Windows 9 isn’t due until sometime in spring 2015, but the list of features Microsoft will be including are already shaping up. Today new information unveiled by Neowin reports that Cortana is likely to debut in the next major release of the operating system, currently known as Windows “Threshold”.
Although Cortana still in its early stage of development, Microsoft is improving its functionality at least twice per month, and now it seems the company feels confident to include the new feature in the final release.
For those unfamiliar, Cortana is Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s Siri and Google Now, the name “Cortana” comes from the company’s Halo game franchise character who can learn and adapt to assist Master Chief. Cortana relies heavily on Bing and “machine learning” technology to learn what users want to do, track, or find.
In the same way Cortana integrates with Windows Phone 8.1, the Microsoft’s digital assistant won’t be part of Windows, instead it will be app. Though at this time it’s unclear if Cortana will be enabled by default on new installations or if users will have enable her manually.
According to the same report Cortana currently have the same look and similar behavior of what users see today with Windows Phone 8.1. Cortana takes about a quarter of the display with the circle shape and animation in the center.
We can only expect Cortana getting better over time. Cortana arriving to Windows “Threshold” is a major milestone for the software maker, and this is just the beginning as she could also be arriving to Xbox too in a not so distant feature. Having Cortana part on every platform, completes Microsoft’s vision of “One Windows”.
The day will come when you’re playing on your Xbox One and you’ll be able to tell Cortana to set a reminder, and she be able to remind you on your phone or desktop, depending which device you are using. Or from your phone, you’ll be able to ask her to print your boarding pass, it will print from the printer connected to your computer — now this will be amazing.
The addition of Cortana to the list of features that are possible to ship with Threshold, shows that . Also remember that Microsoft will be reintroducing the Start menu, modern apps will float on the desktop like traditional apps do today, and it’s possible that Windows 9 could also include a new refined “flat” desktop UI.
Source Neowin
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].