Microsoft has released the first major update for its newest operating system, Windows 10, and with the update came the arrival of the company's digital assistant Cortana to Canada, Australia, India and Japan.
According to Microsoft, with the update, users can utilize the pen of a Windows 10 device to write notes in the Cortana Notebook wherein home addresses, email addresses and phone numbers would be recognized by Cortana to help set up associated reminders. Cortana will also be able to keep track of the events of the user, sending the users reminders on locations and times for these events and providing them with the option to call up a ride from Uber.
The compatibility with a Windows 10 device pen and the booking of an Uber ride, however, is currently limited to users in the United States.
"We're excited to make Cortana available in Japan, Australia, and Canada and India (in English) with features and experiences customized for each market," Microsoft said in a blog post regarding the update.
However, Cortana in the aforementioned countries will not be as capable as in the United States. In addition, for users in Canada and India, Cortana will only have English as an available language.
Despite the limitations of Cortana in these countries, Microsoft took pride in the customization that it has done to localize the digital assistant.
"Designing an intelligent personal assistant for new markets requires abandoning a 'one size fits all' approach, instead embracing local culture, humor and points of interest," said Cortana Group Program Manager Marcus Ash, adding that the local teams of the group talked to real users from these countries to study the different cultures and adjust the personality of Cortana accordingly.
Prior to the update, Cortana was only available in the United States, United Kingdom, France, China, Germany, Italy and Spain, with support revealed for Mexico, Brazil and Quebecois.
Before, Canadian users could try out the digital assistant by tinkering with their region settings; however, this method led to several problems on Windows 10.
In addition to the rollout of Cortana to more countries, the major update to Windows 10 also improved the Edge browser and enhanced the operating system's performance.
