Category: cortana

Microsoft announces Anniversary Update for Windows 10

Louie Diangson

Microsoft has announced at the Build Developer Conference the Anniversary Update for Windows 10 which will bring improvements and new features to the said operating system.

The Anniversary Update tackles five key improvements – Biometric Authentication with Windows Hello, Windows Ink, arrival to Xbox One with Store, Holo Lens, and updates to Cortana.

For Biometric Authentication, Microsoft’s promises a safer and more secure OS with the help of Windows Hello. It will integrate with the Edge browser so users can login using biometrics if the website supports it.

Windows Ink aims to improve productivity using devices with touch displays and stylus, enabling professionals, aside from graphic artists, to take advantage of the feature. It will utilize waht Microsoft calls the Ink Workspace which is a pen-friendly layout of the Desktop.

It will also update Stick Notes to recognize key texts for quick transitions to other productivity apps like Calendar, can be used on MS Office applications, Bing Maps, even Adobe Illustrator CC.

For the Xbox platform, the new update allows users to turn a retail Xbox One and turn it into dev kit with a simple registration and a click of a button. This allows developers to deploy their Desktop apps, with the help of Visual Studio, to the Xbox. The update will also bring unified a Microsoft Store and Cortana to the Xbox One.

Microsoft has also announced that it is now shipping their Microsoft HoloLens dev kits to developers. Devs and Microsoft customers may soon start creating apps for the said wearable Windows 10 device which will be soon enjoyed by consumers. One example is interactive learning through holographic experiences, shortening the time for students to learn a certain topic. NASA engineers and scientists are also using it to develop space technology and to train its astronauts.

Microsoft has big plans for Cortana as well. The company aims to offer the best voice conversation experience with the digital personal assistant. Cortana will also be smarter, recognizing your tasks and make suggestions such as calendaring, creating appointments and recommending apps appropriate for the task.

For example, if Cortana learns that you have received a receipt in your e-mail it will suggest that you log it to the Microsoft Expense app. There will also be an app store dedicated to Cortana as well as integration to communication apps like Skype.

The Windows Anniversary Update is coming this summer for free to all Windows 10 users.
 

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Lenovo introduces Cortana and REACHit

Louie Diangson Leave a comment

Lenovo Tech World, Beijing, China — Lenovo has announced that they have collaborated with Microsoft to integrate REACHit – Lenovo’s cross platform file manager, and Cortana – Microsoft’s personal assistant for Windows, to boost productivity on Lenovo PCs and tablets running Windows 10.

Cortana and REACHit key features:
* Allows users to search for photos, videos, documents and music across devices, including Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, PCs and tablets
* Gives users the ability to add location to searches, cross-referencing the file event with the location data to produce the most relevant results
* Cortana and REACHit works on Lenovo PCs and tablets running Windows 10.
* Since Lenovo and Microsoft collaborated on this project, this results in a seamless, enhanced Cortana search experience
* A single place to search for your content, whatever it is and wherever it may be:
~ Support for cloud storage providers like OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box
~ Support for email services like Gmail, Exchange, and IMAP
~ Support for calendar services like Exchange, Outlook.com, and Google Calendar
~ Support for search across multiple Windows 10 devices
* The most natural search – express your search as you would normally speak it, based on what you can remember
* Contextual awareness enables you to search in ways you never thought possible

The post Lenovo introduces Cortana and REACHit appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Lenovo introduces Cortana and REACHit

Louie Diangson Leave a comment

Lenovo Tech World, Beijing, China — Lenovo has announced that they have collaborated with Microsoft to integrate REACHit – Lenovo’s cross platform file manager, and Cortana – Microsoft’s personal assistant for Windows, to boost productivity on Lenovo PCs and tablets running Windows 10.

Cortana and REACHit key features:
* Allows users to search for photos, videos, documents and music across devices, including Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, PCs and tablets
* Gives users the ability to add location to searches, cross-referencing the file event with the location data to produce the most relevant results
* Cortana and REACHit works on Lenovo PCs and tablets running Windows 10.
* Since Lenovo and Microsoft collaborated on this project, this results in a seamless, enhanced Cortana search experience
* A single place to search for your content, whatever it is and wherever it may be:
~ Support for cloud storage providers like OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box
~ Support for email services like Gmail, Exchange, and IMAP
~ Support for calendar services like Exchange, Outlook.com, and Google Calendar
~ Support for search across multiple Windows 10 devices
* The most natural search – express your search as you would normally speak it, based on what you can remember
* Contextual awareness enables you to search in ways you never thought possible

The post Lenovo introduces Cortana and REACHit appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Windows 9 to be unveiled on September 30?

Daniel Morial Leave a comment

Report from The Verge tells that the next version of Microsoft’s operating system, Windows 9, is ready for preview by the end of September. What can we expect from this new release? Read on to find out.

Windows-8-1

On September 30, Microsoft might take off the curtains for Windows 9 or codename Threshold. The upcoming version of Microsoft’s OS will feature some cosmetic changes to the current Windows 8.1. We’re talking about the new mini Start Menu, thus integrating the Start Screen into the desktop. The Charms bar feature will be removed as well and expect a few minor UI changes throughout the system.

Cortana, Microsoft’s personal assistant and Siri-counterpart, has a possibility to be integrated too. Mind you, we should all treat this with a grain of salt since we haven’t heard anything official or even a tease from Microsoft. There are rumors too that Windows RT and Windows Phone is merging. We’ll just have to wait until next month to see how the future of Windows is going to be.

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Microsoft to debut Cortana on Windows Phone 8.1 update

Ronnie Bulaong Leave a comment

In addition to a number of new features that the software giant is planning to include on the Windows Phone 8.1 update, Microsoft is gearing to launch their very own personal assistant called Cortana and the folks over at The Verge got an early preview of Siri’s upcoming rival in action.

Earlier reports suggest that Cortana will replace “Bing Search” as the go-to-tool for getting information in a jiffy. However, sources familiar to the project stated the voice-activated digital assistant will still be backed by Microsoft’s own search engine, as well as other apps like Foursquare, to provide users with contextual results based on what they’ve searched.

Microsoft Cortana

And speaking of giving contextual information, The Verge reports that Cortana can store a user’s usage pattern, personal information and contacts to its database called “Notebook” (similar to Google Now) and use that to create notifications, reminders and provide a more relevant search result. Mind you this is an opt-in service, meaning you can turn this feature off at any given should you find it intrusive.

Other notable features of Cortana include “Change My Name” which allows users to setup a name which they preferred to be called whenever they’re interacting with Cortana.

Cortana screenshot

It’s still uncertain whether or not Microsoft will keep the current name of their digital assistant when it’s all said and done. Nevertheless, we think that the addition of Cortana to the Windows Phone 8.1 feature set is a huge step forward for the next iteration of Microsoft’s mobile platform which is expected to be rolled out sometime next month.

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