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Farewell, Cortana

gizmodo.com

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Re: Farewell, Cortana

#41

Post by pmarreck »

kgwxd wrote: post #3
js4ever wrote: post #2

I don't know a single person using Cortana, so it's not a surprise I guess. At least the push to use it in Windows will finally go away... A bit too late I have migrated to Ubuntu earlier this year... Puting an end to 20 years of Windows on my computer. Farewell Microsoft.

Does anyone use any voice assistant anywhere? Other than people trying it out for the first time, I've literally never seen it in the wild.

I use Alexa at home pretty frequently and Siri on my iOS devices pretty frequently. Examples include "add to my shopping list", "turn my bedroom lights off/on", "what is the weather today/tomorrow" and "set a 4 minute 15 second egg timer" (for my poached eggs every morning)

Re: Farewell, Cortana

#42

Post by kabdib »

The big howler for me was Cortana running as part of Windows Server 2016, by default.

Look: I'm not really happy running Windows Server to begin with [HN crowd: a decision that was not mine, by the way], so why do you have to have this stupid thing downloading and running all kinds of random executables that I have no idea what they do in my bloody server farm? And yup, I have logs off all those things, and pager traffic as a witness.

Yes, you can turn Cortana off. No, you shouldn't have to. This decision beggars the imagination.

(I like to think that the PM behind Cortana-makes-sense-in-a-server was the same nimrod who also shipped the touchscreen support in Server 2012R2 and the all-caps menu nonsense that plagued Visual Studio and Office for a few years, until Microsoft got a clue and realized they were honestly, really and truly pissing off customers. Someone needs to take that person out back of Building 9 and show them the instruments).

Re: Farewell, Cortana

#43

Post by pmarreck »

TheRealWatson wrote: post #11
kgwxd wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does anyone use any voice assistant anywhere? Other than people trying it out for the first time, I've literally never seen it in the wild.

This is clearly the worst crowd possible, except maybe people with speech disabilities, to ask this question. Just look at how many people don't like it. I really can't make myself talk to a machine. I even abhor the phone answering services that insist that I speak instead of punching numbers. I my household the only person that interacts with the Echo/Alexa is our 3 year-old daughter. She finds it funny. On the oth…

So other people are benefiting from them and you are confined by your hangup. Have I got that about right?

Re: Farewell, Cortana

#44

Post by tjohns »

kgwxd wrote: post #3
js4ever wrote: post #2

I don't know a single person using Cortana, so it's not a surprise I guess. At least the push to use it in Windows will finally go away... A bit too late I have migrated to Ubuntu earlier this year... Puting an end to 20 years of Windows on my computer. Farewell Microsoft.

Does anyone use any voice assistant anywhere? Other than people trying it out for the first time, I've literally never seen it in the wild.

Absolutely! I use Google Assistant to control my home automation (mostly lights and TV), check commute times when leaving for work, play NPR, and occasional Wikipedia lookups that don't warrant pulling a phone out.

I also use the Leidos Flight Service skill (voice app) to get a quick preview of the weather before driving to the airport to fly a plane, if I'm not in front of a computer. Of course, I'll pull out a tablet and do a more in-depth briefing at the airport before actually flying... but it's a great way to check nearby METARs and TAFs while on a commute.

Re: Farewell, Cortana

#45

Post by justwalt »

ahnick wrote: post #25
athenot wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't use many Siri commands but a few come in handy: - "add milk to grocery list" — I have a reminder list called "Grocery" to make that happen. Makes it easy to add stuff as I realize I'm running low, then I can check it off in the Reminders app. - "create appointment next {day} at {time} {title}" — I never use that one when I'm next to my computer, but when I'm around the house or after a doctor visit, it's usua…

What I really like about Siri is the geofencing capability. "Siri, remind me when I get home to text Daniel" (or something of that nature) This way the reminder is not tied to a particular time, but instead tied to a location that is more relevant or convenient to carry out the task.

Where are reminders like this stored? If you wanted to cancel that before you got home, would you have to use Siri again to do it?

Re: Farewell, Cortana

#46

Post by hadlock »

jacobwilliamroy wrote: post #30
hadlock wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think we've touched a light switch in our house in eight months due to voice assistant. Kitchen timers, asking spelling of words, doing imperial to metric conversion, getting weather. Sometimes if I'm in an argument with my wife I will have google define the term we're arguing over for dramatic effect, or we'll consult google via voice to clarify something, like the population of the Philippines, for example.

Has the introduction of voice commands to the home had a statistically significant effect on how many arguments you have with your wife? Does she use it as much as you do?

No correlation between additional arguments, it's usually politics or public policy or similar; she does actually use it about as much as I do. I would say 75%, which seems especially high even though she's not big in to technology. She's actually been pushing to get a voice control node "home mini" installed in the bedroom for quite a while, and wants a nest thermostat for the next place we move into.

Re: Farewell, Cortana

#47

Post by Nerdfest »

kabdib wrote: post #42

The big howler for me was Cortana running as part of Windows Server 2016, by default. Look: I'm not really happy running Windows Server to begin with [HN crowd: a decision that was not mine, by the way], so why do you have to have this stupid thing downloading and running all kinds of random executables that I have no idea what they do in my bloody server farm ? And yup, I have logs off all those things, and pager tr…

I seem to remember that even when Cortana is shut off, it was found to be listening and sending telemetry back to Microsoft. Based on their past behaviour, I'd guess that even is it is "removed", those elements will remain.

Re: Farewell, Cortana

#48

Post by kabdib »

Nerdfest wrote: post #47
kabdib wrote: post #42

The big howler for me was Cortana running as part of Windows Server 2016, by default. Look: I'm not really happy running Windows Server to begin with [HN crowd: a decision that was not mine, by the way], so why do you have to have this stupid thing downloading and running all kinds of random executables that I have no idea what they do in my bloody server farm ? And yup, I have logs off all those things, and pager tr…

I seem to remember that even when Cortana is shut off, it was found to be listening and sending telemetry back to Microsoft. Based on their past behaviour, I'd guess that even is it is "removed", those elements will remain.

I don't recall seeing a way to remove Cortana, just disable it. (Yup, fills me with confidence).

Re: Farewell, Cortana

#49

Post by ahnick »

justwalt wrote: post #45
ahnick wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I really like about Siri is the geofencing capability. "Siri, remind me when I get home to text Daniel" (or something of that nature) This way the reminder is not tied to a particular time, but instead tied to a location that is more relevant or convenient to carry out the task.

Where are reminders like this stored? If you wanted to cancel that before you got home, would you have to use Siri again to do it?

Just in the normal reminders app. You can ask Siri to delete the reminder or just mark it off in the reminders app itself.
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