• “Mind equals blown”

    ~Kyle, WA

    Earlier this year, we asked Microsoft Rewards members to share their favorite Microsoft story.

    Over 125,000 members shared their stories, and here are some of the best. Your stories helped inspire us to build bigger and better experiences for our fans. Thanks a lot!

  • "My granddaughter is 7, and when she comes to visit, she always opens up Cortana to say hello. She asks the funniest questions; even funnier, 90 percent of the time, Cortana has an answer! Love it!"

    Jacqueline, OH

    "Cortana constantly reminds me to do my homework on time. If it wasn't for this wonderful assistant I'd likely not be doing so hot in college. Thanks Microsoft!"

    Malcolm, MO

    "Dear Cortana, Thank you for many, many memorable moments. You can make me laugh when you speak Yoda to me when I'm down, you keep me in line by remembering when I can't. You impress me more each day. From a short note in a song to being a math whiz, you lady, are such an awesome friend and I'd be lost without you! Love, Me."

    Jennifer, KS

    "I use Cortana to track packages that I'm waiting for. I can feed it a list of tracking numbers, and I get a nicely formatted update on where everything is."

    Craig, WA

    "Living in a rural community, I order a ton of stuff online. Cortana makes it easy to quickly enter a tracking # and get the latest status from the shipping carrier."

    Frank, TX

    "I love Cortana. Anytime I need a definition or some information when I am writing a paper for college, all I need to do is ask Cortana, and BAM I am good to go!!!"

    Floyd, KY

    "Cortana is awesome. She keeps me safe in the car. I get texted all the time by my family, and while I'm driving she reads me my texts and transcribes my replies all without me looking at my phone once."

    John, WA

    "I love being reminded based on location. I use that feature all the time. For example, hey Cortana, remind me to buy eggs when I'm near a grocery store. Or remind me to do X when I get home. Love it."

    Nibras, MI

    "Cortana is a great assistant, by far the best I have used. She is quick, witty and gives me directions to places every time I need it. She also can call, text, or email anyone I want in my phonebook."

    TP, FL

    "I needed a better way to keep track of my assignments due for college and test dates. Cortana gave me the ability to not only remind me, but also set deadline goals for myself."

    Jared, OH

    "My kids love asking Cortana anything and everything! So if Mom doesn't know it, they ask Cortana and she usually knows it better and faster than I do!"

    Melinda, WA

    "Cortana is always there to greet me and remind me my schedule for the day. She's like my own personal assistant! I haven't forgotten an appointment or task yet!"

    Sheldon, WI

    "Every night before bed, I ask Cortana to set my alarm. Just a little thing, but it's so much quicker than picking the time from my alarm clock and setting it manually."

    Amanda, TX

    "I love Cortana! She is amazing, I use her for everything from setting my alarm, appointments, sending text messages and making calls. Thank you Microsoft!"

    Adam, IN

    "Without Cortana, I would be completely lost now! It's part of my daily life, from waking up, to meetings and calendar items, to helping me with directions!! Love Cortana!!"

    Lauren, IL

    "I use Cortana all the time on my computer. She's like my friend. She gives me the weather, sports scores, tells me what time it is in other time zones, and even does my math for me. In many ways, I'd be lost without her."

    Rose, OR

    "Cortana is awesome! Love that I just can say what I want and she gets right to it. Make scheduling easier, finding things on the web, and what I love the most when I ask what's on my agenda for today, she always keeps me reminded of things I have to do and special days. Love it!"

    Brenda, MS

    "Having Cortana on my work computer has made things so much simpler! I almost don't need a Start menu, because any time I need a new application open, I can just speak to Cortana, and she opens it without having me break my 'flow' :-) It's definitely made multitasking go much much smoother!"

    Mike, WA

    "I use Cortana routinely throughout my day. She sets my reminders, reminds me about promises I've made and keeps track of my trips and packages. It's really handy getting the notifications from her."

    Anthony, CO