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Introducing Windows 10’s Cortana

Jun 3, 2015

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Using Cortana to Gather Information

If Apple's experience with Siri is relevant, most people will use Cortana to gather information. Searching via Google is fine, but speaking to Cortana in plain-English phrases is even easier. And, as Cortana learns more about you, the results should be more relevant.

Instead of typing in a keyword-specific query, you simply ask Cortana a question. For example, to find out what the weather's going to be like tomorrow, ask Cortana "What is tomorrow's weather forecast?" To find out a given fact, just ask Cortana "What is the square root of pi?" Perform a conversion by asking Cortana "How many meters is 12 miles?" If you're traveling, ask Cortana' "How many miles is it to Chicago?" or "How's the traffic in Des Moines?"

Figure 3 Asking Cortana for specific information.

Note that Cortana can gather information from the web (using Microsoft's Bing search engine) or from your computer. Cortana taps into your contacts list and the events you set, and lets you ask questions that utilize that information. So when you ask Cortana "how old is my sister Kate?" or "when is my wedding anniversary," Cortana accesses your personal information and displays the correct results.

In addition, Cortana can display a panel of useful information -- without you having to ask about it. Click within the "Ask me anything" search box and you see the Cortana panel, with the Daily Glance displayed. This is a list of useful information, personalized for your own particular needs. Depending on what's important to you, the Daily Glance might display weather conditions, news headlines, stock quotes, sports scores, or the like. It all depends on what's important to you.

Figure 4 Viewing Cortana's Daily Glance -- information personalized for you.

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