The Soul of Siri in Barbie

In my previous blog post I shared some information about what is Siri and how she works. While scrolling through The New York Times articles, I stumbled upon an article headed; A Wifi Barbie Doll with the soul of Siri.
According to N, Singer (2015)  A wifi enabled version of the iconic doll that uses the Toy Talk’s system to analyze speech and produce relevant responses; will be introduced by American toy manufacturing company ‘Mattel’ and Toy Talk, this Fall.
The Hello Barbie works by recording and processing the users voice. Pressing a button in the dolls belt to ask a question, and then it records the response with an embedded microphone transmitting it to the cloud servers. Toy Talk startup uses voice recognition software to save and decode the users content, and then uses it to formulate an appropriate response from Barbie.
Cofounder of ToyTalk states that “ We hope that when she’s ready, she will have thousands and thousands of things to say and you can speak to her for hours and hours.”
This doll is a big step from the previous conversational apps like The Winston Show and Speakazoo that allowed children to engage in complex conversation.
After reading so many articles on the “hello Barbie” I think that it may be a pretty cool idea, but at the end of the day one can only wait to see the end results.

For further information http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/technology/a-wi-fi-barbie-doll-with-the-soul-of-siri.html?_r=0

About Siri

  Siri is an Apple Inc iOS application that is embedded in iPads or iPhones operating systems and uses natural language user interface to answer question, perform action and make recommendations. Siri in fact acts as a personal assistant and knowledge navigator.
 The word Siri has been mentioned many times and not many people actually know what Siri is, even “i” product users get confused when they can not find a Siri Application Icon.

To find Siri on your iPhone or iPad:
1. Tap on the settings icon


2. Tap on general and then tap on Siri

 

3. Then finally slide the button “On”.



It is very easy to use Siri.

1. Press and hold the iPhone or iPad physical home button to open Siri.
2. Then You will hear two quick beeps to tell you that Siri has woken up and is waiting to do your bidding.
3. Once Siri has opened,  ask a question or ask Siri to perform a task such as emailing or texting. Siri will automatically detect when you have stopped speaking, but you can optionally press the microphone icon to show you have finished speaking.

If you requested Siri to do something such as send an email or text, Siri will show you a draft of the proposed message before it is sent.  To send the message,  say “send” or touch the “s

For further information on Siri go to http://www.siriuserguide.com/how-to-use-siri/ 

Cleaning Your PC

 Some people may think an occasional dusting of their PC is all it needs but it is important to clean your PC regularly. Regular cleaning can prevent the build up of dust which can cause a great expense in maintenance fee
Below is a list of items needed to help clean your PC. ( F, Ion. 2009.)
• Compressed air
• Isopropyl rubbing alcohol
• Lint-free or a micro fabric cloth
• Paper towels
• Q-tips
• Scissors
• Swiffer Dry refill sheets
• Masking tape
• Vacuum with removable or crevice tool
Before you start cleaning switch of  your computer

1. Start with cord management- begin by untangling and removing external cables. Then using a micro fiber cloth and damping it with isopropyl rubbing alcohol, run it along the cord removing all dust.
2. Cleaning your case- ensure power supply is off first lay the case on its side and remove the side door. To get rid of dust around the mother board, take the can of compressed air and ensure the straw is securely inserted. Stand the case upright and hold the can upright as well, squeeze the trigger to blast air in the direction of the key components in the case: crevice between the fan, connection ports etc.
3. Wipe down fans- using different piece of lint free cloth, wipe the fan blades.Then add droplets of the isopropyl alcohol, and run it along the inside s of the case. Use q-tips to clean tight spots. Then allow to dry and close the case when finished.
4.      Make your own filter- using a Swiffer dry refill sheet cut the sheet to fit the grill outside the frame of the case and affix it with a masking tape. Be sure to place the filter only where air is being sucked in, and remember to replace the filter every few months.
5.      Clean your mouse- using the lint free cloth and the isopropyl rubbing alcohol, wipe the outside of the mouse. Cleaning solution should never come in contact with the optical sensor at the bottom of the mouse.
6.      Clean your key board- turn the keyboard upside down to remove small particles stuck in the crevice or use the compressed air to loosen the particles. Then use the isopropyl alcohol with a q-tip to clean grease off the surface and between each keys.
7.      Then finally clean the Monitor- using a microfiber cloth gently wipe the screen to remove dust, finger prints etc. One can add 70% of isopropyl alcohol to distiller water to the cloth to clean as well.








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March hacking at Greatfire.org

 According to M. Boehler (March 20, 2015) Greatfire.org a group of anonymous activits who monitor  online censorship in China, provided access to blocked websites and controlled messages deleted by censors; over a period of four years felt the wrath of an online attack from hackers last week. On Thursday the hackers used a commonly used method to hack in by flooding them with multiple request, resulting to them being off line and viewers seeing a blank page which continued into Friday.
Greatfire.org said “ This kind of attack is aggressive and is a exhibition of censorship by brute force. Attackers resort to tactics like this when they are left with no other options.”
Mr. Smith thinks that the attack my be because of Wall Street Journal posting made on Monday by GreatFire.org or “ Maybe because there have been some excellent Chinese –language news pieces and perhaps somebody who supports the authorities took issue with them.”
The hacking may be a mystery but it is causing the company at least $30,000 per day. Mr smith believes  services will not be disrupted for good and that  the experience should “accelerate development.”

  The full story can be read on sinophere.blogs.nytimes.com


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