Code debt. The term for the features that are missing from a new version of a product. Well, Microsoft had a fair bit of this in Windows 10, and Cortana sure is taking some of the load.
It appears that the options that were previously part of Windows 8 natively, are now being added to the digital assistant.
Earlier this week it emerged that Microsoft was looking to revamp Cortana in Redstone 4 by making it behave like the Spotlight feature in Apple macOS. And well, further digging has revealed that the new Cortana experience offers quite a bit more.
The digital assistant can now help a user search through emails and contacts right alongside searches for files and web.
Observe:
As you can see, this ability to search through contacts and emails is very reminiscent of the Smart Search experience that Microsoft built in Windows 8.1. So, while the company may simply be bringing back a previous feature, as opposed to offering something new, this addition is still very much appreciated.
It is sure to make Cortana more intuitive, and should definitely help with uptake.
Hopefully, this feature is further refined and improved by the time Redmond gets around to officially announcing it in a future preview build.
Until then, reports like these are great, and show that the company is working on adding a lot of useful features and usability improvements in the Redstone 4 refresh of its operating system, which is due for launch early next year.
All Comments
There are some features that I liked in Windows 8. Happy they are trying to bring some of that to Windows 10