Meet Siri: A Virtual Personal Assistant That Actually Works, Deciphers Drunken Slur

For decades, companies have tried to create the real-life equivalent of Rosie the Robot-Maid, an electronic personal
assistant that actually works, and is actually personal. It's a task easier said than done: Just ask Apple, whose "handwriting recognition" Newton handhelds were discontinued in the '90s, or Chandler, whose note-to-self Web organizer has been in development since 2001, and now seems outdated. But with mobile Internet use at an
all-time high--and smartphone tech smarter than...