Daniel Alfredsson is God, iPhone's Siri says
Software experts have no technical explanation, call it a practical joke within Apple
CBC News
Posted: Feb 13, 2013 4:24 PM ET
Last Updated: Feb 13, 2013 7:02 PM ET
Related
Related Stories
Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson is God, according to the Apple iPhone's Siri application that responds to voice demands or questions.
Some owners of the newest version of the smartphone say when they ask Siri, "Show me a picture of God," Alfredsson's photo appears.
Most Sens fans would agree with the application. Alfredsson is the longest serving captain in the National Hockey League and he has played 17 years in Ottawa.
But some software experts said there could be a more technical answer, saying the reason for the software glitch has to do with how Siri works.
"It looks up either a canned answer to that question or it's a predominant answer on the internet, which again I find hard to believe," said Ted Burnett, a software developer in Ottawa.
Engineer Alex DeVries cited an 18-year-old article from Sports Illustrated that said God was watching over female golfer, Helen Alfredsson. DeVries said Siri combs the internet and finds matches between words, but he said one article is not enough to throw off the software.
"My money is on that it's a good prank that somebody has pulled within Apple. That would be my guess," he said.
NHL player isn't only God in Ottawa
The location of the question does not affect Siri's response, either. Owners who ask for a picture of God at the Air Canada Centre — home of the rival Toronto Maple Leafs — also received Alfredsson's photo.
The 40-year-old Senators right-winger has also played along with the joke, making a quip in regards to the current search for a new Pope.
"I guess I need to get to work and decide who the next Pope is," he told reporters.
Alfredsson will not be walking on water, but rather skating on ice at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., Wednesday night against the Penguins.
Share Tools
Latest Ottawa News Headlines
- Minor hockey players reflect on career-ending concussions
- The 2011-12 hockey season was a devastating one for the Ottawa Sting Major AA peewees, with eight of its 17 players suffering concussions. For some, those injuries marked the end of their hockey playing for good. more »
- Gatineau promotes itself with free shuttle service
- A new bus service has launched in Gatineau as part of a larger push to market the Outaouais region and boost the economy. more »
- Canadian border agents being impersonated in phone scam
- The Canada Border Services Agency is warning Canadians of a possible phone scam and fraud. more »
- Montreal scrambles to find new mayor, again
- As their city council searches for an interim mayor, Montrealers are still reeling from the corruption charges laid against a political leader who had pledged to clean up City Hall. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Neil Macdonald: Washington's obsession with leakers
- Julian Assange and Edward Snowden are just the most prominent targets in an all-out legal and propaganda campaign that America's security apparatus is mounting against leakers everywhere, Neil Macdonald writes. more »
- Half of First Nations children live in poverty
- Half of status First Nations children in Canada live in poverty, a troubling figure that jumps to nearly two-thirds in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, says a newly released report. more »
- Who's who in the Senate expense controversy
- Keeping track of the names popping up in the ongoing Senate expenses controversy — from the investigators to the four senators themselves — could be a difficult task for even the most seasoned political observers. more »
- How open is Ottawa's new 'open data' website?
- Treasury Board President Tony Clement is touting the federal government's revamped data portal as a "new natural resource." But that online window for previously published data arrives at the same time the government faces controversy over just how open it really is. more »
Most Viewed/Commented
- Gatineau promotes itself with free shuttle service
- Minor hockey players reflect on career-ending concussions
- Mike Fisher, Carrie Underwood selling Ottawa dream home
- Ottawa craft beer breweries fuel Ontario boom
- Sharlene Bosma speaks out about husband's murder
- The Spartan Race in 90 seconds
- Ottawa RedBlacks officially revealed as newest CFL team
- Montreal mayor resigns amid corruption charges
- Woman charged after drink tossed at Toronto Mayor Rob Ford

