Microsoft

Cortana Coming to Xbox Live
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Cortana Coming to Xbox Live

A short word coming out of E3: despite rolling out a couple of days ago, Microsoft has formally announced Cortana, the Windows-based speech recognition helper (similar to Siri and Google Now) is coming to Xbox Live and the Xbox console platform. This announcement has been suspected for a while as Microsoft integrates more of its technologies together, trying to craft a consistent user experience across as many potential devices as possible. Aside from ‘Xbox On’, all commands can be processed via Kinect or a headset.

According to XboxOneUK via Xbox One Preview Program’s Facebook Page, the following commands are supported:

Xbox One Cortana Commands (June 2016)
Power “Hey Cortana, Xbox on” (only with Kinect)
“Hey Cortana, turn off”
“Hey Cortana, restart”
Media Controls “Hey Cortana, pause the movie”
“Hey Cortana, rewind”
“Hey Cortana, play the next song”
Audio Controls “Hey Cortana, volume up”
“Hey Cortana, mute”
“Hey Cortana, volume down”
Navigation “Hey Cortana, go home”
“Hey Cortana, go back”
“Hey Cortana, show menu”
“Hey Cortana, change view”
“Hey Cortana, switch”
“Hey Cortana, show notifications”
Profile “Hey Cortana, sign in”
“Hey Cortana, sign in as John”
“Hey Cortana, sign out”
Friends “Hey Cortana, is Michael online?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s Amy doing?”
“Hey Cortana, start a party with Ryan”
“Hey Cortana, send a message to Jasmine”
Games and Apps “Hey Cortana, snap friends”
“Hey Cortana, launch settings”
“Hey Cortana, play Forza”
Game captures “Hey Cortana, take a screenshot”
“Hey Cortana, start broadcast”
“Hey Cortana, record that”
TV & OneGuide “Hey Cortana, watch TV”
“Hey Cortana, watch ESPN”
“Hey Cortana, show the OneGuide”
Search  “Hey Cortana, search the web for news about Xbox One”
“Hey Cortana, search the store for Minecraft”
Help “Hey Cortana, help”
“Hey Cortana, what can I say?”
Places “Hey Cortana, show me a map of 123 Main Street”
“Hey Cortana, how far to the Grand Canyon”
“Hey Cortana, when does Starbucks open?”
“Hey Cortana, find cheap pizza restaurants near me”
Facts “Hey Cortana, who is the tallest woman in the world?”
“Hey Cortana, who is the president of Finland?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the capital of Qatar?”
“Hey Cortana, who won the first Super Bowl?”
“Hey Cortana, how tall is Mount Kilimanjaro?”
“Hey Cortana, how many floors are in the Empire State Building?”
“Hey Cortana, who built the White House?”
“Hey Cortana, who are Tom Hanks’ parents?”
“Hey Cortana, when does Fall begin?”
“Hey Cortana, where was Obama born?”
Tracking “Hey Cortana, what time does Alaska 32 depart?”
“Hey Cortana, flight status for Southwest 11?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the status of Hawaiian flight 21?”
Sports  “Hey Cortana, when is the next Seahawks game?”
“Hey Cortana, what is the score of the Packers game?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the Arsenal score?”
“Hey Cortana, who will win the 49ers Cardinals game?”
Show times “Hey Cortana, what are the showtimes for Star Wars?”
“Hey Cortana, what movies are playing near me?”
“Hey Cortana, Daft Punk events near me?”
Finance  “Hey Cortana, convert 60 dollars to yen?”
“Hey Cortana, bitcoin exchange rate?”
“Hey Cortana, how much is Costco stock worth?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the stock market symbol for Ford Motors?”
“Hey Cortana, how are the US markets doing?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the value of Microsoft stock?”
Math  “Hey Cortana, convert 172 pounds to kilograms”
“Hey Cortana, how many meters in 1 kilometer?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the value of cos 60?”
“Hey Cortana, what is the square root of 256?”
Dictionary  “Hey Cortana, define delve”
“Hey Cortana, what is the meaning of spartan?”
“Hey Cortana, translate hello to German”
“Hey Cortana, how do you say how are you in French?”
Weather  “Hey Cortana, is it hot in Rio de Janeiro?”
“Hey Cortana, will it rain this weekend?”
“Hey Cortana, do I need an umbrella?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the weather right now?”

Initially, Cortana will be available for Xbox Live Preview Members, before being launched in supported markets to all users. Initially Cortana will come to Preview users in the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany and Span first. No specific timeframe has been announced as of yet to roll out to all users.

Source: Microsoft E3 and XboxOneUK

Cortana Coming to Xbox Live
  • Comments are Closed

Cortana Coming to Xbox Live

A short word coming out of E3: despite rolling out a couple of days ago, Microsoft has formally announced Cortana, the Windows-based speech recognition helper (similar to Siri and Google Now) is coming to Xbox Live and the Xbox console platform. This announcement has been suspected for a while as Microsoft integrates more of its technologies together, trying to craft a consistent user experience across as many potential devices as possible. Aside from ‘Xbox On’, all commands can be processed via Kinect or a headset.

According to XboxOneUK via Xbox One Preview Program’s Facebook Page, the following commands are supported:

Xbox One Cortana Commands (June 2016)
Power “Hey Cortana, Xbox on” (only with Kinect)
“Hey Cortana, turn off”
“Hey Cortana, restart”
Media Controls “Hey Cortana, pause the movie”
“Hey Cortana, rewind”
“Hey Cortana, play the next song”
Audio Controls “Hey Cortana, volume up”
“Hey Cortana, mute”
“Hey Cortana, volume down”
Navigation “Hey Cortana, go home”
“Hey Cortana, go back”
“Hey Cortana, show menu”
“Hey Cortana, change view”
“Hey Cortana, switch”
“Hey Cortana, show notifications”
Profile “Hey Cortana, sign in”
“Hey Cortana, sign in as John”
“Hey Cortana, sign out”
Friends “Hey Cortana, is Michael online?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s Amy doing?”
“Hey Cortana, start a party with Ryan”
“Hey Cortana, send a message to Jasmine”
Games and Apps “Hey Cortana, snap friends”
“Hey Cortana, launch settings”
“Hey Cortana, play Forza”
Game captures “Hey Cortana, take a screenshot”
“Hey Cortana, start broadcast”
“Hey Cortana, record that”
TV & OneGuide “Hey Cortana, watch TV”
“Hey Cortana, watch ESPN”
“Hey Cortana, show the OneGuide”
Search  “Hey Cortana, search the web for news about Xbox One”
“Hey Cortana, search the store for Minecraft”
Help “Hey Cortana, help”
“Hey Cortana, what can I say?”
Places “Hey Cortana, show me a map of 123 Main Street”
“Hey Cortana, how far to the Grand Canyon”
“Hey Cortana, when does Starbucks open?”
“Hey Cortana, find cheap pizza restaurants near me”
Facts “Hey Cortana, who is the tallest woman in the world?”
“Hey Cortana, who is the president of Finland?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the capital of Qatar?”
“Hey Cortana, who won the first Super Bowl?”
“Hey Cortana, how tall is Mount Kilimanjaro?”
“Hey Cortana, how many floors are in the Empire State Building?”
“Hey Cortana, who built the White House?”
“Hey Cortana, who are Tom Hanks’ parents?”
“Hey Cortana, when does Fall begin?”
“Hey Cortana, where was Obama born?”
Tracking “Hey Cortana, what time does Alaska 32 depart?”
“Hey Cortana, flight status for Southwest 11?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the status of Hawaiian flight 21?”
Sports  “Hey Cortana, when is the next Seahawks game?”
“Hey Cortana, what is the score of the Packers game?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the Arsenal score?”
“Hey Cortana, who will win the 49ers Cardinals game?”
Show times “Hey Cortana, what are the showtimes for Star Wars?”
“Hey Cortana, what movies are playing near me?”
“Hey Cortana, Daft Punk events near me?”
Finance  “Hey Cortana, convert 60 dollars to yen?”
“Hey Cortana, bitcoin exchange rate?”
“Hey Cortana, how much is Costco stock worth?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the stock market symbol for Ford Motors?”
“Hey Cortana, how are the US markets doing?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the value of Microsoft stock?”
Math  “Hey Cortana, convert 172 pounds to kilograms”
“Hey Cortana, how many meters in 1 kilometer?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the value of cos 60?”
“Hey Cortana, what is the square root of 256?”
Dictionary  “Hey Cortana, define delve”
“Hey Cortana, what is the meaning of spartan?”
“Hey Cortana, translate hello to German”
“Hey Cortana, how do you say how are you in French?”
Weather  “Hey Cortana, is it hot in Rio de Janeiro?”
“Hey Cortana, will it rain this weekend?”
“Hey Cortana, do I need an umbrella?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the weather right now?”

Initially, Cortana will be available for Xbox Live Preview Members, before being launched in supported markets to all users. Initially Cortana will come to Preview users in the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany and Span first. No specific timeframe has been announced as of yet to roll out to all users.

Source: Microsoft E3 and XboxOneUK

Microsoft Demonstrates Android and iOS Applications Running On Windows 10
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Microsoft Demonstrates Android and iOS Applications Running On Windows 10

Much to the dismay of some viewers watching at home, Microsoft’s BUILD developer conference today actually focused on technologies designed to benefit developers. However, some of the new developer technologies shown today may end up having profound impacts on Windows users. While Microsoft has never had any issues with making software available for Windows on the desktop, the same can’t be said about Windows in the mobile space. Windows Phones and tablets have suffered from a lack of applications compared to their Android and iOS counterparts, and Microsoft hasn’t been able to convince many developers to make Windows a priority for their mobile applications. Given this situation, Microsoft had to find another solution to the problem, and today at BUILD they showed what may very well be it.

The first big announcement was Project Astoria, which enables support for running Android applications programmed in Java or C++ on Windows 10 phones. During the keynote this was described as an “Android Subsystem” within Windows. The end result is that developers can bring their Android applications over to Windows 10 phones with minimal effort. There will still be issues with applications that link into Google Play services for features like Maps and location, but there are now far fewer hurdles for developers than there have been in the past. Microsoft demonstrated this during the keynote by showing the Choice Hotels application for Android running on a Windows 10 smartphone. The demo did run into a few issues, but it was still impressive to see.

What’s even more remarkable is Microsoft’s work to allow developers to use existing code from iOS applications programmed in Objective C to make Windows 10 applications. This new initiative is called Project Islandwood, and it allows developers can take their existing applications written in Objective C, have Visual Studio convert the Xcode project into a Visual Studio solution, and compile it for Windows 10. The demo shown on stage showed an application written for the iPad being compiled to run on Windows. Not only did it work well, but the application itself was not just a basic app. Apps using UIKit and Core Animation compile fine as Windows 10 applications, and it will be very interesting to see just how far this solution can go in bringing complicated applications over to Windows.

The demonstration during the keynote was a mathematics game which utilized the UIKit framework and Core Animation, and had very complication visual effects and animation. Despite this, the demo worked even more smoothly than the Android application demonstration, and even worked with input using the mouse. Microsoft also revealed that the ability to easily bring applications programmed in Objective C to Windows 10 is not something coming in the distant future, but is a technology that exists now and has already been put to use by game company King in bringing their Candy Crush Saga game to Windows Phone.

One important thing to note is that while Project Islandwood for iOS applications allows developers to create universal Windows apps, Project Astoria is strictly for bringing Android applications to Windows 10 phones.

These two announcements from Microsoft may end up being a game changer for Windows 10 applications on the desktop and more importantly on mobile. Developers still need to be convinced to focus on Windows, but if moving applications over from iOS and Android is as easy as Microsoft has claimed then it shouldn’t be very difficult to get developers on board. Only time will tell how this ends up playing out.

Microsoft Demonstrates Android and iOS Applications Running On Windows 10
  • Comments are Closed

Microsoft Demonstrates Android and iOS Applications Running On Windows 10

Much to the dismay of some viewers watching at home, Microsoft’s BUILD developer conference today actually focused on technologies designed to benefit developers. However, some of the new developer technologies shown today may end up having profound impacts on Windows users. While Microsoft has never had any issues with making software available for Windows on the desktop, the same can’t be said about Windows in the mobile space. Windows Phones and tablets have suffered from a lack of applications compared to their Android and iOS counterparts, and Microsoft hasn’t been able to convince many developers to make Windows a priority for their mobile applications. Given this situation, Microsoft had to find another solution to the problem, and today at BUILD they showed what may very well be it.

The first big announcement was Project Astoria, which enables support for running Android applications programmed in Java or C++ on Windows 10 phones. During the keynote this was described as an “Android Subsystem” within Windows. The end result is that developers can bring their Android applications over to Windows 10 phones with minimal effort. There will still be issues with applications that link into Google Play services for features like Maps and location, but there are now far fewer hurdles for developers than there have been in the past. Microsoft demonstrated this during the keynote by showing the Choice Hotels application for Android running on a Windows 10 smartphone. The demo did run into a few issues, but it was still impressive to see.

What’s even more remarkable is Microsoft’s work to allow developers to use existing code from iOS applications programmed in Objective C to make Windows 10 applications. This new initiative is called Project Islandwood, and it allows developers can take their existing applications written in Objective C, have Visual Studio convert the Xcode project into a Visual Studio solution, and compile it for Windows 10. The demo shown on stage showed an application written for the iPad being compiled to run on Windows. Not only did it work well, but the application itself was not just a basic app. Apps using UIKit and Core Animation compile fine as Windows 10 applications, and it will be very interesting to see just how far this solution can go in bringing complicated applications over to Windows.

The demonstration during the keynote was a mathematics game which utilized the UIKit framework and Core Animation, and had very complication visual effects and animation. Despite this, the demo worked even more smoothly than the Android application demonstration, and even worked with input using the mouse. Microsoft also revealed that the ability to easily bring applications programmed in Objective C to Windows 10 is not something coming in the distant future, but is a technology that exists now and has already been put to use by game company King in bringing their Candy Crush Saga game to Windows Phone.

One important thing to note is that while Project Islandwood for iOS applications allows developers to create universal Windows apps, Project Astoria is strictly for bringing Android applications to Windows 10 phones.

These two announcements from Microsoft may end up being a game changer for Windows 10 applications on the desktop and more importantly on mobile. Developers still need to be convinced to focus on Windows, but if moving applications over from iOS and Android is as easy as Microsoft has claimed then it shouldn’t be very difficult to get developers on board. Only time will tell how this ends up playing out.

Microsoft Details Improvements To The Windows Store For Users, Businesses, And Developers
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Microsoft Details Improvements To The Windows Store For Users, Businesses, And Developers

The Windows store was a large area of focus during today’s Microsoft BUILD keynote. As Microsoft expands Windows across multiple platforms and devices, part of their strategy has been enabling developers to make universal applications that will run on all Windows 10 devices. It follows that a store to distribute these applications also exists across all those devices, and so the Windows Store will be a very important area of focus for Microsoft. 

For end users, one of the new capabilities that Microsoft is touting is the wide range of options for billing. According to Microsoft, they have the larger carrier billing network of any ecosystem, with 90 carriers supported worldwide. This is a very key feature for enabling purchases in areas of the world where it is uncommon for a user to have a credit card or access to online payment services like Google Wallet and PayPal. Microsoft is also making note of how applications downloaded from the Windows Store are easy to install and uninstall, and are free from the issues like files left after uninstallation that have plagued some Windows programs for years.

For businesses, Microsoft is allowing company system admins to highlight and distribute apps in the Windows Store to employees using Windows Phone devices. Support for payment methods that are unique to businesses such as purchase orders is also being enabled.

For developers, Microsoft is highlighting a number of new features. Carrier billing is again mentioned, as it allows for developers to target a greater market of people with paid applications. Microsoft is also updating their advertising SDK to support video advertisements and tracking app installs. Support for subscriptions that can be bought via in-app purchases is also being added for applications on the Windows Store.

One final point about the Windows Store that will benefit developers is the new ability to bring .NET and Win32 applications into the store. These applications will be run sandboxed to allow for the same ease of installation and use as current applications in the store, and Microsoft has partnered with Adobe to bring Photoshop Elements to the store as an example of how other developers can do this with their existing applications.