Cortana, Windows Phone’s personal assistant is programmed to do a lot of things. MS has learned from Siri and Google Now and integrated the best features from both. Thankfully, they didn’t just stop there.
Cortana is a beast on its own and it has some really cool features that set it apart from other virtual assistants. Here are eight of them.
The flow that the Notebook tab tells Cortana what to pay attention to and the Home tab shows information about the things Cortana is paying attention is a subtle one, but I suppose one UX designers would assume people pick up that Notebook acts like a giant Settings area and Home is the focus area. Cortana is the same, except the voice of Cortana – Jen Taylor – recorded some lines on her own that are directly integrated in Cortana. So when you ask her to sing for you, you don’t get a. Microsoft unveiled a long list of new products at its Build conference on Wednesday, but the company spent the most time on Cortana: a Siri-like digital assistant. First of all, open Settings, go to Cortana and slide on the Hey Cortana switch. As you can see, you can turn on the keyboard shortcut (Win + C) if you like. Now, every time when I say “Hey Cortana” to my headset, the Cortana box popping up and listening Cortana is listening.
Looking for Cortana on Windows 10? Here’s our look at how you can hide or disable Cortana on Windows 10 as well as the top ways to integrate the service in your life. Also, bookmark our Cortana page and come back for more articles.1. Ask Her To Sing!
Of all the great things that Cortana can do, nothing brought me more joy than this. Virtual assistants like Siri and Google Now are really advanced but they still feel robotic.
Cortana is the same, except the voice of Cortana – Jen Taylor – recorded some lines on her own that are directly integrated in Cortana. So when you ask her to sing for you, you don’t get a sentence reconstructed from algorithms. You hear the voice actress actually singing. And that helps give the whole Cortana thing a human identity.
Examples:
- Sing me a song.
- What does the fox say? (you’ve really got to try this one).
2. Entertainment
It started with Siri – asking virtual assistants silly questions in the hope to be amused and the trend is getting stronger with Cortana. Plagiarism checker x 6.0 8 pro free download windows 7. Only, it covers a larger area when it comes to wits and the pre-recorded answers to these questions vary in speech tones just like human speech which makes it even more amusing.
There’s a whole thread over at WPCentral where users have amassed all the things Cortana replies to, but here is a taste of it.
3. Location Based Reminders
Yes, Google Now and Siri offer location based reminders but so can Cortana. Ask her something like “Next time I’m at the Green Mall, remind me to buy new jeans”. And sure enough, the next time you are there, Cortana will remind you.
4. Person Based Reminders
You know what Google Now doesn’t have? Person based reminders. They work in the same way as location based reminders only for your contacts. So say something like “The next time I talk to xyz remind me to talk about abc“.
Now the next time you call that person or they call you or you send them a text message, Cortana will remind you. On the calls screen, below the contact picture will be your reminder, where it is really easy to see. And when you try to message them, Cortana will bring up a dialogue box with the reminder. So there’s really no way to miss it.
5. Open Websites
Cortana can open your favorite websites but it takes a couple of seconds to set up.
Go to Internet Explorer and open the website. Tap the three dotted menu button and select Pin To Start. Now, just tell Cortana “Open Website” and it will.
The only caveat is that the website needs to be pinned to the Start screen.
6. Remotely Turn on Your PC
You know you’ve arrived in the future when you tell your smartphone to turn on your PC. With VoiceWake, and Cortana’s amazing ability to talk with third party apps, you can do just that.
Of course, you’ll need to download the PC app and the Windows Phone app, and set up the nitty gritty details like Mac addresses but once that’s done with, you’ll be able to do the cool turning-slowly-while-removing-sunglasses equivalent of tech moves.
The app isn’t for everyone though. You need to change some settings in BIOS so before going ahead, make sure you know what you’re doing.
7. Notifications For Travel Timing
Cortana is always running in the background and if you allow it to, it will keep tabs on your whereabouts and will learn where you spend most of your time. If you tell her your work address and home address she will, over time, learn the pattern. Like when you reach work and when you leave for home. After a week or two, she will notify you in the morning when you should leave for work after considering the current traffic conditions.
8. Bring You Up To Speed With The News
If you swipe up on the app screen, Cortana will bring up the headlines for all of your interests. Tap any story to open it in Internet Explorer. If you pin Cortana to the Start screen, it will show you the latest news on the live tile as well.
Languages Cortana Understands
![What What](/uploads/1/1/2/2/112234675/526859371.png)
How Do You Use Cortana?
Have you found any cool use cases for Cortana? Something more exciting than sending a message? Let us know in the comments below.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Also See#Cortana #Lists
Did You Know
Cortana is integrated with Microsoft Edge.
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scarce things is human attention. With an increasing number of apps resorting to notifications to announce new features, even a tiny pop-up can be quite distracting. Though most of us usually think of smartphones as the main culprit, let's not forget the humble PC. Yes, this piece of machinery also ends up distracting us more than we believe.Thankfully, Windows 10 Spring Creators Update (build 17083) has included a cool new feature named Focus Assist, which lets you enable a Do Not Disturb (DND) mode, similar to the one on phones.What is Focus Assist
Focus Assist isn't just any other random DND mode for your PC. Instead of barricading the PC from all the tiring and distracting notifications, this feature presents a configurable interface which you can customize as per your requirements.How to Enable & Configure Focus Assist
Step 1: Head over to Settings > System and click on Focus Assist.Alternately, you can hit Windows key+Q for Cortana and type Focus Assist.Useful Commands For Cortana
![Hell Hell](/uploads/1/1/2/2/112234675/146084324.jpg)
Step 2: Once in, you'll notice two different modes — Priority only and Alarm only.As obvious, Alarms only will block all notifications except for alarms, just like the default DND feature of your smartphone.
Step 3: If you're looking for a more configurable option check the Priority only option and click on the Customize your priority list link.Under the Priority list, you will be able to choose (and manage) notifications from three places – Apps, People, and lastly Phone. Choose the apps and options as per your preference and that's it! No more disturbing notifications to bother you during your work.
Configuring App, People, and Phone Work on Focus Assist
The concept of adding an app to Focus Assist is simple. Just choose an app which you deem important enough to be disturbed when you work and that's about it. The People app also works in a similar manner. Just make sure that the contact book is synced with the other apps such as Mail.It's the concept of Phone notifications that is slightly different. This feature will only work if you have Cortana installed on your phone, which in turn should be configured with the same ID as is on your PC. If the said link exists, you can choose to receive notifications from any (or all) of the given options.Phone notifications will only work if you have Cortana installed on your phoneHowever, if you don't have an Android phone i.e. if you're an iOS user, this option will be out of bounds for you.Cool Fact: Focus Assist also lets you see the summary of the notifications that you missed when the feature was active.
Configuring Automatic Rules
The good news is that Focus Assist is not just meant to be activated when you work. You can also enable it when you're playing your favorite game on your PC and that is accomplished with the help of the Automatic rules.All you have to do is set them up as per your liking. As expected, the option names are self explanatory. Say for example, the 'During these times option' will let you have a permanent fixed schedule during which all notifications will be blocked.One of the best things about setting the automatic rules while playing games is that the system will automatically detect when you're playing a full-screen PC game, and will block notifications from popping up on the display (aren't pop-ups during games the worst?).However, I found the 'When I'm duplicating my display' option to be the best one. This mode is important when you have to share your screen (via a projector or a secondary monitor) during presentations.
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Read MoreBonus Point: How to use the new Timeline Feature
The Windows 10 Spring Creators Update build 17083 comes with another new feature called Timeline Feature. As suggestive of its name, it gives you a visual representation of what you've been working on. The good thing about the Timeline feature is that you can go back at least a week and see your activities.To see the Timeline feature, click on the TaskView icon next to Cortana, and everything will be revealed to you at once.Timeline is enabled by default. However, if you wish that these activities should only be confined to your system, you can turn it off. Navigate to Settings > Privacy > Activity History and uncheck the two options that you see on the right pane.Tune Out all the Distractions
Notification distraction is actually a huge problem, especially for people like me who are easily diverted from the job at hand by the tiniest of alert pop-up.Are you able to give your full attention when you work on a particular thing? If not, this new Windows 10 feature might just be your new BFF.The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read Next5 Best Alternatives to Windows 10 Photos AppAlso See#Read more Windows 10 topics #notifications
Did You Know
Windows 10 is the last Windows since Microsoft is changing the approach of building and delivering OS. How to play wii games from usb.