The opportunity to fall in love with your computer could become a possibility with a patent for Apple to deliver its Siri digital assistant to its Mac computers.
Making the move from mobile devices to the desktop would mean the fictional tale portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix in "Her" has potential to be real. First, Apple must have the patent approved and then develop the digital assistant into its computer operating system.
The patent would allow for the desktop version of Siri to be made manifest, enabling users to speak directly to their computer or even make a specific gesture to get Siri working. It could be a major move to assist the blind and vision-impaired, as well as those where typing can cause discomfort or injury, in making it easier to use a computer.
While media outlets have been quick to point to the patent as evidence that Siri is coming to the computer platform, Apple is known to file a number of patents throughout the year and not all of those always come to fruition.
"Like the current iteration of Siri, limited to iOS, Apple's desktop version is able to process natural speech and text input to perform actions like completing tasks, inputting and retrieving data, conducting searches and more," said a report detailing the patent. "Further, the filing points out that commands are to be taken in context based on deduced user intent. In other words, Siri for desktop will use speech recognition to decipher and [for] remembering contextual clues."
Another interesting idea that surrounds bringing Siri to the desktop environment is that users will be able to use Siri as a "third hand" to complete multiple tasks at the same time. This would improve the productivity of users and give them the ability to multitask by directing Siri to complete a specific need.
Apple is in need of a win in the digital assistant world after an advertisement from competitor Microsoft touting its Cortana against Siri, and has seen Microsoft take control of public opinion over virtual assistants. But the ad was fraught with inaccuracies, Tech Times reports.
It attributes to Siri a number of what analysts say are fake responses and illogical retorts, but it's an ad. Microsoft's ultimate goal is to show users that its software is superior to Apple's.
Titled "Siri vs. Cortana - Happy Anniversary", the video ad has also been published on Microsoft's Windows Phone Youtube.com channel. It shows the Cortana software running on Windows Phone 8.1 and Siri on the iPhone 5s, both companies' flagship devices.
But Apple might be ready to take back that control and push the virtual assistant platform onto your desktop.
