Cortana’s not Alexa—skills are going away in Windows 10 version 2004

Enlarge / Pictured: a full set of Office 365 icons on the taskbar. Not pictured, for good reason: "Cortana, play Old Town Road." (credit: Microsoft)

Today, Microsoft announced a major shift in focus for its personal assistant, Cortana: she's getting out of the consumer gadget business and focusing on productivity. The new version of Cortana will debut with the next major update to Windows 10, expected to roll out in April.

Microsoft is tightening access to Cortana considerably. First and foremost, no more Cortana use for anyone only using local accounts. Cortana access will only be available to those logged in with school work domain accounts or Microsoft online accounts-Windows 10 users sticking to local accounts only will also be out of luck.

The new Cortana's focus will be on a productivity-focused chat UI. Users will be able to review or set calendar items and tasks in natural English as well as query or create emails, set alarms and timers, open apps, and find people or files. She'll also search the Internet for you-using Bing, of course-or offer jokes.

Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments