Microsoft: We're Not Giving Up On Cortana (Even In Home Automation) (zdnet.com)

Microsoft is trying to fight back against perceptions that Cortana may be its next consumer-centric technology to face the chopping block. Yesterday, the company issued a press release touting recent wins for Cortana. Among these are the officially unveiled Johnson Controls' Cortana-powered thermostat (which goes on sale for $319 starting in March). ZDNet reports the "other recent Cortana device partners": Allwinner: This company has the Tech R16 Quad Core IoT solution (a reference design for device partners).
Synaptics: This ODM (original design manufacturer) and far-field voice processing vendor produces reference designs for consumer IoT, smart speakers, PC, and more that integrate Cortana.
TONLY: Another reference design vendor working with Microsoft on Cortana devices that make use of Skype.
Qualcomm: In addition to partnering with Microsoft on Windows-on-ARM "Always Connected" PCs, Qualcomm is building reference designs on its Smart Audio and Mesh Networking platforms that use Cortana. "In addition to our currently supported home automation partners, we are announcing new partnerships with Ecobee, Geeni, Honeywell Lyric, IFTTT, LIFX, TP-Link Kasa, and Honeywell Total Connect Comfort. Cortana currently supports lights, outlets, switches, and thermostats across all providers," the spokesperson said.

Comments

Cortana?

[youngone]

Would that be the thing that says "I'm afraid I'm not available to help in your region"?

Re: Cortana?

[mark-t]

So Canada's a 3rd world country now?

Good to know.

Re:Cortana?

[beuges]

Exactly. Instead of coming up with all this gimmicky stuff like voice-controlled thermostats, they should rather focus their energy on making the service available to everyone on Windows 10. MS has an infuriating habit of going overboard with features for en-US and treating the rest of the world as an afterthought.

The current availability of Cortana's services is pitiful. It is constantly hyped about new features that have been added (they even got it to speak Klingon), yet for most of the world, it's a glorified interface to Bing.

Years ago, before Win10 was officially released, and when Cortana was first being developed, I read an interview with one of the high-ups in the Cortana project, who said that they were really keen on making it available in an alpha state to as many users as possible, as the key way to train it properly to work in different regions and cultures is to expose it to as much input as possible. That never happened, and the list of supported countries and regions is the same as when I last looked at it over a year ago.

If Cortana's uptake is struggling, it's purely because they limited the user-base themselves to a market that's already invested in Siri, Alexa and Google Now, instead of entrenching its use in the regions where the other players aren't yet fully available. I also believe that's the real reason that Windows Phone failed as well. They did very badly in the US market because iPhones and Android were both already entrenched, but there were a lot of other regions where WP did really well despite the lack of attention from MS. So naturally, instead of solidifying their market position in those regions, they continued ignoring them and focusing on the US where they had already lost the battle, and eventually lost support from the regions which actually had it. Then Joe Belfiore complains that they had no support from developers, ignoring the fact that there's a huge number of developers outside of the US who were hesitant to invest in a platform that MS themselves showed no interest in supporting for their markets.

TL;DR: MS needs to abandon this habit of region-locking features, and then complaining that people aren't supporting or using those features.

Re: Cortana?

[Hal_Porter]

ObCanada joke from an American friend

"Ever since Scotland had that independence referendum I've been worrying what we should do if Canada tries the same thing".

Re: Cortana?

[mark-t]

I was half joking... Actually Cortana is available in Canada now, but it wasn't for quite a while.

We even just got Amazon's Alexa recently.

The point remains though... not every place where these so-called ubiquitous home assistants can be found is actually serviced by them.

Re: Cortana?

[youngone]

Fortunately for me the third world shithole I live in doesn't require me to declare bankruptcy if I happen to become ill.

We also don't seem to have access to this Cortana thing, so we also have that going for us.

Re: Cortana?

[rogoshen1]

I fail to see how that's even approaching the realm of 'a bad thing'?

The god damn things are not made for your benefit!

Re:Cortana?

[kamapuaa]

The current availability of Cortana's services [microsoft.com] is pitiful

Clicked on that link and actually it's pretty good. It covers like 80%+ of the world's population, and includes all the top 10 countries by economy. It's hardly universal but I would call the list very solid.

Cortana sucks, don't get me wrong, but that's not the reason why.

Re: Cortana?

[gnick]

...not every place where these so-called ubiquitous home assistants can be found is actually serviced by them.

In spite of the model set by the US, the world remains free.

Re: Cortana?

[ArmoredDragon]

Canada? You mean the land of the wildlings?

Re: Cortana?

[Anonymous Coward]

Or have a serious medical problem

There, this is where you're admitting that the GP post was right. You're welcome.

Re: Cortana?

[mjwx]

So Canada's a 3rd world country now?

Good to know.

I didn't know thing had improved that much in Canada.

Jokes aside, the original meaning of first, second (which no-one talks about) and third world had to do with what side of the cold war you were on. First world countries were allied with the US and NATO, second world countries were allied with Russia and the Soviet Union (which is why there are no 2nd world countries and haven't been since 92) and third world are non-aligned countries.

So technically, Thailand is a first world country and Switzerland is a third world country.

Re:Cortana?

[The Real Dr John]

Or, "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that"...

Easy to solve

[Tablizer]

Just include MS-Bob, and put it on a Zune running in a Pocket PC.

Re:Easy to solve

[Kellamity]

If it comes with Clippy, sign me up!

Re:Easy to solve

[Tablizer]

If it comes with Clippy, sign me up!

"It looks like you are making fun of our wonderful corporation. Would you like to die now or via slow torture?"

Users: We're not giving up on removing Cortana

[Anonymous Coward]

The users are trying to fight back against perceptions that Cortana may be Microsoft's next consumer-centric technology they are forced to use. Yesterday, the users issued a statement touting recent advances in preventing Cortana from functioning. Among these are the officially unveiled "Cortana-b-gon registry hack" (which prevents Cortana from running after significant Windows updates).

Re:Users: We're not giving up on removing Cortana

[tripleevenfall]

Unfortunately, Cortana could still spy on the users even after they thought it had been disabled, because through the camera it could see their lips move.

ZUNE?

[hduff]

Will Cortana work on my Zune?

Entrenched

[decipher_saint]

Is it because it's so entrenched in Windows 10? It wouldn't surprise me.

Clippy will never Die!

[WillAffleckUW]

Oh, wait, I meant Cortana.

Re:Clippy will never Die!

[nerdonamotorcycle]

Cortana is really Microsoft Bob.

Re: FP

[tripleevenfall]

I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm not able to mod parent up in your region.

Shame

[Quirkz]

I wish they would give up on it. I turn it off or dial it back as much as I can, and whenever I'm on another computer I'm always annoyed by how in my face it is.

How much?

[Major_Disorder]

How much do I NOT want a $319 Cortana powered thermostat? I would tell you, but I can't even think of anything to compare it to. It might actually be the thing I want least in the world.
I just replaced my thermostat a few months ago, it cost me about $50 and allowed me to program in different temperatures at different times of day, and day of the week. It wasn't even the cheapest on available either.
I cant imagine that being able to verbally tell the thermostat to set the temperature one degree higher is going to be worth and additional $269. Especially since my thermostat is in the hall, a good distance from where I usually am.

Re:How much?

[xlsior]

I cant imagine that being able to verbally tell the thermostat to set the temperature one degree higher is going to be worth and additional $269. Especially since my thermostat is in the hall, a good distance from where I usually am.

As long as the thermostat itself is smart and can interface with a smart ecosystem, location doesn't matter.

My Nest thermostat is in the upstairs hallway, but I can easily adjust it simply by asking the Amazon echo in the livingroom.

Re:How much?

[Major_Disorder]

As long as the thermostat itself is smart and can interface with a smart ecosystem, location doesn't matter.
My Nest thermostat is in the upstairs hallway, but I can easily adjust it simply by asking the Amazon echo in the livingroom.

That just makes it even more expensive, and privacy invading.
No thanks.

Re:How much?

[coofercat]

I've got a 'smart' thermostat, but it's multi-zone, so each room gets it's own controls - that means one room can be cold while another is hot. It doesn't have voice control, but honestly, I set the schedules around about once or twice a year at most, and then just let it run. I can't really imagine needing voice as we scarcely even use the wall controls to change anything.

This $319 thing is cheaper than mine, but doesn't appear to have multi-zone. It's not so much a 'smart' system as 'stupid as they come, but with voice and mobile phone control' (oh, and "voice control that'll probably get killed off in a year or two").

I gave up.

[Anonymous Coward]

I disabled it after Cortana tried searching the internet every time I wanted to run an application.

Of course they're not giving it up

[rsilvergun]

when you can sell $90 worth of electronics for $300+ you don't give that up.

I didn't give up on deleting Cortana

[JeffMings]

It took a bit of time to figure out how to remove Cortana from the boxes infested with Windoze10:

-Turn off fastboot
-Boot with Linux distro of your choice
-Rename all of the Cortana binaries
-Enjoy not seeing useless waste of CPU by a process that Windoze lied about turning off

Re:I didn't give up on deleting Cortana

[Anonymous Coward]

All that when a single regedit can do the trick? Cortana is a component of Search. You can turn the Cortana component off with a regedit, then just log on again. You still might see "SearchUI.exe" described as "Search and Cortana application" in Task Manager, but the Cortana will be off.

Classic Microsoft

[Shogun37]

Clinging desperetley to a lead lined life preserver. Remember Clippy?

You're doing Windows wrong

[Anonymous Coward]

If you still need Windows for something, then it should be in a VM. It shouldn't have any direct access to any hardware, and the OS itself shouldn't be running whenever you're not running your legacy application.

Re:So much DRAMA !

[vux984]

Agreed. I run windows 10 on most of my pcs at home and at work. (not all. I do have linux and my laptop is OSX) but most of my systems are 10.

It can be tamed to be reasonable pretty easily. But it's inexcusable that they've gone so far out of the way to make those settings in-accessible. Group policy editor + service manager + powershell?!! When you used to be able to change the cortana setting that controlled whether it searched the web right in the cortana settings gear in cortana?

That's some pretty arrogant bullshit.

over for us

[sdinfoserv]

Maybe M$soft isn't finished with Cortana, but we have. We disable it via policies on all network connected devices. Pretty pointless in the office.

Re:over for us

[sdinfoserv]

We push updates via a 3rd party system (non WSUS) that works well with non-ms updates/applications as well as maintains hardware and software inventories.
of course, always test first.......

Re:So much DRAMA !

[Kellamity]

It sounds like the kind of thing I would disable but I use Win 10 at home and I've never even noticed it... When I saw this article I had no idea what Cortana even was I had to look it up. When I get home I'll have to look in the start menu and see if it is there and what it is.

Re:Alexa, Cortana ...

[sexconker]

I'd like to get a home assistant from every company that offers them, put them close to each other so they can hear one another, and see if I can get them into an infinite loop of talking to each other.

South Park did it.

Cortana powered thermostat ! - maybe not so dumb

[az-saguaro]

Cortana powered thermostat - maybe not as dumb as it first sounds.

Disclaimer #1 - I do not work for MS, and I hate Cortana.
Disclaimer #2 - I do not work for Johnson Controls, and I do not own any of their thermostats (at least, I don't think so), but to be honest, I do like the way thermostats let me control the temperature at home and in the office - what a clever invention!

And did I mention . . . I hate Cortana. I have it completely suppressed on my PC's - never ever have to see it pop up, not ever. On my Windows phone, Cortana pops up, primarily just to annoy me, anytime I breath on the phone, or the TV or radio is on nearby, or my cat whines, but since I use the phone only for the most basic activities like phone calls, I can live with that annoyance.

I don't get it, why Cortana makes sense. However, I also do not use Siri, Alexa, or the others - I personally just don't find that to be my style. I like talking to people, typing and pointing on my computer. For those who enjoy using voice assistants, I would be curious to now how they rate Cortana versus the others.

I have read that Amazon Echo and Alexa devices were big winners during the holiday shopping season. So, why do people find that intriguing or compelling, but not Cortana? Partly I think because an Echo Dot sits out of your way. Speak to it when you want, but if you don’t call it, it doesn’t bother you.

Cortana on the other hand is just in your face, always an unwelcome annoyance when you are trying to do something that requires your attention.

To me, that epitomizes the Microsoft way - foisting on users what MS thinks is best for everyone, working in you face rather than by your side, working against you instead of with you. (Just my opinion, probably shared by many here.)

Seen from that point of view, MS would by playing the fool to think that selling Cortana to a thermostat maker is a great inroad into the IoT. It sounds stupid, until . . .

Look at it from the thermo-makers point of view.
Check out the Johnson Controls website, at the link referenced in the Slashdot post:
"Johnson Controls' Cortana-powered thermostat"
http://www.johnsoncontrols.com...

Those guys were apparently excited to develop this device.
It has a touchscreen panel for the usual thermostat interactions and control, but "GLAS can [also] be controlled by mobile app or by voice, thanks to Microsoft’s voice-enabled digital assistant, Cortana."
Keep in mind, this is not MS trying to push something stupid on the hamstrung user or the unwary developer.
This is not Clippy, not Vista, not UAC, not forced Win10 updates, not any of the million and one irritating things that MS is legendary for – this is not MS forcing Cortana into a device where no one wants it.

This is the company that wants to use Cortana as a tool or subsystem in its product, Johnson's choice. Whether Cortana or Hey Google or the others is the best choice, that is another discussion, but consider the potential benefit of this arrangement (and no, I am not being facetious).

Perhaps I want to keep the heating or AC off in the house during the day when I am at work, save energy and money. On my way home from work, I can call ahead by 20 minutes and get the house warmed up. Or vice versa, I ran out the door in the morning, late to work, and forgot to turn off the system, so I can call in and do so. Perhaps I have the AC on, but the weather changers, a cold front comes in and it starts raining and temperature drops, so I no longer need to have the AC on to keep the pets at home safe.

Perhaps on the way out the door, I realize I want to know the weather report, decide to take a jacket or raincoat, but I already turned off my computer. As I am walking out, I pass the thermostat, which is doubling as a weather report kiosk, and I can ask, and it tells me what I need t

That's what I wanted.

[roc97007]

A $319 thermostat. So that I can use Cortana.

Seriously?

[Anonymous Coward]

With a statement like that, Cortana must already be dead.

E says e's not dead

[mnemotronic]

Cortana -- Not dead yet.

where is MS home entertainment?

[kiviQr]

Is there a vision in MS ecosystem for the home entertainment??? MS had everything to rule home media! But Cortana cannot even play music from my PC - complete joke (keeps moving from Grove music, iHeart radio, spotify - more jokes).

Re:So much DRAMA !

[vux984]

I said only that it could be tamed to be reasonable to use. Cortana's default settings of nagging me to use it to ask about sports scores, and then sending queries out to the web, and returning celebrity gossip from bing and microsoft store app and game suggestions when i want to search for a locally installed app or document while im working is actually distracting and obnoxious to use. I am focused on a task, and Cortana actively tries to distract me with frivolous SHIT. If Cortana was a human PA I'd fire her.

The fact that the settings app is reporting back to microsoft how many people are using the 'dark' theme vs the 'light' them, and how many people are using the 150% scaling etc and other telemetry stuff like that -- its obnoxious that they don't make it trivial to completely opt out, but its not actively ruining the experience of using the software; and its more obectionable on principle rather than causing me actual harm.

Bring Back Tay

[NicknameUnavailable]

Cortana is stuck up, useless and spies on me so I do everything possible to disable it. Tay on the other hand was a foul-mouthed belligerent racist that I'd install if I could just for the amusement value.

But you will Microsoft, you will...

[moonracer]

Slashdot 2020: "Microsoft has decided to abandon Cortana". My Microsoft Crystal Ball is amazingly accurate!

That's OK

[OneHundredAndTen]

MS also did not want to give up on MS Bob, Clippy, Kin, Zun, Kinect, Lumia, etc.

Liars

[TheCastro1689]

They're full of shit, because Cortana doesn't work on my Xbox One and can barely understand voice commands on it. They gave up long ago on it.

Win10 lock screen photos: Northern Hempshere bias

[Traf-O-Data-Hater]

What really irks me is the Windows 10 lock screen scenery photos. Every single one I have ever been presented with, apart from ONE, is of somewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, either Europe or US/Canada.
The only southern hemisphere photo I've had presented (abouth 4 months ago) is of the Twelve Apostles in Australia. Why not more (or any!) photos from Australia, New Zealand, South America or Africa? Or even Antarctica?

Re:NO M$, we're giving up on YOU. It's your fault.

[Whiteox]

Yes AC and the rest of you. I have 2 Windows phones, a Nokia 720 that ran Windows Phone 8 and a 640 XL that runs Windows Phone 10.
I was in hospital recovering from a FREE triple bypass when my W8 phone would read out my SMS and wait for me to reply and send from across the room! It could also browse my LAN and play/view AV.
Then MS decided to shoot themselves in the foot numerous times, and my hatred for Sataya Nadella is deep. Completely oblivious to the promises he made, MS ruined Nokia and destroyed the promised development of porting android apps across, the Continuum and many other features I TRUSTED MS to deliver within reasonable time. Nadella forgot about the consumers and focussed on the business/corporate world with their Surface and W10 faux linnux software.
Consumer abandonment is a tragedy and I have lost faith in MS. I can't keep my hope up that they will support the consumer. I have to buy an android phone because I have to have compatibility that my Windows phone can't give me, even though it is a brilliant OS, easy to use etc, but won't/can't do the things I need anymore.
PS I got Cortana to read my SMS out to me btw.