Windows 10’s next major update will let Cortana float around your PC (Oh boy!)

The Verge ^ | Dec 10, 2015 | Tom Warren

[dayglored]

Microsoft just released Cortana for iOS and Android this week, but it's planning much bigger features for its future Windows integration. Cortana first arrived on Windows 10 earlier this year, and now Microsoft is planning and building major updates, codenamed Redstone, to the operating system that will make Cortana a lot more powerful. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell The Verge that the company is experimenting with having Cortana float around Windows 10.

This floating mechanism would allow Cortana to appear on top of documents, contextually, and provide information and assistance. We're told it's more of a powerful search tool, than an annoying animated character like Clippy. If Microsoft pushes ahead with its Cortana plans then the digital assistant will be able to control even more Windows features, like the ability to mute all incoming notifications quickly.

Microsoft is also considering further integrating its Office 365 services directly into Cortana so they're available straight within Windows 10. For businesses this could mean Windows 10 can serve as a hub for projects, with the ability for Cortana to understand who's working on a document and surface useful information.

[nopardons]

Obviously it is.
I wish that they’d just leave well enough alone.

[Company Man]

They just described Clippy.

[roamer_1]

I was jazzed about the idea of voice control and eager to try it.

Yeah, I get that... Folks get all verklempt over new shiny, jangly, bouncy bits...

And I get that us geeks gotta have that Star Trek thing going on... I mean, how cool is it to walk into the house and say, "Hello Computer," and have the computer respond by saying, "Hello, roamer"... and instantly the heat and lighting adjust to your preference, a cold beer pops out of the top of the end table, and the big screen comes on... Showing your preferred news or show...

"Computer, do a search in the background for the best place to buy new T-shirts, and get a pizza coming from Ginos... And did you confirm that my dry cleaning is ready?"

Yeah, I get it... But inevitably, that whole cool thing starts with a loss of privacy- And then it isn't so cool anymore... I don't want it, nor need it.

My problem is, that as a tech, I almost have to use it, just so I know how to fix it when it poops the bed - At the moment I am not, as I don't have anyone on 10 using it - but I fear it is inevitable, and that 'cool factor' will drive it into ubiquity.

Try telling some joe-user (or worse, Jane) that their privacy would be much improved if their computer was *not* 'getting to know' them... Are they willing to shut off their happy new toy?

Just wait till all that meta-data hits the spammers and scammers. What a mess that will be.... by a couple orders of magnitude...

[rockrr]

I was responsible for getting Cortana disabled in our corporate blend of Win-10 ;’}

[roamer_1]

I was responsible for getting Cortana disabled in our corporate blend of Win-10 ;’}

Good on ya... Can you imagine all that it will pick up incidentally? The mike has to be on continually for it to hear you speak - How long before it is sending everything you say right home to microsoft? How long before the cops start tapping that resource, not only current time, but history too... history forever... Not a good thing. Everything you say in the privacy of your own home... That isn't privacy.