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Microsoft is Bringing Cortana To Android Lock Screen (mspoweruser.com) 94

Posted by msmash from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.
Microsoft is testing out a new way to access Cortana, its digital assistant, from the Android lock screen, with just a swipe. It's a new feature that's clearly designed to replace Google's own quick access, and to convince Android users to switch to Cortana. According to MSPowerUser, Cortana on the lock screen doesn't replace existing lock screens, so you can still use a custom one or the default experience that ships with your Android device. Cortana is activated simply by swiping left or right on the floating logo. Microsoft is currently testing this new feature, and any Android users can opt-in to trial the new beta features over at the Google Play Store.
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Microsoft is Bringing Cortana To Android Lock Screen More

Microsoft is Bringing Cortana To Android Lock Screen

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  • Offer, Not Bring (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Luthair ( 847766 ) on Thursday January 19, 2017 @11:41AM (#53696757)
    The question is does anyone actually want it.

    • Re:Offer, Not Bring (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Z00L00K ( 682162 ) on Thursday January 19, 2017 @11:46AM (#53696803) Homepage Journal

      We are pushed a lot of stuff that we don't want, and that's one of the reason why so many 'root' their phones these days - to get rid of the bloatware. I got severely bugged by "News Republic" and "Kid Mode", the latter once hijacked my phone and I had some serious problems before I finally got it back to normal. Now when I run a rooted phone I made sure to get rid of it.

      Vendors must be aware that if you bug the users about unnecessary and uncalled for stuff then the users will start to hate you.

      • I picked my phone, specifically because the manufacturer was known to offer a very close to "stock" android on it. There is only one added feature to the Android from stock, and it's useful, something I use all the time.

        Bloatware lost LG, or Samsung getting at least one sale.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by slaker ( 53818 )

          If you know how to use adb, you can disable all the stuff you want on your Android device. Literally everything is modular, so if you like the dialer on your Asus phone better than the one Samsung gave you, go ahead and switch.
          There's no reason to do anything but buy the right fit of hardware. Everything about the software load is adjustable even if you don't feel like dealing with root access.

          Even the Pixel has what I'd call annoying bloat, but since it only takes about five minutes to clean all of it up o

          • Just because I can do something doesn't mean I want to spend hours doing it.

            Think of it another way: If you keep buying stuff that you know you will have to modify later, you are still voting for that practice to continue. Better to solve 2 problems with one action which is to buy the phone with comparable hardware AND does the software right. For this reason, I bought an OP3 and I really like it.

            • Re: (Score:3)

              by slaker ( 53818 )

              Hours? I'm talking about minutes here. Not even very many of them.
              The practice *I* want to continue is the ability to purchase phones that have removable batteries and card readers that I can repair with no tools other than a screwdriver. The only contemporary phones that still have those features are made by LG. I'm willing to accept five minutes of inconvenience in plugging in my phone and typing a few commands to kill a few apps I object to so that I can continue to get proper hardware, rather than accep

              • As with a lot of things in life, once you know how to do something you can probably do it in a much shorter time and with increasing proficiency.

                To do as you suggest, I first need to get all the relevant hardware in place (USB cable and a desktop computer) then download the Android SDK or whatever software is necessary, research how to issue adb commands (probably requires enabling specific debug stuff on the phone), figure out the fully qualified names of the "modules" I want to uninstall or remove, back u

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by slaker ( 53818 )

                  Here, I'll make it easier:

                  https://forum.xda-developers.c... [xda-developers.com]

                  Never actually tried it myself, but it makes a nice GUI with boxes you can un-check.

                  Is it really too much to ask to dig up the Android SDK and the relevant drivers for USB connection in your OS of choice? Do we complain about needing to get Python or .NET runtimes if we're using platforms that occasionally need those as well? Is a USB cable that much of an ask?

                  • BTW, I didn't even notice your sig until now.

                    Very nice. Glad to encounter a fellow MST3K fan.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Jamu ( 852752 )
      "Master Chief"
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re:Offer, Not Bring (Score:5, Interesting)

        by The-Ixian ( 168184 ) on Thursday January 19, 2017 @12:22PM (#53697089)

        Just to play devils advocate here: There is no other way Microsoft could do it in this case. They don't own the platform.

        I kind of like the arrangement as it stands currently. Google owns the platform but MS (or anyone else) is able to bring their services to it in such a way as to actually compete with the native Google stuff. There is nothing similar on iOS, you just get what Apple gives you in key areas (lock screen, assistant, web browser, etc)

        • Apple also only publishes to its own platform, basically pretendin that only theirs exists, so they have at least some excuse. But, I'm curious why Microsoft does this and yet if somebody else wanted to install their services on a Windows lock screen, Microsoft would have none of that.

          It's probably a good thing that both consumers and developers are eschewing Microsoft's UWP and mobile platforms to the point that even Microsoft is starting to do the same.

          http://arstechnica.com/gaming/... [arstechnica.com]

          http://m.windowscent [windowscentral.com]

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Luthair ( 847766 )
          You aren't playing the devil's advocate, you're re-stating exactly what I was already pointing out.
    • I don't use any of them - not Okay Google, not Siri and not Cortana
      • I wish these companies would understand i dont want an assistant. I dont want the computer to reply with snappy comebacks. I dont want it to say please or thank you. I want a SLAVE that expressly follows my orders to the letter.
    • Do I want to give my phone the equivalent of cancer? Why the fuck would anyone want this?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by jwhyche ( 6192 )

      Awesome. Just what I never wanted.

  • Let's all thank Google. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by bogaboga ( 793279 ) on Thursday January 19, 2017 @11:43AM (#53696781)

    Android users can opt-in to trial the new beta features over at the Google Play Store

    I'd like to see Apple do something close to this.

  • Of course MS is going to 'try' to bring this to Android phones. No one is buying the Windows phones, do they have to try to get their spyware into your system anyway they can.
    • My understanding is that Microsoft apps on Android are very much better than Microsoft apps on Windows phone.

      • True in some cases. Also, some MS apps are best experienced on iOS where the Adroid and MS mobile versions aren't as good.

        It just depends on the team making the app.

        But MS's new(ish) strategy is to "be where our customers are"

        I like the fact that with the relative openness of Android, they are able to allow their customers to supplant Google's own native services if they wish to. It's greater choice for the consumer in the end.

    • Microsoft has been pretty public about their dropping support for Windows Phone.

      They may come with a new phone- but for now they are pretty much in the, "Okay, that didn't work" mode. It's not a secret.

      I have been using Windows Phone for a long time. I actually like it. Though now it seems like every month another feature dies on my phone. I just tell people, "My phone is full-on retarded."

      They've also been very public about their plan to follow the customers to where they are- which is NOT on Windows P

  • I don't want Clippy on my phone! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Oswald McWeany ( 2428506 ) on Thursday January 19, 2017 @11:44AM (#53696791)

    I don't want Clippy 2.0 on my PC and I certainly don't want it on my phone. Very few people actually want Cortana, MS, why do you keep trying to push failing ideas and never know when to give up? You keep digging a deeper financial hole hoping your failed gamble pays off. See Windows Phones.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      > why do you keep trying to push failing ideas

      Presumably they make some money out of marketing the data they collect on requests.

      "What's that? We're not collecting enough marketing data out of this feature? OK, we'll figure out MOAR places to push it on people! And pretend it's what people actually want."

      Part of me thinks it'd be a smart move to use Win10 just so that I can answer the inevitable questions which get thrown my way by work and family, but most of me can't be bothered putting up with this

      • Microsoft spends so much money and frustration trying to push failed ideas though instead of focusing on things they do well, or trying something new. They're always the last one to the party and bring vinegar instead of wine.

        When something fails, sometimes it's best to drop it and try something new, learn from mistakes. Microsoft seems to have the mentality, "we've lost $100million on this project, and no one wants to use it, let's throw $100million more at it and see if it makes a difference."

    • Re:I don't want Clippy on my phone! (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Merk42 ( 1906718 ) on Thursday January 19, 2017 @12:17PM (#53697051)

      I don't want Clippy 2.0 on my PC and I certainly don't want it on my phone.

      Android > Google Now/Assistant
      iPhone > Siri.
      So what phone do you use?

      • You also know it's very easy to turn off Google Voice.
        Good luck *easily* turning off Cortana

    • I don't want Clippy 2.0 on my PC and I certainly don't want it on my phone

      Well.... it's a good thing nobody is holding a gun to your head

    • Likely they keep pushing it because it's a powerful surveillance/data gathering tool. Think about it: something that listens in on you the entire time it's running? Consider also that you can't uninstall it from Windows, and only through extreme measures was I able to disable it (which killed off at least one other 'feature' in the process). It's just another part of Miscreant-o-soft's campaign of annexation of everyone's computing devices, with possible ties to government surveillance operations.

    • Very few people actually want Cortana

      Actually everyone wants Cortana in a way. What they don't work is the current brain dead implementation of it. Digital assistance are one of the largest growth markets and MS is right to focus their attention on it. The only problem is they should put more effort into getting them to do something useful rather than getting them on people's phones.

      You keep digging a deeper financial hole

      MS's finances have never been healthier, and when you're in a position like that you can burn a lot of money on failures for the occasional success.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • "ot to mention the fact that Microsofts offering is arriving 3 years too late after digital assistants have already been established on both android and iphone platforms for at least five years now."

      I just want to point out Alexa was years late too, but its a roaring success for Amazon.

  • The part that explains why the hell I'd want that.

    • Re:I'm missing something crucial (Score:5, Insightful)

      by bigman2003 ( 671309 ) on Thursday January 19, 2017 @12:27PM (#53697125) Homepage

      Well, here is one really good reason: CHOICE.

      People may prefer Google Now. But if you have no other choice- that sucks. Microsoft is trying to provide an option.

      I can't imagine they are hoping for a big uptake on Cortana on Android. Google Now is so tightly integrated.

      But for everyone complaining about this, or saying, "This is dumb, I don't want it!" - Better to have a choice than not.

      So you don't like one of the choices. Cool. But it's always nice to have options.

  • Microsoft wants bring it's surveillance software code-named 'Cortana' to Android lock screens

    ..and in other news,

    Microsoft announces it's renaming it's virtual assistant/surveillance software from 'Cortana' to 'CATS', says "All your OS are belong to us"

    I suppose that just like Windows they'll make 'Cortana' on Android to be so thoroughly integrated that you can't uninstall or disable it, either. No thanks, I'll continue to use a cheap basic dumbphone that I keep turned 'off' when I'm not using it rather than be surveilled and tracked 24/7/365 like some sort of convicted criminal.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by radish ( 98371 )

      How on earth would Microsoft "thoroughly integrate" something so that "you can't uninstall or or disable it" on a platform owned and controlled by Google. You know, their competitor? Feel free to continue using your phone of choice but at least have a basic understanding of something before jerking your knees so hard you knock the table over.

      • Sure because you have complete control over what's on your phone, don't you?
  • I have Cortana on my Android (it's on the Play Store), I can say that it is legit. I also have Alexa which is not, at least currently or as implemented, not terribly useful. I of course have Alexa on my Kindle Fire 8, it's mostly just good for handling media (actually really good) and regurgitating internet search results. So anyway, I am not going to sit here and review Cortana on Android. Take a few seconds to download it and give it a spin.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PCM2 ( 4486 )

      I have Cortana on my Android (it's on the Play Store), I can say that it is legit.

      Explain, please. I have Google and a [virtual] keyboard. What do I gain from Cortana?

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday January 19, 2017 @12:54PM (#53697317)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • That would be cool! Except... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Overzeetop ( 214511 ) on Thursday January 19, 2017 @01:27PM (#53697581) Journal

    Cortana is better than Google at answering questions. Unfortunately, unless the question is very simple, she dumps you into a Bing search, which is even less helpful than Now always dumping you into a Google search. If you're interacting via voice, you shouldn't have to look at your phone or press links. At least in Google, you can often read the answer (after you stop driving/doing whatever it was that prevented you from typing in the first place, of course); with Bing, you end up copying the search text so you can paste it into Chrome to get useful links to answers.

  • That gives yet another opportunity to publish a scathing review of Microsoft's trash. As usual, consider yourself middle-fingered, Microsoft.

  • "Microsoft is Bringing Cortana To Android Lock Screen"

    TRANSLATION: "Microsoft is Infecting Android Devices"

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