Siri versus Alexa

A while ago a friend and I were discussing “See Ya Later Alligator,” a hit back in 1955 when she was born.
“I’ll hafta see if I can get Alexa to play it,” she said.
I went home and fired up Siri on my iPhone.
“‘See Ya Later Alligator’ by Bill Haley and the Comets on YouTube.”
“Here are some videos of ‘See You Later Alligator’ by Bill Haley and the Comets I found on the Web.”
BAM; got it. I fingered one, and sure enough.
“‘Louie-Louie’ by the Kingsmen on YouTube.”
“Here are some videos of ‘Louie-Louie’ by the Kingsmen I found on the Web.”
BA-BOMP-BOMP-BOMP, BOMP-BOMP; BOMP-BOMP-BOMP, BOMP-BOMP: the greatest rock-‘n’-roll song of all time!
WXXI-FM, the classical-music radio-station out of Rochester I use as background music, brags Alexa will play its digital radio-stream if so commanded.
I’m in Altoona PA, 270 miles from Rochester. I fire up WXXI on my iPhone. There she is, WXXI’s morning radio host playing Mozart, Bach, Copland, etc. Plus morning commuter traffic-jams on Rochester’s highways.
When I graduated high-school back in 1962, stuff like this was beyond imagining.
Alexa-Alexa-Alexa! “Alexa, did you just suggest I call Comfort Windows?” a TV ad says.
LA-DEE-DAH! Siri plays video, but Alexa doesn’t. There are non-Apple smartphones that play both video and audio, but not Alexa.
Whither Amazon, or Microsoft, whoever; the programmers of Alexa? Siri, etc, have ‘em skonked. Or did Amazon, etc, think the attractiveness of both video and audio may be passé?
Apple doesn’t seem to promote Siri. My perception may very well be wrong, but “I’ll see if I can get Alexa to play it.”
Recently in Altoona I unholstered my iPhone, and fired up Siri. “I need a Taco-Bell in Altoona, Pennsylvania.”
BAM! There it was, with GPS directions to it.
I’m glad my friend got Alexa. But can Alexa point out a Taco-Bell in Altoona?
“As technology advances, you can be sure WXXI will be on top of it.”
“Call Faudi,” I voice-command “Sync” in my car. I’m in Altoona, and “Faudi” is my railfan friend. It calls my immediate neighbor. Admitted Sync is nowhere near as good as Siri, and my car is almost six years old.
I could say “Whatever they think of next” (WXXI) is mind-blowing.
What I think is carbon-based life is doomed. I give us maybe 100 years. By then the atmosphere will be unbreathable, and south FL flooded. 100 years is optimistic.
Maybe insects can adapt, but I think silicon-based life will triumph.
So what is “life” anyway? Brain-waves harnessed to recreate itself. As if silicon-based life couldn’t do that?
“Here are some videos of ‘See You Later Alligator’ by Bill Haley and the Comets I found on the Web.”
All bow to the dual-headed deity of Gates and Jobs!