Steve Jobs Contacted Siri Just Three Weeks After App's Initial Launch, Disliked the Name

MacRumors · Mar 28, 2012, 10:53 AM

Network World reports on a keynote speech given in Chicago yesterday by Siri co-founder Dag Kittlaus in which he described some of the early developments that ultimately led to Apple acquiring the company and folding the technology into the iPhone 4S. According to Kittlaus, Steve Jobs personally contacted him just three weeks after Siri launched its iPhone app back in 2010 to set up a meeting that started their relationship.

Quote:

And he wanted me to come over to his house the next day, and I did, and I spent 3 hours with him in front of his fireplace having this surreal conversation about the future.

And, you know, he talked about why Apple was going to win, and we talked about how Siri was doing. And he was very excited about the fact that.. you know, he was very interested in this area in general but, you know, they're patient, they don't jump on anything until they feel they can go after something new and he felt that we cracked it. So that was his attraction.

Kittlaus noted that Jobs initially wasn't enamored with the "Siri" name, but under persistent support from Kittlaus and with a failure to come up with an alternative he liked better, Jobs eventually decided to keep the name when the feature launched on the iPhone 4S last October.

Siri's iPhone app launched in February 2010, and Apple acquired the company less than three months later. Kittlaus worked at Apple until last October, when he left to pursue other opportunities and be closer to his family in Chicago.

Article Link: Steve Jobs Contacted Siri Just Three Weeks After App's Initial Launch, Disliked the Name

notjustjay · Mar 28, 2012, 10:55 AM

You know you've done something right when the CEO of a major company invites you over to his house for a chat!

Tones2 · Mar 28, 2012, 10:55 AM

And thus the story of the inception of one more iPhone feature I'll never use.

Tony

roadbloc · Mar 28, 2012, 10:56 AM

I can't say I'm overly impressed with the name either, but it hardly matters.

rafaltrus · Mar 28, 2012, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tones2

And thus the story of the inception of one more iPhone feature I'll never use.

Tony

When Siri gets polished in a year, or two, or even more, Apple will be the first one one to have the technology. Talking to a device? C'mon... There is a future here.

Goftrey · Mar 28, 2012, 10:57 AM

Siri means 'ass' in Japanese so you can see where he's coming from... Absolute trademark Steve Jobs

basesloaded190 · 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tones2

And thus the story of the inception of one more iPhone feature I'll never use.

Tony

You're in the minority then.

Actually kind of surprised the Steve couldn't come up with an alternative.

ALR26 · Mar 28, 2012, 10:59 AM

I'm with Steve Jobs on this one...I hate the name Siri also.

AppleFan115 · Mar 28, 2012, 11:00 AM

That's what I like about Apple. They generally don't jump into things until they're ready to go. Sure, sometimes the servers get overloaded and Siri takes a while, but other than that, Siri is pretty good. Its because of this that I think the new TV is truly going to be revolutionary, otherwise Apple simply wouldn't do it.

HarryKeogh · Mar 28, 2012, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notjustjay

You know you've done something right when the CEO of a major company invites you over to his house for a chat!

Or something very wrong.

He had an iTrapdoor in front of his dining room table.

notjustjay · Mar 28, 2012, 11:02 AM

The next step is surely to perfect a more human-sounding text-to-speech engine.

Radio · Mar 28, 2012, 11:04 AM

Wonder if Siri will run even worse when it's added to the new iPhone (5th Gen)

Steve would never let this inconsistent performance continue.

God rest his soul.

room237 · Mar 28, 2012, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radio

Wonder if Siri will run even worse when it's added to the new iPhone (5th Gen)

Steve would never let this inconsistent performance continue.

God rest his soul.

He let Mobile Me continue for quite a while.

Kid A · Mar 28, 2012, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radio

Wonder if Siri will run even worse when it's added to the new iPhone (5th Gen)

the iPhone (5th Gen) has been out since last year. It's called iPhone 4S.

Macman45 · Mar 28, 2012, 11:09 AM

Steve was right...Surely they could have come up with something better? It's pretty useless in the UK at least.. may I suggest surly?

charlieegan3 · Mar 28, 2012, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radio

Wonder if Siri will run even worse when it's added to the new iPhone (5th Gen)

Steve would never let this inconsistent performance continue.

God rest his soul.

*sigh*

bushido · Mar 28, 2012, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by basesloaded190

You're in the minority then.

Actually kind of surprised the Steve couldn't come up with an alternative.

are you sure about that? ive yet to see anyone use it in public. the only time i use it is when i click the button for too long or need a alarm set, thats about it

ironically the stand alone siri app was capable of so much more than the apple version

Drunken Master · Mar 28, 2012, 11:11 AM

You like dags?

SmileyBlast! · Mar 28, 2012, 11:11 AM

I'm not thrilled with the name Siri, I found it a surprising choice. (Funny about the Japanese Translation too.)
Still the main thing is that Steve had the foresight to acquire the company and its Tech to keep it out of the hands of rivals. Good Strategy! It's also an amazing feature in that it supports any language.

Will do good · Mar 28, 2012, 11:13 AM

How cool to have SJ called up and invite you to his house for a discussion. That's a treat.

MrPhineas · Mar 28, 2012, 11:15 AM

*Mr. Kittlaus comes into Jobs' house*
Jobs: «Welcome to my reality distorsion field, please come in.»

Chumburro2U · Mar 28, 2012, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bushido

are you sure about that? ive yet to see anyone use it in public. the only time i use it is when i click the button for too long or need a alarm set, thats about it

ironically the stand alone siri app was capable of so much more than the apple version

Siri is still in Beta.

basesloaded190 · Mar 28, 2012, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bushido

are you sure about that? ive yet to see anyone use it in public. the only time i use it is when i click the button for too long or need a alarm set, thats about it

ironically the stand alone siri app was capable of so much more than the apple version

Just going off of this article.
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1349156

RoboCop001 · Mar 28, 2012, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drunken Master

You like dags?

Hahaha, that's the first thing I thought of.

bushido · Mar 28, 2012, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chumburro2U

Siri is still in Beta.

will it ever leave beta stage or add new features? i mean seriously, it took the jailbreak community not even a day to come up with great new commands

Mar 28, 2012, 10:55 AM	#2
notjustjay macrumors 603 Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Canada, eh?	You know you've done something right when the CEO of a major company invites you over to his house for a chat! __________________ .
	33

Mar 28, 2012, 10:55 AM	#3
Tones2 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jan 2009	And thus the story of the inception of one more iPhone feature I'll never use. Tony
	-33

Mar 28, 2012, 10:56 AM	#4
roadbloc macrumors 603 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: UK	I can't say I'm overly impressed with the name either, but it hardly matters. __________________ Roadbloc
	5

Mar 28, 2012, 10:57 AM	#6
Goftrey macrumors 65816 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Llantwit Major, Wales, UK	Siri means 'ass' in Japanese so you can see where he's coming from... Absolute trademark Steve Jobs __________________ ► 1,1 Mac Pro, 2.66GHz, 6GB RAM, HD6570, 750GB HDD • 20" Aluminium Cinema Display ► 12" PowerBook G4, 1.5GHz, 1.25GB RAM, 80GB HDD ► iPod Touch 4G 8GB • Bondi Blue iMac • iBook G3 500MHz • eMac 1GHz
	-1

Mar 28, 2012, 10:59 AM	#8
ALR26 macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2011	I'm with Steve Jobs on this one...I hate the name Siri also.
	-2

Mar 28, 2012, 11:00 AM	#9
AppleFan115 macrumors member Join Date: Mar 2012	That's what I like about Apple. They generally don't jump into things until they're ready to go. Sure, sometimes the servers get overloaded and Siri takes a while, but other than that, Siri is pretty good. Its because of this that I think the new TV is truly going to be revolutionary, otherwise Apple simply wouldn't do it. __________________ Preordered: the new iPad 64 GB Black Current: iPhone 4S 16 GB Black MacBook Air 13", 128 GB (July 2011)
	0

Mar 28, 2012, 11:02 AM	#11
notjustjay macrumors 603 Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Canada, eh?	The next step is surely to perfect a more human-sounding text-to-speech engine. __________________ .
	2

Mar 28, 2012, 11:04 AM	#12
Radio macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Central California	Wonder if Siri will run even worse when it's added to the new iPhone (5th Gen) Steve would never let this inconsistent performance continue. God rest his soul. __________________ iPhone 5 32gb black; iPad (3rd Gen) 32 gb black -- iPhone 4 32 gb black-- iPod classic 64 gb
	-18

Mar 28, 2012, 11:09 AM	#15
Macman45 macrumors G4 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Somewhere Back In The Long Ago	Steve was right...Surely they could have come up with something better? It's pretty useless in the UK at least.. may I suggest surly? __________________ Time And Tide Wait For No Man
	-1

Mar 28, 2012, 11:11 AM	#18
Drunken Master macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2011	You like dags? __________________ MUJI Fans 無印愛好者
	4

Mar 28, 2012, 11:11 AM	#19
SmileyBlast! macrumors 6502 Join Date: Mar 2011	I'm not thrilled with the name Siri, I found it a surprising choice. (Funny about the Japanese Translation too.) Still the main thing is that Steve had the foresight to acquire the company and its Tech to keep it out of the hands of rivals. Good Strategy! It's also an amazing feature in that it supports any language. __________________ Smiley Blast! game play video http://youtu.be/N0QD4KS5Ccw Like this:http://facebook.com/smileyBlastGame Follow: http://twitter.com/smiley_blast Buy This: http://appstore.com/smileyblast
	1

Mar 28, 2012, 11:13 AM	#20
Will do good macrumors 6502 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Earth	How cool to have SJ called up and invite you to his house for a discussion. That's a treat.
	2

Mar 28, 2012, 11:15 AM	#21
MrPhineas macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2012	Mr. Kittlaus comes into Jobs' house Jobs: «Welcome to my reality distorsion field, please come in.»
	9

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