I think people probably do tend to type queries into search providers like Google in whatever their native language is.  A web text box might not be the best example for people trying to do discrete tasks though, but at a higher level the queries are probably part of some goal like &quot;get times for new Ridley Scott movie&quot; or &quot;check availability of X&quot; .  I&#x27;m not sure I can see people typing that into a launch menu, but I&#x27;m guessing that&#x27;s roughly what Microsoft wanted to see happen with Cortana.<p>Stricly using commands, discoverability probably is still an issue.  Text doesn&#x27;t necessarily need to be command based though.  For example, if there are 10 (100, 1000, etc...) options on a screen I suspect it&#x27;s probably easier to select using text.  In some ways it could be similar to a touchscreen.