about an hour, so far it is most impressive. If you haven't heard of it, it is an artificial intelligence tool (of sorts) that uses natural language processing to decipher and provide answers to certain requests - "find me a sushi restaurant in Sausalito," "what time is Avatar  playing in San Francisco," etc.

I've made about ten inquiries and so far it appears to be batting around .700, which isn't too bad for a version 1.0 product. I am sure I will have more to say on this soon - I need to use it for a few more weeks to really get a sense of its capabilities -- but in the interim, it is a no-brainer of a download (it's free). It is also yet another reason why I am reticent to move off the iPhone platform, despite AT&T's continued dismal service -- which I actually think is somehow getting worse.

After playing around with the Google Voice web app last week, I decided to try a little experiment and disable AT&T's visual voicemail in favor of Google voicemail. The results have been a bit mixed, but overall I think I am pleased. On the upside, I love that when someone leaves a message, I get a transcribed text within moments of the call. The transcription itself is a little wonky, but it generally gives me a decent enough sense of the nature of the call. This is a great feature for me as I often find myself in meetings and it's helpful to be able to grab a glimpse at my messages to determine urgency. As I said, I wish the transcription was better, but for now, it will suffice. 

I've wanted this for quite some time. After almost 45 days, it finally arrived at my local audio/video store.

I have an incredible amount of music built up in my iTunes library but my listening has been reduced to iPhone and iPod, due in part to a wonky speaker. What I like about the Sonos S5 is that it plays direct from my computer, and the sound is supposed to be excellent. I also like that the speakers itself is completey portable and can be moved from room to room.

Anyway, I'm currently in the process of setting it up. So far, so good on that front. A detailed review forthcoming.

Boy, I have so many thoughts on this one I almost don't know where to start.

If like me you have been sitting on a Google Voice account for months and have been doing absolutely nothing with it whatsoever, your answer might have arrived. Google made available today a web app for iPhone, bypassing the app store entirely. It is available by pointing your safari browser to www.google.com/voice. Follow the instructions and you should be up and running in seconds. Obviously, be sure to add it to your home screen a well. From what I read on the plane today, it has about 80% of the functionality of the native app available on Android phones. 

Just what the world needs, I know; another Apple Tablet related blog posting. For shame on me - I think this is the third or fourth time I have written on the same subject. I confess that I cannot wait for Wednesday. I think this is the most anticipated product announcement of the last ten years; the only thing that could possibly rival it is the iPhone release and if you compared the coverage/hype/speculation, I think the Tablet might actually come out on top. It's been years since we had a product that we could get *really*excited about. Android phones, Kindle, et al have been fine and all, but nothing quite like this. And despite the fact that the hype is teetering on the ridiculous, it's neat that we are celebrating something new. In a certain sense we aren't necessarily celebrating Apples or Steve Jobs, though they are obviously the leitmotif of this story. Really, though, we are celebrating the American spirit of innovation and that, in a broader context, is a great thing. 

I’m not going to make a big to do about this because I think the jury is pretty much out on Amazon’s earth-unshattering announcement yesterday that they would open up the Kindle for app development. And that jury is like “WTFTW?” And then the judge is like “hey, STFU with that bung tongue.” And no, that judge is not Diablo Cody.

The IM convo I had with one of my main boys below sums it up as far as I’m concerned. You’re grasping at straws, Amazon. Give your customers (and investors for that matter) some credit — case in point: stop sending out emails on how to properly “install” your Kindle cover (see second image below). They are not as retarded as you think, and apps on the Kindle are not kidding anyone. Just ask your PDF-viewing and web browsing functions — they are sad, lonely and underused.

Also, get ready, because your ship just may crash into a skinny fruit-shaped iceberg wearing jeans and a black mock turtleneck next Wednesday.

   

Click here to download:

Really_Amazon_Really_Thats_the.zip (315 KB)

For work purposes that I can hopefully explain in a separate post some time soon, I think it's best that I not mention the specific product name of what I am about to describe. Weird, I know. But hang with me.

I probably have about 20 apps on my iPhone that I rely on regularly. The ones that I probably use most - and which I have written about previously - are Tweetie2, Facebook and Instapaper. But there are two that I am using more and more. The first is Evernote. I use this as my digital memory; to capture work and personal notes; to record reminders, to capture photos and more. Oftentimes when I am at the bookstore and see an interesting book, I'll snap it to Evernote so that I can check it out later online. I love how it stores all content in the cloud and is accessible either from my phone or a browser. I have not yet signed up for the paid version of this application, solely because I don't really need all the storage space, but it's something I will likely do soon. I don't yet use Evernote every day, but I do use it multiple times each week.

Very cool item from TGR via Mashable.