Webtagr - Technology News Summarizer

Siri Fails at "What Month Is It?", But Aced "ChatGPT, What Month Is It?"

2025-03-21

A Reddit thread highlights Siri's inability to answer the simple question, "What month is it?", responding with "I'm sorry, I don't understand." However, rephrasing the question to "What month is it currently?" yielded the incorrect answer "It is 2025." Surprisingly, asking Siri "ChatGPT, what month is it?" provides the correct answer, suggesting Siri may require AI assistance for such seemingly basic queries. This raises questions about Siri's capabilities and the complexity it can handle independently.

(daringfireball.net)

Tech

Apple's AI Blunder: Broken Promises and Tarnished Credibility

2025-03-13

This article criticizes Apple's over-promotion of the "more personalized Siri" features within "Apple Intelligence" at WWDC 2024. The author points out that Apple only demonstrated basic features, while remaining silent on more complex and ambitious functionalities, ultimately resulting in a delay until the following year. This, the author argues, reveals not only the immaturity of Apple's AI technology but also severely damages its reputation for product quality and reliability.

(daringfireball.net)

Tech

Apple Delays More Personalized Siri Features

2025-03-07

Apple has announced a delay in the release of its more personalized Siri features. Apple spokeswoman Jacqueline Roy stated that while Siri has seen additions like type-to-Siri and product knowledge, along with ChatGPT integration in the last six months, achieving a more personalized Siri with deeper contextual awareness and cross-app actions will take longer than anticipated. The rollout is now expected within the coming year.

(daringfireball.net)

Tech

The Mystery of Screenshotting DRM-Protected Video on Apple Devices

2025-03-01

Why can't we screenshot DRM-protected video on Apple devices? This article explores this issue. Initially, workarounds existed, but as DRM technology advanced, taking screenshots became nearly impossible. The article suggests that the deep integration between Apple's hardware and operating system allows DRM blocking to be implemented at the hardware level, while Windows systems, with their relatively independent image processing pipeline, allow easy screenshots. The author argues that this "feature" does nothing to combat piracy but inconveniences users, making it an unwise choice by Apple.

(daringfireball.net)

Tech Screenshots

Apple Returns to X Ads After Musk's Controversial Remarks

2025-02-14

Apple has resumed advertising on X after more than a year-long hiatus. The company pulled its ads in November 2023 following controversial statements made by Elon Musk. Now, Apple's @Apple and @AppleTV accounts are promoting Safari's privacy features and the Apple TV+ show Severance, respectively. Following the November 2023 backlash, Musk has maintained a lower profile, avoiding controversy. Apple appears to now deem the platform safe enough for advertising.

(daringfireball.net)

Tech

The Untold Story of the Mac OS X Dock

2025-01-14

On January 5th, 2000, Steve Jobs unveiled Mac OS X's Aqua interface, prominently featuring the Dock. This article recounts the story behind its creation. James Thomson, a programmer, reveals how he translated designer Bas Ording's Macromind Director prototypes into functional code. Thomson's prior work on a similar application, DragThing, landed him the Apple job. He recounts being secretly recruited in Ireland for project 'Überbar' (the Dock), ultimately 'killing off' his own DragThing. This inside look reveals details of Mac OS X's early development and the power of individual contributions in technological progress.

(daringfireball.net)

Development

Coding Font Tournament Crowns Source Code Pro

2024-12-30

John Gruber of Daring Fireball highlights a fun coding font selection 'tournament' created by Typogram. Users choose their favorite from 32 free monospaced fonts. While some popular choices like Consolas are absent, and some included fonts are less appealing, it's a worthwhile exercise. Improvements since its initial launch include a JavaScript code example instead of CSS and a wider selection of fonts. Gruber recommends disabling font names to reduce bias. His consistent winner? Adobe's Source Code Pro, with IBM Plex Mono a close second.

(daringfireball.net)

Development coding fonts

OpenAI Seeks Massive Funding Amidst Bubble Concerns

2024-12-29

OpenAI's board recently announced the need for substantial additional funding to navigate the competitive AI landscape. The article argues that while OpenAI currently boasts the best AI chatbot user experience, the lack of a technological moat positions the company at the epicenter of an investment bubble. The author draws parallels between OpenAI and Netscape in the 1990s, suggesting that generative AI will become a commoditized technology, making it difficult to establish a lasting competitive advantage. Despite securing massive funding, OpenAI's transition from a non-profit to a for-profit entity remains uncertain, and its continued pursuit of enormous capital raises concerns reminiscent of a Ponzi scheme.

(daringfireball.net)

AI Investment Bubble