Steve Jobs Didn't Like Siri Name

Dag Kittlaus, one of the co-founders of Siri, told reporters Tuesday that Apple chief Steve Jobs didn't really like the Siri name.

"So Siri means in Norwegian, 'Beautiful woman who leads you to victory,'" Kittlaus, whose company was acquired by Apple for $200 million in April 2010. "I worked with a lady named Siri in Norway and wanted to name my daughter Siri and the domain was available. And also consumer companies need to focus on the fact that the name is easy to spell, is easy to say."

Jobs wasn't a big fan, but Kittlaus said he kept up the Siri campaign. Jobs wanted a different name, but when no one could find a better one, he relented and kept Kittlaus' suggestion. Siri was then integrated into the iPhone 4S as a primary feature. 

Jobs first contacted Kittlaus in early 2010 after the Siri app launched on the iPhone. 

And he wanted me to come over to his house the next day, and I did, and I spent 3 hours with him in front of his fireplace having this surreal conversation about the future. . . And, you know, he talked about why Apple was going to win, and we talked about how Siri was doing. And he was very excited about the fact that.. you know, he was very interested in this area in general but, you know, they're patient, they don't jump on anything until they feel they can go after something new and he felt that we cracked it. So that was his attraction.

Kittlaus worked at Apple until October when he left its headquarters for Chicago to be closer to his family.
 

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Apparently Kittlaus was told that another Apple exec would contact him, but it was Jobs who did and worked his magic (apparently Apple didn't like to tell people what Jobs was doing) and led to an easy acquisition. So we now know how Apple acquired companies -- having Steve Jobs invite you over to the house. So who does the hosting for Apple now?
 
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