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Jewmanji posted:What must it be like to be so intimately familiar with something that causes you so much aggravation? Jewmanji posted:A good percentage of the people I know have recently bought the iPhone 6. Watching them use it, it's hard not to get a tad jealous with how smoothly everything operates. The one thing I always loved about WP from the beginning was how fluid and enjoyable the basic interface was. Ever since 8.1 though, I feel like things have gotten so choppy and unresponsive, it's like I'm using Android from years back. The Podcast App is sometimes unusably frustrating, and even Cortana has a noted delay from the time I click the mic button to hearing the "go ahead and speak" sound, meaning it often takes 3-4 clicks of the button and around 15 seconds of my time (If she gets the command right) to use properly. Similarly, if I'm listening to music, and I try to tap into the Music app from the homescreen by clicking the volume controls and then tapping the artist name to bring me to the Now Playing card, the phone basically shits itself for 3-5 seconds while it swipes it's way through various menus and finally gets me to my desired location. Really though, the problem is just not that the changes exhibited so far are idiosyncratic due to the early nature of the builds, it's that the direction they're going towards is seemingly as generic as possible, to the point where I wonder what exactly their selling point with WP will be when the final goal is to basically make it look and operate like Android 3.x. We're not completely in the dark here, we have a good look at Windows 10 and recent apps on both WP, Windows and Android/iOS demonstrate what their direction is likely going to be, and from all indications the change coming is basically to remove anything unique about the platform from a design & operation perspective in the name of...making it easier to port apps? Being less alienating to new users? Who knows, but then what's the draw for WP, especially when all of MS services/apps will be on Android/iOS, and third party developers already have the other bases covered? This grand universal app future? It's not like the design of WP is just some bulletpoint on a feature list, really - WP doesn't have much aside from the basic operation of its interface and a low price point to promote it at this point. You remove that one distinctive feature of it, and what's the pull here? Happy_Misanthrope fucked around with this message at 06:08 on Feb 14, 2015 |
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Feb 14, 2015 05:45
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I'm going to guess the seamless transition from phone to PC to tablet to TV to wearable, personal and corporate, etc. Not being facetious, I think that's their goal and honestly it's a pretty good one. When you look at it from just the phone perspective your point is valid, however the larger picture looks much better if they pull it all off. Apple and Android may be dominant on phones and tablets, but both lack the universal seamless package that MS can potentially deliver, and people spend only half their time on those devices. The other half is typically spent on other devices where MS does have a serious foothold, if not debatable dominance (PC / TV).
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Feb 14, 2015 09:31
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Happy_Misanthrope posted:...- WP doesn't have much aside from the basic operation of its interface and a low price point to promote it at this point. You remove that one distinctive feature of it, and what's the pull here? This. I've been asked by people about my phone ("what is it?". It's a 1520) and do I recommend a Windows Phone. I struggle to identify any usp since 8.1 which either interests me like the earlier versions or I could espouse with gusto over an IOS or Android. Indeed what is the pull? Re: Unifying across all the platforms. I have yet to see consistency on one, let alone all of them the best in the same way at the same time. Hint: burger menus are not it. Still though top of the new features list is backgrounds behind tiles! Edit: "Windows 10 for phones" is now an ad hoc phrase used to identify which Windows 10 is being talked about. Ha! Way to succeed in the unification there. Struggling to find positivity in MS's descent into amateur hour. Childlike blue-eyed innocence? Mr Funkface fucked around with this message at 11:40 on Feb 14, 2015 |
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Feb 14, 2015 10:24
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OldPueblo posted:I'm going to guess the seamless transition from phone to PC to tablet to TV to wearable, personal and corporate, etc. Not being facetious, I think that's their goal and honestly it's a pretty good one. My argument (and hardly one that's original) has always been that the idea is certainly compelling at first glance, but the cracks become fissures when put into practice largely because the input methods are so distinct between the platforms. There can be cases where actually making it easy to run the same app on a PC/tablet/smartphone ends up being a detriment because it's a case of lowest common denominator - you get an app that isn't suited to each platform. You invariably have to compromise on the native experience for each in some fashion, and we're seeing that with Windows 10 (so far), both on phone and tablet/desktop. WP's thumb-friendly navigation is being reduced for the sake of platform consistency, Surface owners are dismayed at how lovely the tablet experience is with W10 in tablet mode for example - they've basically just reversed the problem. It's extremely difficult to have an app optimized for the distinct environments of a desktop vs a tablet/phone, there are many factors that dictate why an app works better on one vs the other. What I want to share most amongst my mobile and desktop platforms is data first and foremost, and that's a problem that's largely already solved by the competing platforms, especially iOS and OSX. Hell, they're superior right now in some ways - for example, you can sent txt messages/calls/facetime on your OSX desktop through your iPhone and have them completely in sync. Open and edit the same files in iWork and now Office. Sync your bookmarks, your ebook positions, your media, etc. You get a good degree of synergy, but the desktop experience is distinctly optimized for m&k, and the touch experience optimized for touch. You don't open an iOS 'compatible' app have it display in a different DPI than your desktop and use a shittier font rendering method because it has to prepare for the fact it may be displayed on a tablet and can't use subpixel rendering, for example. Purchasing one app that can be used on all platforms is nice, but then again considering how cheap most mobile apps are and with the subscription model becoming the trend, how much do you really save here? It's the same chicken/egg problem. In order to make universal apps a compelling argument, you have to have people invested in your mobile platform. Now, it appears one of the most distinctive and compelling (?) features of WP is largely being deprecated...for the sake of universality. I don't know how you sell that potential future as a benefit to someone looking at a mobile ecosystem now or in the immediate future. Happy_Misanthrope fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Feb 14, 2015 |
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Feb 14, 2015 18:04
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edit, fixed
wormil fucked around with this message at 19:06 on Feb 14, 2015 |
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Feb 14, 2015 18:04
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Ok, some small positive news - the MSN apps were updated, and it looks - finally - like at least the step counter live tile is "Making Live Tiles work properly" though really shouldn't require months before a patch to fix an essential feature of the platform. Edit: Nope, step counter tile still doesn't update unless I launch the app. Happy_Misanthrope fucked around with this message at 02:29 on Feb 15, 2015 |
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Feb 14, 2015 18:15
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The live tiles for my MSN news and weather apps have been working since before they were MSN. 
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Feb 14, 2015 18:38
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I somehow have denim on an ATT 920. This happened after I wiped mine 2 weeks ago because of that tetra lock screen permanently loving up my wakeup. Is this normal? Their status page says I should still be on cyan. Is there any way to check other than the page in extras + info (do i get rich capture or anything like that on the camera end)
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Feb 14, 2015 21:34
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I used the register hack on XDA to flash the Windows 10 preview build to my 1020 and 1520. I'll keep it on my 1020 (seeing that it's now a development device anyway) but after trying out the keyboard and poking around, I had to revert it back. Shockingly, it's really rough and not ready for prime time  . But seeing what's there is kinda cool.The one handed keyboard mode for the 1520 is quite nice and works well in this early stage. But my biggest problem with holding the 1520 one handed is reaching the back button if I'm holding it with my right hand. I kinda wish there was a virtual button for hitting that on there too. But still, it works. I could not get the Japanese keyboard to download at all, so right away that's a deal breaker for now (Seeing that I kinda need it to... um... type to people) but that's to do with the hack I'm guessing. The Japanese translation in general is quite interesting for me so far, because as with Windows 10 and Xbox One, the "fun", "casual" language used in English is nearly all gone, and parts of it are a little strange to me. For example, the "Don't Forget" reminder text became "忘れた場合", which is literately "In case you've forgotten", but you don't really say it like a "Don't Forget! (This event) is happening!", but as a "If you've forgotten this event, then do this" sort of thing. I get what it means, but it's not the same thing... but then again, I could be totally wrong on that, which would not surprise me . The background tile stuff works I guess? I tried to get a hacked together Windows 10 API based app to deploy to my phone, but it won't run. So I will have to wait for Build to actually see the new APIs  . But still, seeing what's there so far is kinda cool. If nothing else, it makes me somewhat more amped for Build.
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Feb 15, 2015 22:14
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Happy_Misanthrope posted:You tell me I love the platform, despite my grievances It just seemed that 8.1 wasn't very well-optimized. My complaint that you quoted is an easily fixable one, it's not some structural or philosophical flaw that I expect will ruin the experience on W10 with a modern phone.
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Feb 16, 2015 00:03
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I just jumped over to a windows phone for the first time. While there's a lot I like, the Windows phone store is a loving wasteland. Can anyone make recommendations or point me to a list of Windows equivalents to Android apps? I'm looking for: 1. Podcast manager (Came from using BeyondPod) 2. Weight-lifting tracker (Jeffit Pro) 3. Running tracker (Runkeeper) 4. Audiobook reader (Mortplayer) 5. Task manager (Any Do) If there are agreed upon upgrades to the standard stuff, I'd appreciate that too.
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Feb 17, 2015 19:48
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I don't really do any of the other stuff (well, I use Fitbit for fitness but you kind of need a fitbit for that ), but I like Wunderlist for to-dos, which is cross-platform. I used to use Effectual as well, but stopped because I'm not a fan of bright white backgrounds. It's also not as complex as either Any Do or Wunderlist. fake edit: I will do a comprehensive break down of every WP weather app if you'd like because I think I've tried them all
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Feb 17, 2015 20:36
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I've absolutely loved the WeatherFlow app. Not as big a fan that they split into a main app and a lockscreen app, but it's still pretty nice for keeping up with the weather.
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Feb 17, 2015 20:39
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Just got an email from Microsoft. Apparently they are poo poo-canning Rooms soon.
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Feb 17, 2015 20:54
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quote:Starting in March 2015, Rooms on Windows Phone will no longer be supported. You'll still be able to view and use your room photo albums, calendars, and notes. Terrible. Just terrible. They've gone beyond taking out features in subsequent versions and upped their game to ripping out features of the version you're currently using. I'm actually angry about this. Unbelievable.
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Feb 17, 2015 21:00
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What the hell is a Room? Using Windows 10 Tech Preview and other than glitchy hangs and poo poo I love it so far. Tons of nice tweaks. Nice having a built in timer and stopwatch!
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Feb 17, 2015 21:12
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Factor Mystic posted:Terrible. Just terrible. They've gone beyond taking out features in subsequent versions and upped their game to ripping out features of the version you're currently using. I'm actually angry about this. Unbelievable.
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Feb 17, 2015 21:46
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I guess this is what a product team giving up looks like. All the original features & concepts & metro design language replaced with the familiarity of a bland, derivative Android-like experience (minus the app coverage, of course). Why try to communicate why your platform is more valuable when you could just throw in the towel and shut down all the differentiating features? Problem solved! To be fair, the writing was on the wall when Messenger was shut down, since Rooms is based on Messenger (right?) and it's not like they were going to bother migrate the back end over to skype messaging. Still, it stings. I thought they'd keep it going at least through the Windows 10 launch, that way people could voluntarily upgrade to lose the functionality rather than having it pulled involuntarily from the current version. lol xylo posted:It's just the provisioning and the tile part that is going away. Room messaging was the most important thing, and there's no replacement for that.
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Feb 17, 2015 22:09
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Rooms, no. 
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Feb 17, 2015 22:53
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Subterfrugal posted:I just jumped over to a windows phone for the first time. While there's a lot I like, the Windows phone store is a loving wasteland. Can anyone make recommendations or point me to a list of Windows equivalents to Android apps? I'm looking for: The Windows Phone subreddit has a weekly "Is there an app for that?" thread. Might be worth looking through some of the old posts there. I browsed it heavily when I got my 925.
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Feb 17, 2015 23:18
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Factor Mystic posted:Room messaging was the most important thing, and there's no replacement for that.
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Feb 18, 2015 00:17
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What is it about Rooms messaging that makes it superior to, say, WhatsApp?
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Feb 18, 2015 00:23
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xylo posted:Can try using Groups -- it would be text and email only though. are you able to shed any light unto the decision making behind dropping rooms?
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Feb 18, 2015 01:51
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BonoMan posted:What the hell is a Room?
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Feb 18, 2015 02:02
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CalvinandHobbes posted:are you able to shed any light unto the decision making behind dropping rooms? Gonna go out on a limb and say not many people were using it and it would be too much of a pain to maintain/expand.
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Feb 18, 2015 02:14
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My 920 is starting to crap out after two years and I'm getting to the point where I don't want to piss with it anymore and I'm ready to get a new phone. Is there anything worth getting? Should I even care about this platform anymore? I thought about a 1520 but that seems lolhuge.
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Feb 18, 2015 02:15
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Caught Cubs Posting
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Drastic Actions posted:Gonna go out on a limb and say not many people were using it and it would be too much of a pain to maintain/expand. The issue is getting it into Win10 and whether it makes sense to spend time bringing it in or going forwarding with new solutions/features that are not Windows Phone specific. Note that we're spending a ton of time making sure our software and services are available anywhere (Office, OneDrive, Xbox Live, etc) and it would be hard to make Rooms do that in the position/implementation it was in. I don't know what the plans are (nor would I be able to say if I did), but knowing the above, I'd be willing to be some dollars that the team is working on some successor feature/equivalent.
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Feb 18, 2015 03:24
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xylo posted:Nope not this at all. See, this is what happens when you don't hire me, Drastic Actions, to be on the Windows Phone team. I just remain out of the loop like that  .
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Feb 18, 2015 03:32
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Devo posted:Is there anything worth getting? Should I even care about this platform anymore?
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Feb 18, 2015 03:33
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xylo posted:I don't know what the plans are (nor would I be able to say if I did), but knowing the above, I'd be willing to be some dollars that the team is working on some successor feature/equivalent. Which will debut in Windows 10.1 in late 2016, then be cut from Windows 13 released in late 2017 and disabled on any phones remaining on Windows 10.1.
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Feb 18, 2015 03:41
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Things are looking up up up for the adopters in 2021
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Feb 18, 2015 03:42
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xylo posted:Nope not this at all. Not a pain to maintain -- the service basically runs itself. lol xylo posted:The issue is getting it into Win10 and whether it makes sense to spend time bringing it in or going forwarding with new solutions/features that are not Windows Phone specific. Note that we're spending a ton of time making sure our software and services are available anywhere (Office, OneDrive, Xbox Live, etc) and it would be hard to make Rooms do that in the position/implementation it was in. I'm real curious what the situation is that it can't be provided as an app, as the other services you listed are (well maybe not Xbox Live). Were the issues more technical or more political?
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Feb 18, 2015 03:44
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BonoMan posted:What the hell is a Room?
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Feb 18, 2015 03:57
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BonoMan posted:What the hell is a Room Basically an adhoc sharing service you can invite people into that has group chat, picture/video sharing, shared calendar, group chat and shared notes: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/How-to/wp8/people/use-rooms-and-groups Maneki Neko fucked around with this message at 04:57 on Feb 18, 2015 |
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Feb 18, 2015 04:54
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Factor Mystic posted:I'm real curious what the situation is that it can't be provided as an app, as the other services you listed are (well maybe not Xbox Live). Were the issues more technical or more political?
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Feb 18, 2015 06:16
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Rooms was really awesome feature if you had family and small kids, even without messaging (which we never used anyway) this tile would show up if there were any new appointments on shared calendar and so on. We wouldn't even need messaging because my wife would just add something to calendar and I'd check rooms and at one glance see everything, like "ok kid's got dental checkup at Tuesday 10am". Seriously gently caress you Microsoft, might as well get iPhone 6s or whatever next time. All good features are going and all we have is shittier and slower versi.. Resuming... I can understand that on 520 or whatever piece of poo poo phone but the gently caress I'm even seeing this on 2GB quad core 930
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Feb 18, 2015 10:02
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So my Iphone 3g had an unfortunate accident and is broken once again. I'm finished with it for good since it was slow and the battery was lovely, and so I am now in search for a cheap replacement. My wife has a Lumia 520, and from what I've played with it, it's not bad. However, I've been eyeing the 635 but I don't know much about it other than what the specs say between the two. Can anyone chime in on them both for me as the specs for both don't tell me all that much except the 635 is heavier, has a larger battery, and a ever so slightly larger display.
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Feb 18, 2015 11:04
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Subterfrugal posted:1. Podcast manager (Came from using BeyondPod) 1. Podcast Lounge 2. Fitbit? Microsoft Health? Depends. 3. Same as above? Runtastic Pro? 4. No idea. 5. Calendar, 2Day, Chronos...
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Feb 18, 2015 11:17
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Robzilla posted:So my Iphone 3g had an unfortunate accident and is broken once again. I'm finished with it for good since it was slow and the battery was lovely, and so I am now in search for a cheap replacement. Get a 535 if you can as it has 1gb ram. The 635 is a good mom phone but it falls short because of the 512 ram.
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Feb 18, 2015 12:04
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RVProfootballer posted:Which will debut in Windows 10.1 in late 2016, then be cut from Windows 13 released in late 2017 and disabled on any phones remaining on Windows 10.1. I think you meant: quote:Will be hyped the hell out of for Windows 10.1 (which will be announced even before Windows 10 is RTM), will launch in beta in late 2016, to a select few countries (i.e. US and Canada), and before it's able to leave beta status or be available in all regions, it will be cut from Windows 13 in late 2017 and disabled on any phones remaining on Windows 10.1 xylo, any chance you can shed some light on the inability for MS to enable Cortana for all regions, even in a completely unsupported alpha phase for english only? It baffles me that they make a big song and dance about the fact that Cortana can now speak klingon for the 5 people in the world who care about something like that, yet it's still unavailable for the majority of the english speaking world. Are they going to leave Cortana region-locked when Windows 10 rolls out for the desktop as well?
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Feb 18, 2015 12:40
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