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Windows 10 Insider Hub promotes 3rd party REACHit app, a Cortana booster looking for testers
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Published onFebruary 19, 2016
published onFebruary 19, 2016
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REACHit by Lenovo has been among a handful of 3rdparty solutions that have tapped into the extensive functionality of Cortana and attempted to harness and produce even richer end user experiences. Part of REACHit’s functional promise is to offer Windows 10 users the ability tocentralize searches of their content from 3rdparty cloud storage solutionssuch as Google Drive, Gmail, Dropbox and more. On top of collecting material from several popular cloud solutions, REACHit also helps refine Cortana’s ability to search by allowing users to search with more natural speech queries and specific item callouts.
For all thatREACHit can currently, handle, it’s not without its share of bugs, issues, and quirks. However, it appears the REACHit developers alongside support from the Windows team, is looking for a group of dedicated beta testers. A new post to the Insider Hub details steps a Windows 10 Insider can take to signup, download and install a beta version of the REACHit software.
In addition to the sign-up and install process, the post also shines a light on the various functions users can expect from the REACHit software as well as bugs others might encounter such as “some queries may not produce the result you want.” As it is a beta program, it’s understandable that the software needs a bit of user refinement to hit the nail on the head when it comes to utilizing natural speech patterns.
With Cortana being as heavily embedded into Windows 10, it behooves Windows 10 to support this effort. Similar to how Microsoft is leaning on the expertise of the open source community when implementing features on its Azure platform, allowing the open development of additional Cortana functionality will only benefit the Windows engineers, its users, and the platform as a whole.
Hopefully, over time and with the right amount of feedback, whatever data and metrics REACHit collects and transposes will eventually trickle back into the consumer-facing version of Cortana.
For Windows 10 Insiders interesting in testing out the Cortana add-in, providing feedback, or watching the development of the REACHit software, head over to the Insider Hub for more information.
Kareem Anderson
Networking & Security Specialist
Kareem is a journalist from the bay area, now living in Florida. His passion for technology and content creation drives are unmatched, driving him to create well-researched articles and incredible YouTube videos.
He is always on the lookout for everything new about Microsoft, focusing on making easy-to-understand content and breaking down complex topics related to networking, Azure, cloud computing, and security.
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Kareem Anderson
Networking & Security Specialist
He is a journalist from the bay area, now living in Florida. He breaks down complex topics related to networking, Azure, cloud computing, and security
