
Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 8.1 with personal assistant Cortana - msoliman
http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2014/04/02/microsoft-unveils-windows-phone-8-1-personal-assistant-cortana-action-center-customizable-lockscreens/?utm_medium=Spreadus&awesm=tnw.to_c4eMC&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=social%20media
======
JonFish85
What baffles me is why the hell Microsoft didn't follow Apple's route of
controlling their own distribution? Now Windows Mobile users have to figure
out when their network is going to distribute the update[1]? That is hideous
from a user standpoint.

Microsoft has the money to convince the carriers, and probably a lot of weight
as well. Why wouldn't they avoid that nightmare?

Granted I don't have a windows phone so it doesn't affect me, but my brief
foray into the Android world frustrated the hell out of me in this regard.
With Android it was an extra step: Android released, phone manufacturer needed
to build their own version of it, then my carrier needed to decide when I
could access it.

When Apple announces an update, I can download it whenever I want it.

[1] [http://arstechnica.com/information-
technology/2014/04/micros...](http://arstechnica.com/information-
technology/2014/04/microsoft-announces-windows-phone-8-1-with-cortana-coming-
in-april/)

~~~
ycaspirant
Can someone please explain the role that carriers play in the United States?
In most countries, the carrier simply provides you with a SIM card that allows
you to make use of their network, but they have nothing to do with your
hardware / OS. How come carriers control OS updates in the United States?

To me, this sounds as absurd as an ISP having control of your computer -
imagine if you had to wait till your ISP allowed you to update your OS. Yet
that seems to be your situation with respect to mobile.

~~~
xerophtye
Actually in this case, you even get your PC from your ISP. So i think it works
out like this:

first the OS people update it. Then the manufacturers launch a device with
said OS. Then your ISP gets to sell said devices to you. (or maybe you can
update on your existing device but the ISP still has to approve it)

In simpler words:

In US, people do not directly buy their phones from the manufacturers. They
buy the PHONE from the carrier, who also includes a SIM with said phone. And
the cost of the phone is distributed over several months and is combined with
your monthly cellular service charges.

Pro: you get to have expensive phones for far less.

Con: The carrier apparently gets a lot of say. In fact you can't even switch
carriers easily. They make you sign a contact.

Interesting fact: Originally when the smart phones came out in the pre-iPhone
era, the carrier's tried to control app stores by having exclusive, carrier
specific app-stores. It was apple who convinced one carrier (can't remember
which one) to let Apple control the app store and thus this revolution.

------
untog
Kudos to MS for making their personal assistant extendable by third party
apps. Neither Apple nor Google have managed to do that yet.

~~~
sz4kerto
It's basically a pluggable Google Now with APIs. I think it's great.

~~~
amaks
Google Now is already pluggable through the in-app searches. Custom cards are
not available though, hopefully they are coming soon.

~~~
toomuchtodo
I'm hoping this is announced at Google IO.

------
facorreia
Named after the fictional Halo character:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortana](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortana)

~~~
JTon
I think it's a fascinating move on Microsoft's part to integrate a video game
character into a users day-to-day reality. I can imagine some nostalgia fueled
sales happening as a result. But moreover, I can't help but be reminded of the
movie Her. Where the lines between our physical reality and our digital
reality start to blur

~~~
baddox
The reference to Her is especially relevant, since in the Halo series Cortana
was clearly designed for sex appeal, and romantic tension between Master Chief
(the player character) and Cortana was strongly implied.

~~~
veidr
Yeah that seems kinda edgy, epecially for Microsoft, long one of the blandest
companies in tech.

Not being familiar with the Halo games, I did an image search for "Cortana"
\-- and while not exactly NSFW, I did immediately close the window, haha:

[https://www.google.com/search?q=cortana&client=safari&rls=en...](https://www.google.com/search?q=cortana&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=26k8U7bSPMm0kgXkjIC4Cw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1392&bih=1087)

------
yati
I am not a WP user, but this makes me want to give it a shot. Microsoft
Research has some of the best researchers and some really impressive projects.
I'd really love to see more of that research being put to use like Google
does. I guess it is starting to happen now.

------
codeulike
I'd like to be able to talk to my Windows 8.1 PC the same way I can talk to my
Android/iOS/Windows Phone. Would be very handy I think.

~~~
higherpurpose
You can use Google Now in Chrome now.

~~~
k-mcgrady
I don't think you can talk to it though, you can just click an alert button
and see your cards.

Separately there is the hot word plugin (I think that's what it's called) that
lets you say 'ok Google' when on the US Google homepage.

------
dangrossman
Days like this make me sad that I can't have the best of Windows Phone, iOS
and Android at the same time. A "Cortana for Android" would be great. Some day
perhaps phones will be standardized enough that, like the web, we can develop
once and run anywhere without major sacrifices.

~~~
thrownaway2424
Can I have the launcher from Palm WebOS too?

------
lifeisstillgood
I am slowly becoming convinced that the next killer app is the personal
assistant app. My life is sharded between contact books and voip apps and IM
and email that hardly if ever talk to each other or make my life easier.

Its a huge market, but space for a lot of niches.

~~~
sytelus
What we need is to _simplify_ our lives, not to make so complicated to the
extent that we feel lost without personal assistant on our wrists, pockets and
in front of our eyes. This whole trend is in reverse direction. We are
slapping more complexity on top of more complexity. This is only going to make
people's live more complex, requiring even more smarter personal assistants.
It's a vicious cycle.

~~~
lifeisstillgood
Let me compare how simple my life is compared to the life of my ancestors:

I have a toothache - I simply go to the dentist.

I need food - I simply go to a shop

I need water - i simply turn on a tap.

The "complexity" of my modern, urban life is the _cost_ of having my life
already very very simple.

Yes the noise of my daily life feels more complex, but there is a great deal
of signal if I chose my perspective correctly.

------
samelliot
For me the biggest feature is being able to type questions in private, like
Fantastical. I use Siri when I'm alone at home or in the car but I regularly
find myself checking before using it. It's awkward saying "remind me to pick
up extra maxi-pads for the wife on the way home" to siri when I'm at work
within earshot of my co-workers. Even less private things than that can be
weird.

------
jareds
Is there any information available about the accessibility support in 8.1 yet?
I saw that Narrator will be included but no information on weather that will
provide full access like iOS and Android offer. If it does I will be picking
up a 520 to play with.

------
bambam12897
"Microsoft realizes mobile moves faster than the traditional desktop world it
is used to, and asking the industry to wait for Windows 9 and Windows Phone 9
is simply not an option."

Other than being a bigger number, what radically different changes is the
author expecting for Windows Phone 9? It seems like all the fundamentals are
there. The changes to the OS at this point are rather incremental

~~~
cnaut
I'm guessing threshold which would be huge if the rumors are true. It would
combine a lot of the OS cores for desktop, phone, and xbox to allow developers
to write once and run across Microsoft devices.
[http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/windows-9-features-
ne...](http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/windows-9-features-news-
changes/#!CwOdu)

------
m_mueller
\- How well can it handle natural language, compared to Siri?

\- Can it handle an interaction such as:

\-- "Michael, you've got a new message from Paul"

\-- "Read it for me"

\-- 'Ok, Paul wrote: "Where should we meet today?"'

\-- "Answer with "in the Starbucks, at noon as we discussed".

\-- 'Ok, here is what I understood: "In the Starbucks, at noon as we
discussed". Shall I send it?

\-- "yes"

\-- "Ok, your reply has been sent.

~~~
juarez
Windows Phone devices already worked like that before Cortana. But in a more
pre-scripted fashion. Something like \-- "You've got a new message from Paul,
read it or ignore?" \-- Read it. And so on (including the dictation and
sending of the reply)

~~~
m_mueller
That's not how I think of 'worked like that'. I have no interest in learning
pre-scripted voice commands. Once you have everything scripted, implementing
an interaction as I posted is almost as trivial as a CLI. That's why I put
'natural language' as the first criteria, which renders the second task a lot
more challenging.

------
al2o3cr
Just what I need, a personal assistant named after a Rampant AI. What's next,
"New Samsung Galaxy XYZZY Now With GLaDOS Personal Assistant! (neurotoxin
emitters sold separately)"? :)

~~~
guardian5x
That would be pretty cool in my opinion, always wanted to have GlaDos as my
personal assistent.

~~~
pantalaimon
But it'd make you do tests all days

------
amits89
As people came to know how to use Windows powered PC without Start Button,
Microsoft came back with tradition in Windows 8.1. It's great to see how
Microsoft is going through transition phase and they don't want to miss a
single thing that would lead them into trouble. As Microsoft is giving free
Windows Phone OS to some of Indian smartphone manufacturer & Free Windows to
any of the manufacturer who are making device with less than 9 inch screen.
This strategy shows how much Microsoft is committed towards Smartphone &
Tablet.

------
jayeshsalvi
The story writer has entirely lost the connection with Halo.

------
quackerhacker
Tribute to Halo!

------
jhprks
This is amazing!!! I'm thrilled that Microsoft has started getting serious in
more intelligent technology! I foresee in a not too distant future where
Microsoft will bring groundbreaking artificial intelligence technologies to
the people around the world! It's like I'm watching the movie "Her"!

------
markbnj
Getting Harry Potter for the unveiling was quite a coup.

------
ansimionescu
[http://i.imgur.com/Vm0ECLy.png](http://i.imgur.com/Vm0ECLy.png)

wat

~~~
FlacidPhil
Do you not see the big 'A' at the start? 'At its Build 2014 conference' makes
sense.

~~~
millstone
Nevertheless it's hard not to notice that the first word appears to be "tits".
Is there a typesetting term for that, like keming?

~~~
mjgoeke
"kerning"... but (meta) if you read it in an improperly kerned font it
probably looking like "keming"

~~~
ryanburk
epic.

------
hhsnopek
Microsoft has decided to gather all Halo fans with Cortana! Pretty neat

------
jbuzbee
Uh, does that cartoon rendition of "Cortana" remind anyone else of the Corpse
Bride?

[http://whatculture.com/film/tim-burton-ranking-his-movies-
fr...](http://whatculture.com/film/tim-burton-ranking-his-movies-from-worst-
to-best.php/8)

Creepy...

------
mastersk3
Windows Phone 8.1 is the most massive update ever on any platforms to date

------
Aoyagi
So much for the "big" update. I've had a WP8 device for over 10 months and
I've actively used it for most of that period. There are _many_ things I
consider a downside of varying importance (some of which are a result of the
extremely closed design) and the only thing they fix is a VPN client and
that's to unknown extent. WP8 is a toy more than anything.

------
amaks
I'm glad Microsoft is finally catching up with the major smartphone OSs.
Virtual assistant is indispensable feature (I'm using Google Now with my stock
Android), it's very helpful and combined with great integration between gmail,
calendar, driving history, purchases, etc. etc. it's realistically my
dashboard to go a check stuff. Is Cortana doing the same? Because I think Siri
is more like a useless to y to brag about, but not really helpful at anything.

------
cessor
This might me really nerdy but the name reminds me of the Farscape Episode
"DNA Mad Scientist" (1x9 or so). A lab rat with increased intelligence
enslaves the original scientific staff, and keeps the original chief scientist
as an assistant, called... wait for it... "Cornata".

~~~
zodiac
My first thought was that it was based on the AI character in the Halo series.

[http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Cortana](http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Cortana)

~~~
marshray
In Halo 3, wasn't it revealed that Cortana was built from DNA from chief
scientist whats-her-name?

