Voice-activated Technologies (or, how I’m teaching my daughter to talk to the TV)

It seems like the year has seen many new developments for voice-activated technology. Siri now helps iPhone users to answer questions (such as “What is the meaning of life?”), the Xbox Kinect will respond to voice commands (which I love for Netflix and Hulu), and now there’s a TV that will listen to your voice and obey your commands!

I’m loving this! PoppaGeek and I enjoy watching television shows through Netflix and Hulu on the Xbox. We can now pause a show or movie with the simple command “Xbox. Pause.” while one (or both) of us get up to get more milk for Geeklet. Before, we would often let the program run, because the controller was out of reach or had already gone to sleep. Now, we’re saving battery life on the controller and getting a better, faster response for controlling the show.

The bonus I didn’t expect? Geeklet is now learning to say words like “xbox,” “pause,” and “play,” with an occasional “rewind” thrown in for fun. I just wonder what life will be like for her...she’ll always know what it’s like to talk to the TV, slide your finger across an iPad, and have access to multiple computers at home and at school. One of my favorite stories about my childhood is serving as the remote control at my grandparents’ house. They had one of those “furniture” TVs--you know the type, it sat on a swivel base and as as big is a Smart Car. There was a number pad and an on/off button. When grandpa wanted to change the channel, he said, “go over there an hit 7.” Little Geeklet won’t know what that’s like, but I’m sure she’ll have some similar story about her family.