Cortana, Windows 10 and Us Mortals

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CruciasNZ

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#177075 21-Jul-2015 07:42

We have a lot of smart and connected people here, so I'm hoping if one of you knows roughly when Cortana is supposed to land in New Zealand? I just read an article today stating Australia is getting her within a few months of Windows 10 launch, hence the surfacing of this query.

I use Windows PCs, Tablets and Phones and find it really annoying that it won't function without setting them to other Regions and Languages

TL;DR - Anyone know when Cortana launches here?

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#1348149 21-Jul-2015 07:52

I would hope sooner but I really can't see it before this time 2016

CruciasNZ

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#1348156 21-Jul-2015 08:13

MikeB4: I would hope sooner but I really can't see it before this time 2016

Part of me is hoping they roll out to Aus and NZ at the same time, since a lot of companies treat them as the same market. However I suspect you're right, even if we have one of the highest per capita uptakes of Windows Phone our actual market share of global sales is still low.

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Jaxson

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#1348196 21-Jul-2015 09:26

On the plus side, Siri on iphones now has a NZ accent mode, and Google search seems even better with no settings needed for it to work.
I can understand the need/want on a tablet, but on a desktop PC I don't envisage using voice commands for much personally.

That said, I was hoping this could assist with helping those with movement/mobility issues, where using the mouse/touchscreen was getting hard, so I'd certainly welcome it's arrival all the same.

CruciasNZ

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#1348202 21-Jul-2015 09:32

Jaxson: On the plus side, Siri on iphones now has a NZ accent mode, and Google search seems even better with no settings needed for it to work.
I can understand the need/want on a tablet, but on a desktop PC I don't envisage using voice commands for much personally.

That said, I was hoping this could assist with helping those with movement/mobility issues, where using the mouse/touchscreen was getting hard, so I'd certainly welcome it's arrival all the same.

Those are both voice assistants not available on the platforms this thread is about. As far as I am aware, both have been available in New Zealand for some time and have had no perceivable effect on encouraging the swifter launch of Cortana within New Zealand. That said, it will be interesting to see of Siri can pronounce road names properly with that new accent - the current pronunciations are hilarious.

I desire the voice commands for controlling my phone when driving or playing video games, right now I have to pull over when driving or wait until whatever we're fighting is dead and there's a bit of a lull before the next lot (MMOs). I have a Kinnect for Xbox One but don't even bother with it because none of the functionality that makes it worthwhile is available here. Just so much wasted potential with their (Microsoft') current approach to Voice interaction.

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nathan

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#1348227 21-Jul-2015 10:21

NZ is not rolling out at the same time as AU

Cortana relies on Bing. bing in NZ is in beta, but it is being worked on, I just can't disclose when sorry

MikeB4

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#1348238 21-Jul-2015 10:26

Jaxson: On the plus side, Siri on iphones now has a NZ accent mode, and Google search seems even better with no settings needed for it to work.
I can understand the need/want on a tablet, but on a desktop PC I don't envisage using voice commands for much personally.

That said, I was hoping this could assist with helping those with movement/mobility issues, where using the mouse/touchscreen was getting hard, so I'd certainly welcome it's arrival all the same.

I don't know if it is my hearing but Siri's Kiwi accent on my iPhone does not sound Kiwi to me.

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#1348239 21-Jul-2015 10:26

nathan: NZ is not rolling out at the same time as AU

Cortana relies on Bing. bing in NZ is in beta, but it is being worked on, I just can't disclose when sorry

That would be great as I use Bing as my default search engine and resort to Google as a last resort

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CruciasNZ

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#1348240 21-Jul-2015 10:28

nathan: NZ is not rolling out at the same time as AU

Cortana relies on Bing. bing in NZ is in beta, but it is being worked on, I just can't disclose when sorry

Cheers for the clarification - now where's my pitchfork so I can arrange motivation for you all to hurry up and get it done :P

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wasabi2k

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#1348254 21-Jul-2015 10:42

MikeB4:
nathan: NZ is not rolling out at the same time as AU

Cortana relies on Bing. bing in NZ is in beta, but it is being worked on, I just can't disclose when sorry

That would be great as I use Bing as my default search engine and resort to Google as a last resort

You are the 0.00005%...

I'm just not sure I care about Cortana. I feel a dick "talking" to my computer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu88J5JL8Hw

MikeB4

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#1348261 21-Jul-2015 11:06

wasabi2k:
MikeB4:
nathan: NZ is not rolling out at the same time as AU

Cortana relies on Bing. bing in NZ is in beta, but it is being worked on, I just can't disclose when sorry

That would be great as I use Bing as my default search engine and resort to Google as a last resort

You are the 0.00005%...

I'm just not sure I care about Cortana. I feel a dick "talking" to my computer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu88J5JL8Hw

Being 0.00005% means 0.000000005% to me. Bing is sitting around 20% US

Talking to ones PC is no different to talking to ones phone or old school portable recorders.

CruciasNZ

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#1348263 21-Jul-2015 11:09

MikeB4: NZ is not rolling out at the same time as AU

Cortana relies on Bing. bing in NZ is in beta, but it is being worked on, I just can't disclose when sorry

I used to use Bing because I liked the daily pictures, but didn't find the results that useful. Just a thought, does using the Bing.co.nz (redirects to bing.com/?cc=nz) prioritise search results within New Zealand? Really miss the google.co.nz "search within NZ" feature. I know I can add NZ on the end and it usually works, but it's not as convenient nor reliable as the old system.

Just showing my age for a moment I guess, GET OFF MY LAWN

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CruciasNZ

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#1348266 21-Jul-2015 11:13

wasabi2k:

You are the 0.00005%...

I'm just not sure I care about Cortana. I feel a dick "talking" to my computer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu88J5JL8Hw

I feel obligated to make the "but at least she'll talk to you" comment.

Note: had to split my posts as the multi-quote made my reply go absolutely banannas

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Michaelfjs

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#1348271 21-Jul-2015 11:32

wasabi2k:
MikeB4:
nathan: NZ is not rolling out at the same time as AU

Cortana relies on Bing. bing in NZ is in beta, but it is being worked on, I just can't disclose when sorry

That would be great as I use Bing as my default search engine and resort to Google as a last resort

You are the 0.00005%...

I'm just not sure I care about Cortana. I feel a dick "talking" to my computer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu88J5JL8Hw

I use Bing too. I find it just as good as Google.

The only thing I use of Google is street view.

I agree, I feel like a dick as well talking to my computer, I only do it as long and there is absolutely no one around that can hear me. (like in the car while driving, where it's actually pretty useful).

Blurtie

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#1348293 21-Jul-2015 11:45

Apart from the novelty factor, do people actually use their personal assistant on their phones daily? Just curious. I've tried google now (work phone), and have to say I found it seriously creepy how much it knew about me. But apart from showing friends and fam, haven't really used it much.

I too am heavily in the Windows eco-system and think it would be great to see Cortana up and running here. But as above, not sure if it'll be of much use to me personally?

I use Bing on my phone and surface tablet and have not found any problems with it.

wasabi2k

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#1348296 21-Jul-2015 11:48

Michaelfjs:
wasabi2k:
MikeB4:
nathan: NZ is not rolling out at the same time as AU

Cortana relies on Bing. bing in NZ is in beta, but it is being worked on, I just can't disclose when sorry

That would be great as I use Bing as my default search engine and resort to Google as a last resort

You are the 0.00005%...

I'm just not sure I care about Cortana. I feel a dick "talking" to my computer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu88J5JL8Hw

I agree, I feel like a dick as well talking to my computer, I only do it as long and there is absolutely no one around that can hear me. (like in the car while driving, where it's actually pretty useful).

This, 100 times this.

I can't even commentate gameplay videos/streams if someone else around can hear me.

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