Roger Fingas
The next version of Parallels' Desktop for Mac virtualization software will improve its Windows 10 support, enabling Cortana voice commands at any time — as long as Windows is still running in the background, according to a leaked product page.
Both Windows 10 and Cortana are already supported in Desktop 10, but the latter won't work unless Windows is the foreground application, Neowin noted. With Desktop 11, people should be able to say "Hey Cortana" at any point while using OS X and get a response.
The product page also mentions features like compatibility with OS X El Capitan, speed boosts up to 50 percent, and a Travel Mode that can kill some services to extend battery life on a laptop. Coherence Mode improvements will include a quick-toggle button, and the ability to view notifications through an OS X menu bar item.
The page is missing a release date, but since Microsoft is due to launch Windows 10 on July 29, Parallels may likewise be on the verge of shipping.
Cortana is Microsoft's answer to rival voice command systems from Apple and Google, handling similar functions like web searches and calendar appointments. Windows 10, however, will make Cortana the first such system on a popular desktop OS. Although Siri has existed on iOS since 2011, Apple has yet to migrate the technology to the Mac.
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42 Comments
No way José! I always cut off any of Parallel's sharing with Mac in setup. Who on earth would want anything in Windows having access to OS X drives or your Mac in general? The great thing about running VMware or Parallels VMs is sandboxing fracking Windows! I can drag between desk tops when I want to, that is quite sufficient. Play with Cortana within the VM and be safe.
[quote name="digitalclips" url="/t/187378/leak-reveals-parallels-desktop-11-will-support-windows-10s-cortana-across-os-x#post_2753159"]No way José! I always cut off any of Parallel's sharing with Mac in setup. Who on earth would want anything in Windows having access to OS X drives or your Mac in general? The great thing about running VMware or Parallels VMs is sandboxing fracking Windows! I can drag between desk tops when I want to, that is quite sufficient. Play with Cortana within the VM and be safe.[/quote] The days of claiming Windows is insecure are as tired as the "iPhone is doomed" meme. Unlike Apple, Microsoft has fully renovated their operating system backend.
Unlike Apple, Microsoft has fully renovated their operating system backend.
So why are viruses, spamware and spyware still so widely rampant on Windows?
Yes I know.. I know.. Windows is more popular and hacxs0rs simply create more stuff for Windows OS.. but simply surfing the wrong websites can bring a new Windows computer without any additional protection to a crawl. Hell visit the wrong one and it may make it completely unusable without a wipe/reload. Installing some type of malicious tool blocker/remover is an absolute MUST on a new Windows computer. Those type of scenarios simply do not happen with OSX. The vast majority of Mac's have no malicious blocker/remover software installed whatsoever.
And for the record.. the "iPhone is doomed" was never a meme movement. The iPhone has continously set record sales year over year, with each model selling better than its predecessor. I believe what you were trying to say is "Apple is doomed", which did become an popular movement with the rise of cheap Android handsets & tablets becoming more popular worldwide. The growth of those items caused a big dip in Apple's stock price as it lost marketshare to the buy1-get1-free and 99cent phone community.
[quote name="Daekwan" url="/t/187378/leak-reveals-parallels-desktop-11-will-support-windows-10s-cortana-across-os-x#post_2753188"]So why are viruses, spamware and spyware still so widely rampant on Windows? Yes I know.. I know.. Windows is more popular and hacxs0rs simply create more stuff for Windows OS.. but simply surfing the wrong websites can bring a new Windows computer without any additional protection to a crawl. Hell visit the wrong one and it may make it completely unusable without a wipe/reload. Installing some type of malicious tool blocker/remover is an absolute MUST on a new Windows computer. Those type of scenarios simply do not happen with OSX. The vast majority of Mac's have no malicious blocker/remover software installed whatsoever. And for the record.. the "iPhone is doomed" was never a meme movement. The iPhone has continously set record sales year over year, with each model selling better than its predecessor. I believe what you were trying to say is "Apple is doomed", which did become an popular movement with the rise of cheap Android handsets & tablets becoming more popular worldwide. The growth of those items caused a big dip in Apple's stock price as it lost marketshare to the buy1-get1-free and 99cent phone community. [/quote] Thanks for using 2007 era arguments. You realize that Windows 8 and up include security software by default, and are much harder to attack than Win 7 and older? Microsoft also has a file system which isn't a dated, iffy patchwork pile of crap which should have been replaced years ago. What's the point of a "safe" OS if the file system kills your data? Mac malware is also on the rise, and if it was so secure than Apple wouldn't be implementing SIP in El Cap.
So when does Siri come to the Mac? If Apple can securely implement it on iOS why not the Mac?