Siri has been something if a disappointment so far — more flash than substance — but this particular trick is a mighty impressive novelty. A neat new hack lets Siri play music on a Yamaha Disklavier player piano from music files in your library.
The hack, developed specifically by and for Yamaha, works by streaming a special MIDI version of the music file through an Apple Airport Express and into the Disklavier piano, which then reproduces the piece, complete with key and pedal impressions. And typical to Siri, there are some Easter Eggs jammed in there, like being able to tell your iPhone, “You played it for her, you can play it for me. Play it again, Siri,” and it will launch into “As Time Gies By” from Casablanca.
It’s a very cool hack/feature, though $US10,000+ is maybe a little much to make your iPhone feel better about itself. [Wired]
Jambon
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 8:54 AMBit of a stretch to say that Siri is playing it. Technology must seem really mysterious and amazing to the iNoobs.
jack
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 9:44 AMYep, it’s all Yamaha code.. interacting with a voice/PAL api.
Johnno
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 10:47 AMLove the “Oh hi, I didn’t see you there” style of the presenter
Also, did they film this on a 10 year old phone? What’s with the portrait aspect ratio?
Pres
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 1:10 PMUrgh I’m sick of people using SIRI as a part of something and then saying that SIRI did it. That’s like saying a launch button destroyed Hiroshima.