Yo, Human! Call Four Assistants: Accessing Life with Adaptive Technology

By Nicholas, 1 June, 2017

Digital Assistants are becoming standard in most modern homes. They are available on most devices and computers in some form. They are gradually working more and more together as an environment. Looking ahead to the future, I can not yet tell if we are heading towards Star Trek or more towards the Jetsons. With all these 'currently fringe' technologies beginning to overlap, I hope the future focus remains on accessing life, as well as the technology. With this in mind, I thought a more light-hearted post might be appropriate. And just in case, make sure your conveyor belt has the latest updates. :-)

Just for fictional fun. A not so far-fetched spoof and a small tribute, simultaneously.

Me: (to iPad) Siri?

Bink, Yes Nicholas?

Me: Who is that IP?

Bink, I'm not sure. Should I run a 'WHOIS,' on the net?

Me: Okay, thank you.

Bink: My pleasure.

Me: (to remote) What's on streaming tonight?

TV: Blink, One moment, running Whats On.

Me: Cool!

Me: (to Mac), Computer?

Bonk, You rang?

Me: Set up a series of proxies.

Bonk, This would essentially make us invisible online. Shall I use Don't Know mode?

Me: I don't know.

Bonk, using Don't Know mode.

Me: Um, okay. Did you create the series?

Bonk, Siri is busy running a WHOIS on iPad.

Me: No, I meant the proxies.

Bonk, Proxies are... being... created.

Plink (from Watch), Warning, network traffic is heavy. Run a diagnostic?

Me: Okay, go ahead.

Plink, Please provide intended mapping.

Me: Well, lets see. Siri is running WHOIS, the TV is running Whats On.

Plink, and the Computer?

Me: Don't Know.

Plink, You don't know whats on the Computer?

Me: No. Don't Know is on the computer. What's On the TV.

Plink, Um, what?

Me: Computer.

Bonk, Don't know!

Me: (to Watch). See?

Plink, one moment, processing.

Me: Yeah, me too!

Plink, Whats on the Computer?

Me: No, Whats On TV. Don't Know is on Computer.

Plink, Who is Don't Know?

Me: Um no, WHOIS on Siri. Don't Know is on Computer.

Plink, What's on Siri again?

Me: No, Whats On the TV. WHOIS on Siri.

Plink. Whew! So let me get this straight. Who is on Siri, Whats on the TV, and the Computer is on Don't Know. Right?

Me: I think so. This is sounding kind of familiar.

Siri: Bink, I found some similar results online. Shall I send them to the TV?

Me: Um,... Okay go ahead. Maybe we need a break.

Bink, Agreed. Blink, Agreed, loading YouTube. Plink, Dimming the lights. Blink, entering full-screen mode. Bink, Posting link to Facebook.

Me: I love this routine, this should be good. Do we have any popcorn?

Bonk, Don't Know!

A small 'Techie' tribute to the amazing, hilarious original. Abbot & Costello, Who's on 1st: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg

Me: (to iPhone), Have a Pepperoni Pizza delivered.

Ping, It's on the way. I hope you don't mind, I added olives to the order.

Me: Hmmm, I don't even like olives.

Ping. (giggle.)

A descriptive reminder that all of our cool digital stuff that we work with, play with and enjoy, is all about "living." Live well!

Portions copyright Apple, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Comments

By Ekaj on Thursday, June 22, 2017 - 15:19

Hey Nicholas. I like this post a lot. The only digital assistant I've used to date is Siri, and I've only used Siri briefly but have found it to be quite good. I currently only have a MacBook, but have started considering getting an iPhone. One of the reasons for this has to do with travel. I won't bore everyone with my independent travel woes, but suffice it to say that based on what I've read and heard from friends an iPhone with one of the accessible GPS solutions out there would be beneficial.

By Nicholas on Thursday, June 22, 2017 - 15:19

Hello Ekaj,
Thank you. I'm glad it was enjoyable. It was a fun one to write. I had decided to rewrite one of my earlier unpublished writings for this month. I went to my digital Flintstones closet. When I opened the door, this one fell out, along with a bowling ball and an ironing board. Ow! :-)
One of the things I like about having additional Apple devices is the way they all work together as an environment. Having Contacts, Calendar, Bookmarks, Notes and Reminders all syncing together is very nice. Make a change on one and it is reflected in the others. I am finding the Universal Clipboard is also a huge benefit. Copy something on one and paste it onto another. Really very nice! Although, having a notification go off on three devices at once will definitely grab your attention. :-)
Thanks again for your continued patronage!
Nicholas