Cortana was Almost Named Bingo, Reveals Microsoft Exec

Microsoft released its AI-powered voice assistant named Cortana back in 2014. Since then, the Redmond giant has addedvarious featuresto the voice assistant, named after the synthetic intelligence character from the Halo universe, tobring it on parwith other industry-leading assistants like Google Assistant and Apple’sSiri. However, did you know that Microsoft almost gave a ridiculously funny name to the voice assistant before its official release?

Bing + o = Bingo! Get It?

In arecent interviewwithBig Bets, Microsoft’s Product Manager Sandeep Paruchuri revealed that the former CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, wanted to release the voice assistant with the name, wait for it, Bingo!

According to Paruchuri, Ballmer wanted a unified naming scheme for Microsoft’s products and services, and he pitched the name Bingo to make it sound similar to the name of Microsoft’s search engine Bing. However, when Ballmer wasreplaced with Satya Nadella back in 2014, the name was, thankfully, scrapped.

“Ballmer had poor product taste. His parting gift was to try to name it Bingo. But we waited it out,”said Paruchuri during the interview.

Now, coming to the name Cortana, it too was not the initial name of Microsoft’s voice assistant. The company aimed to release the assistant as Alyx. However, when the internal name for the voice assistant leaked to the public, Microsoft decided toditch Alyxand keep the name Cortana permanently.

While Cortana is currently available on Windows, Microsoftended support for the voice assistant on Android and iOSearlier in 2021. Plus, with the release of Windows 11, Microsoft also eliminated Cortana from the first-boot experience, as detailed on itslist of features removed from Windows. And if that is not enough, you can alwaysuninstall Cortana from Windows 11to speed up the search process and minimize the constant RAM usage on the platform.

Dwaipayan Sengupta

A geek at heart, you’ll find me fidgeting with an iOS device or sitting in front of the laptop, scouring the internet to find interesting technological innovations. In my free time, you’d find me playing Valorant or listening to Pink Floyd.

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