Microsoft Limits Cortana Search Box In Windows 10 To Bing and Edge Only (venturebeat.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from VentureBeat: Microsoft has announced a big change for how the Cortana search box in Windows 10 will work going forward: all searches will be powered by Bing and all links will open with the Edge browser. This is a server-side change going into effect today. Once it takes effect on your Windows 10 computer, Cortana will no longer be able to serve up results from third-party search providers, like Google or Yahoo, nor take you to a third-party browser, such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Ryan Gavin, Microsoft's general manager of search and Cortana, said in a Windows blog post announcing the change, "Unfortunately, as Windows 10 has grown in adoption and usage, we have seen some software programs circumvent the design of Windows 10 and redirect you to search providers that were not designed to work with Cortana. The result is a compromised experience that is less reliable and predictable. The continuity of these types of task completion scenarios is disrupted if Cortana can't depend on Bing as the search provider and Microsoft Edge as the browser. The only way we can confidently deliver this personalized, end-to-end search experience is through the integration of Cortana, Microsoft Edge and Bing -- all designed to do more for you."

Comments

Translation

[MightyMartian]

Translation: You belong to us, bitches! Now bend over so we can serve you some search results!

Re:Translation

[Taco Cowboy]

Cortana, Microsoft Edge and Bing -- all designed to do more for you

LOL LOL LOL LOL

I disabled Cortana in the registry. And Edge is so dumbed-down it's useless

We are the customers. We paid for the things that we use. We shouldn't have to be forced to go through all the 'disable the registry' hops in order to get our computer to work

We, the consumers, have given too much 'face' to the tech companies, so much so that right now they, the service providers, get to tell us, their paymasters, what we must do, and not the other way around

This is wrong, very wrong !

It is the customers who should have the final say

Re:Translation

[Dutch Gun]

Dear Microsoft,

Hi, are you stupid? Are you deliberately trying to make decisions that make you look as terrible as possible?

I sort of understand the technical reasons for wanting to do this. It's a lot easier to provide consistent results if you control all the pieces to all the tech. But a "consistent experience" is not why people use Windows. If that's what people wanted, they'd already be using a Mac.

Here's an alternative: Propose an open framework that permits intelligent agents to integrate with and work across search engines and other services, and create a useful, open source implementation that shows how Cortana integrates with Bing and Edge. Start creating some innovative software solutions instead of playing in your own little pond with your own toys, and you might actually find yourself relevant to a broader audience again.

It looks like I was right to simply turn off Cortana and internet-enabled searching from that bar as the first thing I did after installing Windows 10. What makes you think this is going to entice me to ever turn it back on? Maybe arrange a little "accident" for my registry settings on the next update, I suppose?

Sincerely,
-A Windows User / Developer

Re:Translation

[MightyMartian]

I cannot fathom a reason I'd use Bing. It's a second rate search engine.

I will, however, shut down Cortana and save a few cycles.

Re:Translation

[Anonymous Coward]

We are the customers. We paid for the things that we use.

How many times does this need to be mentioned. You are NOT Microsoft's customer, you are their product. They are in the business of selling your browsing habits (and any other personal information they can steal) to whomever will pay them for it.

Re:Translation

[Dutch Gun]

The only problem is if you're substituting a pretender like Bing for results you would have gotten from Google then you are providing consistently "bad" results. If people wanted to use Bing, they would. People choose Google because it is better and meets their needs. Only through underhanded evil acts such as this can MS trick people into using their search engine. I will be sure to point this out to every person I have influence with regarding computer stuff and that's quite a few people.

I agree. Note that I never said "good" results. I said "consistent", which was absolutely intentional.

For instance, take their "Pizza Hut" example. Say that Pizza Hut pays for a sponsorship with MS. Now, when you say "I want to order a pizza", you might see Pizza Hut as the first result (okay, dammit, now I'm thinking about pizza for dinner). Had that gone through another search engine, they couldn't guarantee those results, and more importantly (to them), they'd lose out on that sponsorship revenue.

Honestly, I don't have a real problem if companies try to earn ad revenue this way. I mean, if I want a pizza, then by all means, suggest a pizza place for me. But don't try to pretend you're doing me some favor by locking out anyone else from doing the same thing simply because they have a better search engine.

If Microsoft was serious about trying to improve the customer experience, I'd be able to simply dictate to Cortana:

Me: Cortana, I'd like to order a pizza.
Cortana: Would you prefer Papa John's or Pizza Hut? (note: the two places I actually order from)
Me: Papa John's. The usual.
Cortana: That would be a Papa John's large pizza with ... (blah blah)... Shall I order this for you now?
Me: Yes.
Cortana: Your pizza has been ordered, and should arrive approximately 40 minute from now.

When a digital assistant gets that useful, I'll think about turning it on again. But WTF Microsoft... is it that hard to open a web browser and type "pizza hut"? Does anyone need help figuring out how to shop for a black dress on Amazon? It feels like they're shooting so low right now it's utterly pathetic.

Re:Translation

[TheReaperD]

Between the failure of Windows Mobile and now XBox winding down combined with falling PC sales, Microsoft has got to be feeling the heat from investors when asked, "where's the growth in 10 years." Right now their revenues are fine but, with no future money making divisions, they risk stagnation which investors see as death.

Re:Translation

[SuricouRaven]

I do have a list of IP ranges that, if blocked, kill Cortana and all the other spyware. But you can't do them using the Windows firewall - system services are exempt, and there's also a whitelist of hosts that will always be resolved via DNS rather than the hosts file. You have to do it from the router. It'll also block Bing, Onedrive, product activation and pretty much everything else Microsoft.

Re:Translation

[Xenx]

Windows 10 is a paid for product. Yes, most people got free upgrades to it. However, it's disingenuous to act like it's a free product. Anyone building/buying a new computer with Windows 10 is likely paying for Windows 10.

Even if you force me, I won't Bing anything.

[Tatarize]

Seriously, stop trying. Accidentally Binging something is terrible, but even with the results right there in front of me... I still closed it down, went to google and typed the same search over again.

Fine with me, for now

[vux984]

First thing I do when installing windows 10 is to disable cortana, and limit search to the local computer only.

I don't need or want desktop search to go out on the internet; that's what the search in my browser is for.

The is emblematic of the entire issue with cortana on the desktop. There needs to be desktop search. When I want to search my computer for a file that starts with 'kid' i just want results from my computer. I don't care about Nicole Kidman's latest movie, i don't care about 'kid friendly meals'.

I get that microsoft wants to be able to get you to search from the desktop with Cortana... and that's fine I guess for people who want that. But I still need desktop search, and right now, cortana and web results gets in the way of that. If it was a separate UI, I migth leave it on and use.. but its not. So I disable cortana and I disable including web results.

Here we go

[wbr1]

"Unfortunately, as Windows 10 has grown in adoption and usage, we have seen some software programs circumvent the design of Windows 10 and redirect you to search providers that were not designed to work with Cortana. The result is a compromised experience that is less reliable and predictable. The continuity of these types of task completion scenarios is disrupted if Cortana can't depend on Bing as the search provider and Microsoft Edge as the browser. The only way we can confidently deliver this personalized, end-to-end search experience is through the integration of Cortana, Microsoft Edge and Bing -- all designed to do more for you."

Unfortunately, as we have continued to sneak Windows 10 onto unsuspecting users systems, we have seen some software designed to disrupt the malware like experience of Windows 10 and redirect you to search providers that were not designed to collect all of your information and send it to Microsoft. The result is a compromised user database that is not worth as much as an ad platform as we had hoped. The completeness of our database is crucial to us, and is disrupted if CompTelRunner, Cortana, and other subsystems cannot use the MS backend for data collection. The only way we can plan on how to pillage further and make our database more valuable to other entities (NSA) is through the integration of Cortana, Edge, and Bing. -- All designed to capture more for us."

FTFY

Disclosure, sent from a Win 10 box. Hypocritical I know.

Re:Antitrust violation?

[sheetsda]

Nothing is preventing you from using any browser and search engine you want. Typing something into Cortana doesn't get you anything you can't get by typing the same thing into any search engine.

Bundling Internet Explorer with Windows is what got them into trouble in 2001. Nothing stopped users from downloading some other browser but that argument didn't prevent Microsoft being found in violation of antitrust law.

I'm amazed at how blatantly they're ignoring history.

Replace Cortana with Clippy

[jfdavis668]

It would be slightly less annoying.

Bend Over Google

[dcollins]

Remember, this is not yet one week since Microsoft & Google announced a "no complaint" to regulators pact:

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/16/04/22/1421201/microsoft-google-agree-to-stop-complaining-to-regulators-about-each-other

In classic Microsoft fashion, they forge an agreement with someone and then screw them over in the most mean-spirited, legalistic way possible. Google should have known better on this one.

Serious question...

[GrahamCox]

I'm a new and somewhat reluctant user of Windows 10. I only use it as a platform to launch certain games, via Steam. All of its other features (other than what it provides as APIs to games) I don't need. I especially don't need any of this Cortana crap, auto-updates, or other typical PC-type features. I have a Mac for all that stuff.

So what I'd like to ask is how do I disable everything I don't need? Can someone point me to a "minimum Windows 10 for dummies" kind of thing? I've been through all the interface that I can see, but I suspect I'm only scratching the Surfaceâ, because it still acts somewhat intrusively, even interrupting a Dirt Rally session mid-stage the other day to tell me it needed to restart to install an update (and DR's design meant the stage was voided). I despise that behaviour - it must be possible to set things up such that I'm in charge of it, and not the other way around? Any tips or help appreciated!

Microsoft Consent Decree expired

[MobyDisk]

Could it be that the settlement against Microsoft established in 2002 which, amongst other things, required them to open their browser to competition, was preventing them from eliminating competing search engines? The only reason Microsoft permitted other browsers, and by extension, search engines in the browser, was because of this case. I suspect that they just forgot that they can now be evil again.

Further limiting Cortana into pointlessness.

[Chas]

Cortana.

Where do you want to go today?

Well you CAN'T! FUCK YOU!

Instead of turning the Cortana interface into a useful tool, they've basically hamstrung it.

Re:Oh well

[xeno]

This.

Often people are surprised at how well scanners work on Linux in general. For example, I was in the office recently and needed to scan a lengthy document, so I borrowed one of those nice Fujitsu scansnap-style scanners. The owner cautioned me that the software and drivers were a 300+mb download for Windows, and was astounded that it was fully supported in xSane and SimpleScan with *no* driver download. I have a similar one at home and knew the drill, but it was fun to see someone really take in how bad the experience is on Windows these days. I plugged in the USB cable, started xSane, threw 50+ pages into the feeder, clicked just a couple adjustments, and saved the project as PDF with no fuss, no driver fuckery, etc etc. Works better, faster, cheaper in Linux than the "fully supported" Windows config.

Otoh, there's no convincing some people, and I'm not the geek evangelist I used to be. More for me, I guess.

(Oh, and Hi there, fellow 2K slashdotter... )