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Yash Maheshwari/YouTube

Watch: This is what Microsoft's answer to Siri will look like

Microsoft’s digital assistant Cortana will be included in the latest Windows Phone update which will be revealed at the company’s Build conference next month.

THE FIRST GLIMPSES of Microsoft’s answer to Siri and Google Now have appeared a month before its official announcement.

Codenamed Cortana, the name of the artificial intelligence character that features heavily in the Halo series, the personal assistant will be included in the latest update for Windows Phone.

Unleash The Phones has published a video demonstrating the setup process for it. Once you’ve signed in with your Microsoft account, it will ask users what nickname you want to be called and a number of questions that will determine what kind of information it displays.

Questions like what the most enjoyable parts of your day are, your main motivations for taking part in an activity, and what type of news sections you go to first will be asked first before it’s activated.

Once these actions are completed, it saves them into its Notebook system – where stores data like personal info, location data, behaviours, and reminders – which it will refer to whenever you ask it something.

So far, it only responds to questions instead of displaying information it believes will be useful to you like Google Now, but that could easily change before between now and its release.

Another feature is the do-not-disturb mode called “quiet hours”. Alongside the usual options associated with the feature, it will allow phone calls from those who ring twice within three minutes, in case of an emergency, or if the caller is part of a favourite “inner circle” list.

Microsoft is expected to unveil both Cortana and a developer preview of Windows Phone 8.1 at its Build conference next month.

(Video: Yash Maheshwari/YouTube)

Read: Microsoft plans to have Xbox Live powering iOS and Android games >

Read: Nokia moves into new territory by launching its first Android smartphone >

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    Mute Chris
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    Feb 27th 2020, 9:38 PM

    A useful way to spend my tax money for once. About time they sorted these poor people out.

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    Mute Angry_Man41
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    Feb 27th 2020, 10:20 PM

    The properties that have been repeatedly flooded since 1995 should be purchased at fair price by Co Co and people relocated . They can be added to Council Housing stock and used when not flooded , so it’s not a totally dead investment for the tax payer

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    Mute talksense
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    Feb 27th 2020, 10:35 PM

    @Angry_Man41: you know it takes months and 10’s of thousand’s to repair a house

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    Mute Niall Bourke
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    Feb 28th 2020, 7:54 AM

    @Angry_Man41: Used when not flooded? Put people up in a hotel while spending thousands on refurbishing a flooded house. Move them back in. Wait for another flood and repeat the whole process. Is that you Healy Rae?

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    Mute Teddy
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    Feb 27th 2020, 9:58 PM

    It’ll be pulled in a few weeks for covid-19 relief! Flood victims get your claims in quick!

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    Mute Patrick Trench
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    Feb 27th 2020, 10:37 PM

    Honestly clowns that are talking about dredging the Shannon, haven’t a clue what they are talking about. It is not possible to dredge by ship as there is no way to get one up past bridges and weirs. A digger is like a child at the beach digging a sandcastles moate. Move family to higher ground.

    22
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    Mute Moorooka Mick
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    Feb 27th 2020, 11:32 PM

    There is obviously more water storage needed upstream with another Shannon Hydro electric scheme the most productive way to pay for the dams.

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    Mute Moorooka Mick
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    Feb 27th 2020, 11:30 PM

    Its a pleasant change to paying for water!

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    Mute John Mc Donagh
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    Feb 28th 2020, 11:47 AM

    It’s a much more logical idea to put a number of R,B 35′s on each side of the river next Summer when the water levels are normal and remove the obstructions, It will never cure all the flooding but it will greatly reduce it. It always appears to be easier to spend the money on engineering reports and planning procedures than on practical flood relief!

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    Mute james dimaggio
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    Feb 28th 2020, 10:21 AM

    I assumed that’s why people pay insurance premiums.

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    Mute MaryLou Silvester-Carr
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    Feb 28th 2020, 8:35 AM

    And how much will the Red Cross take from these emergency funds? After reading what they stole from the People of Haiti I would never support the Red Cross again!
    Yet another boo boo by the government!

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    Mute David Jones
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    Feb 28th 2020, 6:32 AM

    But in fairness the Irish Swimming team for Tokyo now have plenty of places to train so noice…

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