i don't see what the problem with Cortana is? hasn't bugged me unless i clicked on the icon
constantly running mic and keypress records
also ass slow at running file/local program searches cause it always attempts to check the internet too whenever you try to run any search through it.
granted, both can be fixed/replaced as described in the pcworld article, but forcing people to accept cortana is a bad idea - if people dont want to use it, there's something wrong with it, not people being obstinate. for me, its how incredibly slow it is compared to say windows 7 file/program search which 1) doesnt have input lag (on mid-lower end computers and laptops) and 2) doesnt take like 10-20 seconds to figure out the majority of things you might be looking for