Microsoft is late to the game when it comes to putting a digital assistant on its phones, but the wait might be worth it. Sources close to the project have revealed some of the specifics of Microsoft’s upcoming "Cortana" service to The Verge, and it could be the very best of Siri and Google Now.
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Google Now, the helpful and occasionally creepy notification center for Android and iOS, is now available on the desktop via Chrome.
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At last, Google Now will enable you to refer to people by relationship whenever you want to make a voice call or a text, which is a good thing actually. For those who have tried to make use of Google Now voice commands in the past, you would run into limitations of voice commands if you want to call someone with a more unique name. Basically, not everyone has a name that is easy for the voice command system to understand, but you can be sure that voice recognition is moving in the right direction. Well, Google has introduced the ability for Google Now understand your referral to other contacts by relationship, thanks to the relationship descriptor. This would mean you are able to say, “Call dad” or “Text my wife”, and it will do so.
Google Now Understands Your Relationship Connection original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Google is rolling out an update to its Google Search for Android app today, and with this, it is introducing a number of new features for Google Now as well.
Google Now already tells you to leave for work so you can arrive on time, and it will now do the same thing for your trips to the airport, event and dinner reservations. Basically, any Google Now card that used to only remind you when you needed to be somewhere (flights, calendar events with locations and times, restaurant reservations, movie and concert tickets) can now also tell you when you should leave to get there on time. You’ll be able to specify whether you’re taking public transport or driving, and how early you would like to arrive (which comes in pretty handy when you’re driving to the airport).
In addition to this, Google’s voice recognition feature now lets you make calls and send texts. Just say “call John” or “send text to my brother” and the app will pull the right contact up for you. If you have a few John’s in your contacts, it will check who you want to call and if you have multiple numbers, it will ask you about that, too.
As Google has previously said, it wants to be your personal assistant. And just like some of its other voice features, these new features allow you to have a relatively complex interaction with your device without ever touching the keyboard.
Other new features in this release include a new Google Now card for the Sochi Olympics, with easy access to medal standings, news and upcoming events.
The team has also increased the number of languages users can use to set reminders by voice in Google Now. The app now supports, French, German, Japanese or Korean, so if you feel inclined to do so (and you are in Germany), you can now say “Erinnere mich daran um 12 Uhr Rolf anzurufen” and Google will indeed remind you of your call at noon.
Google Now has been updated to make airline notifications more useful, with the contextual engine now able to figure out not only when your next flight will leave, but when … Continue reading
Thanks to a tiny issue when it comes to parsing commas, YouTuber SpiderDice discovered that Google Now is convinced our planet is divided into over 189 quadrillion countries.
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How many of you out there use Google Now? It can be a pretty handy tool actually if there are enough users around in your circle. For instance, you will be able to know whether your other half’s flight has been delayed, and results of the recent Super Bowl rout being made available right at your fingertips without having to ask. Well, considering how Google Now already provides you with the right information at the right time on both Android and iOS platforms, here is additional good news for you. From this week onward, as you make use of Chrome beta, you will be able to be on the receiving end of your Google Now notifications through the notifications center on your Mac, Windows or Chromebook computer.
Receive Notifications From Google Now In Chrome original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Google has added Google Now notifications to its Chrome browser, bringing the contextual alerts for travel warnings, flight information, and package shipments to the desktop. The functionality, now an option … Continue reading
Intel will rely on local processing grunt not cloud crunching for the voice control its Jarvis wearable will use, using a specially-created voice recognition system designed to run on the … Continue reading
Google Now is great, but it’s only on your mobile devices. We’ve been waiting on a desktop version for what feels like forever. Now, finally, it’s just starting to poke its head out in the beta-est of Chrome’s beta builds.
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