Yeah, fastest to load a grid of icons and a gimmick feature.
Uh, what gimmick feature?
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Microsoft Announces Siri Competitor Cortana, Coming With Windows Phone 8.1
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Uh, what gimmick feature?
And thanks for not bothering to answer my question following my post you replied to but now I know what you were referring to and you couldn't be more wrong.
I'm glad Apple decided to put a microphone in the middle of the Siri icon, because THIS:
Looks a little bit too much like THIS:
Mark
Looks a little bit too much like THIS:
Mark
I always wished this since the debut of Windows Phone OS but Android kept getting stronger and stronger and now it seems to be too strong. It's either Apple or Samsung now (or Sony, HTC, LG etc.)
Are you nuts???
Android has the BEST personal assistant. It's called Google Now, which is even better than Siri on the iPhone.
On an Android device, Google Now is freely integrated into the OS (unlike the IOS version) and it works with most apps.
Whats even better about GN than Siri is that Google takes notice of questions people ask and creates info cards for them. You get much more accurate answers, and fast.
Download Google Now for IOS if you don't have it. You have to open the app because of Apple's restrictions but it's so much better than Siri.
The only edge Apple may have is location based reminders. "Remind me to buy shampoo when I'm at Target." Google Now isn't so good with that... but if I remember, it almost never worked on my last iPhone either. Well, maybe when I was two miles away from target after having finished my shopping...
Not a waste of space to all people.
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Now and Siri have different uses for me. Google does not have the best assistant because it functions differently from Siri.
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It's not designed just to attract. It is goddamn useful.
Persocoms
You know what I'd like? The ability to see a customizable character for the assistant, as well as having a choice of voices.
Imagine if everyone on the planet could make them, or at least companies. Sell character+voice packs, etc.
The anime characters alone would bring in a little fortune. Pick your favorite girls from your favorite shows, etc. Hatsune Miku, Ikaros from Heaven's Lost Property, Chi from Chobits, etc.
What would be even more amazing is to create an open format so that such packs would work on all platforms.
You know what I'd like? The ability to see a customizable character for the assistant, as well as having a choice of voices.
Imagine if everyone on the planet could make them, or at least companies. Sell character+voice packs, etc.
The anime characters alone would bring in a little fortune. Pick your favorite girls from your favorite shows, etc. Hatsune Miku, Ikaros from Heaven's Lost Property, Chi from Chobits, etc.
What would be even more amazing is to create an open format so that such packs would work on all platforms.
Anyone else think that them branding this as Cortana is really creepy? The notebook function sounds cool and all, and I enjoy the Halo games but I don't want a sexualized video game character used to appeal to 15 year old boys on my phone.
Being a big Halo fan, I say DO WANT.
Also I'm pretty sure her father isn't Bill Gates but somebody at Bungie. Microsoft bought the rights to her and Haloalthough they did give her actual AI. So that's something. But originally Halo was unveiled at Macworld on stage with Steve Jobs in 1999. I remember in college my roomate would play Halo CE on his PowerBook G4.
I wonder what AI will be like in 2552? Probably the dominate form of intelligence in the universe, spreading from star system to star system consuming resources to increase their computing power. Freaky.
Also I'm pretty sure her father isn't Bill Gates but somebody at Bungie. Microsoft bought the rights to her and Haloalthough they did give her actual AI. So that's something. But originally Halo was unveiled at Macworld on stage with Steve Jobs in 1999. I remember in college my roomate would play Halo CE on his PowerBook G4.
I wonder what AI will be like in 2552? Probably the dominate form of intelligence in the universe, spreading from star system to star system consuming resources to increase their computing power. Freaky.
Totally, i mean obviously since you don't use it, nobody should.
Anyways, I'm impressed. It has everything that makes Siri unique and Google Now unique. I actually really love the reminders when calling someone. Of course, it's not enough to get me on Windows Phone, but it is impressive. How about a notification center first? (I'm sure 8.1 has one but i haven't researched 8.1 yet)
Between this and Office for the iPad Microsoft has been doing things right again. Lets hope the trend continues.
Having seen the BUILD conference video, it seems like Cortana's still a little rough around the edges. They had multiple hiccups trying to use it, and even the presenter raised his voice in frustrated with it.
However, it does have a great voice. Kudos to Microsoft for being playful and using the HALO voice. I was a little disappointed to learn that the voice actor has certain canned, pre-recorded responses which sound very natural, but the rest sounds similar to Siri (perhaps even a bit more robotic).
In my dreams, Apple would hire the woman who did the voice of GLaDOS (Ellen McLain). They use speech synthesis voices created by Nuance, so they'd be the ones who'd have to do it. Siri's voice has improved quite a lot since it was first launched, but it still feels a bit off.
I do hope Apple has been investing substantially in Siri. It seems to have languished a bit, and voice recognition is nowhere near as fast as Google Now. Now also attempts to pre-empt your information needs, which is an interesting concept Apple has also started exploring in iOS7 (Today view, pre-emptive App refreshes). It needs to go much further, much faster though.
However, it does have a great voice. Kudos to Microsoft for being playful and using the HALO voice. I was a little disappointed to learn that the voice actor has certain canned, pre-recorded responses which sound very natural, but the rest sounds similar to Siri (perhaps even a bit more robotic).
In my dreams, Apple would hire the woman who did the voice of GLaDOS (Ellen McLain). They use speech synthesis voices created by Nuance, so they'd be the ones who'd have to do it. Siri's voice has improved quite a lot since it was first launched, but it still feels a bit off.
I do hope Apple has been investing substantially in Siri. It seems to have languished a bit, and voice recognition is nowhere near as fast as Google Now. Now also attempts to pre-empt your information needs, which is an interesting concept Apple has also started exploring in iOS7 (Today view, pre-emptive App refreshes). It needs to go much further, much faster though.
Honestly, I had no idea what Cortana referred to, but I'm a middle-aged guy completely oblivious to what appeals to 15 year old boys. Ultimately, it's a name. Get over it. (Also it's not like people haven't tried to sexualize Siri as a joke too -- there was an episode of Big Bang Theory, the movie Her, and probably others that were not as well publicized).
Can someone explain why Microsoft held this conference in San Francisco considering they're not a Silicon Valley company? I thought there was tension/rivalry between Seattle and San Francisco. By holding this in San Fran they're basically re-affirming Silicon Valley as the center of the tech universe.
They'll do just like they've been doing the last 3 years.
Adding enough to make us feel good then in 6 months we'll be expecting more.
Some day we'll be going, wait, it CAN'T MAKE ME TOAST!? Then we'll be expecting it for next update.
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They've been switching UI designs to match Android. In fact, if you look at Action Center it looks pretty much like Android notification shade with the black background.
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Scheme yea... no, it's there for a perfectly good reason.
After reading how Samsung and the introduction of the Galaxy marketing campaign stressed the Apple team out so much, hopefully instances such as Cortana (and product growth of Google Now) are keeping them on their toes.
It does make me itch a little though when these new features (that sometimes are beyond Apple technologies) launch for other companies. Cortana's ability to remind you about things when making / during a call would be pretty handy.
As a consumer who just wants a bigger screen iPhone and the latest operating system (whatever that is) - I feel the pull more than ever to look at other systems, but I'm confident I'd come back to Apple - so I don't bother.
It does make me itch a little though when these new features (that sometimes are beyond Apple technologies) launch for other companies. Cortana's ability to remind you about things when making / during a call would be pretty handy.
As a consumer who just wants a bigger screen iPhone and the latest operating system (whatever that is) - I feel the pull more than ever to look at other systems, but I'm confident I'd come back to Apple - so I don't bother.
With the idea from my "persocom packs" post above, I would totally buy a GLaDOS pack, especially if it came with the same attitude.
