Cortana to play well with popular cloud storage lockers on Lenovo's Windows 10 PCs
Microsoft and Lenovo have teamed up to expand Cortana's usefulness on the Chinese maker's Windows 10 PCs, giving users the ability to call up the personal assistant to search files stored on popular cloud storage lockers.
Considering that each of the major cloud storage services has its fair share of supporters, it is a smart play to give customers the option to use their favorite locker with Cortana. It enhances the user experience and, at the same time, sets Microsoft up to gain more Cortana supporters.
Everything you need to know about Microsoft's Cortana on iPhone and Android
The newly announced Windows 10 Phone Companion App will let you link your Android or iOS devices to Windows 10, but that’s not all. It will also give users of those rival mobile operating systems access to Cortana. I’ve used both Siri and Cortana, and I much prefer Microsoft’s virtual assistant over Apple’s. Having access to both (or Cortana and Google Now, in the case of Android), is great news for consumers.
To make use of Cortana you’ll need to have Windows 10 installed on a PC, and the Cortana app for iOS or Android. These isn’t available yet, but Windows Insiders will be able to try out the Phone Companion app in a future Windows 10 Insider Preview Build which is set to arrive in the coming weeks.
Microsoft and Getty Images bury the hatchet after legal action and form partnership
Late last year Getty Images hit Microsoft with a lawsuit for using its images without license in the Bing Image Widget. Getty had complained that Microsoft turned its images into "a vast, unlicensed clip art collection". In a bid to avoid trouble, Microsoft opted to take down the widget and now -- seven months down the line -- it seems that it may just have paid off.
Today, the two companies announced that they are forming a partnership to bring properly licensed images to products such as Bing and Cortana. Technologies from both Microsoft and Getty images will be used together to enrich services on both sides.
Microsoft's personal assistant Cortana headed to iOS and Android
Microsoft regularly pits its personal assistant Cortana against Apple’s Siri in a series of adverts, with predictable results. Cortana is always much smarter, funnier and more helpful. She’s certainly one of the high points of Windows Phone, and is set to make her debut on the desktop when she arrives as part of Windows 10 later this year.
However, it seems Cortana isn’t just going to be confined to working on Windows devices. According to Reuters, Microsoft is also working on bringing the personal assistant to iOS and Android in the form of a standalone app.
Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 finally comes to Verizon Nokia Lumia Icon [Update]
Nokia Lumia Icon is among the last Windows Phones to receive a software update to Windows Phone 8.1, despite its flagship credentials. But this shouldn't surprise anyone. After all, Lumia Icon features Verizon's logo. And we all know that big red is not exactly quick with updates.
In fact, despite being a Verizon exclusive, Lumia Icon is long gone from the carrier's portfolio. Talk about support there! The only Windows Phones Verizon sells now are HTC One (M8) for Windows and Samsung ATIV SE. Still, Lumia Icon will at least get Lumia Denim, which is based on Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1, quite possibly before any other high-end Windows Phone in US.
Get Cortana working in Windows 10 in the UK, and other non-US countries
One of the biggest new features in the latest build of Windows 10 is Cortana. Microsoft is bringing its virtual assistant to the desktop, and if you install Build 9926 you can see what she’s capable of right now. Well, you can if you’re in the US at least.
If you live outside of America, in the UK for example, if you summon Cortana you’ll be told she’s "not available to help in your region", which is a bit rubbish. Fortunately, there are ways around this silly restriction.
Windows 10 Build 9888 includes Cortana -- but so bloody what?
It's not long since Windows 10 build 9879 was released and more recently build 9888 leaked online. I'm not going to link to the download as it's not an official release, but it's easy enough to get hold of -- you know where to look, I'm sure. So far the builds that have seen the light of day, officially or unofficially, have been rather light on features, but build 9888 includes what everyone has been chomping at the bit for: Cortana.
Was it worth the wait? Is a voice activated digital assistant appropriate for the desktop? Should anyone care? My answer to all three of these questions is a resounding 'no' -- with some possible exceptions in the case of the last question. Let me elaborate.
Cortana says bonjour, ciao, hola and tag to Europe
Since its beta introduction to the US in the spring of this year Windows Phone 8.1's personal assistant tool Cortana has generated lots of interest.
It became available in the UK and China over the summer but now it's moving into the rest of Europe with native language versions for France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Microsoft's personal assistant Cortana heading to Windows 10 soon
Microsoft is planning on bringing Cortana to Windows 10 in January, or that’s the word on the operating system street, anyway.
This rumor comes from an inside source of Mary Jo Foley’s (C-Net), but it is hardly unexpected, as we’ve heard quite a lot about Cortana supposedly making her (or its, perhaps) way over from Windows Phone to Redmond’s desktop OS.
Microsoft supercharges Cortana with new Bing features -- can it beat Siri and Google Now?
Google is the king of both search and personal assistants. As great as Cortana and Siri are, Google Now is currently superior, offering more functionality. Quite frankly, Google Now is so good at learning about you, that at first, it can seem a bit creepy. Still, Cortana is steadily making progress and Microsoft's personal assistant is becoming more formidable with every passing day.
Today, Microsoft announces that it is supercharging Cortana with better Bing features and integration. The question is, will these new features usurp Google Now?
Google says American teens love voice search -- some use it in the bathroom
Google voice search is awesome; I use it every day in the car or at home. If I want to know the weather, I just ask and it tells me. It helps me find the phone numbers for my favorite pizzerias and Chinese food restaurants, and when I am lost, I just say "take me home" and it does!
Like I said, it is awesome, but apparently, teens are using it more than adults. According to a new Google study, 55 percent of teens in the USA are using voice search; these young people are often the barometers of the next big thing. The search giant should be elated that this important demographic is embracing voice search; however, the study does not only include Google, but also Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana.
What do you want from Windows 9? Can Microsoft get it right?
Microsoft has its listening ears on these days. When it comes to Windows Phone, Xbox One, and Office, the company has been far more responsive to user feedback than ever before. For Windows users who found Windows 8.x to be a disappointment, this bodes well for the follow-up release. Windows 9 (we can drop the Threshold placeholder now, I think) is now not all that far away -- we could see a preview release in just a couple of weeks. Now that Apple's iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch announcements are out of the way, this is going to be the next big launch in the world of tech, and the computing world eagerly anticipates what the operating system may have to offer.
One of the biggest complaints people levelled at Windows 8.x -- and there have been many -- was the lack of Start menu. Sure, there's the Start screen, but for Windows stalwarts it's just not the same. These complaints do not necessarily stem from an unwillingness to try something new, more that the Start menu's successor seems less powerful, poorly thought through, and a road hump to established workflows. Rather than helping to improve production and efficiency, many users found that it actually slowed them down.
Isn't Siri just terrible in Microsoft's Windows Phone ads?
The advert wars continue with comparative ads aplenty fired at each other by the big tech giants, and the latest one extols the virtues of Microsoft's voice assistant compared to Apple's effort.
The "mirror mirror" commercial (spotted by the Verge) tries to promote the natural voice and manner of Cortana, and contrast it with Siri, which is made to sound clipped and robotic in comparison.
Cortana embarrasses Siri in new Windows Phone ad
Even though Cortana shares some major design traits with Google Now, there is no denying that the new Windows Phone 8.1 personal assistant actually feels more like a Siri rival. That is due to their uncanny wittiness and human-like personality, two things that are just not there in Google's (clinical, albeit mighty powerful) offering.
Cortana is gunning for Siri as the latter is a more talked-about personal assistant than Google Now is (and will likely ever be). So it should come as no surprise that, in a new Windows Phone 8.1 ad titled Happy Anniversary, Microsoft pits the two against each-other. And, obviously, Cortana embarrasses its opponent.
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