Signs of the Times - February 2012 - (Page 12)

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE By Darek Johnson Darek Johnson is ST’s Senior Technology Editor/Analyst. Email him at darek.johnson@stmediagroup.com “Siri, find a restaurant.” Voice-recognition systems may soon outshine digital displays. I arrived late, so I stood at the back of the bookstore hall. Whitley Strieber, the author of Communion, a then just-published book that describes his encounters with extra-terrestrials, was on stage. He was telling how aliens often visit his country home. He said the aliens were child-sized creatures with large, slanted eyes. That they usually emerge at night, and could somehow bypass any door locks. The bookstore audience was quiet, awestruck. In public areas, he said, the aliens transmogrify into properly dressed and well-mannered humans, albeit a bit brawny. Finally, Whitley said he’d answer a few questions, and, too soon, announced he had time for only one more. I’d read the book. I raised my hand. “You, at the back of the room,” he said. Ah! I said, “Mr. Strieber, sir, you’ve previously published two novels – Wolfen and The Hunger – so, uh, noting your successful fiction skills, how are we to know your new book isn’t … uh, pure bullshit?” Whitley froze. With his eyes locked on mine, he slowly, ever so slowly, smiled, then said I’d asked a good question. At the edge of my vision, I saw his draped hands close into tense fists. I also observed that his audience now faced me. Smiling still, Whitley explained that anyone who spent solitary time in the woods, at night, would surely encounter aliens and thereby know his book was true. “Does that answer your question?” he asked. I thanked him, but, recollecting the angry fists and facing crowd, didn’t say I’d for years camped in America’s deserts and mountains – alone, at night – and hadn’t yet encountered an alien. Whitley moved to a nearby table, pen in hand, to autograph his newly sold books. His fans followed. Opposite, the bookstore had set a wine-and-cheese table and, near it, stood a large man in a beige suit, wine glass in hand. He fit Whitley’s alien description. I grabbed a wine, introduced myself and asked if he was an alien. He chuckled and said no, that he was Whitley’s publisher. “So, do you believe the book?” I asked. He smiled. “Have you ever met an alien?” “No.” “Okay,” he said, “and … what work do you do?” “I’m a writer.” “Perfect” he said. “Let me ask – if I gave you a million dollars, could you write a book on your experiences with aliens?” “Sure,” I said. “Write the check.” “I already have,” he said, “…and I gave it to Whitley.” 12 SIGNS OF THE TIMES / FEBRUARY 2012 / www.signweb.com We and had exited the interstate at Merrillville, to at were driving to Cincinnati from Chicago, late night, find a restaurant. My wife, speaking into her iPhone, asked it to find local restaurants. “Siri, find a restaurant,” she said. The scene was sci-fi-like until Siri’s tinny voice replied, “I’m sorry … but I don’t find any listings for ninety eight.” Apple’s PR says Siri is an intelligent personal assistant that allows you to voice-send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls, search for locations and more. Apple adds that Siri, unlike traditional voicerecognition software, understands your natural speech. Um. Not always. Apple says its Siri voice-recognition and response software is a Beta program, meaning the company has declared it as a work-in-progress system. Internet scuttlebutt says Apple (daringly) pre-released the system because they knew it, a curious and often fun device, would sell iPhones. In October, Louis Bedigian wrote of iPhones in Forbes magazine. Regarding Siri, he wrote, “But while the company says beta quietly, Apple shouted revolution at the top of its advertising lungs.” Consumers, Bedigian said, heard the shouts loud and clear and rushed to retailers to buy the phones. I’m one. An iPhone lemming. You’d think I’d have learned from my experience with bookstore aliens: Don’t believe everything you read. Although, on our third restaurant request, Siri did find the El Vaquero, and I can recommend their enchiladas suiza. Last December 11, on foxnews.com, writer Jeremy A. Kaplan wrote, “Siri makes the new Apple iPhone 4S incredibly easy to use … as long as you’re not from England. Or Scotland. Or Tennessee. Or Mexico.” Kaplan said Siri often blunders if the speaker has an accent. Does anyone not have an accent? Who knows how many people – potential iPhone buyers – speak English with an accent? Or, like politicians and teenagers, use esoteric words as common language? You can presently choose an iPhone where Siri speaks English, French or German, but not Spanish. Some might call this a bad marketing decision – including first-language speakers only, there are approximately 101 million German, 67 million French and 350 million Spanish-language speakers. Approximately 340 million people have grown up speaking English. The primary feature of iPhones and similar devices http://www.foxnews.com http://www.signweb.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - February 2012

Signs of the Times - February 2012
Contents
ST Update
Technology Update
Software Update
Vinyl Apps
Strictly Electric
LED Update
Technology Review
Sign Museum News
New Products
Palisades Center Mall’s Retrofit
Sign Structure Safety
Picture Them Rolling
Sign the Vote
Taxing Times
The Value of Signs
See Ya Real Soon!
Industry News
Advertising Index
Editorially Speaking

Signs of the Times - February 2012