I’ve been testing out Cortana, the talking digital assistant that’s an integral part of Windows 10, while I work on an in-depth guide to the new operating system. I gotta say, I’m just a little nuts about her. I’ll call her a she because she speaks in a female voice and she is named after a female AI in the video game Halo. Why? Well there are a lot of reasons. But here are three of them:
She opens programs.
Once I have her set up, all I have to do is say “Hey Cortana, open Word.” or “Hey Cortana, open Facebook and she’ll open up those apps for me just like that.
She makes appointments and reminders.
Just tell her to add something to your calendar or set a reminder and she’ll walk you through naming the event and setting the time and place. There’s no typing required. Just tell her what you want.
She’ll set the reminder.
She writes and sends e-mails.
Need to send an e-mail while you’re in the middle of something else? Just say, “Hey Cortana, I want to send an e-mail.” She’ll ask about the recipient and the subject. Then all you need to do is tell what to write in the e-mail. Confirm that you are happy with the content and then tell her to send it. It’s that easy.
This is just a preview of the things Cortana can do. I really think you’re going to be amazed when you get to check this feature out in Windows 10. I’ll get back to working on my guide and discovering all the awesome things Cortana can do.
~ Cynthia
I think you would be getting tired of saying “hey” all the time. And I thought too many people where inserting “like” into all their sentences. Now everyone will be starting their “like” statements with “hey”. 😉
I don’t use Cortana and never will. Have you read the TOS? First, you have to sign in with a Microsoft account, which I will also never do. On my machine I have an admin level account and a user account. I never sign into Microsoft at all because by doing so you essentially give them permission to track every single key stroke you make, every search, everything. I will not yield my privacy in the way they demand to use something I don’t need. The search box still works you know, in Win 10 – which I do like a lot. So do search engines, so does Windows Explorer. I’ve an iPhone and use Siri ONLY for directions or to find the closest something, I just don’t like being spied on all the time the way Microsoft does if you sign in with their account – just to be able to tell Cortana what you want instead of finding it yourself. But that’s just me.
Wow, Gene, “I just don’t like being spied on all the time the way Microsoft does…” you must be really paranoid about Google or any other search engine. I don’t like being “spied” on either but there are some trade-offs with free information and programs on line. I’ve learned to live with a little less privacy knowing the “spying” isn’t nearly as intrusive as my government is capable of.
Gene, I’m with you on that one. And you know …you are not being paranoid if they really are trying to kill you.