Microsoft takes a leap of faith with Windows10 – Cortana and HoloLens
For many the title of this article “Microsoft takes a leap of faith with Windows10- Cortana and HoloLens” would mean that we are against Microsoft or we are among those who are not in sync with the technology and brand that Microsoft promotes. We are huge admirers of Microsoft and have always been and this piece is about the kind of promise that Windows10 shows with Cortana and to venture into Virtual Reality with HoloLens is commendable for the company that was always laughed at due to Internet Explorer and Windows 8 fiasco. We bring you why Microsoft is highly hopeful about their latest products that this year will bring good fortunes for the company and they need it badly.
Spartan
This is not Spartaaaaa and we are certainly not talking about the movie 300. Spartan is the name of the latest light weight and extremely fast(As per Microsoft) browser that Microsoft has launched along with Windows10. It boasts a note-taking mode where the user can annotate a webpage, can share marked up version with friends using Windows 10’s primary Share feature. It also includes a clipping tool which allows the user the clip text directly from the webpage and save to OneNote. Spartan integrates the latest version of Reading Mode which was previously present in Windows 8’s Metro Internet Explorer app. Windows 10 lets the user save content to read it later while he is even offline.
Cortana
So, as per anticipations, Cortana finally makes entry to PCs. Cortana is Microsoft’s version of Apple’s Siri, a digital assistant which was a prominent feature in Windows Phone until now starts its service in PCs too. Cortana, unlike regular digital assistants gets their own place right next to the Start button in desktop taskbar. It can smoothly perform all the major tasks that she accomplishes in Windows Phone. Just like the Windows Phone, you can interact with Cortana with text as well as voice. There are some pretty useful commands that you can give to Cortana. If you ask Cortana to play your favourite song, it will launch the music app and just saying “Please be quiet” will turn off the music. This is some cool stuff.
HoloLens
Microsoft imagined a world where technology could be personal and it would be more natural how we communicate with people, how we learn and create different things. A world where our digital life would mingle with real life and how technology can help us work efficiently. And Bam, the result we got is technically the most advanced Holographic computing platform and it is powered by Windows 10. Microsoft HoloLens brings holograms to your life in the real world, one where they would integrate with your real life and the objects around you. It will change the way we do things daily and will even help us do things which we never imagined ourselves to do.
Xbox 1 Games
There is some really good news for gamers in particular. They have launched The Xbox App. Irrespective of the platform you choose for playing, you can get the access to the important things of your gaming life: Games, Messages, Notifications and more. Xbox Live is a multiplayer gaming ability made available that is social and interactive too and integrates well with Windows 10. The developers are supposed to get the Xbox Live API which will make it easy for them to create better games in the future.
With these amazing announces from Microsoft, 2015 really looks to be a happy year for Microsoft and help them compete effectively with tech giants like Apple and Google.
Dhruvil is a Writer & Marketeer for Nimblechapps, joining December 2014, based out of Sydney, Australia. He has worked briefly as a Branding and Digital Marketing Manager before moving to Australia. At Nimblechapps, he worked on Social Media Marketing, Branding, Email Marketing and Blogging. Dhruvil studies Business at University of Western Sydney, and also handles Operations for the company in Australia.