What a nightmare this must have been for singer Barbra Streisand. Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant, has apparently been pronouncing her surname wrong all this time. Silly Siri has been saying “Strei-zand,” and not “Strei-sand,” since first going online back in 2011. We can only imagine the pain and embarrassment this has caused, but luckily when you’re Barbra Strei-sand, it’s easy to pick up the phone and call Apple CEO Tim Cook and tell him to sort it all out. And because you’re Barbra Strei-sand, he’ll get right on it too.
In an interview with NPR, Streisand opened up about Siri’s error and what must have been a terribly traumatic situation. “She pronounces my name wrong,” said the singer. “It’s Streisand with a soft S, like sand on the beach. I’ve been saying this for my whole career. And so what did I do? I called the head of Apple, Tim Cook, and he delightfully agreed to have Siri change the pronunciation of my name, finally, with the next update on September 30.”
Finally, indeed! Sadly, exactly how often she asked Siri to pronounce her name, and why she’d be doing such a thing, isn’t known. But it’s excellent news for Streisand, to whom hearing the obviously wrong Strei-zand on a daily (?) basis must have been the equivalent of someone’s nails being dragged down a chalkboard.
Streisand’s triumph may have also leaked a far less important piece of news. The quoted September 30 date for the Streisand update could also be iOS 10’s launch date. The next version of Apple’s operating system has already been announced, and is traditionally released with the new iPhone models, which are expected at some time in September. The date is also a Friday, which is often Apple’s preferred day for major operating system updates.
There are many new features in iOS 10, but the fixing of Siri’s egregious error will surely now headline the alterations, and we can’t wait to try it out. Anyone else wanting Siri to correctly pronounce their name, home town, country, or beloved family pet’s name correctly should give Tim Cook a call, as he seems very receptive to such problems.
