Windows 10: Hands-on with new Cortana experience on Windows 10 20H1

Microsoft is looking to bring an overhauled chatting experience to Cortana with Windows 10’s Spring 2020 update. The company has already implemented the early bits of new Cortana experience in Windows 10 20H1, but these changes are currently hidden in the latest build.

The overhauled interface is supposed to make text-based chatting with Cortana faster and simpler. It also appears that Cortana will be using Microsoft’s recently-announced conversational engine.

At Build 2019 developer conference, Microsoft detailed a ‘conversational engine’ to make virtual assistants more useful. The conversational engine will allow virtual assistants such as Cortana to engage in more natural conversations.



With conversational AI, Microsoft plans to combine skills and context to let digital assistants like Cortana actually do the things you ask them to do and continue the conversations.

Cortana gets a new look on Windows 10


The new Cortana experience features a conversational UI that encourages typing over voice. In May 2019 Update or older, Cortana doesn’t understand all text commands and it can’t follow the context to provide relevant responses.

With new conversational UI, the digital assistant can now perform tasks seamlessly and understand your text-based responses.

Faster response




Cortana’s conversational UI is faster, simpler, and more straightforward. In our testing, the digital assistant managed to fetch the weather results in a second. Cortana is also able to maintain the context of one interaction into the next and provide relevant responses more efficiently.



You can type and ask Cortana to add new tasks to your existing To-Do list. Cortana also remembers the context of the conversation and allows you to add more than one tasks to the list. Similarly, you can create reminders through text messages and conversations would feel more natural.



It is likely that you’ll be able to create update calendar entries, manage your Microsoft services, play music, and perform other tasks all through the text messages.

Finally, we have a settings page that organizes reminders and To-Dos like Cortana does in May 2019 Update or older.



You can also manage skills, accounts, link your favourite music provide, control your home appliances, and also create and share events with family members.

The Cortana beta app is still in the early days of development, and while the new experience is fun, it has several bugs and consistency issues.

The post Hands-on with new Cortana experience on Windows 10 20H1 appeared first on Windows Latest

Weiterlesen...

 

Windows 10 Tweaks

Pressing “Windows+Pause Break” (it’s up there next to scroll lock) opens the “System” Window.

Windows 10: In the new version of Windows, Explorer has a section called Quick Access. This includes your frequent folders and recent files. Explorer defaults to opening this page when you open a new window. If you’d rather open the usual This PC, with links to your drives and library folders, follow these steps:

• Open a new Explorer window.
• Click View in the ribbon.
• Click Options.
• Under General, next to “Open File Explorer to:” choose “This PC.”
• Click OK

credit to Lifehacker.

 

Windows 10 Tweaks

As you may already know, Windows 10 (as well as Windows 8) allow you to log in with a valid Microsoft account, instead of creating a local account that only works on your machine. However, you may prefer to keep a local account for privacy reasons. If you do, though, some Windows 10 features—like Cortana—may not work. Despite the default behavior, the Windows 10 Store is not one of them. You can still log in to your Microsoft account for just the Store without switching to a full Microsoft account. The process, however, is not terribly obvious. To do so, follow these steps:

• Launch the Store from your Start menu.
• Click the user icon next to the search box.
• Click “Sign-in” from the menu that appears.
• Choose “Microsoft account” and log in like normal.
• When the “Make it yours” box appears do not enter your password. Instead, click “Sign in to just this app instead.”

from Lifehacker

 

Windows 10: A New Generation of Windows

Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday unveiled a new generation of Windows, with a wide range of experiences designed to usher in a new era of more personal computing, as well as two new devices designed to extend the Windows experience from large screens to no screens. Windows 10 will be delivered as a service to offer a safer, innovative and updated experience for the supported lifetime of the device. A free upgrade1 for Windows 10 will be made available to customers running Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1, who upgrade in the first year.

"Windows 10 marks the beginning of the more personal computing era in the mobile-first, cloud-first world," said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. "Our ambition is for the 1.5 billion people who are using Windows today to fall in love with Windows 10 and for billions more to decide to make Windows home."

Windows 10 marks the beginning of the more personal computing era, where technology disappears and people are at the center. In this era, the mobility of the experience matters, not the mobility of the device, and experiences should work in a seamless, familiar way across devices. People should be able to naturally interact with technology as they interact with other people - with voice, gestures and gaze. Protecting privacy plays a pivotal role in delivering trustworthy experiences that put people in control of their experience.

On Wednesday, Microsoft showcased a variety of new experiences coming to Windows 10, including the following:
Cortana comes to PC and tablet. The Cortana personal digital assistant, which debuted on Windows Phone last year, will now also be available on Windows 10 PCs and tablets to help people get things done.2 Cortana is a personal helper who learns an individual's preferences to provide relevant recommendations, fast access to information and important reminders, bringing what matters most to their attention. Interaction is natural and easy via talking or typing, with advanced features to control Cortana for more trustworthiness and transparency.

New browser "Project Spartan" puts the Web to work, for you. Windows 10 will feature the new Microsoft browser, code-named "Project Spartan," which was built with interoperability in mind. With key features built-in natively to the browser, it will enable greater reliability and better discoverability. Some of the most advanced features in the browser include the ability to annotate whether by keyboard or pen directly on the webpage and easily share with friends; a reading view that is distraction-free, displaying the article in a simplified layout for a great reading experience for Web articles online and offline; and the integration of Cortana for finding and doing things online faster. All of this is offered with a new look and feel built just for Windows 10.

Xbox Live and the new Xbox app bring new gaming experiences to Windows 10. Xbox on Windows 10 lets gamers and developers access the best of the expansive Xbox Live gaming network on both Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One. Players can capture, edit and share their greatest gaming moments with Game DVR, and play new games with friends across devices, connecting millions of gamers around the world. Games developed for the new DirectX 12 application programming interface in Windows 10 will see improvements in speed, efficiency and graphics capability. Players will also be able to play games on their PC, streamed directly from their Xbox One consoles to their Windows 10 tablets or PCs, within their home.

Office for Windows 10. Office universal apps on Windows 10 deliver a touch-first experience across devices. New versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook are designed from the ground up to run on Windows, built for touch, and offer the unmistakable Office experience customers know and love. With the familiar features for Office, people can create and edit Word documents with ease. New inking features in PowerPoint let people annotate slides in real time, and the new touch-first controls in Excel make it easy to create and update spreadsheets without a keyboard or mouse. The next version of the Office desktop suite is also currently in development and Microsoft will have more to share in the coming months.

Additional Windows 10 features and innovations shared today include the following:

• Continuum mode. On 2-in-1 devices, Windows 10 will move easily between keyboard and mouse and touch and tablet as it detects the transition and conveniently switches to the new mode.
• New universal apps. Windows 10 will offer new experience applications, consistent across the device continuum, for Photos, Videos, Music, Maps, People & Messaging and Mail & Calendar. These built-in apps have an updated design that looks and feels the same from app to app and device to device. Content is stored and synced through OneDrive, enabling people to start something on one device and continue it on another.

"Everything about Windows 10 - the experiences, delivering it as a service and the free upgrade - means that Windows 10 isn't just another product, it's an ongoing relationship - one that will give ongoing value to all our customers," said Terry Myerson, executive vice president of the Operating Systems group at Microsoft. "The new generation of Windows is a commitment - a commitment to liberate people from complex technology and enable them to do great things."

Windows 10: Powering innovation, inspiring new computing platforms
Windows 10 adapts to the devices customers are using - from Xbox to PCs and phones to tablets and tiny gadgets - and what they're doing with a consistent, familiar and compatible experience. Windows 10 will run across an incredibly broad set of devices - from the tiniest of sensors as part of the Internet of Things, to servers in enterprise datacenters worldwide. Some devices have 4-inch screens, some have 80-inch screens and some don't have screens at all. On Wednesday, Microsoft unveiled two devices that will empower customers to experience Windows in incredible new ways.

Windows 10 unlocks holographic future with Microsoft HoloLens
Microsoft shared a revolutionary example of how Windows 10 enables a shift from the traditional machine-centric view of computing to an interaction that is much more personal and humanistic. As the world's first holographic computing platform, Windows 10 includes a set of APIs that enable developers to create holographic experiences in the real world. With Windows 10, holograms are Windows universal apps, and all Windows universal apps can also work as holograms - making it possible to place three-dimensional holograms in the physical world and enabling new ways to communicate, create and explore that are more personal and human.

To showcase the possibilities of holograms in Windows 10, Microsoft unveiled the most advanced holographic computer in the world. Microsoft HoloLens is the first untethered holographic computer - no wires, phones or connection to a PC needed. Microsoft HoloLens features see-through holographic high-definition lenses and spatial sound so you can view and hear holograms in the world around you. Complete with advanced sensors, a next-generation system on a chip and the addition of a completely new Holographic Processing Unit (HPU) that understands what you are doing and the world around you, Microsoft HoloLens is able to run without any wires while processing terabytes of data from the sensors in real time.

By placing three-dimensional holograms in the world around you, Microsoft HoloLens provides a new view into your reality that can tell what you are looking at and understand what you are saying with your hands and voice. By putting you at the center of the computing experience, Microsoft HoloLens allows you to create, access information, enjoy entertainment and communicate in new and exciting ways.

New Microsoft Surface Hub optimizes Windows 10 experience for groups
Windows 10 is powering a new large-screen device to help teams in the workplace share, ideate and create together. Hardware innovations in multi-touch and digital inking, along with built-in cameras, sensors and microphones, allow the Surface Hub to take advantage of Windows 10, Skype for Business and Office 365 to deliver a new experience designed to make every person - whether remote or onsite - feel as if they're in the same collaborative space. Specifically, the Surface Hub features state-of-the-art digital white boarding; instant remote conferencing; the ability for multiple people to share and edit content on the screen from a laptop, tablet or phone; and a trusted platform for large-screen apps. Available in two sizes - 55-inch and 84-inch - the Surface Hub removes the current limitations of traditional conference room scenarios to empower teams to create their best work together.

The next Technical Preview for Windows 10 on the PC will be available for free to Windows Insiders in the next week and for the first time on phones later in February.