Microsoft Cortana: Explained

Microsoft Cortana is an intelligent "Vitrual Personal Assistant" developed by Microsoft for Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft Band and Windows 10.

while it has been out on Windows Phone 8.1 for a while now, as it is not yet fully available in India, many people are unaware of it. "Is it like Siri?", I've been asked by many. The answer is no. Cortana is more like a seamless integration of "Google Now" and "Siri", but better. It is not annoying like Google Now with its untimely "cards" which are more of a nuisance than any help and is rather more proactive than Siri. The idea behind Cortana is to provide the user with concerned information when asked for and be of assistance.

History: Development of Cortana started way back in 2009 by the Bing R&D team led by Satya Nadella. In order to work like an actual personal assistant, Microsoft interviewed real personal assistants to understand the pattern of their work and invented the "Notebook" feature, which I'll get to in a bit. Originally Cortana was only meant to be a codename but a petition on Windows Phone's UserVoice site that proved to be popular made the codename official.

Features: Cortana's features include being able to set reminders, recognize natural voice without the user having to input a predefined series of commands, and answer questions using information from Bing (like current weather and traffic conditions, sports scores, and biographies). Windows 8.1's universal Bing SmartSearch features are incorporated into Cortana, which replaces the previous Bing Search app which is activated when a user presses the "Search" button on their device. Cortana also includes a music recognition service. Cortana can also roll dice and flip a coin by asking the commands "roll a dice" (one die), "roll the dice" (two dice), and "flip a coin", Concert Watch is a feature that helps Cortana determine which bands or musicians you are interested in by monitoring your Bing searches. Cortana also integrates with the Microsoft Band for Windows Phone devices if connected via bluetooth. On the Microsoft Band Cortana can make reminders and bring phone notifications.

Cortana's setup screen

Start off by entering your name so that Cortana addresses you in her response

Since the Lumia Denim series, a software update to the Lumia devices, launched in October 2014, active listening was added to Cortana, enabling it to be triggered with the phrase: “Hey Cortana,” even across the room and without the need to touch the phone. After the trigger phrase is spoken, Cortana can be controlled normally for tasks like setting a reminder, asking a question, or launching an app. 

A major feature of Cortana is the "Notebook" that I mentioned earlier. The notebook, as the name suggests, is the place where the users can store their information such as their locality for timely weather and social event updates, their interests in news and events to provide relevant news articles and stuff like movie trailers, movie schedules, sports updates, etc. The most important thing about this feature is the amount of control the user has over his or her information given to Cortana. Users can add new information or delete old or private information anytime they want from the notebook if they seem it is undesirable for Cortana to know a bit of their information.

There are some other miscellaneous features in Cortana such as being able to predict sports results, but they may differ region-wise so I won't go in detail of that.

Another useful feature available in Cortana is its music recognition service but its availability may differ region-wise

Now, there are two parts of Cortana: The one that's available for Windows Phone 8.1, which is only available on Windows Phone devices, and one that is available in Windows 10 i.e. on the Phone as well as sitting on the desktop in the PC version of the OS.

While the core concept of Cortana remains same throughout the 2 systems, Windows 10 version of the assistant has some upgrades over its predecessor.

Windows 10 has been out for a while, at least in its preview versions, on phones, tablets as well as PCs. Microsoft is aiming to bring the capabilities of Cortana to the entire range of Windows devices.

At its January event, Microsoft first demoed how Cortana would work on the PC along with the phone. Functionality of Cortana remains same but the major addition to its features' list is to be able to perform local searches on the computer it is being accessed on. And with same quality of performance and wit, it does not disappoint! Microsoft tries its best to improve its backend support for Cortana to further improve and enhance its functionality to provide an even better experience. If the user has a Windows Phone device as well as a Windows PC, both supporting Cortana, the contents of the "Notebook" are synced automatically to the other device during setup as well as after any changes being made on any of the devices, thus promising a truly seamless experience.

Here's how Cortana looks like on Windows 10:

Moreover, Cortana is also at your service in the latest browser by Microsoft, Microsoft Edge. Cortana can fetch details from webpages such as an address, an event (and then automatically sync it with your calendar! Pretty cool 'eh?) and to also provide you with the results beforehand as you type your requests in the search bar like information about weather for a place you're searching for or even its directions, depending on the request, of course.

Here's Cortana in Microsoft Edge:

What can I say to Cortana??

Here are a few suggestions:

Task or subject	Some ideas to get you started
Chit-chat	How old are you? Tell me a joke Where are you from?
Calling	Make a call to John at home Call Soumow on speakerphone Call Tomoko Call Raina, home
Texting	Text Dad Message Anna Text Horatio Do you want to get a coffee this afternoon?
Calendar	Put swimming on my calendar for tomorrow Change my 3 pm event to 4 What do I have next? What's happening this weekend?
Reminders	Remind me to pick up my dry cleaning tomorrow Remind me to water the plants when I get home Next time I'm at the supermarket, remind me to buy bananas (if Cortana isn't sure which one you mean, she'll ask) When Jordana calls, remind me to congratulate her on her new column Remind me to call Luther when I leave work
Alarms	Wake me up at 6 am Set an alarm for 5:45 am Turn off my 3 pm alarm Wake me up in 20 minutes
Notes	Take a note Note: left my car on level 4 Take a note: find bird-watching book for Dad's birthday
Music	Play [artists] Put on [playlist] Start playing [song] Play some jazz Play [album] What song is playing?
Maps anddirections	Get me directions to the Eden Project Where am I? How long will it take me to get to Big Ben? Show me a map of 123 High Street How far to Snowdonia? What's traffic like on the way to work?
Places to go	Is there a Starbucks near me? Find a cheap pizza place that's open now Show me highly rated restaurants nearby Is [place] open at weekends?
Weather	Will it rain this weekend? Is it cold out? What's the weather like today? What's the forecast for next week? Is it hot in Paris right now?
Facts	Who is the tallest woman in the world? Who is the president of Portugal? What's the capital of Qatar?
Flights	What's the status of British Airways flight 628? Is Qantas flight 16 on time?
Sport	Latest Premier League scores? Latest Manchester United score When was the last London Irish game?
Finance	Convert 60 pounds to yen How many euros in a pound? How much is a Nokia share? How did the Asian markets do?
Health and fitness	Suggest some weight loss workouts Get me a beginner's Pilates workout How many calories are in a boiled egg? How much protein is in a cup of milk?

 And there's even more!

Be sure to check out more details and features about Cortana and the preview version coming up in Windows 10.

Leave you thoughts about Cortana in comments below. Thanks!