While these features are targeting small businesses, they can theoretically be used by any user of Microsoft Teams on Web. First up is the introduction of background effects coming to Teams on Web. This is a good example at a small business feature that any user will find useful. Essentially, it brings custom backgrounds to the web version of Teams for the first time: “Custom backgrounds are now available to web users....
1 Teams on Mobile2 Another Push Against Slack3 Teams iOS Update In its announcement today, Microsoft said Teams has been adopted by over 500,000 organizations, including 91 of the Fortune 100. Over two years, Microsoft Teams has been made available in 44 languages in 181 regions. Microsoft says Teams will soon receive nine new languages: Hindi, Filipino, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, and Malayalam. “Over the past two years, Teams has grown significantly in both new capabilities and customer usage, as the hub for teamwork that brings people together and fosters a culture of engagement and inclusion,” Microsoft 365 general manager Lori Wright says....
Showcased by the Windows Insider team this week, the new Windows 10 Start Menu show how the design will look without Live Tiles. However, Brandon LeBlanc of the Windows Insider team, points out Microsoft has no plans to remove Live Tiles entirely. Instead, users would be able to choose to disable Live Tiles to bring the new icons to the forefront. Microsoft says it wants a universal aesthetic driving by Fluent Design across the Windows 10 Start Menu....
Exclusive games are one of the only true differentiators between the Xbox Series X|S and the PlayStation 5. Both console platforms deliver mostly the same performance levels. So, most games become PlayStation or Xbox fans based on exclusive content. Both Microsoft and Sony have their fair share of exclusive content. On Xbox, there are triple A franchises such as Gears of War, Forza, and Halo, while on PlayStation there is God of War and Gran Turismo, among others....
Windows watcher Florian Beaubois found the ad in the newest Windows 11 preview. Showing the result on Twitter, other users went to the Microsoft Editor to see if they seen the same. Some users did see the ad while others didn’t. Microsoft says the fact anybody seen the ad is a mistake because the test is currently internal: “This was an experimental banner that was not intended to be published externally and was turned off,” says Brandon LeBlanc, senior program manager for Windows, to The Verge....
According to a blog post from Microsoft, the company will pay $7.5 billion in cash to acquire ZeniMax. Yes, that’s significantly more than the $2.5 billion Redmond paid to acquire Minecraft in 2014. Minecraft has gone on to become the best-selling game of all time under Microsoft’s wing. While the company will not expect Bethesda titles to deliver similar results, there is just as much ambition behind this purchase. Microsoft points to a shift towards a player-centric gaming market instead of the traditional device-centric market....
The tech giant put an end to its ‘Music Pass’ subscription pass last October, causing a widespread upset. It became a glorified local music player, and we noted then that it would struggle to compete with default offerings. Despite the withdrawal, Microsoft will continue to update its apps on Windows 10, Windows Phone, and Xbox as promised. However, with cross-device compatibility, it’s likely the userbase will fall there too. The truth is that many users have migrated to Spotify as suggested, preferring a unified streaming experience....
For search, users will notice the ability to exclude certain tasks to make it easier to find what they want. Specifically, you can hide completed to-do’s via the ‘more’ menu in the top right corner. By default, To-Do search shows tasks in their order on your list, so this should help. It also reduces visual clutter, making it easier to focus on the right elements. Navigation Improvements and Organization More useful to some will be a minor addition to To-Do for Windows 10’s detail view....
The company debuted the Unified Update Platform (UUP) in November 2016. Microsoft developed the platform to reduce the size of updates and to make finding new updates more efficient. This is particularly important for feature updates. UUP is essentially a way to make Windows updates more seamless by reducing the amount of data included in the update package. Microsoft says it is now bringing a public preview of the service to on-premises Windows systems....
Office Lens gives users tools to trim, enhance and make images of whiteboards and docs. The service then saves the content into Microsoft’s OneNote app. Images can be converted to PDF, PowerPoint, and Word files. The top requested feature Microsoft mentions is the ability to scan multiple images. With this feature, users can scan more than one image and save them into a single PDF, Word or PowerPoint files on OneDrive....
Unfortunately, Microsoft has not expanded on which new features will be added to the experience. We do know the new abilities will be found under the Draw tab. If you use OneNote Online and in app form for Windows 10, you will know the two are different. The web version has limited functionality, especially when it comes to drawing. For example, draw capabilities are limited to a pen and highlighter....
AirMap is a Santa Monica, Calif.-based company found in 2014. It provides and airspace management platform for drones. While companies are racing into the unmanned vehicle market with hardware, AirMap is finding solutions for keeping drones in the air and to keep airspace safe. As the drone market explodes, the number of vehicles in the air will increase year on year. Systems and standards will be required to make sure the airspace is safe....
Known as the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2020, the draft legislation from the Department of Home Affairs wants to make amendments to the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018. Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton believes the proposal improves the 2018 act by creating “an enhanced framework to uplift the security and resilience of Australia’s critical infrastructure”. In other words, the reach of the 2018 Act would extend to more sectors, such as communications, data and cloud, food and grocery, defence, research, health, transport, and higher education....
If you are unfamiliar with Game Bar, it is a feature for PC gamers on the platform. It offers quick access to settings and abilities, such as game recording and screenshots. Sure, most users already use third-party apps for these needs, but Microsoft wants to improve Game Bar. According to a report from Thurrott, code in Redstone 4 build 17046 shows what some of the improvements will be. For example, Microsoft will remove the Xbox Live avatar from the bar, replacing it with a Gamertag....
Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities believes Microsoft will push to release before the PS5. “I’m sure Microsoft intends to launch first, and I am equally certain that the new Xbox will be backwards compatible with any Xbox One X software,” Pachter said in a conversation with GamingBolt. It is unclear why Microsoft wants to beat Sony to the 9th generation console market. The most obvious answer is the company wants to get a sales head start on its rival....
I can probably predict your two questions. What is a Download-A-Thon, and what’s the point? First, let’s tackle the easier question. The Download-A-Thon is something that the folks at Firefox have come up with to show off the speed of its updated new browser. Even if you are not hitting the stores this Cyber Monday, there is a chance you will be making a purchase online. The day is so busy that many sites crash and simply buying that laptop on the cheap becomes a frustrating experience....
After the CEOs repeated denials to give evidence, lawmakers decided to quiz Facebook’s European Policy Chief Richard Allan. But in a symbolic gesture, it left an empty chair with the name tag ‘Mark Zuckerberg’. For his part, Allan apologized for Zuckerberg’s absence and did not sit in the CEOs seat. However, questions about the company’s conduct remain largely unanswered. In particular, the committee asked about documents seized by the UK last week....
Of course, we know what happened in the time between the cancellation and now. Microsoft bought the Lumia brand and since Windows as a mobile platform has all but collapsed. It may be too romantic to look back on 2014 as a good time for the OS, but it was a time that offered promise. The Nokia Mercury is arguably a prime example of that promise. This tablet looked like an oversized Lumia smartphone, and while it just looks okay in 2017, back in 2014 it would have been a desirable slate....
New work norms post-pandemic are gaining ground. If not so long ago you were taken aback by the impressive number of companies who’ve had their employees work remotely, now there’s another trend that’s surprising: the Metaverse. Work transcends place and time, so no doubt big companies like Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia, Roblox etc. will succeed in creating something beautiful which combines both work and virtual space. We might not live to see those days, but it’s still an interesting topic to acknowledge....
With 136 countries on board, the deal will cover 90% of global GDP when it comes into effect in 2023. It is clear the deal is a major step forward in preventing tech companies from avoiding tax payments by operating in favorable countries. However, OECD is eager to point out the deal does not eliminate tax competition. What it does do is ensure countries get tax payments. It is worth noting the agreement only covers companies with revenues of €750 million or more....
