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posted by janrinok on Thursday April 03 2014, @10:43PM   Printer-friendly
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

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Thursday April 03 2014, @11:20PM (#25925) Homepage

    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

    by Bartman12345 (1317) on Thursday April 03 2014, @11:27PM (#25926)

    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

      by dotdotdot (858) on Thursday April 03 2014, @11:44PM (#25931)

      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

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 04 2014, @11:21PM (#26447)

        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

      by jheath314 (1174) on Friday April 04 2014, @02:29AM (#25998)

      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

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 04 2014, @11:17PM (#26445)

      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

        by Bartman12345 (1317) on Saturday April 05 2014, @06:49AM (#26568)

        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

    by berrance (1229) on Friday April 04 2014, @08:36AM (#26100)

    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

      by yarp (2665) on Friday April 04 2014, @01:43PM (#26179)

      It looks like you're making a phone call...