Cortana comes to Android…or should we say Portaña
We may have to wait a while before we Microsoft’s digital assistant Cortana working on other platforms than Windows, although thanks to Italian hackers who go by the name of OrangeSec, we can now see a somewhat flawed version of Cortana working on the Android platform. Oh, but there’s been a name change, Cortana has been jazzed-up a bit for Android and goes by the name of Portaña. Unfortunately, she doesn’t speak English either, only Italian, and when you’re offline she’s also switched off.
You can actually see a demonstration of how Portaña works, and as you will see it’s not nearly as helpful as its English cousin. Portaña doesn’t have the same features as Cortana due to the fact that it can’t interface with Android the same as the real digital assistant interfaces with Windows Phone. The reason for this is that Portaña has been using a hardware proxy with Microsoft’s servers. There has also been some spoofing of DNS and SSL certificates.
Since Microsoft released Cortana – same name as Halo video game’s AI – last year, an answer to Apple’s digital assistant Siri and Google Now, there have been rumors that it will go multi-platform, including iOS and Android. And while those rumors will more than likely turn into facts, for now our only way to see the digital assistant outside of Windows Phone is as Portaña. If we do see Cortana on Android expect to see many more features; Portaña is only a very basic version. According to OrangeSec the group only wanted to show what they could do, and by no means create any kind of competition.
Microsoft hasn’t said much about the matter, though a spokesperson did tell VentureBeat that, “the best way to experience Cortana is as designed by Microsoft and available through Windows Phone and the Windows 10 technical preview.” Microsoft didn’t really have to state the obvious, but still, you’ve got to take your hat off to the Italian hackers for trying. When, or if, Microsoft does go multi-platform, taking that they do it before another tech firm, they will be the first company to do so with a digital assistant. OrangeSec might just have acted as some inspiration for the Redmond company.
Photo credit: Microsoft
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