Siri0us jailbreak app pulled, uses unauthorized service
updated 10:45 pm EST, Tue November 29, 2011
Hack allowed Nuance dictation on pre-4S devices
Hacker Eric Day has removed his Siri0us voice dictation app from Cydia, citing multiple problems ranging from his unauthorized use of Nuance's services to the popularity of the app, which threatened to jeopardize his product site. The program, which required a jailbroken iOS device, allowed the iPhone 4 and earlier models to be able to use the Nuance dictation features normally only found on the 4S.
Despite the name of the app, it did not fully emulate the Siri application. Apple's Siri technology incorporates Nuance dictation for things like e-mail and text message dictation, but Siri also employs natural-language scanning and other technologies to not only understand what is being said but to put it in context and pull from various web sources to compose understandable replies.
On his Twitter feed, Day complains that he would be willing to look at paying for Nuance's dictation service -- a version of which is already available in an app on the App Store called Dragon Dictation -- but that the company "ignores" his inquiries. Day originally accessed Nuance's dictation service (which requires an online connection to more powerful servers in order to speed up voice processing) through hacked access to Siri's services.
The Siri0us app, unlike other hacks that achieved some level of Siri functionality on older devices, didn't require copying iPhone 4S files in order to work.
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These "so-called" business
people don't seem to understand that just because someone CAN do something doesn't mean it is right. You CAN take a neighbors car, but I certainly wouldn't suggest you do it unless you are looking for trouble. So he's a hacker? Are we supposed to bow down to his theft of the intellectual property bought, paid for, and designed by others? How would he FEEL if he had designed something truly interesting, original, and legal and other "hackers" took over? Go back to school.