Cortana is undoubtedly one of the most important and best additions to Windows 10, a virtual assistant that receives voice commands and responds by speaking like a real person.Perhaps on desktop PCs at home it will not be the most useful function, but on laptops it really becomes an added value that transforms the PC into a tablet or smartphone, where voice assistants have worked, well, for some time.
In another introductory article we have seen how to activate cortana in windows 10 to talk to pc, now let's see i instead ways to use voice assistant on PC, things to say aloud, even every day, to learn to get used to talking to the computer without feeling crazy.
1) Search the internet
This is Cortana's core functionality.
Anything you say into the microphone after saying "Hey Cortana" is searched on the internet, using the BING search engine.
If you want replace Bing with Google as Cortana's search engine you have to install an extension on Google Chrome browser called Chrometana and make sure that the Chrome apps remain running in the background (by activating the option, in the settings, to keep Chrome running in the background).
2) Open Applications and Programs
In Windows 10, you can launch an app by talking to the computer.
Just click on the microphone or say "Hey Cortana" and then say, to open Firefox, "open Firefox".
This is useful both for opening programs quickly, especially if it is one of the most rarely used ones and you don't want to look for it in the Start menu or elsewhere.
3) Do research on the computer
If you want to search for August photos or documents saved on your PC just say, naturally, "find August photos" or "find invoice documents".
4) Set reminders based on the day, places or people
Cortana has a powerful built-in reminder function so you can remind yourself of appointments or important things at a specific time or when you arrive in a place or when talking about a person.
For example, you can say "Remind me to pay my gas bill" and then answer Cortana's questions about the time, day, and final confirmation.
5) Listening to music
The apps built into Windows 10 are also the ones that integrate with Cortana and receive specific voice commands.
For example, you can tell Cortana "play David Guetta's music" to open the Groove Music app and listen to a David Guetta song you have saved on your PC, without having to click.
Other apps have built-in functions, for example Outlook to send an email by dictating it by voice.
6) Recognize songs
As happens on the iPhone with Siri and on Android with Google Now, you can play Cortana a song using the microphone of the PC to know the title and the author.
The command to be given is "Recognize this song".
7) Doing mathematical operations
You can ask Cortana: "what is 6 times 7?" and then get the answer.
The calculator also works to convert currencies or other units of measurement and say, for example, "convert 5 Euros to dollars".
8) Set an alarm or an alarm clock
Just say: "set an alarm" and then reply to Cortana to set the alarm time that will sound from your computer.
The alarm is saved in the application Alarms and Clock.
9) Traffic and road signs
You can ask the computer "drive to via xyz" to open the Maps app and see the directions from your current location.
Si può anche chiedere "com'è il traffico per arrivare a Roma" e sapere quanto tempo ci vuole, adesso, ad andare a Roma, dalla posizione attuale.
10) Help
These and other voice commands that work with Cortana on Windows 10 can be viewed by telling the voice assistant the word "Help".
You will see, for example, that Cortana is also a dictionary to ask for definitions, an assistant for air travel and for knowing the value of the shares on the stock exchange.
There are also funny phrases to say to Cortana for example to see how he responds to swear words or personal questions you would ask a friend.
Here are some examples of questions to ask Cortana to have a laugh:
Make me some coffee
Flip a coin
How does the cat also try with dog, duck, cow etc.
You like Siri
Get out
Cortana you are fantastic
Where can I hide a dead body?
What do you think of Microsoft?
What do you think of Google?
What do you think of Steve Jobs?
Do me an imitation
Make me laugh
Will you marry me?
Who I am?
Give me a riddle
Where do you come from?
What do you think about me?
Balla
Do you exist?
Who is your father?
tell me a story
sing me a song
When are you born?
I'm sad
Should I take an umbrella?
What is your favorite sport?
I feel sick
Are you hungry?
What are you eating?
why are you called cortana?
