WP 8.1 = YES, Cortana = NO

WillysJeepMan

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The 3 syllables can be an issue if it must be spoken to activate it. It can easily be resolved by allowing users to specify a nickname. Think that "Cortana" is too long? Change it to something shorter, like "Tana".
 

SwimSwim

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Then don't use it Mr. Grumpy-Pants.

First off, the name Cortana was actually just an internal testing name, but due to popular demand, Microsoft kept it as the official name. Where does it come from? From the Halo series, it's Master Chief's (the main character) personal AI assistant. So not only is the original Cortana exactly the same concept as Cortana for Windows Phone, but it's also very well known and popular. Because of that, Microsoft can get a lot of free press by using that name, and easily captivate the attention of the gamer community.

Second off: yes, people don't use Siri. Why? Because it's not practical for day-to-day use, it actually quite sucks. Despite being practically synonymous with "digital assistant" these days, Google Now is often considered far better and way more practical in daily usage could dream of being. But people do cite Google Now's lack of personality, and how there aren't any privacy settings or controls.

This is where Cortana is trying to differentiate herself, by offering the best of both worlds. She'll have the personality and sass of Siri, yet the usefulness of Google Now. But in addition to that, Cortana will also supposedly offer better natural-language recognition, so users won't have to conform to commands, just to use Cortana. She also differs from Google Now in that she offers a notebook. That way, if Cortana gets any of the information on you wrong, you can correct it. Or, if you're a privacy buff: you can use the Notebook to chose what information Cortana is and isn't allowed to look at. So if you say she isn't allowed to look at something, she won't use that as she tries to learn about you.

But most intriguing for people like me, is that Cortana WON'T require you to speak to her. First off, you can use all of her commands via text. Just type in the exact same things you would otherwise say to her, and she'll treat them as normal (and she'll respect the fact that you didn't speak to her, so she won't give a spoken response). But in addition to being able to being able to type in commands (useful for loud areas where she wouldn't be able to hear, in a quiet library, and/or if you're like me and find the idea of talking to your phone awkward): Cortana is weaved throughout the OS. She'll start conversations with you.

For example: if you're texting someone about getting dinner at 8:00pm, Cortana may turn it into a link (similar to how addresses and phone numbers already work). Tap on the link, and a calendar appoint will pop-up with some of the info already filled in. Were you talking about a particular place? That'll already be filled in for you. Time? Check. Invites? Done-and-done.

For me, that's to coolest thing. Whereas Siri and Google Now are completely passive, requiring to user to start conversations with them, Cortana takes a more active role, and will approach you to make your life easier. Once Cortana learns where you work and figures out your daily commute (if you let her, of course. You can always disable what she is and isn't allowed to do), she'll tell you if there's traffic. Google Now would require you ask it if there's traffic, and Siri doesn't even provide traffic information.

But with Cortana, if she detects traffic, she'll send you a notification alerting you there may be a delay, and advise you to leave early and/or offer detours. I think this is incredible, and has me genuinely excited to see it in action.

Granted, there's a huge gap between what Microsoft's vision for what Cortana will do vs. what it can do, and how well it actually pulls it off. But should Cortana live up to hype, then ladies and gentlemen: we've got a winner.

Still not interested? That's fine, then just disable Cortana, and continue to use Bing search as per normal.
 

Ankit Nawlakha

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Attention! Cortana is our Personal Assistant..!!
Nt a PET..!!
If u dnt like the name then dont use cortana..!!


Problem Solved..!!
Remove this thread.!
 

Astropin

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WP 8.1 = YES, Cortana = YES, YES, YES (and I'm 47 years old).

Great name! Love that Microsoft followed through with the name due to fan support. (And I'm not a big gamer but I appreciate what they did).

Also (as mentioned earlier) you don't need to ever address her (it) by name.....ever. You can simply state your question.
 

SAM 77

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WP8.1 = Yes
Cortana = Novelty I don't think I will use yet wouldn't mind trying it out to check its usefullness.

Most of my friends use iPhone and I have never heard them use or even mention 'Siri'

Still I am hoping MS can deliver a unique experience with Cortana to convert me.
 

anony_mouse

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I was thinking about this. Siri, Google Now and Cortana offer voice control. That's probably useful in some circumstances, and it works quite well (obviously I didn't try Cortana yet). It seems that people generally don't use it very much, though, as it's slower and less accurate than even a touchscreen keyboard.

Google Now and Cortana also offer what are basically automatically configured widgets showing weather, traffic, news, etc. If you spend ten minutes, you could set up something similar on any Android or WP phone. Obviously iOS doesn't offer any widgets or live tiles, but even without widgets you can get the same information within a few touches. So it's hard to get very excited.

Aren't these technologies all seriously overhyped?
 

TheGeekNextDoor

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Just being able to use Cortana to set reminders via voice is a great thing. I wrote an app that I use myself on my phone that allows me to tell my phone to "remind me in xx minutes/hours/days" or "remind me at 4:30pm". It then plays the Microsoft Surface theme song when the alarm goes off. I use that all the time.

Wife says, "be sure to rotate out the laundry in about 20 minutes while I'm gone." I just tell my phone "remind me in 20 minutes." In 20 minutes it goes off. I know at that point what it is for. I would love to have it store what the reminder is about, but the Tell Me stuff doesn't allow that when doing voice apps from the Windows button. They have some weird features that don't allow random text translations to be sent to the app. 8.1 does allow that, so it will help a lot.

Do I like talking to my phone in public? No way. I work from home, so I am able to use the voice stuff a lot to help me out during the day. I just hope Cortana works its way onto the desktop as well.
 

anony_mouse

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Fair enough - as I said, voice control can be a useful feature. I just tried Siri and Google Now and both offer a similar reminder function (I don't have access to Cortana at the moment so can't try that). Whether it's quicker than using the touchscreen or not, I don't know - not a big difference either way, I guess, for simple things at least.

My point is that although these technologies are very clever (decent voice recognition especially), they don't really let us do anything new. I mean, I've always been able to set reminders on my phone. That's why I find it hard to get excited about them. Voice recognition can be useful in some situations where it's not possible to use a keyboard or touchscreen but you can spare enough concentration to talk and listen to your phone (I'm suspicious about using it while driving). However, the automatic widgets seem a bit pointless, except that it might be useful to have some kind of easy to access home screen with, say, commuting-related widgets on it, but I would prefer to set that up myself.
 

vincentwansink

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Was on a bit of a road trip yesterday and found Cortana very useful for choosing music while driving. "Play me some Paul Simon". Paul Simon starts playing. "Go to the next song please". Cortana switches to the next Paul Simon song.

I'm a bit disappointed however that I can't address her by name. Anytime I start a command with "Cortana" she doesn't understand the command. I also would like the option of activating her by using the keyword "Cortana" instead of having to long press the search button.
 

anony_mouse

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Was on a bit of a road trip yesterday and found Cortana very useful for choosing music while driving. "Play me some Paul Simon". Paul Simon starts playing. "Go to the next song please". Cortana switches to the next Paul Simon song.

I'm a bit disappointed however that I can't address her by name. Anytime I start a command with "Cortana" she doesn't understand the command. I also would like the option of activating her by using the keyword "Cortana" instead of having to long press the search button.

Don't you think the name 'Cortana' is depressing? Try saying it. Your voice drops for the last syllable. It's like sighing. I think it's something to do with the repeating vowel sound. Even 'Cortina', 'Cortona', 'Cortena' or 'Cortuna' are much better.

EDIT: I seriously hope you weren't 'long pressing the search button' while driving.
 
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txkimmers

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Cortana offering reminders plus saved locations is fantastic. I set two reminders for things I needed to do when I got home, and the second I walked in the door, they popped up on my screen. Repeat: that is fantastic.
 

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