Windows 10 was launched last year in July and with Windows 10, we saw the introduction of Microsoft’s personal assistant, Cortana. But is it just like any other personal assistant out there or does she have a different personality? Well, let me tell you straightaway that Cortana has a personality, just like Apple’s Siri Voice Assistant. Today, let me help you do a few things with Cortana that are good and productive, in some cases.
Before you start, if you are interested in other tips and guides of Windows 10, check out the Ultimate Windows 10 Tips and Tricks list.
Before we dive into the things to do with Cortana, you should know how to set it up and quickly access it whenever you want. I have already covered a guide on how to set up Cortana on your Windows 10 computer, and in order to access it quickly, you must know the best shortcuts in Windows 10.
Search the Internet
The most basic thing you can do with Cortana is that you can search anything on the Internet via a simple query. It will search your term on the Bing Search Engine, and show you the results in your default web browser. In my case, I searched for GizmoTimes and it did a Bing Search for the keyword. To do this, press Win Key + C on your keyboard to quickly activate Cortana and then just say your keyword that you want to search.
Open Applications
Another thing that you can ask Cortana to do is to open any applications that you have installed on your computer. In order to do so, you just need to fire up Cortana and ask her to open an application. For my example, I asked her to open the Photos App on my computer, and I simply said “Open Photos” and it launched the Photos app on my computer. You can also say “Launch Photos” or “Start Photos” to launch the Photos app. You can do so with any application that is installed on your computer.
Send an Email
Another cool thing that she can do for you is to type an email for someone and send it to the person you specify. But the catch here is that it will work with only the default Windows 10 Mail Application. You will need to set up your email account on the Mail app and then use Cortana to send an email.
In order to send an email, you’ll have to launch Cortana first, and then say “Send an email to XYZ” where XYZ must be in your address book already. Next, it will ask you for the subject and finally the content of the email. Speak out all of that and then you’ll have the option to edit the email or just ask Cortana to send it.
Add a Calendar Appointment
With Windows 10, Microsoft launched a lot of Windows 10 Apps that can be beneficial to you if you use them correctly. One of such apps is the Calendar app in Windows 10. If you haven’t read it earlier, learn how you can add your Google Calendar to your Windows 10 Calendar. Now, in order to add an event to your calendar just activate Cortana and say “Schedule a meeting” it will then ask you for the date and time of the event and finally the title that you want to give to the event. It will then add the event to your calendar.
You can also say something like “Schedule a meeting for tomorrow at 10pm” and then it will only ask you for the title of the event.
Ask Cortana to Sing
Cortana has a great personality and singing is a part of this personality. You can ask Cortana to sing a song for you, and she will sing a song for you without any problem. I asked her to sing Happy Birthday for me, and it just started singing Happy Birthday. To do so, activate Cortana and say “Sing a song for me” or say “Sing Happy Birthday for me”.
Listen to Jokes
Part of Cortana’s personality is the humor that she possesses. She has a great sense of humor. You can ask her to tell you a joke, and most of those jokes are actually funny. Every time you ask for a joke, she tells you a new one. To listen to a joke, just activate Cortana and say “Tell me a Joke” and then again, say “Tell me another joke”. You’ll have a nice time with this feature. I use it practically every day to lighten the mood.
