Windows 10: Cortana - Microsoft makes me terrified to use Cortana

(Listen Up Microsoft heads.) I can't use Cortana. I cannot actually bring myself to open Cortana.

It's sad really because I have been a PC Artificial Intelligence Freak since Virtual Personalities came out with Sylvie (Verbots) and Zabaware came out with Ultra Hal in the early 2000's. Over the past 15 years personal PC AI hasn't changed/grown much until Siri came along. Unfortunately, I'm not into Apple products. Microsoft came with a promise of a Siri killer. A PC AI that would work better than Siri. I waited patiently until Windows 10 release. I made sure had new working headphones and microphone. I made sure Speech Recognition was working and trained so I could make the most use of Cortana. I was imaging Cortana having all the features of Dragon Speech Recognition coupled with Siri's search abilities and personality. I wanted Cortana to be my Personal PC assistant. I was looking forward to this awesome ride.

Then I started reading about all Windows 10 ways Microsoft could download my personal data for their own use - which in Windows 10 is ON by default if you blindly use the Express settings (like the conniving Microsoft wants you to do - notice the word Con in Conniving) as well as a host of other places to disable like unwanted behavior.

Someone mentioned you could actually turn all this off with two registry hacks but my searching turned up at least 5 other places in windows that wanted to steal your data (through various settings all over the system.) I think this way is better than the registry hacks because this way I see Exactly what is trying to download my data and am stopping it at it's source item by item. The two registry hacks may cover the multitude of offending data thefts but you'll never know what feature is doing what or why.

I found this on Cortana:

"Logging In Here" is a link to Bing.com. You can log into your Bing account if you have one (I don't) and disable some of these - I am not using my Microsoft normal account nor my Insider account because I don't want Microsoft to get any of my private info. Why would Microsoft require me to get and use a Bing account when I can already opt out of a Microsoft account over a Local Account. That's more intrusive control by Microsoft I should not have to give. Again.. it seems no one remembers Microsoft (among others) getting caught in the NSA spying operation (PRISM) - and whats more scary - people like sheep don't seem to care.

* --> So I'm looking for registry hacks to turn off those features of Cortana that I would otherwise have to turn off at Bing.com - but still be able to use Cortana normally. Any ideas on this?

Microsoft.. really - You guys are hurting yourselves. I guess you don't care anymore because you are now giving away the operating system. Your plan as I see it is to introduce all this draconian behavior into windows (most of it snuck in behind our backs) then give the OS away so freely everyone uses it - thus providing a very large base of data mining for your illegal use and the illegal use of your partner the NSA with whom you happily work to circumvent my Constitutional Rights to Privacy. It looks like this is exactly what Microsoft is doing, and they are bold about it, not afraid of the consequences or the wishes of We The People.

Microsoft, if you want to keep me and thousands others like me, you'll remove these things from Cortana or allow us to do it Locally without more intrusive stunts such as making us sign into another controlling account. No other company or operating system has such draconian tactics. Microsoft has no shame.

:)

 

Can Cortana use Firefox instead of Microsoft Edge in Windows 10

Original Title: Change Cortana to firefox

I know that Cortana will always use Bing! and that is fine with me, but I want to make Cortana use Firefox instead of Microsoft Edge. How do I change this?

 

Cortana not working after WIN 10 Anniversary Update

It didn't work for me as there are NO bing or cortana listings at that location in the registery !!