Hey, Cortana!
I don’t know about you, but I cringe every time I hear someone yell out, Hey!” Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but it sounds rude to my ears. I know you’re going to laugh at this silly old duffer, but I don’t like to say, “Hey, Cortana!”, either. I know, I know… it’s just a machine… I can’t help it.
Cortana Origin
For those of you who might be interested in how Cortana got her name, check this out:
“Cortana” will ring a bell for anyone familiar with Xbox games—it’s the name of a character, voiced by actress Jen Taylor, introduced in Halo: Combat Evolved, the first-person-shooter game published in 2001 by Microsoft Game Studios. In that game and its many sequels, Cortana is an artificial-intelligence construct that resides as a neural implant in the battle armor of the protagonist, Master Chief Petty Officer John-117. ~ Source: Fritinancy
How To Change Cortana’s Name
For this part of the exercise we will need to download a free and portable utility called MyCortana. Not to worry, if you decide you don’t like it, simply delete it. That’s the beauty of Portable software.
When you first run MyCortana, you will need to click the indicated Settings link. That will bring you here:
- Click the Plus Sign button
- In the window that opens, type a new name for your “Personal Assistant”
- Click the OK button
Note: This utility needs to be running in order for this all to work properly. If you want it to run when you boot Windows, check the box labeled Run at Startup
I wanted to name it “Hal” because my computer is very smart, but it didn’t sit right with Hal using a female voice. Maybe the author would someday consider adding a feature allowing us to change the voice’s gender?
The author has provided a short video demonstrating MyCortana’s use:
Some Food for Thought
- Choose your names wisely. Try to avoid words that may normally occur in your everyday conversations
- You can add up to 10 names but this is not recommended. You may find your Personal Assistant becoming a Personal Nightmare
MyCortana is a handy utility if you like a little versatility in your computer life. I for one, love that I no longer have to say, “Hey!” This pleases me to no end,