Cortana |

Skype Chatbots Get Neat New Tools And Features

July 9, 2016 By Mary Duncan Leave a Comment

Microsoft gives developers new tools for Skype Chatbots

Big names are among the developers of the Skype Chatbots.

Chatbots have been everywhere in the news for the past several weeks. Last week Facebook Messenger’s chatbots had the spotlight, but this week it all goes to the Skype Chatbots.

The Microsoft Bot Framework is the way chatbot developers can try out all the new features and tools which Microsoft placed at their disposal. The Skype Bot Platform and the Microsoft Bot Framework have now been merged. Proceeding the merger, several other tool and features were made available.

Skype can now be used to log into several other Microsoft services. The company believes this will help developers and their chat bots in gathering and consolidating necessary information from user accounts

Skype chatbots can also now be part of group conversations, as they can be set to quickly answer individual questions from multiple users.

Skype Chatbots Will Probably Handle Microsoft Support In A Few Years

Microsoft wants its Skype chatbots to be able to quickly learn and adapt.Natural Language is the next big step for the software company and they seem to very driven to be the first to reach it.

Adaptable and chatty bots could be the way many industries will be handling their clients from now on and for that to not bring about any communication issues, a natural and intuitive language is necessary.

The original Microsoft Bot Framework was released in March 2016 and in its first month, it saw heavy use from more than 20,000 developers. As of the end of June 2016, the Microsoft Bot Framework had over 30,000 developers, several of them already finishing and testing out their initial Skype Chatbots.

A few big names are also part of the developers as the potential for the new industry has yet to be tapped into.

Chatbots have existed for as long as the first early AI models have existed. So far, however, they were mostly viewed in a bad light. They were used for spamming and advertisement or as phishing tools for hackers.

The idea that chatbots could be an industry is not new either but its application relatively is. Developing chatbots is a new field of programming, meaning it is a great opportunity for new jobs.

Are you excited about chatbots or do you think they will be worse than telemarketers? What would you like to find among the Skype Chatbots? Let us know.

Image Courtesy of Wikipedia.

Microsoft Buys Wand Labs to Help it Develop Smarter Chat Bots

June 19, 2016 By Mary Duncan Leave a Comment

After the $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn, Microsoft recently bought Wand Labs, a Foster City, Calif.-based startup focused on artificial intelligence and natural language. The firm has already some messaging apps in the making which are designed to act smarter than rival versions.

People familiar with the matter believe that the tech giant’s recent purchase is destined to help it develop “conversation as a platform,” as it has recently stated. Plus, Wand Labs engineers will team up with both Bing and platform developers to design smarter chat bots and agents.

Microsoft declined to unveil the price of the deal. We only know that the startup had collected about $3 million in funding prior to the purchase.

David Ku, who is part of the Information Platform Group at Microsoft, said that the startup will help the team gain a competitive edge in the growing field of conversational intelligence.

Ku explained that conversational intelligence is seeking new methods to make human-robot conversations as natural as they can get. In these efforts, natural language know-how and advanced technology play a key role.

Wand Labs had various ongoing projects such as mapping of services, semantic ontology, and third-party developer integration. The latter project is of great interest for Microsoft as its competitors are already working on similar programs which can integrate third party services within their own apps and services. It is the case with Facebook’s Messenger bots and Amazon’s Echo I-o-T platform.

Experts believe that Microsoft may use the technology to boost the functionality of its virtual assistant Cortana although neither the company nor Wand Labs has suggested such thing in a recent blog post. Cortana receives voice commands and can trigger various actions across Windows 10, but it can also “chat” with users and tell jokes.

Microsoft’s Ku also said that the technology developed by the startup will help his company make Office 365, Windows operating systems, Bing web search engine, and Microsoft Azure cloud-computing platform stronger while also empowering developers.

Apparently, Wand Labs has failed to come up on its own with an app or service that can be monetized. Its apps were silently removed from the Apple and Android app stores before the deal.

Wand Labs’ chief executive Virshal Sharma recently said that his firm’s experience with natural language, semantics, and messaging apps will be the perfect addition to Microsoft’s ongoing AI-related work.

Image Source: YouTube

Cyanogen OS 13.1 Brings MOD Ready to OnePlus One Devices

June 12, 2016 By Mary Duncan Leave a Comment

The majority of MODs are currently Microsoft services and features, but that won’t always be the case.

The Cyanogen OS 13.1 has arrived to the OnePlus One and it is MOD Ready. In only hours after its official arrival, the OS has been given well-earned cheer and positive feedback. Members of the Cyanogen team are probably used to this sort of reception by now, however, as they have been praised for their activities by a much larger community than before ever since the launch of the later versions of OS 11.

So what is MOD Ready?

MOD Ready is the new feature through which manufacturers and developers can reach and add tweaks to components of the Android platform that were initially inaccessible. MODs allow any and all interested and adequately skilled parties to enhance features and services further.

In short, manufacturers may now boldly go within the inner workings of the Android platform farther than ever before.

To demonstrate the applicability of MOD Ready, the Cyanogen OS 13.1 come with several MODs made by the team in February of this year. The mods themselves were prioritized for general utility and usage rate and are various Microsoft features.

For US users, the Cortana MOD may be utilized in several useful ways – hands-free voice activated selfies, and voice activated and delivered reminders and scheduling.

The Skype MOD enables Skype calls via the device’s core Phone app.

The OneNote MOD enables various note options with the device’s core Phone, E-mail, and Quick Settings apps.

The Hyperlapse MOD was also brought to OS 13.1. It makes the recording of stable and streamlined time-lapse video through the device’s core Camera app possible.

The Twitter MOD, the only current MOD that’s not a Microsoft service or feature, will display trending tweets to the device’s core Lock Screen. The Cortana MOD is also available for the core Lock Screen and the Twitter MOD requires the Cortana MOD to be enabled.

With the OS 13.1 now live and available to OnePlus One, the MOD Ready community is sure to see a spike in growth and popularity. The Cyanogen Team has already welcomed the world to the “Post-App Era”.

With a lot more MODs soon to be shared by 3rd party users, MOD Ready has the potential to be the new trending topic for years to come. Is there a phone or feature you’d like to see brought as a MOD? Is there anything you believe could stop the MOD Ready features from picking up speed? Let us know.

Image Courtesy of Cyanogen’s YouTube Channel.

Google Home, Amazon’s Echo New Rival

May 18, 2016 By David Crozier Leave a Comment

Google is rumored to launch Google Home, an Amazon’s Echo rival

By all accounts, Google will probably launch Google Home, a new competitor for Amazon’s Echo, today, Wednesday 18. Today is the Google I/O developer’s showcase.

The New York Times and Recode have reported that Google will launch a voice-activated device called “Google Home or Google Chirp” at the I/O developer conference in Mountain View.

The reports say Google’s new gizmo will be a home device, roughly shaped like Google’s OnHub Router, which will integrate the tech giant’s voice agent.

A few years ago Google added the “hotword” support to Android, which allows phones to respond to an “OK Google” command. Presumably, Google Home will have this command incorporated.

Echo, Amazon’s very own Home device, is a cylinder appliance that uses Alexa, a cloud-space digital assistant, to report news, craft shopping lists, turn on the alarm, the kitchen timer. It’s basically a loudspeaker that doubles as a microphone.

The beauty of Echo is in its Amazon Prime services integration that plays back audiobooks or your music selection by voice command. The voice command also allows you to shop or order items from Amazon.

But Google has the same capabilities and even more. With a hefty list of info and other commands users can ask “Google Ok” and other services like Google Express and Google Play Music, Google Home will come in strongly as a competitor for Amazon’s Echo.

It’s not yet certain if third-party services will be able to access Google Home through API. All of the popular food-delivery apps run on Android while Echo only allows you to order pizza from Dominos and a few restaurants in strategic cities over the US. However, Amazon has integrated other services like Uber and Audible with Alexa but came back with mixed results.

If Google Home allows developer access through API, it will boost the device even more.

The price and ship date for the Google Home gadget are still unknown. Echo has a price tag of $180. Will Google beat that?

With all the digital assistants clogging the market funnel – see Siri, Viv, Cortana, Alexa – will there still be a need for another one or a better one? We’re on the wait to see the results of Google’s I/O developer conference presentations and find out what other consumer technology will Google make available.

Image source: Flickr

Viv – the Newest Artificial Intelligence Personal Assistant

May 10, 2016 By Brandi McCants Leave a Comment

Possible Depiction of Viv, the Newest Artificial Intelligence Personal Assistant

Viv is the newest artificial intelligence personal assistant in what is now the boom of AI personal assistance technology.

Although we’re still waiting for Steven Spielberg’s humanoid David from the 2001 movie A.I. to be truly impressed, this promising new AI personal assistant doesn’t disappoint.

Created by the Dag Kittlaus, co-founder of Siri – another great AI assistant, Viv breaks down the code and understands natural aspects of language to reply to your requests.

Viv’s intelligence is based on a new technology called “Dynamic Program Generation” and according to its creator, it can write itself in under a second.

But, before we go into more details about Viv, it’s good to know what other different artificial intelligence personal assistants are on the market now.

People seem to be already making jokes about Siri – Apple’s brassy AI assistant, Cortana – Windows 10 assistant, and Viv – the latest, but a not yet available assistant. Still, it should be known that Hound, another one of these self-writing software assistants, might steal the show.

Created by SoundHound and launched in March this year, Hound also has a strong understanding of complex queries and a third-party platform available for developers to plug into. And as we said, Hound is already available.

Viv was showed off Monday, in New York, at the TechCrunch Disrupt when Kittlaus took the mic and demonstrated the app’s tricks. It was Viv’s first public demonstration.

The artificial intelligence personal assistant connects with third-party services and complies with voice commands to book rooms, hail rides and send money to friends.

What makes Viv so different than the other AI personal assistants is that it can grow much faster and learn at a pace that will thrill developers tapping into its technology.

Although it’s not entirely sure when Kittlaus plans to launch Viv, the entrepreneur did say the company’s goal is to “roll launch” the artificial intelligence personal assistant at the end of the year, with phone apps and other “surprises” he and his partners are working on.

With all the autonomous technology and AI being developed by giants like Google, Facebook, Apple and Tesla and last year being the best year for humanity, what kind of year will this one be?

Will the future artificial intelligence personal assistant spread through the world the way the smartphone did? What do you think?

Image source: Pixabay

More Updates About the New Windows 10 Tomorrow

January 20, 2015 By Nicholas Anderton Leave a Comment

A few months back, Windows 10 released to the public some details about the new software. This Wednesday, the company is holding a public event in order to present all Windows 10 specifications. The audience will receive more updates about the new Windows 10 tomorrow.

The software titan Microsoft Company has prepared an event which will be held in Redmond, Washington. At the company’s headquarters, Microsoft will provide more details about Windows 10 highlights and how it will work on laptops, phones, tablets, even gaming consoles such as Xbox One.

Last fall, Microsoft offered some information about Windows 10 and its user interface. Tomorrow will be a consumer-focused event so people will be getting a closer look to how the software is running with real computer or phones.

The primary source interface that Windows 10 will operate with is Cortana. It has been rumored that Cortana which is Microsoft’s assistant will be part of windows 10. Well, now the rumors will be official. Being part of the primary source interface, Cortana will also integrate in the browser a well as other applications.

On Wednesday, Microsoft will also prove why it is better to use a single application on phones, tablets, TV’s or computers. Universal applications seem to be the highlight of Microsoft. They will prepare a set of examples regarding powerful universal applications as Microsoft believes them to be the future in software.

However, not many details will be given about that single Store app. It will be further developed at a conference in April. Windows 10 benefits from that single Store feature as well. This feature encourages end users to purchase only one application to run across laptop, tablet, phone etc. It will also be a lot easier for developers to produce one application for one store.

Another futuristic characteristic providing Windows 10 is OneDrive. This drive allows applications to stay up-to-date at all times, no matter the platform. Microsoft is considering providing developers with store settings and syncing app data to run through OneDrive on phones, tablets, laptops.

Furthermore, the Continuum interface was only mentioned back in September, allowing its developers to further detail on the subject. The concept authorizes laptops to function with a keyboard or trackpad that will convert them into a touch-mode. The Continuum will allow laptops to include a pen-based input as well while benefiting from a finger-friendly mode.
Image Source: winaero

Windows Phone 8.1 Update Gets an Official Release Date

May 13, 2014 By Brandi McCants 2 Comments

There are many people out there waiting for the new and improved Windows Phone 8.1 update to take over the smartphones market. On the other hand, there are also the ones who just don’t believe that Microsoft and its OS will even come close to the heavy competition represented by Apple and Android, let alone conquer it.

Well, if you placed your bets, the good news is that you don’t have to wait for too long. According to official news, Windows Phone 8.1 update has a release date listed by the company itself and that date is June 24. We reviewed the Windows Phone 8.1 and we were very pleased with it, especially with Cortana to be honest, but now that the official launch is coming up fast, let’s see the latest information we have on the subject.

First and foremost, the system will receive support until 2017. We all know Microsoft is presently in a negative spotlight for not offering any security support whatsoever to Windows XP users, but made it clear to everybody that there are rules to be followed when receiving Microsoft’s aid regarding Windows Phone 8.1:

Microsoft will make updates available for the Operating System, including security updates, for a minimum of 36 months after the lifecycle start date. These updates will be incremental, with each update built on the update that preceded it. Customers need to install each update in order to remain supported. The distribution of these incremental updates may be controlled by the mobile operator or the phone manufacturer from which you purchased your phone, and installation will require that your phone have any prior updates. Update availability will also vary by country, region, and hardware capabilities.

Now that you know how you stand, let’s talk some more about the Windows Phone 8.1, an operating system that will accompany the new series of Nokia Lumia, announced earlier this year. Microsoft’s plans to live up to the expectations and gain some stability on the mobile market doesn’t stop here: the company also announced that Indian vendor Micromax will start making low – cost handsets featuring Windows Phone, in an attempt for the operating system to break into emerging markets and challenge the reign of Android.

So far, the Windows Phone 8.1 comes with a handful of cool things: Cortana, a lot of business features for professionals, the opportunity to customize the lock screen and the start screen, the possibility to add textures to the Live Tiles on the main user interface( in order to make the phone look different from the other Windows Phone powered handsets) and so on. We are nearly a month away from the big release and we can’t wait to see the new update up and running.

Hands on: Windows Phone 8.1 review

April 8, 2014 By Mary Duncan Leave a Comment

We’ve written about Cortana before, here on our website and today we’re going to take a look at the OS that uses Cortana: the new Windows Phone 8.1 operating system. Revealed at the Microsoft Developers Conference last week (Build 2014), the new Windows Phone is impressive, that’s why we’re going to give you a short but comprehensive Windows Phone 8.1 review that will provide you with a clear view on Microsoft’s latest smartphone OS.

Windows Phone 8.1 Review

The Windows Phone 8.1 is an excellent update on the Windows Phone 8 and much of it is because of the awesome Cortana. It’s a successful combination between Apple’s Siri and Google Now. It seems that Microsoft waited to see what the competition came up with so that they would draw their inspiration to create something more complex and better. In short, Cortana is fast, accurate and has a great voice that is smooth on the ears.

Cortana Notebook is all your vital information organized by the lovely Cortana: reminders, quiet hours, interests, settings, music searches and much more. Just like a real personal assistant, Cortana gets to know you overtime, which can be a little freaky at first, but you get used to it.

The Action Center is truly exciting and you get the notification center which deals with all your alerts and update history and the quick access to all of your customized actions, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

As with any Windows Phone 8.1 review, we would like to stress the fact that this operating system from Microsoft will be available in preview form on April 14 and it is expected to be released to the general public in May.

Some of the manufactures who will produce Windows Phone 8.1 devices are Nokia (of course), Huawei, HTC, Lenovo, Samsung and Sony (which expressed its wish to produce a Windows phone, which comes as quite a surprise).

Do you have a Windows Phone 8.1 review you would like to share with us? Do you own a Windows phone? If you do, what are your thoughts on it? Share them with us in the comment section below.

Microsoft to unveil their own intelligent personal assistant for Windows Phone

January 17, 2014 By David Leave a Comment

Intelligent personal assistants have been a big part of the mobile phone since 2011, when Apple unveiled Siri, the natural language interface to answer questions, provide helpful links and set timers and reminders for iOS users.

Google Now came shortly after, a better way to tie in all the Google services and using their mapping functionality, a great way for Google to connect the user to plenty of different places. Now, Microsoft wants to have a go at their own intelligent personal assistant.

Named Cortana, the virtual assistant will be available in time for April and will most likely be unveiled at Microsoft’s BUILD conference. Numerous reports have said Microsoft will be adding the virtual assistant onto their Windows Phone, Windows RT and Windows 8 lineup.

The success of Cortana is questionable, Siri and Google Now both have their uses, but we have to wonder how many users take to using the virtual assistant on a daily basis. Microsoft has had less success in the past when its come to adding products other have already made, most importantly the iPod and Zune.

According to other reports, Microsoft will even fit the virtual assistant into the Xbox One, the gaming console powered by Kinect. This will allow users to get response from the Kinect, instead of just accepting commands.

Cortana will be integrated into Microsoft’s services, including Outlook and Bing Search. We are not sure how it will work, it should be similar to Siri and just answer queries and set up reminders and appointment, we doubt Microsoft have the services to make a competitor to Google Now.