Everybody’s favorite virtual assistant, Siri, has arrived to MacOS after heavy demands from Apple fans. Mac users rejoice as Siri’s capabilities are now accessible within the reach of their fingertips. For those out of the loop, Siri is the name of an artificial intelligence that uses speech recognition and voice queries to perform the task requested by a user.
Siri’s Beginnings
Siri started her humble beginnings as a project being developed by SRI International. Siri was released in a standalone app for smartphones, which caught the attention of Apple. Apple later acquired Siri and nourished it until what we have today.
Why Does MacOS Need Siri?
The decision to integrate Siri into the MacOS Sierra update was essentially Apple’s answer to Cortana, Microsoft’s version of Siri. Apple needed a strong selling point to compete with other operating systems. Siri’s rivalry includes Google Now, Microsoft’s Cortona, and recently established Amazon’s Alexa. All these digital assistants perform similar functions, but each has its own quirk or characteristic to fulfill the purpose designated with its corresponding product.
What Can Siri Do for Me?
Users can now command Siri to perform simple assignments by using voice or text input. For instance, you can ask her to search for files in your documents, execute website searches, play music, dictate speech into text, open applications, check the status information of your Mac, check emails, write memos and reminders, ask trivia questions, and so much more.
How Do I Access Siri?
To get access to Siri, you must first install the latest MacOS package, which is currently MacOS Sierra. Make sure your Mac is compatible first. After installation, you will be prompted with a pop-up asking if you would like Siri to be enabled, then proceed to select the checkmark. If you do not see this dialogue prompt, then open “System Preferences” and manually enable Siri from there. Inside the Siri options, you can set hotkey shortcuts, customize Siri’s voice, language, and other attributes.
How is Siri Unique?
On paper, Siri and Cortona feel and functions identically, but the technical mechanisms are quite different. Each assistant takes full advantage of their ecosystem to reach their full potential. But Cortona is much more universal than Siri. Currently, Apples restricts the availability of Siri to Apple-only devices, while Cortona can operate on other platforms. However, Siri reigns superiority in the benchmarks when referring to her ability to recall information and interpreting contextual information. Both can be your versatile personal assistant.
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References:
Apple Support | Use Siri on your Mac
The Guardian | Apple launches New Desktop OS with Siri Built-in
Simply Mac | Find Your Files by Voice
TechTarget | What is virtual assistant
Macworld | How to use Siri on the Mac