Microsoft Cortana: Photos and videos leaked of Siri's alleged virtual assistant rival

(IMAGE: YOUTUBE / Yash Maheshwari)Screenshot from a leaked video of virtual assistant Microsoft Cortana, rumored to be included in the update for Windows Phone 8.1

Virtual assistants for smartphones are currently in the headlines. Apple was an early pioneer with its Siri, followed by Google introducing its Google Now functionality. Recently, the Internet is buzzing about Microsoft Cortana, and leaked photos and videos of the virtual assistant are now circulating on the net.

Setting up for Cortana

video on YouTube shows the server set processes, which requires the user to login with a Microsoft account. The system then prompts for a nickname. Then setup comes with a series of questions which would appear to be of huge help to customize Cortana; and by the way, the name Cortana comes from the Halo video games series.

The video confirms that an animated circle on the device will represent Microsoft Cortana. She will not be treated as a unique female personality. Like other digital assistants, Cortana will be able to process voice commands from Windows Phone users. It will carry out various types of functions like alarms, setting calendar events, taking dictating texts, making calls and searching the Web.

Microsoft is expected to unveil Cortana at its developers conference this April. The event will also include updates so that the software can run on Windows Phone in the following months.

Satori

Meanwhile, The Independent reports that Microsoft is also expected to integrate the machine learning technology labeled "Satori" into the service. Satori will likely make searches easy to use as it provides informative search results.

Microsoft wants to develop a deep comprehension of the things around us, which are viewed as entities. Entities are all – people, events and things. It also contains information about these people and the relationships that go with them.

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