Marcus Ash, Microsoft’s Group Program Manager for Cortana on Windows Phone, recently found himself at the center of a controversy. The other day, he said that Microsoft would allow its virtual voice activated assistant Cortana, to be used on other platforms like iOS and Android. Windows Phone users were not terribly happy with the news., wondering how Microsoft could talk about letting Cortana out to play with the competition when so much work was still needed to have the program running perfectly on Windows Phone 8.1.
At the same time, Windows Phone fans felt put out that the company was already talking about letting its two biggest OS rivals use Cortana. The very next day, Ash quickly backpedaled, saying that Microsoft's focus with Cortana is still Windows Phone.
On Monday, Ash took advantage of his new found celebrity by passing along a little tidbit of information. Before being named Cortana, Microsoft had a short list of possible names for its virtual personal assistant. One of the names on the list was Alyx Vance. The latter is a character from the game, Half Life 2. But after scanning social media, and seeing how people warmly greeted leaks giving out Cortana as the name of Windows Phone 8.1's virtual assistant, Microsoft decided to go with the Halo character.
Windows Phone 8.1's virtual assistant was almost named Alyx
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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