Microsoft – About Automation – Home Automation & Smart Homes

What happened to Cortana?

09/04/201809/04/2018 / Microsoft, News

Cortana...thinking of the Microsoft A.I system makes something stir in your brain, doesn’t it? When you think of home automation, your mind naturally jumps first to Amazon Alexa, then Google Assistant as the market leaders, but whatever happened to the Microsoft alternative? Of course, if you’re a windows user, you’ll undoubtedly have Cortana on hand on your PC, but she’s hardly a leading contender in the home automation market, especially in Australia as we still can’t buy the Harmon Kardon speaker (with Cortana) over here. This narrow market is one of Microsoft’s main problems, as they’re heavily reliant on PC

Amazon Alexa is coming to Windows 10 PCs

01/03/201830/03/2018 / Amazon, Microsoft, News

[kc_row use_container="yes" _id="266873"][kc_column width="12/12" _id="913145"] Amazons Digital Assistant seems to be compatible with almost anything these days, except your Windows PC. Both Amazon and Microsoft announcing a new assistant partnership which was due to invoked in late 2017. However, both companies seemed to have failed to meet the integration deadline and now Amazon Alexa is arriving on Windows 10 PCs to challenge Microsoft’s built-in Cortana assistant. HP, Lenovo, Asus, and Acer are all PC companies that plan to integrate Alexa into a range of Windows 10 laptops and desktops being released this year, which was announced at each respective companies

Is Microsoft Cortana Competition to Google and Amazon

18/01/201830/03/2018 / Microsoft, News

Microsoft has shown that voice assistant Cortana, is powerful enough to deal with a wide range of 'Smart Technology' from speakers and toasters, to fridges and Cars at the Build 2017 developer conference, announcing the platforms has developed a partnership with both BMW and Nissan. However so far there has only been one dedicated Cortana speaker, (the Harmon Kardon). While competitor assistants Alexa and Google Assistant continue to be a feature in more and more devices, Cortana seems to be falling behind. Microsoft is promising that more will come in time. Microsoft has announced new partnerships with Ecobee, Honeywell, IFTTT, Lifx, and TP-Link, which is a big step forward

Cortana Plays Friendly With Gmail.

13/12/201723/01/2018 / Microsoft, News

Those of you that are Window 10 + Android users, you can rejoice. Home Automation with Cortana just became a little bit easier. Windows has just added Google Calendar and Gmail functionality so you can use the windows Voice Assistant to check your calendar, emails, pull up reminders and contacts. Which is great news to anyone into home automation without having a Smart Speaker in the home. all you need now is a windows PC. With windows recently adding connected home features to Cortana for your smart devices. To make use of your Windows Cortana accessing your google account just

Harmon Kardon & Microsoft Cortana

26/10/201723/03/2018 / Microsoft, News, Samsung

[kc_row use_container="yes" _id="856111"][kc_column width="12/12" _id="470400"]This week Harman Kardon and Microsoft released the Harman Kardon Invoke with Cortana by Microsoft for the exy price of $199.95 USD. The only country it was released in was the United States and with the sound powered by Harman Kardon, and that price tag, it’s easy to see the market they hope to reach. For the moment, powerful sounding speakers are few and far between, with the best on the market (personally considered) being the Google Home Max. So, considering price range and Sound target this is what we would consider comparing with before deciding

Harmon Kardon & Samsung

25/10/201723/03/2018 / Microsoft, News, Samsung

[kc_row use_container="yes" _id="472082"][kc_column width="12/12" _id="611444"]To say there are a few smart speakers on the market at the moment is a huge understatement. A.I. and smart home companies are all in a race to beat competitors to market for the next big ‘it’ hardware. Amazon Alexa was the first to bring voice assistant and home controls to the market (but over two years later is yet to release in Australia) and Google Home, which is coming next (first to reach the Australian market). Apple and Samsung are the next big tech companies to release their voice assistants in a speaker. Apple

Microsoft is saying goodbye mobile?

09/10/201723/01/2018 / Microsoft, News

News struck a few weeks ago that Bill Gates no longer equips himself with a Windows Phone, but has switched over to android. While this is not exactly ground-breaking news considering Gates is no longer involved with Microsofts; day-to-day running, what is Ground breaking news, at least for the Home Automation fans, is news that has come out surrounding Microsofts latest direction choices. In the last 24hrs Microsoft worker Joe Belfiore took to his twitter account @joebelfiore to address a tweet he received from a Microsoft Windows Phone user. This whole conversation indicates Microsoft is moving away from the phone

Microsoft Windows Connected Home?

09/10/201723/01/2018 / Microsoft, News

Microsoft Cortana 'officially' was released in 2015, and for Australians using Windows 10 there is mixed reviews. For navigating your PC it’s a handy little search too,. but as far as the Cortana we have access to, she can’t really do a whole lot, and is DEFINATELY optimised for use in the states. A lot of what Cortana can do can be customized or enabled through the Cortana Notebook, a sort of settings menu where you can tell Cortana what to keep track of for you as well as enable integrations with different services. New to the menu in AMERICA

Follow up on Amazon and Microsoft Partnership

02/09/201727/01/2018 / Amazon, Microsoft, News

So, after the surprise announcement of amazon and Microsoft joining sides. We can confirm this move means neither party will drop their respective assistant, but that the assistants will work hand in hand allowing you to access Cortana’s features from Alexa, and vice versa. While the pair of Assistants wont work in perfect harmony together you can expect a command similar to " hey Cortana, open Alexa" or "alexa/Echo, open Cortana"

SHOCK AMAZON PARTNERSHIP

02/09/201727/01/2018 / Amazon, Google, Microsoft, News

Amazon and assistant Alexa to partner with Microsoft and Cortana assistant, this news broke this week. Following news last week about Google partnering with Walmart for a chance to take on the giant online store. Looks like the big tech companies are gearing up to go head to head. So we are in for an interesting marketing show down.