As he experimented with Siri, blogger Brian Roemmele found out that it is possible to find a reference to “Finder,” OS X’s file manager.
When prompted tasks like “Siri open settings in the window,” Apple’s personal assistant would answer “It doesn’t look like you have an app named ‘Finder’”. iOS does not have a Finder app, but it is the same app used for file management, browser, and interface shell on every Macintosh OS.
Siri’s inclusion in OS X is expected, and probably it will be confirmed at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2016 (WWDC), which will take place from June 13 to 17 in San Francisco, California.
Siri on OS X? Probably more
Many hints are pointing towards Siri’s appearance in OS X. Some screenshots show the new icons for the Siri app. One is a beautiful icon with waves in it, and the other is black and white and resides in the menu bar. Siri is expected to be able to carry on the same tasks as in iOS by searching the web, sending texts, reading email, programming events, opening and closing apps, and so on.
Siri is also reportedly getting a boost from Apple on the development end. There are rumors of a new device based on Siri that can be used to play music, listen to the news, record sound, and many other tasks. The Siri software development kit is being prepared by Apple, which will allow developers to incorporate Siri into their apps, further increasing the personal assistant’s reach and abilities to transverse its native operative system.
Only a few apps work with Siri, mainly because Apple fears privacy problems as the personal assistant handles delicate information in the form of text messages and email. Many expect the Siri Software Development Kit to be announced at this year’s WWDC, allowing for a much greater third-party compatibility with Siri.
Digital personal assistants are the future
Amazon and Google are also developing their own personal assistant devices which use their artificial intelligence platforms. It is all part of the internet of things phenomenon, where voice commands are expected to control appliances, thermostats, music, turning lights on or off, and anything that could be conceived.
Amazon has Echo, which has earned the favor of the critics, while Google just recently announced Google Assistant, a take on a dialog-based app, similar to Siri. Google Home is reportedly able to perform web searches, play music in specific locations, look up reservations for dinner, check purchase shipments, check flight tickets and status, review appointments, and other tasks that are expected of a personal assistant.
The implementation of personal digital assistants on connected devices will be a significant step into the internet of things, where users will be able to have seamless accessibility to their homes and be able to control data anywhere in their local environment.
But this is expected to proceed slowly, as the main concerns about this new phenomenon are safety issues because users can be sure that there will be someone trying to access their appliances to obtain personal and delicate data.
Source: Medium.com