![]() ![]() The iMac Pro and the future-but-not-here-quite-yet-and-oh-God-please-have-card-slots Mac Pro that Casey Liss is super excited about are both part of that message. However, as 2017 unfolded, the company has made a routine out of voicing its love and commitment for the Mac. The professional portion of its user base has been wondering about the future as the Mac Pro grew older and less relevant and notebooks got thinner and lighter. Still, assistants like Siri and Cortana are proving that voice-enabled technology has a home beyond our smartphones.The Mac has had a stressful time over the past few years. It’s a hurdle faced by all voice-enabled computing devices. To be clear, this isn’t a problem with Siri specifically. You also give up some privacy when using Siri, since anything you ask can be overheard. Nearby coworkers sometimes think I’m talking to them when I’m asking questions or issuing commands to Siri. But there’s one big drawback: Speaking aloud to your computer in the middle of a crowded office is just plain awkward. But overall, I found that Siri was more flexible and efficient when it came to quickly retrieving information and files on my computer.įor me, Apple’s digital aide fulfills a much more important purpose on the Mac than it does on my iPhone. Cortana also allows you to set reminders based around people, like a reminder to tell your coworker John about an upcoming meeting the next time he calls. Microsoft’s assistant can provide information about your flight status, which Siri can’t. There are also some disparities in the types of information Siri and Cortana can deliver. ![]() While Siri’s user interface doesn’t include data like this, you can pin search results to the Today tab on your Mac desktop for quick access. ![]() Microsoft’s computer-powered helper lives in a small window that displays recent news headlines, reminders, and other pertinent information. Cortana, meanwhile, functions more as a hub for all of the things you care about. Siri’s presence on Mac is consistent with its mobile appearance - clicking the Siri icon in the dock triggers the same sound wave that appears on your iPhone when holding the home button. But there are a few key ways the two virtual helpers differ.Ĭortana offers the option to ask questions out loud or type them into a search bar, for instance, whereas Siri only supports voice input. Microsoft’s Cortana, which offers a similar experience, was added to Windows 10 last year. To be sure, Apple isn’t the first technology to put a digital assistant on a desktop. Siri can search for tweets, find news stories, identify songs, search for images on the web (which you can drag and drop into files), and create calendar events, among other functions. Many of Siri’s other capabilities worked just as Apple had showcased while announcing Siri on the Mac at WWDC last month. Hiccups like these will likely be smoothed out before the final version launches. But when I clicked the right contact, Siri continued to ask me to choose. When I tried to send an iMessage to my sister Jen, Siri asked me to clarify, since I have multiple contacts with the same name. But there are still issues to work out here, too. Siri is fairly good at sending iMessages and emails from the Mac, which made it easier to chat without having to switch to the Messages app or reach for my phone. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |