Apple Siri not in your phone? SIx Siri-ous alternatives for your Android.

"Call Allison Miller!"
(source: Google.com/mobile)

Siri, the voice command app on the Apple iPhone4S, has become one of the most talked about tech subjects for 2011. And for good reason- it seems that Siri can understand simple, casual conversation and doesn't require awkward, precise language to work properly. For those people who actually own an iPhone4S, Siri seems to be an ideal program that can make their life much easier.

But for the other half of the phone buying public, there is no Siri. But, all is not lost as the free market has many competitors for Siri's absence from the Android marketplace (sorry Windows Phone!) . To be honest, at this point, most of the "same-as-Siri" apps for the Android world aren't. They can do most of what Siri can, but may not do it a elegantly or cleanly. But, you can be sure that the developers are working hard to bring their products up to snuff.

One of the stories the press seems to have missed in this Siri love-fest is the fact that Android has had a voice-command system in their phones long before Siri became the media darling of the tech world. Voice Actions does much of what Siri can do, but not all. It's standard in all Android 2.2+ versions of Android and can, simply because you asked it to, look up websites, call phone numbers or send e-mails and more.

There are other apps from 3rd party developers that, to a greater or lesser degree, emulates Siri. Most are free (with ads) or cost just a couple of dollars in your favorite Android app store. The website Extremetech.com has a list of five Android based Siri alternatives you might consider along with an explanation of each. It' surprising how different each offering can be and what each can and can't do. Go to the site here to see the article.

There is another newcomer on the scene called "Iris" (that's Siri spelled backwards). It was created in eight hours after Siri hit the streets and is being constantly improved with new, better versions every few days. It has real potential, but is still in its infancy, tech-wise. To learn more, read the article at tomsguide.com, a slightly geek-centered website. I know I'll be keeping tabs on Iris.  

If you really want something as powerful and sophisticated as Siri. You have two choices: One, buy an iPhone4S or simply wait about 90 more days. As I said, developers are putting in some late nights to make sure their voice-control offering perform so much better than Siri and three months will produce far better versions than exist today. But, if they're free anyway, why not get one and play with it until then?

From the looks (sounds?) of it, 2012 appears to be an interesting and fun year for apps like this.

Stay tuned.

Black Friday Ads: See the sales before anyone else. This website has them!

By now, everyone who reads this blog knows that I'm tight with my money. One way to make money is not to spend it, but when it does become time to spend my moolah, I spend it wisely by looking for the strongest bargains possible.

Know more and save more!
(source: blackfridayinfo.com)

Soon, those of us in the United States will benefit from something we call "Black Friday". This is a fairly recent event when national and local retailers drastically cut prices on many of their most popular products the day after Thanksgiving in preparation for the Christmas shopping season. In the past couple of years, prices for things like TVs, MP3 players, movies, toys and other retail stock have been made available at incredible savings, sometimes as much as 50-75%. The catch? Most stores open at midnight or 5am or some other weird hour and you must stand in line with hundreds of others looking to beat you to the deals inside the store.

The way to find out which store is selling what gizmo at what price is to read the Black Friday sale ads that come out the Sunday before Thanksgiving. These ads do leak out long before that Sunday and many websites make it their mission to find, scan and display these ads for us cheapos to devour weeks before that special Sunday gets here.

One of the best sites I've found for this kind of retail information is blackfridayinfo.com. they always seems to get the ads first, get it right and have the largest number of ads across the board. They break down the info according to store name, products offered (i.e., electronics, toys, clothing, etc.) and even back up all of this with a computer scan of the ads to prove they have the right information.

I don't know where they get these ads so far ahead of time, although I do suspect that many of the sources are the stores themselves, who arrange to have an ad posted on the site to build buzz and potentially raise sales when Black Friday arrives. I'm not usually a conspriracy guy, but...

Go to blackfridayinfo.com here to plan out your strategy. Good luck!

Apple Siri Questions- ask Siri anything- online and without an iPhone4S

I don't own a cell phone myself. It seems weird, doesn't it? I mean, here I am- a tech blogger and I don't actually own a cell phone of my own and I never have.

In my day job as a television journalist, I've always had a cell phone provided to me as one of the tools I use to cover daily events. Lately, that phone has been a smart phone, so why would I spend $80-$120 per month in fees when I didn't have to? But, my smart phone is not an iPhone4S nor is it an Apple product at all. And that's a shame, because I love what the new iPhone4S has and that's Siri.

I've covered what Siri does in a previous post, but after a few weeks of worldwide experimentation, it turns out Siri has a cheeky personality and a sense of humor that's caught the attention of geeks across the globe.

Ask Siri a silly question...
(source: CBS47.tv)

For those of us without a iPhone4S who still have the desire to interact with Siri, there's hope. A new website called Siriquestions.com lets you enter any question at all and the website will automatically ask Siri the question for you and provide the answer for all to see. I'm guessing an iPhone4S is somehow wired into a computer at the site as I can't imagine someone sitting at a computer monitor frantically punching in question after question 24 hours a day.

All of the previous questions are displayed for your review and even if you don't ask Siri anything, it's still fun to see what others are asking Siri and what answer Siri may have in store.

Go here to ask Siri a question. I think I'll go myself and ask Siri when I'll get off my lazy keester and get a phone of my own.

Yet more alternatives to buying a Harley Davidson motorcycle- Triumph and Norton- Rule Britannia!

I'll say it again: Harley Davidson makes a fantastic product and satisfies the motorcycle itch of millions of happy owners. Nothing in this world sounds or rides like a Harley. For some, that's just the issue. Not everyone want to be like...well, everyone. For many motorcyclists, it's the unusual that revs their engine.

In an earlier post, I detailed three American-made non-Harley alternatives and the topic proved to be quite popular with the readers. So I rooted around and found two more lesser known makers of fine motorcycles, this time from across the pond. I purposely avoided the Japanese makers not because of any bias, but to find something less common for those who like to be less common.

The two cycles come to America via the United Kingdom. Both Norton and Triumph are legendary marques with a lineage that goes back decades. For both, the business histories of each company have been touch and go with periods of factory shutdowns and no production. But it's hard to keep a good brand down and it was but a matter of time before someone came along to ressurect these classic makers and offer their models to the former colonies across the Atlantic.

A brand-new classic Triumph
(source: Triumph)

Triumph offers a full range of cycles from full-zoot racer bikes as futuristic as any other maker, all the way to classic remakes like the Bonneville that harks back to the classic models of postwar America and the UK when former soldiers zoomed all over creation. Now, you can do the same with state of the art construction, space-age materials and a factory warranty. Triumphs's website has all the info right here, including the dozens of US locations you can buy the Triumph and be the triumph of your neighborhood.

The Norton: modern muscle, classic lines.
(source: Norton)

Norton also makes motorbikes that start with an English accent. Beautiful to behold and even better to ride, the Norton was known (and still is) for its sporty ride and ability to hug the road. In its day, the Norton was the musclecar of musclebikes and everyone who had a chip on their shoulders or a mid-life crisis to satisfy was putting a Norton in their suburban garage. The bad news is current Norton dealerships are tough to find, but if you're one of those people that has to have something no one else has, the Norton is that something. Here's the website- good luck finding the dealerships!

So, if our good friends across the pond can take all the trouble the build these classics for our use, the least we can do is to help them out by purchasing a few...or a few thousand.

Apple Siri- You talk, Siri answers and does your bidding, but only on the Apple iPhone4S

Siri's mic means your life just got easier.
(source: Apple)

As most of us know, the Apple iPhone4S was met by tech fans with a resounding "so what?".

In truth, the iPhone4S is really sort of a iPhone4 1/2. While the phone is faster and a little better in a number of ways- better camera, faster processor, battery upgrade, etc. the real talk centers around a bit of software that make life with the iPhone4S easier to use than ever and it's called Siri.

Simply press a new microphone icon on the iPhone screen and Siri "wakes up" with a friendly beep. The real magic lies in the user's ability to ask Siri nearly anything in normal speech (no keywords or special language required) and Siri responds with the requested items.

For instance, you might say, "Siri, text my wife I'll be ten minutes late" and Siri will automatically write your message, attach your wife's cell phone number and send that message to your spouse without having to lift a finger- literally!

Or...tell Siri "I'm hungry for Indian food" and it will find the nearest Indian restaurant based on information from the iPhone's GPS and database of local businesses.

Or...If you have a hankering for some good music, you can say "Siri, play Tony Bennett" and, you guessed it, Siri plays your request.

You get the idea. Think of Siri like a kind-of verbal butler who listens to everything you have to say and does it immediately.

As the father of three kids, anyone who listens to me is ok in my humble opinion. Apple thinks so too and has all of the info on Siri located right here.

The Thomas Jefferson Hour- Listen the the president himself speak in a podcast!

Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States and the author of the Declaration of Independence, but did you know he religiously kept five daily diaries, was deep in debt most of his life and used to read Greek literature in it's original language?

It's all true and you can learn more from a podcast I've been enjoying for some time now and it all originates from a most unexpected place, North Dakota. The podcast features nationally known Jefferson scholar Clay Jenkinson in his role of the famous president.

Get ready to be fascinated
(source: The TJ Hour)

That's right, Mr. Jenkinson actually portrays the late president and provides opinions, thoughts, facts and points of view as if he really was the president brought to life. He's guided through each show by David Swenson, a genial and knowledgeable host who often supports the president on his views, but sometimes challenges them. For instance, Thomas Jefferson vehemently opposed slavery, yet owned dozens of them all his life and even fathered a child by one of them. In most shows, Mr. Jenkinson reverts to his normal persona and discusses not just Jefferson, but his other specialties: president John Adams, Lewis and Clark, North Dakota and a host of other interesting topics.

The historical duo aren't shy about taking on current events either. The national debt, foreign relations, political controversies are all fair game and up for a fascinating conversation with the president as he provides his unique view of things and how he would have handled the issue in his day.

The show is on National Public Radio, but is also offered in a podcast that eliminates most breaks and provides the audio in a pure form so you can get to the good stuff without waiting.

So, why should you wait any longer, either? Go to the podcast's website to hear it for yourself.

My 100th post!

This is my 100th post for this blog and I couldn't be happier. The reaction from all over the world has been amazing and I'm now read in something like 53 countries and growing!

Not only that, but I fixed the mile-high big blue header problem all by myself (to my wife: see honey- I can fix things!) .

Happy 100th post birthday to MST and most of all, thanks to all of you reading this and making this blog a success!

- Head Monkey

The new look has bugs and I'm working on it!

You'll notice a new look to the blog as I work to update it. I'll address the massive blue header thing in the next day or so as I figure it out.

Sometimes tech isn't a smooth and error-free thing. My new design is proof of that.

Thanks for your paitence.

-Head Monkey

Listen up! Record custom voices on your Garmin GPS

In my day job I am forever going to odd addresses or unfamiliar places. As a photojournalist, this is the normal course of events for me day after day. Often, I need to get to breaking news story locations as soon as possible. After all, the competition can't get there first, right?

So, it should come as no suprise that I rely on GPS navigation for nearly all of the addresses I'm sent to by the powers that be. Specifically, I use a Garmin GPS. This isn't an endorsement of the Garmin, per se- it works just fine, but the people at Garmin now have added something interesting to the Garmin lineup that makes this pedestrian appliance just a little bit more interesting.

Instead of using the the built-in voices that come standard (personally, I like the British lady one) Garmin allows you the opportunity to record your own custom voice commands with a website download called Garmin Voice Studio. Simply download the free software on the Garmin website (found here) and you will soon be speaking into a microphone recording your voice or anyone else's as you listen and repeat a long list of commands given to you by the software as it runs ("turn left...in point two miles, turn right", etc." ).  And, all of this is free of cost.

You could put your mom's voice in here,
but that's just plain creepy.
(source: Garmin)

If you'd like to hear some samples of how others have recorded their voices and just what it sounds like, go to The Mike O'Mearea Show podcast website. The podcast is not only hilarious, but the boys in the cast have recorded their voices for their Garmins and have put them up for sale to their fans with samples that will show you just how they really sound (the samples were recorded in a car as a Garmin was being used as a GPS).

BTW, if you want to add a snarky comment or two, you can do that too. Just add a couple of additional words to a few of the directions (i.e., "hey, bubblehead! you're lost! Recalculating...").

After the voice is recorded to your satisfaction, follow the simple instructions to download the recorded files into the Garmin. So, from this point on, you can now listen to the wife as she corrects all of your wrong turns.

Is that too much like real life? Maybe you should record the kids instead.

Buy a Nixie Clock for the person who has everything. I know they don't have this!

We all know the person: ho-hum about anything they receive for a gift or simply someone who posesses the ability to go ahead and purchase anything and everything they could ever possibly want so when the holidays or their birthday comes around, you're stumped and can't think of a unique gift for that person that would catch their attention or be something they don't already have.

Well, my friends, have no fear for I have the solution to your problem. I can pretty much gaurantee your friend will not have this object and it's something that is so cool, your friend will be impressed and remeber your gift for some time.

Behold, the Nixie Clock.

Behold.
(source: Amazon)

The what? Yup, the Nixie clock is indeed something that you don't see everyday. Each numeral is displayed on 1960's technology tubes that manufactuers import from Russia where these tubes are still made and used in "state of the art" equipment. You may have seen these tubes used in countdown clocks for the US space program in the early 60's. You can find out how a nixie tube actually works at the wikipedia article here.

Today, most of us use LEDs to display the time, but there is no denying these unique clocks and their appeal. Why I can't see something like this on the bedroom nightstand, I think it would be ideal in an office, den or even a living room.

Amazon has a nixie clock for sale for the somewhat rareified price of $209.95. Don't despair, though- there are many other makers that offer nixie clocks for far less and kits can be had for even lower prices. Just go to your favorite search engine and enter the term "nixie clock".

Now, your jaded "got it all" friend doesn't have to get another tie this year. Instead, give them a nixie clock and give them a real surprise they'll remember.

Google Goggles- Hard to say 5 times fast, but easy to use in surprising ways

Mobile (phone) apps are all the rage with kids these days. There are apps that play games, apps that change the look of photos and apps that find great restaurants anywhere you happen to be standing.

And now, there's Google Goggles. A new phone app for the Android, iPhone and Blackberry and others.

Not very descriptive name, I'll admit. But when you hear what the app can do, you'll be running to the computer to download it.
Think of Google Goggles as a visual search engine. One that uses your phone's camera to search the internet for answers.

Remember when your Mom said to look it up? Now, you can.
(source: gigjets.com)

For example, if you're in a French restaurant and the menu is in French, but you don't speak a word of the language, what can you do? Simply start the GG app and take a photo of the paragraph of your interest. Google looks up the translation and converts the French into English (or the reverse!). The translation may not be perfect, but the result if close enough to make sense of what was nonsensical just moments before. It handles dozens of languages beyond those of the Francophile.

Or...

Let's say you're in Cincinnati Ohio and you see the famous statue in Fountain Square. "What statue?" I hear you say. Exactly- simply activate the GG App, take a photo of the statue and Google Goggles will search the web (based on your photo) to tell you the statue was installed in 1871 by Tyler Davidson. Didn't know that, did you?

The Fountain Square Statue, Cincinnati, Ohio.

(source: waymarking.com)

Or...

You get a business card from a new sales contact but you know little about her. Once again, simply open the GG app, take a photo of the card's petinent information (phone number, person's name, etc.) and lo and behold, Goggles will look up the person and present all of the information available on the web to you in an attempt to aid your business efforts.

There are many more things Google Goggles can do: Look up books, wine labels, artwork, pretty much anything that presents a visual that can be captured by a camera is something GG can help you look up on the internet.

Pretty cool, no? Google doesn't say if people are on the list of available "look ups", but don't be surprised to see facial recognition somewhere down the road.

So, just in case- look in your webcam and smile!

Go here to see an explanation of Google Goggles.

Onstar FMV- get help, directions or make calls from nearly any car.

We own two GM cars and both have Onstar. As a husband and father, I feel much better that our cars are equipped with this gear. For those of you not familiar with the service, Onstar is mounted in all GM vehicles and has the ability to make hands-free cell phone calls, provide turn-by-turn directions and, best of all, will automatically call emergency services with the vehicles exact location in the event of an accident via the GPS mounted in all Onstar equippped products.

Until recently, if you didn't own a GM vehicle, you were out of luck and unable to use this service in your non-GM vehicle.

Not any more. Now, hundreds of non-GM cars and truck models can mount Onstar inside their vehicle. Called Onstar FMV ("For My Vehicle"), this is the entire Onstar system built into a rear view mirror module (many GM products have this exact setup too) for replacing your normal, boring, non-button rear-view mirror.

See? Lots of buttons that do lots of things.
(source: GM)

Other available services include bluetooth connectivity for cell phones, calling for roadside assistance and even stolen vehicle recovery (using the Onstar's built-in GPS, they can track the thief and guide the police).

Is Onstar for you? The quick and easy answer is maybe. While Onstar FMV can fit a huge number of non-GM vehicles, it can't fit all of them. the Onstar FMV website has provided a handy guide for you to enter your vehicles make, model, year, etc. to determine if your Ford, Toyota or Jeep (or any make) is compatible with the Onstar FMV system.

Now, Onstar is not free. Two plans are available for $199 and $299 per year (pro rated monthly) with a basic and premium level of services, respectively. For me, I gladly pay the rate and have done so for years. When I know my wife and three kids always have help just a phone call away and they can have the police or fire department respond to their exact location when I can't I feel better. Professional installation is required but can be done for under $100.

And that's worth every penny.

Go to the Onstar FMV site here for ordering info and go to PCMag.com to see a review with the pros and cons of this unique system.