Cortana could be US only

[a5cent]

Then tell me what is in the same "galaxy".

All modern speech recognition engines are based on neural networks... a classical topic in the field of artificial intelligence. That most certainly is AI. The part that comes afterwards, which involves translating the recognised words into a sequence of queries against a range of databases and constructing the reply... that probably doesn't involve any AI related technologies, but I wouldn't be willing to bet on it.

 

[a5cent]

that's amusing. Selling your phone because one beta app takes a while to get to your region.

which is EXACTLY how you do a beta. You don't roll out a beta to as many people as possible, you do the exact opposite. That way, when it gets generally rolled out, you already fixed the kinks.

I think those complaining about Cortana being delayed outside the U.S. have a point.

SnailUK and Jas00555, what do you think is an acceptable amount of time to wait for Cortana? Six months? One year? Can MS afford to have Cortana remain in beta and restricted to the U.S. for two years, which is what the 2016 rumour would suggest? When contemplating that answer, also consider that Cortana is not just an app... based on everything I've read, Cortana will be deeply integrated throughout the entire OS... everywhere... at every corner. Wouldn't you say that WP with and without Cortana is likely to provide a completely different user experience?

I'm fine with the fact that Cortana will be delayed outside the U.S. I'm also fine with MS prioritizing their home market over the rest of the world. Where I do see a problem is the degree to which MS prioritizes their home market differently, which is by far not limited to Cortana. What about Xbox Music and Xbox Video? Despite originally being released in 2010 on WP7, they are still not available everywhere WP is sold. Do you guys seriously think those services are also still undergoing beta testing? What about Audio Search? What about Podcasts? What about Bing? Bing is a very important component of WP. It was originally released back in 2009, but outside of the U.S. it is still barely able to compete with what Google offered over a decade ago.

This problem is compounded by the fact that MS' competition doesn't seem to have anywhere near the same difficulties. Google's and Apple's services are typically rolled out world wide within months, not years. MS will not get by unscathed if they do delay Cortana by two years, particularly because the competing services on Android and Apple are available now, today, world wide!

2016 is likely a date that someone pulled out of a hat, but based on MS' track record, that doesn't seem unlikely. Some people have been waiting for Xbox Music for over three years now.

Ultimately, Cortana would be just another bullet point (although a big one) on a long list of services that aren't deployed everywhere WP is sold. You can rationalize that as much as you like, but it won't stop people from responding to what they feel is unfair treatment. We are all paying the same price for our WP devices, often times more than in the U.S. ... does that not entitle us to the same experience within a reasonable amount of time? How would you guys feel about WP, if the situation was reversed, and your WP device still lacked all the services I previously mentioned, and then some?

Note that I'm not personally affected by this. I do have and will have access to all of WP. I'm just speaking out for those who won't.

 

[5150 Joker]

Cortana will probably be released worldwide on day one. Pretty sure this rumor is bs. Also Xbox music and video are likely held back due to regional licensing deals, not because of technical limitations.

If by chance Cortana is US first, other major languages will probably follow months after, not years.

Sent from my RM-937_apac_hong_kong_222 using Tapatalk

 

[a5cent]

Also Xbox music and video are likely held back due to regional licensing deals, not because of technical limitations.

Completely agree. The problem with that is the competition, who has comparable services up and running everywhere, today, right now.

If by chance Cortana is US first, other major languages will probably follow months after, not years.

If true, awesome. Obviously we'll have to wait and see, but based on MS' track record, the frustrations and doubts aren't as unjustified as some think. If it happens the way you predict, that literally would be a first for MS in the consumer space.

 

[hopmedic]

I can definitely understand the angst felt by our fellow WP users outside the use. Bing. Xbox Music. Podcasts. And now very likely, Cortana. But at the same time, I realize that I do not have an understanding of the limitations, technical, legal, or otherwise.

Would I like to see a worldwide release on day one? Of course. Will we? Almost definitely, no. Can we do anything about it? Not realistically. So are we going to ruin anyone's day but our own by getting upset about it?

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.....

 

[colinkiama]

Podcasts are us only?

 

[Fade_z]

But perhaps I don't want to speak english with my phone. It just shows that MS does not care. See Bing, it's a mess outside the US. And of course Cortana will use Bing. So if Bing does not work, Cortana will never work well outside the US. Why can google and Apple do it correct? You buy an Android and most of the services work at least in the biggest markets. You buy a WP and most of the services work NOT outside US. Google Now worked also at the beginning in the US, but other countries followed QUICK. Now we have to wait 2 years longer for MS to bring this to WP + the time they need to bring it to other countries? This is not acceptable! Cortana is not THAT important, but i feel like pranked by MS.
If we didn't had Nokia to bring some of their services to us non-US customers, the WP would be just bricks compared to other smartphones. I am a huge MS fan, but this could be my last WP, if MS does not change their view of the world.

Language and region are 2 separate things


And why does every post I see lately threaten MSFT to do **** or they leave... They have made mistakes in the past but lately they really seem to be going full steam ahead

 

[Phone Guy 4567]

I can definitely understand the angst felt by our fellow WP users outside the use. Bing. Xbox Music. Podcasts. And now very likely, Cortana. But at the same time, I realize that I do not have an understanding of the limitations, technical, legal, or otherwise.

Would I like to see a worldwide release on day one? Of course. Will we? Almost definitely, no. Can we do anything about it? Not realistically. So are we going to ruin anyone's day but our own by getting upset about it?

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.....

People actually can do something, they can show their unhappiness and leave the platform. There may be very good reasons for why certain things are not available in certain places, and none of those reasons matter if your competitors have overcome those obstacles.

I know that the Cortana being US only is just a rumour right now, but if it turns out to be true for any significant time it will spell trouble for WP internationally. Since I don't believe Apple or Google are any worse then MS in terms of data security for the average consumer making the jump won't be that difficult, if it comes to that. Can Android be less secure then WP sure but a lot of that has to do with side loading apps and rooting, if you don't do those two things you've solved 99% of Android security issues IMO.

 

[a5cent]

People actually can do something, they can show their unhappiness and leave the platform...

I disagree with your point on Android and security, but I agree with everything else.

WP must fight really hard for every tiny bit of additional market share. Most of that is gained outside the U.S. , where MS already has a problem rolling out services in a timely manner. I have no doubt that delaying a high-profile feature like Cortana, which many perceive to be one of the highlights of WP8.1, will lead to problems with the international WP community. If MS truly is thinking about a staged rollout over a year or more, they need to start psychologically working the market and get into damage control mode. Soon. Otherwise the few threats we've seen here will only be the tip of the iceberg.

 

[colinkiama]

I disagree with your point on Android and security, but I agree with everything else.

WP must fight really hard for every tiny bit of additional market share. Most of that is gained outside the U.S. , where MS already has a problem rolling out services in a timely manner. I have no doubt that delaying a high-profile feature like Cortana, which many perceive to be one of the highlights of WP8.1, will lead to problems with the international WP community. If MS truly is thinking about a staged rollout over a year or more, they need to start psychologically working the market and get into damage control mode. Soon. Otherwise the few threats we've seen here will only be the tip of the iceberg.

I don't get Microsoft. If most of their market share is through Europe and south America, why don't they focus on those regions.

 

[ben hinett]

This was the same as siri on the iphone in the uk. Anything you asked it, it couldn't do as was unable to search for things in the uk. So all you could do was voice command like i already have on my lumia 1020

 

[despertador]

It really just seems like in the end, if you want your phone to support pretty much 99.9% of apps and services, switching to the US region in your phone settings seems to be a good idea. It might not be a viable option for some, maybe because you'd have to sacrifice support for other languages, but if you can understand English pretty well, it'd be pretty well worth it.

 

[a5cent]

It really just seems like in the end, if you want your phone to support pretty much 99.9% of apps and services, switching to the US region in your phone settings seems to be a good idea.

As previously mentioned, that does not work. What MS uses to determine your region (as far as services are concerned) is the country code as set on your MS account, which is immutable once set. Nowhere in WP is that value shown to the user, except once during initial boot and setup, where many set it without realizing its importance.

Some have tried setting up a second MS account, which means you loose, amongst other things, all the apps you paid for, your settings, and the ability to sync between devices. Often not even that works however, because for a U.S. account, MS may reject your credit card if it was issued outside the U.S.

If accessing "U.S. only" services was that simple, this wouldn't be a problem at all.

 

[hopmedic]

People actually can do something, they can show their unhappiness and leave the platform. There may be very good reasons for why certain things are not available in certain places, and none of those reasons matter if your competitors have overcome those obstacles.

I know that the Cortana being US only is just a rumour right now, but if it turns out to be true for any significant time it will spell trouble for WP internationally. Since I don't believe Apple or Google are any worse then MS in terms of data security for the average consumer making the jump won't be that difficult, if it comes to that. Can Android be less secure then WP sure but a lot of that has to do with side loading apps and rooting, if you don't do those two things you've solved 99% of Android security issues IMO.

Yes, people can leave. I'm not going to say that they should or shouldn't. I've said many times that no one phone can be the one phone that will meet everyone's needs, and if Windows Phone doesn't meet your needs, then certainly you should find something else. But when you say that you don't believe google is any worse than MS in terms of security, that is a belief that is simply not based in fact. Remember, just because you believe something doesn't make it true. Research it and learn the truth.

Nearly 10% of Android apps are "festering pits of malware" (not my statement).
Close to 10% of Android Apps festering pits of spyware, worms and premium SMS senders, getting worse | WMPoweruser

The US government says Android is a malware magnet.
US government says Android is a malware magnet thanks to OS fragmentation | The Verge

Want to use an OS where 99% of the phones can be breached with a single master key?
Android Master Key Security Breach Affects 99% of Andoid Phones - dBTechno

In 2012, Android accounted for 79% of all mobile malware. In the last quarter of 2012, that number jumped to 96%.
Android Accounted For 79% Of All Mobile Malware In 2012, 96% In Q4 Alone, Says F-Secure | TechCrunch

 

[Phone Guy 4567]

I read through all the links provided and their sources and here are the conclusions I draw from reading them:

The master key vulnerability has not been exploited, and according to the bbc article used as a source Google has put checks in place in the Play Store to check apks that are listed there.

Outdated versions of the OS don't have the fixes that new versions have. This is true but can also apply to any old outdated OS's like Windows Mobile & Symbian & I bet old versions of WP in the future.

Android accounts for the majority of mobile virus infections. Well of course they would because they are the #1 mobile OS. What they don't mention in any of the links is how many of these serious infections require the side loading of an infected APK from outside the Play Store and/or root access? For that matter how many of these infected Android devices use a custom ROM? Many WP users are waiting for someone to crack Lumia devices so they can run custom ROMS what will happen to WP security then?

My initial comment about Android security pointed out Android data security was fine for the average consumer if no rooting or side loading was done, and none of the links that I've read change my mind.

 

[ag1986]

Yes, people can leave. I'm not going to say that they should or shouldn't. I've said many times that no one phone can be the one phone that will meet everyone's needs, and if Windows Phone doesn't meet your needs, then certainly you should find something else. but when you say that you don't believe google is any worse than MS in terms of security, that is a belief that is simply not based in fact. Remember, just because you believe something doesn't make it true. Research it and learn the truth.

If you look up stats for Windows desktop malware, they will be comparable to these numbers, and for obvious reasons. Windows, like Android, is an OS which gives apps and programs a great deal of power and is also the #1 OS by market share in its respective segment. These things lead to malware being targeted towards the platform, obviously.

 

[GideonTerblanche]

Nvm it works now tapatalk issue -.-
Please delete this comment

 

[GideonTerblanche]

It's clear that many people here have never created an artificial intelligence engine....

I'm afraid your still missing the point MS is not gonna release even though its in English -_-
Ms can just release it, if that owner is not recognized by bing me/cortana that's his problem but yet they still don't want too so what this means ms thinks Usa = world which is not the case if you would look at where wp actually reigns !!!!!!

 

[colinkiama]

I'm afraid your still missing the point MS is not gonna release even though its in English -_-
Ms can just release it, if that owner is not recognized by bing me/cortana that's his problem but yet they still don't want too so what this means ms thinks Usa = world which is not the case if you would look at where wp actually reigns !!!!!!

Yeah no-one actually cares that it's not in their own language because they know it will be in their country later. At least release to everyone, that way everyone can have the feature. Is that such a bad thing?

 

[Armin Mhd]

The other languages are goin to be added after 2015 but the service itself in english is going to be introduced on windowsphone 8.1 no matter where you are my friend