Microsoft pokes Cortana's corpse to give her telepathic abilities on Windows 10

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Should we be worried?

 

The undead have telepathic powers if Microsoft's latest Windows 10 Insider emission is to be believed.

 

Perhaps stung by cruel criticism that the last batch of bleeding-edge Dev Channel releases have been a little light on features, build 20270 arrived overnight and apparently imbued Microsoft's unloved assistant, Cortana, with mindreading abilities.

 

Assuming one's PC has a mind of its own, of course (and judging by the shenanigans that seem to happen every Patch Tuesday, we're starting to wonder).

 

"You can now use Cortana on your PCs to translate their thoughts into direct actions to open and find files and save time spent navigating to apps/folders to locate and open files," enthused Windows Insider bigwig Brandon LeBlanc as he trumpeted a new File Skill.

 

English-speaking US users can use Cortana to search for local files, if signed in using a Microsoft account, or in their SharePoint or OneDrive for Business storage for those with corporate credentials.

 

Folk using a Windows 10 device outside the US are sadly denied the prospect of barking file search orders at Cortana and must instead make do with common or garden search techniques.

 

Prodding of Cortana's corpse aside, the Dev Channel build also includes updates (already shunted to the Beta Channel as part of the Windows Feature Experience Pack) in the form of a split keyboard mode when a 2-in-1 touch device is in the portrait posture. An "Advanced View" checkbox has also been added to Optimize Drives to show hitherto hidden volumes.

 

Fixes include an issue where apps unexpectedly closed when a user clicked the maximise button as well as dealing with delays logging on to devices with lots of users. Known issues include the usual hangs when attempting to install a new build.

 

As ever, there is no guarantee that anything in the Dev Channel build will show up on the desktops of everyday users. Handy, because nobody truly wants to know what their PC is really thinking. ®

 

Source

 

[Karlston]

This Windows 10 update might finally give you a reason to bother with Cortana

Why waste time looking for important files on your PC now that Cortana can do it for you

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

 

Microsoft is breathing new life into its digital assistant Cortana in a new build of Windows 10 which is now available for download by Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.

 

Since being released on Windows 10 in 2015, Cortana has allowed users to search the web, track flights, set reminders and more. 

 

While Microsoft's digital assistant used to reside in the taskbar, it became a separate app with the release of the company's Windows 10 May 2020 Update. At the time, users were also given the ability to stop Cortana from running at startup or to turn it off entirely.

 

However, with the release of Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20270, Windows 10 users may want to consider giving it another try as Microsoft has added a File Skill to Cortana that allows you to quickly find and open files using its digital assistant.

File Skill in Cortana

Windows Insiders that have updated to the latest build of Windows 10 can now use Cortana to translate their thoughts into direct actions to find and open files which helps save time spent navigating around the operating system.

Enterprise users who have signed into Cortana using their corporate credentials (Azure Active Directory) can search for files saved on OneDrive For Business and SharePoint along with files saved locally on their PCs. Microsoft account users on the other hand will only be able to find files saved locally on their PCs.

 

In a blog post announcing the new Windows 10 Insider Preview Build, Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc explained that users have several options to use Cortana to open or search for files. They can say parts of file names such as “Hey Cortana, open marketing deck” or use author names “Hey Cortana, open budget Excel from Anthony” to open files. Additionally, users can find a document they've been editing by asking Cortana to find their recent files or find a document of a particular file type.

 

Searching for documents or files tucked away on your hard drive can be a bit tedious and time consuming, so it's nice to see Microsoft provide a hands-free way for Cortana to do this work for you. At the moment though, Cortana's File Skill is only available to English-speaking Windows Insiders in the US but this functionality will likely be incorporated into a future Windows update.

 

 

This Windows 10 update might finally give you a reason to bother with Cortana