Page 516 - Windows 10 May 2019 Update The Missing Manual: The Book That Should Have Been in the Box

You also get this little app, though, which is something of a fakeout. “I’m

Microsoft’s Virtual Agent,” says a smiling female cartoon, making you
think you’re about to experience some kind of super-cool artificial-
intelligence helper that understands plain English (Figure 8-11).

When you type your problem into the text box at bottom, though, you’ll

quickly discover that the “virtual agent” is no more than a web search page.
You get a bunch of links that include all kinds of results for operating
systems, programs, and computers that don’t apply to you.

Fortunately, once you’ve struck out with the automated agent, you’re
offered a “Talk to a person” link, with choices like “Call me back”
(complete with estimated wait times), “Schedule a call,” “Chat” (including

the number of people waiting their turns), and “Ask the community” (a
bulletin board where you can see if other mere mortals know the answer to

your question; patience is required).

Groove Music

At one time, Groove Music was Microsoft’s paid music service—its version
of Spotify. In the end, Groove couldn’t find its groove, and Microsoft shut
down the whole thing. Now, when you open up this old app, there’s an ad to

download and install, if you can believe it, Spotify. That’s what Microsoft
recommends for music subscriptions—the very service that killed off its
own attempt.

Note

The Groove Music app may still display nonfunctional vestiges of the old Groove service—
buttons that say Download or “Make available offline,” for example. Just let them quietly rot by
the side of the road.

The main menu column at left serves as the outline for the following pages’
worth of description.