Hacker News Reader

Comment by wgx | Hacker News Reader

Siri is the world's most powerful AI-timer-setter.

Setting timers is apparently surprisingly hard! Google Assistant frequently just tells me to set the timer in the app.

Use it all the time for cooking with multiple timers. No issue here.

when i was a working chef, i used this NON-STOP. it is actually the first real “tech” i’ve ever brought into a (real working) kitchen that provided real value instead of gimmick

You worked as a chef and used a single timer in Siri and were happy with that? How?! (Siri doesn't support more than one concurrent timer)

I miss the days of instruction manuals. Alexa has always (?) supported concurrent timers but it wasn't until recently that it started asking me if I want to name my timers. But it tries to be "smart" and only ask me when it thinks I need to name them.

I only figured out through trial and error that I can name my Alexa timers without waiting for it to prompt me:

  > Alexa, set a pasta timer for 10 minutes
  > - Pasta timer, 10 minutes, starting now.
  > Alexa, cancel pasta timer
  > - Pasta timer canceled

Alexa, let pastaTimer equal 600. While pastaTimer greater than zero, pastaTimer minus minus. Sleep 1. End while. Play alarm dot mp3.

Siri doesn't support more than one concurrent timer

I can't speak for the chef, but it does on HomePod. Each gets its own name and that name is announced when the alarm goes off.

"bleep bloop bleepity boop! Eggs timer. bleep bloop bleepity boop!

So multiple timers only work if I get a HomePod and talk to Siri on that?

> (Siri doesn't support more than one concurrent timer)

It has for at least the past couple years now.

I just tried it. It doesn't:

Hey Siri, set a timer for 5 minutes. "OK."

Hey Siri, set another timer for 10 minutes. "A timer is already running, do you want to replace it?"

Reply on news.ycombinator.com