Will apps like Siri be #1 interface in 15 years

Siri has the potential to completely change how we interact with our computing devices–our smartphones, tablets and computers.
The history of the user’s interaction with a modern computer essentially begins with the keyboard. After DOS came the introduction of the Windows-style GUI, and the mouse was introduced to move the cursor around the display screen and make selections. With the onset of tablet computing, touching the display directly became possible and is now the big "craze".

Speech recognition software has been around for some time, but it never caught on because the interface felt unnatural and required a lot of effort on the user’s part. IBM’s ViaVoice effort in the late 90s would have been more widely accepted had it not required that you train it for at least 45 minutes to understand your diction, and then you had to pause…between…words when you tried to use it.
Even if you had been able to get it to understand you–it was designed to work for dictation. There wasn’t software designed to direct the computer to perform a task or function.
Enter Siri, the revolutionary Intelligent Assistant that communicates normally with its user. It’s pretty simple really–you hold down the Home button, after you hear the tones you ask Siri what you want it to do, or what you need to know.

Imagine if you never had to type in a search box again, or fill in forms to book travel or buy products. Search engines fall by the wayside because you can just talk to your computer assistant, who knows everything he needs to know about you anyway, so he can “fill in those forms” (call APIs) for you. In this world, you talk to your computer, and it does whatever you need it do. You don’t need to actually go find the website yourself. You just ask your phone/computer/device and it does the actual thing you would have done on that website anyway.

In this world, the Internet is a radically different beast. No longer is it important to use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to ensure your company gets a high up ranking in search results, no longer is it important to drive traffic to your site (or at least, it’s only important for brand awareness/selection, not for performing e-commerce activities themselves).
Instead, what becomes far more important is making sure that people who need your service, or who could benefit from it, get it presented as an option by their digital assistant. If the assistant doesn’t know about it, you lose business. Suddenly companies no longer optimize for Google, but for Apple – or whoever else launches intelligent agent software. Companies like Apple becomes the gatekeeper of a new way to shop and do business online (however you might feel about that).

A nice side-effect of this is that in order for services to compete and describe themselves to intelligent agents, new standards for describing information and services have to be adopted. Finally, there is a business reason for the semantic web standards that exist to today to be adopted, developed and unified. Because in an Internet tailored for agents, not having a standardized, linked data, open graph type API will leave your business out in the cold.
Siri is important because it is the first consumer product to take us on the long road towards this world. It represents the beginning of a new paradigm of computing, a vastly more useful way for people to get what they need from computers, and the real beginning of a commercial, competitive semantic web.

Also, because it’s voice activated, yet offers so many advantages over just typing keywords, Siri may finally create the tipping point to encourage people to stop feeling silly/self-conscious about using voice control – because the rewards outweigh the risk of feeling silly. Could this be the beginning of real-world large-scale public usage of voice-driven computing?
All of this is why Siri is important. It’s a “Google” moment. And Apple – the Microsoft of the 2010s – is in charge of it.

What so many critics of Siri fail to understand is its potential–but even more importantly, the potential of the technology behind it. There’s no doubt that it will change and evolve significantly as time moves on, and others will develop similar–perhaps better–technology. Think about that: the poorly sighted, the handicapped, those suffering from debilitating conditions like strokes…even those who don’t understand the language–all of these can utilize an intelligent assistant like Siri.
The excitement for me when Siri was announced was that the fourth method of communication had finally been achieved. You need only speak to your device and it understands you. No keyboard, mouse or other obsolete interface required

 

 

Free  "Loan Modification Help"

The following is a sample qualified written request from you, the borrower, to a lender. Use this format to address complaints under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). Be sure to read more about RESPA, and your rights under this Act, elsewhere on the RESPA site. 
 
Attention Customer Service:
Subject: [Your loan number]
[Names on loan documents]
[Property and/or mailing address]

This is a "qualified written request" under Section 6 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).
I am writing because:

• Describe the issue or the question you have and/or what action you believe the lender should take.
• Attach copies of any related written materials.
• Describe any conversations with customer service regarding the issue and to whom you spoke.
• Describe any previous steps you have taken or attempts to resolve the issue.
• List a day time telephone number in case a customer service representative wishes to contact you.

I understand that under Section 6 of RESPA you are required to acknowledge my request within 20 business days and must try to resolve the issue within 60 business days.
Sincerely,


[Your name]

 
REMEMBER: This letter SHOULD NOT be included with your mortgage payment, but should be sent separately to the customer service address.
You SHOULD continue to make the required mortgage and escrow payment until the request is resolved. You may bring a private right of action under Section 6, if you suffer damages due to the lender's servicing of the loan. See the RESPA statute and regulations. 



Updated information on Dodd-Frank Act:

Dodd-Frank Act: QWR Timelines Shortened and Other RESPA and TILA Changes

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law on July 21, 2010. The Act changes the timelines for qualified written requests (QWRs), prohibits various servicing practices, significantly raises the stakes for certain RESPA violations, and makes a few TILA changes.

Shorter QWR Timelines
Servicers now have less time to acknowledge and respond to QWRs. The Act changes the acknowledgment deadline for QWRs from 15 days to only 5 days. The Act also changes the substantive response deadline from 60 days to just 30 days. It does allow a 15-day extension, if the borrower is notified of the extension and the reasons for the delay; but even with the extension, the time frames are still short enough that servicers must act quickly. Procedures for promptly responding to QWRS are now even more imperative.

Important QWR Practice Tip: Designated Address
If a servicer has not already designated an address for QWRs, now is the time to do so. A servicer may set up a specific and exclusive address for QWRs by sending notice to the borrower in a notice of transfer, or a separate mailing. 24 C.F.R. § 3500.21(e)(1). Such an address should help servicers process these requests in a timely fashion. The address will also protect servicers from liability, if the borrower sends the QWR to the wrong address.

General Prohibitions & Requirements
Servicers should also be aware of the new general RESPA prohibitions regarding force-placed insurance, as well as charging fees for responses to QWRs and general responses. The Act imposes new requirements for escrow accounts. For example, after receiving a full payoff, any escrow balance must be returned within 20 days. The Act also implements a 10-business day deadline to respond to a request for the identity and address of the owner, or assignee, of the loan.

Damages
The Act raises the available damages for failing to respond to RESPA requests as required. The available damages for each violation under 12 U.S.C. § 2605 changed as follows:

(1) Individuals: actual damages plus $1,000 increased to actual damages plus $2,000; and

(2) Class Actions: the cap for class action lawsuits increased from the lesser of $500,000 or 1 percent of the servicer's net worth to the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1 percent.

TILA
In addition, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act changes a few sections of the Truth in Lending Act. Escrow accounts are now mandatory for many first mortgages, including all loans guaranteed by a state or federal government. The Act requires servicers to credit payments as of the date of receipt, unless a delay will not result in a charge or negative credit report. Also, payoff statements must be sent within a reasonable time, but no more than seven days after a written request.

Conclusion
The most important points are that servicers must speed up internal actions to meet response deadlines, and that the damages available for RESPA violations have increased. Servicers should take note that they can limit liability for potential QWR violations by requiring that certain requests be sent to a specific and exclusive address. If the borrower sends a QWR to the wrong address, the servicer may be able to avoid liability altogether.


FOR MORE INFORMATION ON QWR OR TO MAKE A PERSONAL LETTER ON YOUR BEHALF PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AND I WILL HELP WITH ANY INQUIRY YOU WANT AND EVEN SHOW YOU TO STOP YOUR SALE FOR FREE