Apple has Siri, Microsoft has Tellme
4/29/2010 12:35:00 PM
kenmouse
, Posted in
The big Apple news of the day is that Apple has now purchased Siri. It was rumored and tweeted and now confirmed, according to a BusinessWeek article citing a managing director at Melo Ventures, a Siri investor.Before you think that Apple now has the upper hand, let me remind you of an acquisition that Microsoft made for approximately $800 million back in March of 2007. The company was Tellme, and offers a voice-enabled platform.
At the time of the acquisition, Microsoft had big plans for its Tellme technology, including using it to
“enhance Microsoft’s many voice-enabled applications, including the Windows Vista operating system, the Microsoft Office system, and mobile applications such as Windows Mobile and Windows Automotive.”
Unfortunately, it looks like the Microsoft folks forgot about the quote above, and have yet to introduce the Tellme technology into its mobile offering.
A reader forwarded the email below from Yahoo announcing changes to their disposable email address. The only problem is that he couldn’t figure out what it’s trying to say. And after reading it a handful of times, I can’t figure it out either.
The divorce between actress Sawajiri Erika (24) and hypermedia creator Takashiro Tsuyoshi (45) is already official and there are already follow-up rumors regarding her alleged new and rich French lover, her upcoming contract with Avex and her Hollywood debut this fall.
Great news for fans that have been waiting for the release of Summer’s Desire. The drama starring Peter Ho, Barbie Xu and Huang Xiao-Ming was previously rumored to be turning away buyers because of the cast’s age. Fortunately, it was finally picked up by FTV and is expected to hit the air at the end of May. Huang Xiao-Ming has already requested time off from his current movie to promote the series in Taiwan next month. The three A-listers’ stylists, plane tickets and living arrangements for the 4-day promotion are said to cost more than 2 million (NTD).
Dunder Mifflin Corporate won’t be happy about this. Steve Carell recently dropped a bombshell at the tail end of a BBC interview. The interviewer noted that Carell’s contract with The Office only runs through next season. Carell: “That will probably be my last year.” (NBC is not commenting on the interview.)
Get ready for another round of jokes from Ricky Gervais. The British funnyman will take on hosting duties at the Golden Globes in 2011, his second year in a row as the show's emcee. 
