posted by
janrinok
on Thursday April 03 2014, @10:43PM
from the cortana-to-have-debate-with-siri dept.
from the cortana-to-have-debate-with-siri dept.
The BBC reports that Microsoft has been showcasing a new virtual assistant, named Cortana, as part of an upcoming update for Windows phones. Cortana, tries to be chatty like Siri on Apple's iPhones and iPads, while anticipating information users might want, like Google Now on Android devices. Cortana uses both the Bing and data stored on the user's phone to make personalised recommendations and carry out tasks. And yes, it is named after the character in the Halo video game series.
From the article:
"...when asked to reveal the secret plot of the next game in the Halo series, Cortana objected. 'I'm quite certain that you don't have the proper security clearance for that information,' it retorted."
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(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Thursday April 03 2014, @11:20PM
In related news, hackers have reverse-engineered the application to speak only phone sex, and have re-named it "Whoretana."
(Score: 1) by Bartman12345 on Thursday April 03 2014, @11:27PM
I've been following the progress of this update very closely since I own a Windows 8 phone. This is the much anticipated Windows Phone 8.1, and brings to the table much, much more than just the Cortana interface, which is good news because WP8 has been trailing behind pretty badly in terms of features.
The new OS has not been been released to the public yet, but there is one thing for sure - MS have got it right with Cortana. I'm not talking about the functionality, but the name. There is something very... well, cool about using the name of a popular, sexy, video game character for their Siri/Google Now challenger. When was the last time MS did anything that could be described as cool?
This was a great decision by MS, and I for one can't wait for this update to roll out.
(Score: 4, Informative) by dotdotdot on Thursday April 03 2014, @11:44PM
Here are some of the major changes for WP8.1 ...
Third column of tiles
Start background pictures
New Lock screen apps
Cortana
Action Center for notifications
Word Flow Keyboard
Full Skype integration
New Calendar app
New Music app
Improved People Hub
Photos Gallery
Data Sense
Wi-Fi Sense
Storage Sense
Battery Saver
Windows / Windows Phone account integration
Project screen to PC or projector
IE 11
Enterprise management
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 04 2014, @11:21PM
Ease of use Package Manager comparable to apt-get ? Nope.
Chasing binaries across the web and hoping they aren't loaded with Spyware? Yup.
Navigating Windows Forums with thousands of people and tens of thousands of posts about their infected systems? Of course!
I haven't tried it myself, but:
Chocolatey NuGet is a Machine Package Manager, somewhat like apt-get, but built with Windows in mind.
http://chocolatey.org/ [chocolatey.org]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by jheath314 on Friday April 04 2014, @02:29AM
Honestly, I found the name Siri to be a little weird, and indeed the concept of giving names to digital assistants feels a little unnecessary. (Even HAL was ostensibly an acronym rather than a name). Despite Siri's uncool name, I like it because I've found it useful for some tasks that I can now do without taking the phone off my belt clip (i.e. "Launch NPR" or "Call my boss" or "What is the weather tomorrow?"). Others may feel differently, but the coolness or silliness of the name matters very little to me compared to what I actually use it for.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 04 2014, @11:17PM
IMO you sound like a marketing drone for MS, or someone who just got their first RR BB gun.
(Score: 1) by Bartman12345 on Saturday April 05 2014, @06:49AM
Cool, I've only been posting on SN for about a week, and I've already been accused of being a bigot and an MS drone. Can't wait until someone calls me a shill, then I'll have the trifecta!
(Score: 1) by berrance on Friday April 04 2014, @08:36AM
So in other words clippy has been to school and come back a little more clever but a whole lot more annoying
Just my two lentils worth...
(Score: 1) by yarp on Friday April 04 2014, @01:43PM
It looks like you're making a phone call...