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Xbox One Update Adds Cortana (theguardian.com)
Microsoft announced on Monday that its Xbox One console is due for a big software update this summer. Cortana, the digital voice assistant will be made available to Xbox One users, the company said. If you're part of the Xbox Preview program, you will be able to test the feature starting this week. The Guardian reports: To communicate, players simply have to say "hey Cortana" -- a sentence that Microsoft claims is easier for the system to pick up than the old "Xbox" prompt. Players won't need Kinect, as any Xbox One headset with a microphone will suffice. Players will also be able to ask Cortana what their friends are doing on Xbox, and it's possible to invite friends into a Party chat via Cortana voice controls.
Shut the FUCK UP!
I was always uneasy to use the "Hey Siri" phrase, after having a whole lifetime with the phrase "Hey is for Horses" burnt into my head.
Well now Microsoft is doing it too. Why couldn't they all have used "Hello, Siri" (which I then could have always said in the "Hello Nurse" Animaniacs voice) or better yet a Jack Vance/Harry Potter-esqe "Siri, Attend!"
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Still not excited about talking to inanimate objects, when I know they don't need me to talk to them to do what they're supposed to do.
Chatbots, Cortana, "OK Google" ... it all just makes me feel like they think I'm an idiot.
Maybe it's a personality thing? Maybe the people who carry on whole conversations with their dogs and cats would also like to talk to their computer instead of pushing a button, and I'm just not one of those people? But it seems crazy to me that anybody would want to complicate their life in that way. Just point to the menu option and click it. No whispering sweet nothings into your computer is needed.
Breakfast served all day!
I'm quite surprised by this, MS has been pushing the Kinect so hard I figured it'd be Kinect only
cool
Does the XBox process the commands, or are they sent to "The Cloud" for processing?
And it picks up on Cortana and starts doing random things..
Heeeey Abbott!
has been around since the '40s. Besides, HAY is for horses.
How can I turn this feature off. I don't want the NSA listening to my conversations.
I bought a new xboxOne some time ago. the thing is so deeply integrated with Bing it makes me sick.
Now they are adding Cortana, presumably so they can use her amazing data mining capabilities for some undisclosed reason. Since she is basically the strapon for Bing, they might as well go all in, instead of just the tip.
Looks like it is time to look for the microphone and pour superglue into it. Good luck listening to me then Microsoft.
The Canadian version will use "Cortana, eh?".
2+2 = 4. Microsoft will be monitoring all verbal communication. Get it yet? Everything you say, whether to Cortana or not, will be monitored by an A.I. that is capable of extracting meaning from your sentences and adding that intel to your profile, for marketing (and government spying) purposes.
And before you go all "I have nothing to hide" realize that the greater value in this is gaining superior insight into trends, which in turn allows the data-holders to practice a form of insider trading. To make it really simple...if a whole lot of people are talking about some new unreleased product, MS knows that it should start bidding to buy the company (or block it, make a competing product) right away...whereas most investors have to wait and see how the market treats it.
This is the new world. Get used to it.
how exiting, I am thoroughly thrilled...
People working at NSA saw this same article with a different headline. "New Update Adds XBox Users to Global Audio Collection Capability."
Cortana, Alexa, Siri, they can all fuck right off.
Like Windows 10 was "made available", sure. So what are they going to do with the information from this pervasive amount of eavesdropping spyware they are going to force onto Xbox users whether they want it or not? Pass it to the Ministry of Love after filtering?
uninstall Cortana.
If that doesn't work I consider the hole program a failure
"Hey is for horses" is the common phrase used to indicate that "Hey" is a poor substitute for "Hello" and not to be used among the educated.
The phrase has nothing to do with what horses eat... silly AC.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Why would you ever buy Microsoft anything?
And if you don't want it? This is not a required part of the gaming machine its what i would call Extras that should be left up to the customer to install and use if they so choose. we live in the age where the Big Software corp telling customer whats good for them and chose is taken away that's what i see.
Jack of all trades,master of none
Emanuel's daughter.
Hmm...you must not be Canadian or you'd recognize that is not a proper use of the 'eh?' (in this case implying a question). You wouldn't use it to get Cortana's attention rather its used in a 'proper statement' (a statement or opinion that stands on its own without further inquiry) about a subject to solicit agreement with the statement or further input from others...as in 'That weather today was a real bitch. Eh?' In which case the person talking it making a statement about how he/she viewed the weather & then soliciting agreement or denial ('Actually, I thought it was quite nice where I was.Eh'...notice not question mark as no further input is being requested).
So, as applied to Cortana that would be 'That Cortana voice interface on the Xbox One is rather finicky. Eh?' (implying the speaker is not really sure if it is or isn't but seems to be on their XBox One & wondering if others have experienced the same).
I know you were just trying for a joke, but this is twice in two days that I've encountered someone trying to make a joke using a 'Canadiansim' (or 'understood belief about Canada') where the speaker clearly didn't understand the nuance so it wasn't funny in the least. In this case just adding 'Eh?' to any statement to imply something funny about Canadian's isn't funny if you're not using it properly. Given Canadians in general have a great sense of humour and love to laugh even at jokes at our expense (especially those) all we ask is that you make it 'smart humour' indicating you actually understand something about Canadians.
They should have an update that fixes the goddamn Master Chief Collection.
http://dl.amnesia.boum.org/tai...
Could be worse. I'm surprised it's not "Hey Microsoft Cortana Tee Em..."
I mean, if these companies are going to make you feel like an idiot they may as well do a bit of marketing while they're at it.
Oh no, more Bing infestation
Will Cortana actually be useful on Xbox One? There's certainly potential, but if it's the same as Cortana on Win10, it'll just bring up Bing results of whatever is asked of it. Granted, due to lack of keyboard on XBOne, this is much more useful than on PC. But, I've got such a bad taste of Cortana from Win10, I'm a bit jaded. If Cortana could even just open default Windows apps, it might be useful... but so far the only thing that's been handy is asking the current temperature. Other than that, mistyped Bing searches, although sometimes entertaining, are for the most part useless.
Wink wink nudge nudge Cortana.
Please drink verification can now
One of my favorites with the "Xbox - " commands was a dude with gamertag "XboxSignout". He would then proceed to troll everyone in CoD, then as soon as they called out his name they'd inadvertently drop themselves from the game. Check it out here , there's also "XboxTurnOff" and a few others.
It might be a little trickier to weave "Hey Cortana" into a gamertag, but i'm sure someone somewhere is smart enough to figure it out, and someone else is dumb enough to fall for it.
Hay is for Horses, but better for cows. "Hey is for Horses" just means you can only say, "hey" to horses and not people.
Sorta kinda serious with the subject line. We've been conditioned over the years to be very precise about our steps in working with computers, especially as techies, because we know the limitations. Well, these tools actually remove multiple steps and we aren't taking advantage of it.
For example, when I first tried using it I would say "OK Google, directions to 1234 Main Street, Anytown, USA 21222 - then put in my location, then click navigate. Now, I say "OK Google, navigate to home" and that's it. Or "OK Google, navigate to Chipotle" and it'll figure out the closest one on its own. Much easier and you don't have to worry about the details.
Another example, sometimes I like to sleep for a few extra minutes in the morning after getting ready, so my alarm changes. I'll say "OK Google, set alarm for 7" and I don't need to specific the day, "O'clock", AM or PM, or how often the alarm goes off, the default behavior is setting a one-time alarm closest to your current time. After using it for a while you get used to these shortcuts and it becomes quicker.
Begone! Thou dost infect mine eyes!