Cortana's coming to your living room via HP, Intel partnerships

Two more hardware manufacturers are lining up behind Microsoft's new Cortana-powered appliances: HP and Intel, indicating that Microsoft is turning to its tried-and-true PC partners to usher Cortana into the living room. Microsoft announced support from both companies at its Build conference in Seattle on Wednesday, though what each company will eventually manufacture isn't known. According to Microsoft, the company signed a partnership with HP to build products, and with Intel to provide reference platforms for Cortana-powered devices. Though an alliance with HP is nothing to scoff at, Intel's support should make the most difference. So far, Cortana competitors like Google Home and Amazon's small ecosystem of Alexa-powered Echo devices are made just by the individual companies themselves.