Apple Finally Realizes Siri's Best Use: Getting Laughs

Apple seems to be finally waving the white flag in its quest to push Siri as some kind of hyper-efficient personal assistant of the digital variety, writes Rebecca Greenfield at AtlanticWire. Witness the new commercial with John Malkovich: He's goofing around with Siri, "using it as a form of entertainment, rather than a useful tool," notes Greenfield.

The first commercials for the device were much different, leaving the impression that Siri could organize your world. As is clear by now, it can't. Most people use Siri to send the occasional text, occasionally make phone calls, and, beyond that, to get a few laughs by bouncing weird questions off the literal-minded robot. "At this point, those first ads are misleading," writes Greenfield. "But with these latest, it looks like Apple's starting to get the joke." Read the full essay here. (More Apple stories.)