Clapway: OS

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Poor #Siri, now even Mac users may experience #Cortana! - http://clapway.com/2015/08/19/mac-finally-gets-cortana-support-thanks-to-parallels-desktop-11-113/

Parallels, a company well known for its cross-platform solutions, has a surprise for Mac users: they’ve managed to bring over Windows 10’s virtual assistant software, Cortana, to their Parallels Desktop 11 users.

Cortana Gets More… Virtual

Parallels has been in the business of bringing OS-virtualization software for many years now, and they’ve grown to be quite good at it. Version 11 of their newest software is bringing a host of new features to the platform, but Cortana might be the most noteworthy, if not the most novel one.

Now, anyone familiar with Parallels, or their products, knows there is one caveat to this: Parallels Desktop is a virtual machine. That means that you won’t be installing the Cortana software directly onto your Mac computer in the same way you might install Photoshop. Instead, the software creates a virtual instance of a licensed version of Windows 10 in a blended sort of way.

This means that you are essentially running Windows 10 inside a window on your Mac. It’s a confusing concept to understand when you’re not experiencing the software yourself.

When Worlds Collide

Parallels is most notably known for the way they’ve been able to seamlessly blend virtual machines into Mac OS, and they’ve done some cool stuff with Cortana, too. For instance, Cortana will pop up from the OS X dock if you say “Hey, Cortana,” similar to how it works on Windows 10. It can also launch Mac apps in addition to its normal functions like checking the weather, searching the internet, and the usual.

Cortana aside, Mac users can also use features from OS X on Windows apps. For instance, Macs that sport Force-Touch touchpads can use them to look up word definitions in Microsoft Word.

Get it Now

Parallels Desktop 11 will be available on Wednesday, so if you’re reading this article then you can go check out their site now to pick it up. You will need a Windows 10 license though, and if you don’t already have Parallels Desktop then the standalone will set you back $79.99. Current users will have to pay a $49.99 upgrade fee. There is also a Pro edition, which features developer tools and cloud storage for $49.99 a year.

Here’s the link for the new Cortana-wielding software.

Now, you can get the latest tech reviews from Clapway Trends:

Mac Finally Gets Cortana Support Thanks to Parallels Desktop 11

Thursday, July 30, 2015

How do YOU feel about the new #Windows10 and #Microsoft"s changes to the #privacy policies? - http://clapway.com/2015/07/30/windows-10-launches-with-a-bang-and-a-few-privacy-issues-245/

Microsoft has finally launched the newest iteration of its operating system, Windows 10, and the reception has been largely positive. But as with most new things, a little change comes along with it. So, with the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft also saw fit to update their Privacy Policy and Service Agreement with a few modifications that users might find a bit worrisome.

Data Syncing

As soon as a user signs into Windows, the operating system begins syncing data to Microsoft’s servers. Most users might not think this is a big deal, and many people knowingly allow their data to be access by companies all the time. The issue is that Microsoft automatically opts all users in without giving them a choice before doing so.

The data being stored on Microsoft’s servers include browser history, favorites, passwords (even website and Wi-Fi passwords), apps currently opened, and more.

Advertising Profiles

Microsoft isn’t using Windows 10 to collect and store user data on its servers just for the heck of it. Signing into Windows 10 also generates an advertising ID unique to each user. This identifier is a way for Microsoft to allow developers and advertisers to build a profile about users in order to tailor advertisements for specific users. This can easily be turned off in the settings, but again, this is another option that should be opt-in rather than opt-out.

Cortana: Friend or Foe?

Cortana, Microsoft

While some of these concerns were known about prior, the amount of data Cortana, Microsoft’s Windows 10 equivalent to Apple’s Siri, can accumulate and share about a user is certainly surprising. Fortunately, Cortana is an opt-in feature, and the disclaimer text fully discloses the software’s intention of collecting data ranging from voice input to communication data all upfront.

This issue is more ambiguous than the others because a virtual assistant can’t operate without these details. Cortana needs to be able to have access to this information in order to provide contextual answers to user queries.

Microsoft Owns Your Data

Most of these privacy concerns boil down to the fact that a user is essentially signing their data over to Microsoft.

“We will access, disclose and preserve personal data, including your content (such as the content of your emails, other private communications or files in private folders), when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary to protect our customers or enforce the terms governing the use of the services.”

That last bit of text, in tandem with the extensive amount of data Cortana can collect, is a bit worrisome, however. Microsoft certainly isn’t the only company who wants users to sign over all of their data, but consumers have a right to know what these companies plan to do with the data once they have it.

Tech news in a fun way on Clapway Trends:

Windows 10 Launches With a Bang and a Few Privacy Issues