Leander Kahney's Blog, page 1535

October 15, 2011

Developer Makes Progress On Porting Siri To The iPhone 4 [Video]

According to a report Steven Troughton-Smith has made progress on porting the Siri voice assistant to the iPhone 4. The resulting ported version of Siri isn't ready for prime time so I wouldn't get to excited just yet and return that iPhone 4S you bought yesterday.

Steven has worked exclusively with 9to5Mac to port the iPhone 4S Siri voice assistant system to the iPhone 4. The hack is in its starting steps and doesn't seem to be close to being a full port yet. He was able to get the files needed loaded onto an iPhone 4 which allows Siri to load with all the same features as the iPhone 4S. Here's a video demonstration of his hack:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/Pue5Yl3WrZA]

The only problems encountered are due to hardware compatibility issues since according to the report Apple isn't authenticating commands between Siri on an iPhone 4 and the company's servers. It is also very slow with a sluggish response while in use because Siri doesn't support the right GPU driver for the iPhone 4.

The biggest revelation is that Siri will work on the iPhone 4 contrary to what Apple might have alluded too. This isn't the first time the company has played this kind of game with consumers since we've a seen many jailbreaks touting features on older model iPhones that allegedly only work on new models.

Be sure to read the rest of the report yourself for some insight into this interesting project.

[via 9to5Mac]

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Published on October 15, 2011 08:04

You Might Be Surprised By How Many iPhone 4 Cases Fit the iPhone 4S

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The new iPhone 4S has a minor physical tweak that makes it difficult to fit into some cases. The culprit is the silent/ringer switch which has been moved down slightly towards the bottom of the phone. Since I've had a few reader queries about cases for the iPhone 4S I thought I'd share some information about cases I have on hand.

I have six iPhone 4 cases that I either purchased or received for review and surprise a that a lot of them fit just fine for regular use. Only one of them wouldn't fit at all. If you have one of the other five you'll be just fine when you upgrade to an iPhone 4S.

The only case out of the six I have that wouldn't work was my iPhone 4S was my Otterbox case (not pictured). The hard plastic shell inside of the outer rubbery shell wasn't tolerating the slightly modified silent/ringer switch. I could not get the two pieces of the hard shell snapped together. It's possible that Otterbox now offers a model that is more flexible. Check with them to find out.

The next two cases, the Survivor from Griffin Technology and the Ballistic SG from Ballistic, both had a rigid internal or exterior shell and a soft silicone layer that fits the iPhone 4S fine for regular use. No issues there.

The last three cases are all made of soft silicone and worked just fine too. They are the iSkin Solo, iSkin Duet (which is just the Solo with a holster), and the iSkin Revo made by iSkin. Personally I use the iSkin Revo4 every day so I'm glad it fits the iPhone 4S.

If you've upgraded to the iPhone 4S try the cases you own on your new phone. You might find one that fits so you won't have to spend more money. If you know about any other iPhone 4 cases that work with the iPhone 4S please leave a comment and tell everyone about it.

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Published on October 15, 2011 07:29

Thanks To Siri, The iPhone 4S Is A Serious Upgrade [CultofMac's Big Fat Mega Review]

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The big question about the iPhone 4S is whether it's worth the upgrade.

The answer is yes, and that's because of Siri, the talking personal assistant.

Siri is unbelievable; a paradigm shift. It's new way of interacting with computers that's as big a breakthrough as the original Macintosh with its mouse, windows and icons. In fact, it's bigger. It's a much more natural way to interact with machines. It's a glimpse of the future of computing.

Like the first Mac, it's far from perfect. We're at the very beginning of this revolution. But if you want to join the party, you need the 4S.

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The Magic of Siri

Siri is a blast. I've had a ton of fun messing around with it, running it through this list of commands.

Some of the stuff it can understand and do is astonishing. Siri did all this, first time, with few errors:

Set up a meeting at 9.30 on Monday with John Brownlee.My daughter is Nadine. Siri added this info to my Address Book.Call my daughter's cell phone.What does the rest of my day look like? Siri returned a list of appointments and scheduled phone calls.Wake me up tomorrow at 8am.Change my 8am alarm to 8:15.What time is it in Tokyo?What's the date next Wednesday?Set a timer for 45 minutes.Mail Traci about dinner and say I'll pick her up at 7.30.Get directions to my 666 Grove Street. This is where I encountered my first glitch: I had to repeat the address a couple of times.Find sushi joints in Bernal Heights. Siri returned a list of four or five sushi restaurants.Send a text to Traci on her mobile saying dinner is at 7.Play Lippy Kids.Pause.Skip.Note: get a new hose or hose repair kit.Reminder: take my coat when I leave home. (I ran up the block to make sure the Reminder triggered when I left home. It did.)What's the forecast for this weekend?Who is Mike Elgan?How many calories in a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream? (920!)Search the best brownie recipe.

Maybe this seems trivial, but I was amazed. I laughed with delight when it recognized phrases (even with my British accent) and shook my head in disbelief when it followed complex commands. This isn't voice recognition, it's real AI.

To wake up Siri, you hold down the Home button and begin talking. Or you can lift the 4S up to your ear, and the accelerometers trigger the system. I prefer holding the Home button so I can see what Siri's up to.

Apple says Siri learns as you use it, but I did a bit of prep work. I told it my spouse, home and work addresses, and made sure birthdays were noted in my calendar.

Siri works with most of the built-in apps: iCal, Address Book, Maps and so on. Here's the list. It can set alarms, calendar dates, or remind you to pick up milk when you get to work.

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From now on, there's no way I'm tapping the screen to perform these tasks. I can see instantly that it will transform the way I interact with calendars, reminders, and send texts and emails.

It's not perfect. Far from it. Trying to tell it my son's birthday, it couldn't recognize his name. I tried it over and over. I was soon swearing at it. It fluffed plenty of other things too.

I resorted to entering the data manually. No big deal, but it shows a big shortcoming. Unless Siri works well, really well, it won't take off. No one's going to work hard at changing their habits. Who's going to use it if it doesn't work?

Our own Mike Elgan noticed a couple of interesting things. You can ask Siri to call you anything you want: "Siri, I want you to call me Sugar Buns." From that point on, that's what it'll call you.

There are some strange limitations: Siri can't open, read or delete email. When Elgan asked Siri why this is, it said: "I don't know. I've wondered that myself."

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Siri works with hands-free in the car. I played and paused music, sent a text to my wife, initiated a phone call. I didn't try it while driving, so I can't say if cabin noise affects the system.

I did try it while sitting in front of the stereo. It didn't understand a word. It won't work well in noisy environments.

It may soon work with a wider range off apps — and be able to converse and reason. I'll have a story about this shortly.

Maybe the novelty will wear off. It can be slow and ponderous. It doesn't work without a network connection. It's crippled in countries outside the U.S. And Siri works only on the iPhone 4S: it needs the faster hardware, Apple says.

For now, Siri is like the Mac in 1984. It shows incredible promise, but it's a work in progress. When the Mac first appeared, Douglas Adams noted that people loved the idea but not the actual machine, which was underpowered and slow.

Siri is like that today. It can be slow and wrong and sometimes frustrating but the idea of Siri is extremely powerful.

Who knows how long it will take, maybe decades, but it's clear we're entering the Star Trek era when we'll be talking to computers and smartphones instead of tapping on screens or keyboards.

Next: Design, Guts and Antenna

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Published on October 15, 2011 05:00

October 14, 2011

Steve Jobs Rap Tribute Video [NSFW]

Here's the video to that "Steve Jobs" rap song that hit the Internets last month.

It's got a few things that might not be safe for work – mainly rapper Supreme General who wrote and performs the song in various states of undress with obligatory crotch grabbing and too many obscenities to count. (Not that I didn't try to count the obscenities – I'm like that.)

But it's got that awesome copyright-disputed silhouette of Steve in the opening and Supreme General does regale us with a shot of himself brandishing an iPhone. So there's that.

And the pertinent lines (at the very end):

"That's why it never bothers me when niggas copy all my moves….

My competition's hollow, my products set the standards for the rest of y'all to follow.

Steve Jobs."

Kind of a nice break from the hagiographic approach. Jobs might have appreciated that.

You can download the song here.

Via Hustle in my veins

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Published on October 14, 2011 18:21

Sprint Announces Best Sales Day in History, Thanks to the iPhone [Report]

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Today Sprint announced that the iPhone's launch on its network resulted in the carrier's best day ever in sales. Apple announced its partnership with Sprint to offer the iPhone 4S and 8GB iPhone 4 last week.

After today's launch day, the iPhone has given Sprint more sales than any product ever on its network.

Fared Adib, Sprint Product Chief:

"Sprint today reported its best ever day of sales in retail, web and telesales for a device family in Sprint history with the launch of iPhone 4S and iPhone 4. We reached this milestone at approximately noon CT/1pm ET. The response to this device by current and new customers has surpassed our expectations and validates our customers' desire for a truly unlimited data pricing plan."

Rumors suggested for months that Sprint and Apple would partner for the next iPhone launch leading up to last week's announcement.

Sprint offers its customers the unique option of purchasing an unlimited data plan with the iPhone.

AT&T also announced a record number of iPhone activations for today's iPhone 4S launch.

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Published on October 14, 2011 18:05

AT&T Announces Record Number of iPhone Activations for iPhone 4S Launch [Report]

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image via flickr • http://bit.ly/q5NE8J

AT&T announced Friday, October 14 that it saw a record number of iPhone activations on its network. The iPhone 4S was made available to US customers on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint this morning.

The carrier confirmed to BGR:

"As of 4:30 pm ET today, AT&T had already activated a record number of iPhones on our network – and is on-track to double our previous record for activations on a single day.

These record volumes may produce slower activations for some customers, though our systems continue to run at record levels."

Despite the fact that many were unable to activate their new iPhones on AT&T today, the carrier still calls the iPhone 4S its "most successful iPhone launch" to date.

AT&T alone was responsible for 200,000 of the 1 million worldwide pre-orders that were placed last Friday.

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Published on October 14, 2011 17:31

October 13, 2011

Apple Is Taking All Of Thanksgiving Week Off

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It's been a big year for Apple, one that's set sales records around the world and seen the launch of some of Apple's biggest and best products ever: the iPad 2, the iPhone 4S, iCloud, iOS 5, Siri, OS X Lion.

It's also been a hard year, with Apple founder and ex-CEO Steve Jobs passing away last week.

In recognition of everything that's happened for Apple this year, and to give employees a chance to give thanks, Apple CEO Tim Cook has just sent out an email to Apple Corporate Employees, telling them to take all of Thanksgiving week off, with pay.

The email from MacGeneration notes:

Team,

I consider it an honor to come to work every day alongside the most innovative and most dedicated people on earth. This is an extraordinary time to be at Apple, and it's all made possible by your incredible efforts.

We've had a record-setting year so far and we're heading into the holidays with the strongest product lineup in our history. Customers are absolutely in love with the iPad 2, and the amazing new iPhone 4S is off to the best start of any iPhone we've ever made. The Mac is soaring to new heights with OS X Lion, and on the eve of its 10th birthday, the iPod is still the world's most popular music player.

In recognition of the hard work you've put in this year, we're going to take some extra time off for Thanksgiving. We will shut down with pay on November 21, 22 and 23 so our teams can spend the entire week with their families and friends.

Of course, Retail and some other groups will need to work that week so we can continue to serve our customers. If you're in one of these groups, please check with your manager about taking time off at a later date. Our international teams will schedule their three-day shutdowns this quarter at a time that's best for them. Details will be available on AppleWeb.

I hope everyone enjoys this much deserved break.

Tim

Good for Tim. Apple's had an amazing and stressful and sad year. Time for a breather. Now if only Leander'd follow Cook's lead.

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Published on October 13, 2011 10:27

Want To Merge More Than One Apple ID? Cupertino Says 'Fat Chance'

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When Apple introduced MobileMe, they really created a cluster$@#! of a situation with Apple IDs because they forced you to make a new one when you signed up. That means that millions of MobileMe users have two Apple IDs: the one they've used forever to buy songs, movies and apps, and another Apple ID forced upon you for MobileMe.

Well, now iCloud is here and MobileMe accounts have been ported and almost all of MobileMe's services are now free. Wouldn't it be nice to frickin' be able to merge those two IDs into one so you don't have to worry about this crap anymore?

Don't hold your breath. Apple's not playing.

Here's what the official Apple support article says on the matter:

Can I merge multiple Apple IDs into one? 
You cannot merge two or more Apple IDs into a single one. You can, however, use one Apple ID for iCloud services and another Apple ID for store purchases (including iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match). See "Using one Apple ID for iCloud and a different Apple ID for Store Purchases" above for details.

It's not a huge deal, because Apple does allow you to sign in with a separate store ID, but it just seems stupid and arbitrary that Apple can't fix this and simplify things for millions of users who didn't want a separate MobileMe Apple ID anyway.

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Published on October 13, 2011 10:07

Australia Could Become an Android-Free Zone

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Australia may soon become an Android-free zone. That's the opinion of patent experts after an Australian court hit Samsung with a temporary sales ban. Although the sales halt mentions only the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the patents involved could touch every tablet and smartphone based on Google's mobile software.

"After today's decision, I believe no company in the industry [will] be able to launch any new Android-based touchscreen product in Australia anytime soon without incurring a high risk of another interim injunction," writes the oft-cited patent blog FOSS Patents.

The decision by the Australian Federal Court ordered the sales halt of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, which competes with Apple's iPad. The Galaxy Tab violated two patents owned by Apple governing touchscreen devices. A formal court hearing was also ordered for the two companies to reach an agreement. However, that hearing isn't likely to occur until at least well after the important Christmas shopping period.

However, if Apple wins during the formal hearing, "all Android-based products will effectively be shut out of the Australian market forever, unless Google or its device maker partners settle with Apple," according to the site. Along with Samsung, Motorola and HTC could also be hurt by "Google's cavalier attitude toward other companies' intellectual property," according to the blog.

Australia is just the latest country to side with Apple's patent infringement claims against Android device manufacturers. Previously, Apple won a sales injunction against Samsung in Germany. A court in the Netherlands also banned Samsung phones, but only in that country. Samsung faces a sales ban in the United States. That court hearing, set for less than 24 hours from now in the Northern District of California, focuses on three smartphones: the Galaxy S 4G, Droid Charge and Infuse 4G, as well as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet.

The obvious message coming from all of Apple's legal moves for Android players: be afraid. Be very afraid.

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Published on October 13, 2011 09:51

Pegatron Lands 5M More iPhone 4S Orders Than Expected

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The iPhone has been good to Pegatron Technologies. The Taiwan-based hardware manufacturer, along with Foxconn, supplies Apple with iPhones and iPads. The company recently announced received orders from the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant for 15 million iPhone 4S handsets, up from 10M orders previously expected. More than 2 million of the new iPhones will ship during the fourth quarter

According to the Chinese-language Commercial Times, Pegatron is also preparing its manufacturing process to handle the iPad 3′s metal chassis, as well as low-cost MacBook Air clones by Asustek Computer abd Lenovo. A number of PC makers are adopting Intel's Ultrabook platform in hopes of sharing some of the consumer excitement over Apple's best-selling $999 notebook computer.

Apple recently announced receiving more than 1 million advance orders for its new iPhone 4S, which goes on sale Friday. Already, some consumers who placed the preorders report emails from Apple alerting them that shipment from Chinese manufacturers has already begun.