Siri hasn’t been caught cooking dinner yet, but hackers worldwide have boldly taken Apple’s personal assistant to a whole new level by incorporating its functionality with a plethora of different devices. We’ve seen Siri use custom commands, change the temperature in your house, and even allow select car owners to utilize their automobile’s Bluetooth integration. Nifty, no doubt, but this assistant’s evolution towards greater heights isn’t over yet. Vimeo user toddtreece has whipped up a slick demo of the iPhone 4S’ right hand gal (or guy) taking command of his television set. From changing channels to turning off devices, with the help of a proxy and a few parts, you can get your own home setup running on voice activation. Feeling a bit guilty for your sudden interest in slothfulness? Fret not — Siri’s apparently quite good at calling you out. Have a look just after the break.

[Thanks, Jesse]

Continue reading Too lazy to grab your TV remote? Use Siri instead

Too lazy to grab your TV remote? Use Siri instead originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Far from sneaking in to the living room, Vestel had a BitTorrent Certified television on display at IFA 2011 this past week. That official stamp means it packs the usual suite of connected TV features including playing local media across the network, and it’s guaranteed to work with BitTorrent approved files from the internet. There’s no word on any official release for this prototype — and we haven’t been able to locate anyone who got a hands-on demo, let us know if you saw it — but it definitely shows how BitTorrent is trying to expand its platform in a manner similar to DivX and XBMC / Boxee. Check out the press release after the break, we’ll be sitting back and watching some totally legal content we just torrented.

Continue reading Vestel shows off a prototype BitTorrent Certified TV at IFA

Vestel shows off a prototype BitTorrent Certified TV at IFA originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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193,000 people quit their paid television plans last quarter. Sounds like a lot, and it is! But as any horse-breeder will tell you (I would guess?): it’s about quality, not quantity. And the people leaving cable behind, GigaOm reports, aren’t the ones the cable companies care about. While high-value consumers—the folks who’ll shell out for multiple DVR boxes and fire up the VOD services—are staying and paying, it’s the basic cable grunts who are saying goodbye. More »

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