Cortana awakens: The evolution of Microsoft's smart assistant

It’s fun to imagine all the other names Microsoft’s voice assistant, Cortana, could have had: “Bill,” “Explorer,” “Pathfinder.” None of these were considered, as far as we know, but Cortana Group Product Manager Marcus Ash did tell me recently, “Early on we thought about some names that are more generic. I won’t share any specific names, but think of a typical Microsoft name circa 1998 and you get the idea.” SEE ALSO: Microsoft is