Cortana Analytics Gallery - a scalable community site built on Azure DocumentDB
By Andrew Hoh Program Manager, Azure DocumentDB as written on azure.microsoft.com . Co-authored with Elena Apreutesei, Principal Software Engineer, Azure Machine Learning.
The Cortana Analytics Gallery is a community driven website used to discover, share, and learn about solutions built from the Cortana Analytics Suite. The Gallery hosts a wide range of solutions; everything from a Retail Forecasting experiment to the ever popular Face APIs used in the How old do I look? app. Machine Learning enthusiasts can share their own experiments using the Azure Machine Learning Studio, a private space focused on Machine Learning experimentation and model creation.
The Cortana Analytics Gallery follows a micro service architecture with single purpose components working together to deliver reliable and durable functionality. This post focuses on the Gallery Catalog API, which is used as the data master within the Gallery user experience.
Gallery Catalog API
Every Gallery entity has a JSON metadata document stored in Azure DocumentDB and all CRUD (create, read, update, and delete) operations are against DocumentDB. As a micro service, the Gallery Catalog API provides REST APIs and supports OData; both of which were built through the ASP.NET library WebApi. Generally, the Catalog API pushes the query filters provided through ODATA directly down to the DocumentDB LINQ provider as an ExpressionTree, where it gets executed at the database.
The Gallery Catalog service exposes GET / POST / PATCH / DELETE operations on standard WebAPI routes, such as the generic route /entities/{entityId} and the specialized routes /experiments/{entityId}, /collections/{entityId}, /tutorials/{entityId}, etc.
The JSON objects in the REST API payload are simply the serialized form of the Catalog entity data contracts, derived from a common class EntityBase which provides the flexibility to store other entities.
In an upcoming Windows 10 update, Microsoft is giving Cortana the ability to send text messages from your PC via your Windows 10 Mobile device. The digital assistant will also be able to inform you of missed calls on your desktop.
This functionality is baked into the latest Windows 10 Mobile preview (build 10572), which is rolling out now to Windows Insiders, Microsoft announced on the Windows Blog. Users will also need to be running Windows 10 build 10565 or above.
If you have access to these two platforms — and you’re signed into the same Microsoft Account on both — then Cortana will begin to notify you of any calls you’ve missed on your Windows 10 Mobile device. You can then ignore the notification, or send a reply by SMS.
You can also send an SMS from your PC at any time by speaking or typing “text” into Cortana, as you would on your smartphone. Cortana will send the message via your smartphone, so it will appear no different to a regular message when it’s seen by the recipient.
If you have multiple Windows 10 PCs and you don’t want to receive missed call notifications on all of them, you’ll be pleased to know you can disable the feature on individual machines from within Cortana’s settings menu.
The latest Windows 10 Mobile build also brings deeper Skype integration through Messaging, Phone, and Skype video apps. The Messaging app also supports animated GIFs and now has a useful search function. You can also search contacts in your call history in Phone.
Microsoft has also made improvements to Cortana, the Photo app, and storage settings — and added the ability to save offline maps. The full list of changes can be found on the Windows Blog.
Managed Solution’s In The TechKnow is a Web Tech Series featuring how-to video tutorials on technology.
This series is presented by Jennell Mott, Business Operations Manager, and provides a resource for quick technical tips and fixes. You don’t need to be a technical guru to brush up on tech tips!
Don’t see the technology that you would like to learn? Submit a suggestion to inthetechknow@managedsolution.com and we will be sure to cover it in our upcoming webcast series.
75 million devices (90,000 unique PC or tablet models, and some from 2007) running Windows 10 in 192 countries
Microsoft today revealed 9 Windows 10 facts. Yusuf Mehdi, the Corporate Vice President at Windows and Devices Group announced the facts on Twitter. Here’s a quick list of all the facts:
◾More than 75 million devices are running Windows 10
◾Windows 10 is running in 192 countries – that’s virtually every country in the planet
◾More than 90,000 unique PC or tablet models have upgraded to Windows 10
◾Some devices from 2007 upgraded to Windows 10 as well
◾More than 122 years of gameplay have streamed from Xbox One to Windows 10 devices
◾10 million achievements unlocked: Microsoft Solitaire Collection, Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta
◾Cortana has told over half a million jokes since launch
◾Windows Store for Windows 10 has seen 6X more app downloads per device than Windows 8
◾Over 2,000 organizations vying to win the global partner slot in the #UpgradeYourWorld campaign
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10-20% per user discount off Office 365
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Managed Solution is hosting Roadshow events to demo the new features in Windows 10 and show customers the latest products that connect your people, processes, devices, and data securely across your company enabling you to stay ahead in today’s mobile world.
At the forefront of these business profitability products is Windows 10, organizations will use the end-user-enhancements in Windows 10 across Office 365 & Skype for Business to drive revenue.
Last week, Microsoft announced that they have more than 14 million devices running Windows 10 within 24 hours of the launch. Over the weekend, Microsoft has added additional 4.5 million PCs. Windows 10 has been installed now on 18.5 million machines, the new number comes from Neowin's source inside Microsoft. At its peak, Windows 10 was being installed at a rate of 1500 machines per second.
Windows 10 was unveiled in September with a plan for a new era of Windows. Windows was created to empower people and organizations to do great things. The vision was one platform, one store, and one experience that extends across the broadest range of devices from the smallest screens to the largest screens to no screens at all.
From the beginning, Windows 10 has been unique – built with feedback from five million Windows Insiders, delivered as a service with ongoing innovations and security updates, and offered as a free upgrade* to genuine Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 customers.
Windows 10 is available in 190 countries today. The launch of Windows 10 is being celebrated around the world with global fan celebrations and a new yearlong initiative to celebrate people and organizations making a difference around the world. We’d love to hear how you plan to help #UpgradeYourWorld. Starting today, you can vote for a global nonprofit to receive a cash donation by simply tagging their social handle and using #UpgradeYourWorld and #vote on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. More information on Upgrade Your World can be found at http://www.windows.com/upgradeyourworld.
