Technology

Microsoft's digital assistant Cortana is one of the major additions to Windows 10 — and it's a winner. Turn it on and Cortana alerts you to upcoming meetings; searches your PC and the web; tells you about the weather, news and sports; and a lot more.

To help you get the most out of Cortana, I've put together some of my favorite tips for using it — including using Cortana to manage your Google Calendar, identify the music you're listening to, and track packages and flights.

Notes:

• This article assumes that you're already familiar with the basics of Cortana. If you want help getting started, see theCortana section of Computerworld&Windows 10 cheat sheet.&
• Keep in mind that there have been five major updates to Windows 10 since its initial release in July 2015. This article reflects how Cortana works if you&ve installed the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, so if you haven&t installed that update, what you see and read here may vary slightly from what you see in your version of Windows 10.

Get a direct answer to your question

When you ask Cortana a question, it will typically show you the answer via a listing of web links; you then open the search results in your browser. That's what happened, for example, when I asked, "What was the coldest day of the year in 2015 in Boston"

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has joinedthe list of blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) providers that already includes IBM, HP, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP.

Weight Watchers has deployed FacebookWorkplace enterprise social network with the aim of connecting its 18,000-strong global workforce. And the rollout, which began in January, is already considered a success.

The network already has a 50% active use rate among staff, said Stacie Sherer, senior vice president for corporate communications, with 93% of staff activating accounts within weeks of launch.

Founded in New York City in 1963, Weight Watchers now has a presence in 30 countries. The vast majority of its employees & around 90% & are ‘frontline& workers not tied to a desk; they rely predominantly on smartphones for internal communications.