Cortana, Windows 10 and Us Mortals

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#1355478 30-Jul-2015 19:35

I'm disappointed Cortana won't be working for awhile. I'm generally very keen for windows 10, and whilst I think things like siri are dull, it looked like cortana was miles ahead - and also the only text/voice assistant on a desktop platform/

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#1355530 30-Jul-2015 20:22

I tested Cortana on my Surface 3 and it's great. Looking forward to the full released version for NZ

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Blurtie

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#1357833 3-Aug-2015 14:48

qyiet:

I have a lumia 1520 and use Cortana mostly to set reminders, and to deal with SMSs while driving (over Bluetooth).

Frequent commands
"Cortana remind me to <do XYZ> when I get to <work/home/jane doe's place>"
"Cortana remind me to check on dinner in 10 min"
"Cortana remind me to got to the warrant of fitness place tomorrow at lunchtime"

You have a new message from ABC do you want to read it or ignore it?
"Read it"
<message> Do you wish to reply or are you done?
"I'm done"
I also have an xbox one that I use voice commands with. Mostly "Xbox go to Netflix"
"Xbox Pause" <gets beer> "Xbox Play"

I also just got my hands on an amazon echo (which I must say has the lowest miss rate of any voice recognition software I've used yet) I'm still it the new toy phase with it. The best miss so far was "Play Radio New Zealand National" became "Play reggae barbeque" which is apparently a subgenre.

Yes, I too have an xbox and a lumia (920). Personally, I find the voice commands a bit hit and miss. It is handy when it does work on the xbox tho... Simple things like changing channels, apps or turning it off etc is very cool.

Texting in the car via BT is a bit annoying, I find myself having to repeat the command a number of times before it picks it up. Don't get me started on replying to a text. Some of the text recognition it picks up! But in saying that, it's good just to know who/what was texted to figure out if it's urgent. If not, I just flag it and reply when I'm out of the car.

I am interested in using the reminder functions tho. Need to get my brain to get into the habit of using it first!

qyiet

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#1357839 3-Aug-2015 14:53

Blurtie:
..It is handy when it does work on the xbox tho... Simple things like changing channels, apps or turning it off etc is very cool.

Yeah, I've found the commands that work well with my accent, and tend to stick with them. I've also just got hold of an amazon echo, and have rigged that into control the lights in my house. It's got a better hit rate for random words/phrases for me than Cortana does at the moment. Although "Play Radio New Zealand National" turns into "Play Reggae Barbeque" too often for reasons I can't fathom.

Timers/Alarms work well with the amazon echo, but getting the time zone right is a PITA. It sets time via postal code, and I eventually found the post code for the US Base on Wake Island overlaps with NZ.

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CruciasNZ

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#1357842 3-Aug-2015 14:55

Dreal: I'm disappointed Cortana won't be working for awhile. I'm generally very keen for windows 10, and whilst I think things like siri are dull, it looked like cortana was miles ahead - and also the only text/voice assistant on a desktop platform/

Yes, it should be an opt-in system rather than a geoblock, especially considering both their main competitors (Siri and Google) are available here. I have been considering swapping my PC to US region because I have no purchased software from the store, so nothing to lose.

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nathan

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#1357879 3-Aug-2015 15:28

CruciasNZ:
Dreal: I'm disappointed Cortana won't be working for awhile. I'm generally very keen for windows 10, and whilst I think things like siri are dull, it looked like cortana was miles ahead - and also the only text/voice assistant on a desktop platform/

Yes, it should be an opt-in system rather than a geoblock, especially considering both their main competitors (Siri and Google) are available here. I have been considering swapping my PC to US region because I have no purchased software from the store, so nothing to lose.

it is because Bing is not launched here. Its not just the lack of your accent.

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#1357886 3-Aug-2015 15:33

CruciasNZ:
Dreal: I'm disappointed Cortana won't be working for awhile. I'm generally very keen for windows 10, and whilst I think things like siri are dull, it looked like cortana was miles ahead - and also the only text/voice assistant on a desktop platform/

Yes, it should be an opt-in system rather than a geoblock, especially considering both their main competitors (Siri and Google) are available here. I have been considering swapping my PC to US region because I have no purchased software from the store, so nothing to lose.

As Nathan said, it's the lack of local Bing support. You can safely switch regions to enable Cortana (Language and Region in Windows, no need to mess with your account) and She'll understand you fine, but she's not too useful without Bing.

Dreal

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#1357889 3-Aug-2015 15:35

nathan:
CruciasNZ:
Dreal: I'm disappointed Cortana won't be working for awhile. I'm generally very keen for windows 10, and whilst I think things like siri are dull, it looked like cortana was miles ahead - and also the only text/voice assistant on a desktop platform/

Yes, it should be an opt-in system rather than a geoblock, especially considering both their main competitors (Siri and Google) are available here. I have been considering swapping my PC to US region because I have no purchased software from the store, so nothing to lose.

it is because Bing is not launched here. Its not just the lack of your accent.

And yet, I can Bing things. And there are things Cortana can do that have nothing to do with search engines.

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networkn

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#1357890 3-Aug-2015 15:36

I still can't get over the fact that MS named their search engine after the annoying noise your computer makes when you make a mistake!

nathan

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#1357902 3-Aug-2015 15:44

Bing is memorable, short, easy to spell, and functions well as a URL around the world

Bing
is
not
google

networkn

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#1357908 3-Aug-2015 15:47

nathan: Bing is memorable, short, easy to spell, and functions well as a URL around the world

Bing
is
not
google

Usually Acronyms do not contain the word that is being spelt :)

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#1357919 3-Aug-2015 16:00

nathan:
Bing
is
not
google

Oh wow, turns that if you take the first letter of every line you wrote there it actually spells BING. That's awesome.

Blurtie

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#1357922 3-Aug-2015 16:02

networkn:
nathan: Bing is memorable, short, easy to spell, and functions well as a URL around the world

Bing
is
not
google

Usually Acronyms do not contain the word that is being spelt :)

Bugger
It's
Not
Google???

Dreal

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#1357928 3-Aug-2015 16:08

nathan: Bing is memorable, short, easy to spell, and functions well as a URL around the world

Bing
is
not
google

I imagine bing will get quite a boost eventually from windows 10. Which I am happy about, the world is better with competition in business.

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qyiet

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#1357929 3-Aug-2015 16:09

networkn:

Usually Acronyms do not contain the word that is being spelt :)

I take it you are unfamiliar with the GNU (Gnu is Not Unix) and associated projects then, like GIMP :) they tend to do that a lot as a running joke.

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