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Microsoft Build 2022 could virtually share the upcoming Windows roadmap
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Microsoft has set the date for its Build 2022 developer conference, May 24-26, and decided, for the third year in a row, to make it all-virtual.

While Microsoft's desktop operating system, Windows, is often the star of the show, Microsoft Build is the Redmond, Washington-based company's chance to unveil updates across a wide array of software products, services, and development tools.

There's also usually a theme. At Microsoft Build 2021, it was about Tech Transformation and the responsibility technology has in shaping the future. Aside from “Designed for development” and “What's next in tech,” the Microsoft Build site offers no hints about what to expect.

It does outline, though, one change: market-specific experiences for France, Germany, Latin America, and the UK. The FAQ goes into a tiny bit more detail, explaining:

“New for this year, experience market-specific content and connection opportunities for France, Germany, Japan, Latin America, and the UK in Regional Spotlights. Microsoft Build Regional Spotlights will include but will not be limited to: Keynote analysis, trending news, and topics for specific regions to help break down what’s new and what it means to you.”

What about Windows 12?

For consumers, this might be their first chance to learn about the next version of some of their favorite Microsoft products, including Windows, Office, and the Edge Browser. Developers will get updates on C++, C#, Azure, and Visual Studio. Microsoft sometimes blends in forward-looking panels on bleeding edge technologies like the HoloLens (version 3?) and digital twins.

As for what we might expect from Windows, there is some speculation that we could get our first glimpse of Windows 12. We know, Windows 11 isn't even a year old, but Microsoft's platform update cadence may be quickening. Plus, whatever Microsoft shows us now will likely be no more than a glimpse, with the full Windows 12 launch easily more than a year away.

Even if we don't see that, the multi-day event will be packed with Windows 11 innovations and future feature promises.

Registration, which is free, opens up in late April, and TechRadar will feature wall-to-wall coverage in May.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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Microsoft Build 2022 could virtually share the upcoming Windows roadmap
  • No Comments

Microsoft has set the date for its Build 2022 developer conference, May 24-26, and decided, for the third year in a row, to make it all-virtual.

While Microsoft's desktop operating system, Windows, is often the star of the show, Microsoft Build is the Redmond, Washington-based company's chance to unveil updates across a wide array of software products, services, and development tools.

There's also usually a theme. At Microsoft Build 2021, it was about Tech Transformation and the responsibility technology has in shaping the future. Aside from “Designed for development” and “What's next in tech,” the Microsoft Build site offers no hints about what to expect.

It does outline, though, one change: market-specific experiences for France, Germany, Latin America, and the UK. The FAQ goes into a tiny bit more detail, explaining:

“New for this year, experience market-specific content and connection opportunities for France, Germany, Japan, Latin America, and the UK in Regional Spotlights. Microsoft Build Regional Spotlights will include but will not be limited to: Keynote analysis, trending news, and topics for specific regions to help break down what’s new and what it means to you.”

What about Windows 12?

For consumers, this might be their first chance to learn about the next version of some of their favorite Microsoft products, including Windows, Office, and the Edge Browser. Developers will get updates on C++, C#, Azure, and Visual Studio. Microsoft sometimes blends in forward-looking panels on bleeding edge technologies like the HoloLens (version 3?) and digital twins.

As for what we might expect from Windows, there is some speculation that we could get our first glimpse of Windows 12. We know, Windows 11 isn't even a year old, but Microsoft's platform update cadence may be quickening. Plus, whatever Microsoft shows us now will likely be no more than a glimpse, with the full Windows 12 launch easily more than a year away.

Even if we don't see that, the multi-day event will be packed with Windows 11 innovations and future feature promises.

Registration, which is free, opens up in late April, and TechRadar will feature wall-to-wall coverage in May.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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Microsoft quietly reverses one of the most outrageous Windows 11 changes
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Microsoft has quietly walked back a change pushed out with Windows 11 that caused anger and frustration among a large section of users.

With the latest Windows 11 update, which is currently in the process of rolling out, changing the operating system’s default web browser is as simple as a single button press.

The new system is a far cry from the previous arrangement, which required users to manually register their browser preference for each and every file extension (.HTML, .HTM, .PDF so forth).

Windows 11 and Microsoft Edge

Since Windows 11 went live last year, Microsoft has taken a large amount of flak for its attempts to weaponize the new OS in an effort to turn Microsoft Edge into a genuine competitor in the browser market.

In addition to deliberately making it harder to change the default web browser in Windows 11, Microsoft also took steps to funnel all links housed within its own products (e.g. the Start Menu) into Edge, no matter which browser was recorded as the preferred option.

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Given the size of the Windows install base, you’d think efforts of this kind would have a dramatic effect on the Microsoft Edge market share. But in reality, the browser has still struggled to make up ground on Chrome or Safari, which hold a combined 82% of the market, the latest data suggests.

To Microsoft’s credit, however, the company appears to have taken on board the howls of anger from the community. With the latest Windows 11 update, switching the default browser is a single-click process, performed from within the default apps menu under Settings.

Instead of strong-arming Windows users into embracing Edge, Microsoft will instead rely on a steady stream of feature updates to entice people organically. In recent months, for example, the browser has received upgrades that allow users to debug performance issues, shield against novel cyberattacks and switch freely between multiple profiles.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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Microsoft launches special Office 365 bundle for maximum security
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Microsoft has announced it will launch a new version of its Office 365 productivity bundle, designed specifically for government and intelligence agencies.

The tailor-made collaboration suite, called Office 365 Government Secret, is currently pending accreditation and should be available by mid-2022.

Announcing the news in a blog post, Microsoft CVP Paul Lorimer noted that today’s governments face many challenges, “including increasing employee engagement and productivity with the latest tools, securing and controlling sensitive data, and managing multiple applications, devices, and workloads”.

Add in a heightened demand for security and you end up with a major market in need of “secure, productive, and efficient cloud options”.

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Supporting government agencies

Office 365 Government Secret is built to support the US Federal Civilian, Department of Defense (DoD), Intelligence Community (IC), and US government partners working within the Secret enclave, Lorimer added.

“With the launch of this new environment supporting Impact Level 6 (IL6), we’re adding to the comprehensive set of Office 365 Government cloud offerings to help meet the full spectrum of government data needs.”

This new productivity suite will run the latest enterprise-grade Office 365 Government productivity, security, compliance, and collaboration applications, it was added. 

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This is not the first time Microsoft has built custom solutions exclusively for government agencies. In August last year, the company announced the general availability of Azure Government Secret and Top Secret clouds.

Launched with more than 60 initial services (with more in the pipeline), the product was built to “accelerate the delivery of national security workloads classified at the US Top Secret level”. Microsoft also has more than 73 services under Azure Government Secret.

Those that plan to deploy Office 365 Secret environment should engage with their onboarding teams, the company said, in order to be ready when the final authorization is given.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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This Microsoft Teams rival you’ve never heard of is ready for expansion
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Alibaba has announced some new features for DingTalk, an enterprise-focused alternative to Microsoft Teams that has over 500 million users. 

DingTalk is part of Alibaba Cloud, one of the world's leading cloud providers by market share, and the service combines messaging, task management, audio and video conferencing, live-streaming, real-time translation and more. 

According to The Register, the service is currently available to Chinese SMBs for no cost, and an English language version is also available Malaysia. But now, Alibaba is looking to attract a wider selection of customers, with new avenues for extensibility and additional subscription plans.

The company says the free basic version will remain available as before, alongside three paid tiers with extra features, and a new commission model will be added for software and hardware vendors.

The race for corporate messaging 

Corporate messaging apps have taken off during the pandemic, as almost all businesses moved to an online model for working.

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Zoom was the early winner, offering best-in-class video tools, but Microsoft was quick to expand and upgrade Teams, its all-in-one offering, and the company's pre-existing relationship with enterprises was a huge bonus. 

On top of that, a host of other services, such as Slack, have catered to remote needs. 

Given the Chinese internet is distinct from the Western internet, it makes sense that Alibaba – one of its largest companies, alongside Tencent – offers the same services for a domestic audience. 

Alibaba says over 19 million organizations use DingTalk already, a formidable number, and one-third of customers have over 2,000 employees. Around 1.9 million developers offer over 2.4 million add-on features.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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Microsoft Viva wants to make work training less painful at last
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Microsoft is looking to take some of the strain out of learning on the job with a new expansion to its Viva platform.

In a new entry on the Microsoft 365 roadmap, the company revealed that users will soon be able to discover Viva learning content directly through SharePoint, Office.com and Bing.

Previously, users had only been able to access such content through the video conferencing platform Microsoft Teams, with the move now opening up a whole new range of opportunities.

Microsoft Viva expansion

Microsoft says that the new update is an integration between Viva Learning and Microsoft Search, meaning actually being able to find the right content that is applicable to your workers should also be a lot quicker and easier now.

The roadmap entry notes that the feature is still in development for the moment, but Microsoft has said it hopes to issue a release in March 2022. When complete, the feature will be available for all Microsoft Viva web users around the world.

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Launched in February 2021, Microsoft Viva integrates with Teams and other Windows software tools to operate as a kind of intranet that brings together knowledge, learning, and communication services.

The platform was launched with remote working policies in mind, and is made up of four main pillars, one of which is Viva Learning. Microsoft says the offering is geared towards employee development and allows members of staff to share, assign, and learn from an organization’s training material, helping speed up onboarding and training processes.

Asides from learning and training, Viva also looks to support employee wellbeing and combat issues such as loneliness and burnout.

Microsoft also revealed a series of guided meditations and mindful exercises for the platform which users will be able to access via Microsoft Teams as it looks to help workers de-stress and become more productive.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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This Microsoft Teams update will help you make an impact in your next meeting
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Microsoft is preparing an update for collaboration platform Teams that should help users maximize the impact of their presentations.

As explained in a new entry in the Microsoft 365 product roadmap, Microsoft Teams users will soon benefit from new controls for presenter mode that allow for the video feed to be resized and repositioned.

“Presenter mode video controls enable presenters to move and resize presenter video feed and automatically adjust content size accordingly. This can be applied to all modes, including standout, side-by-side and reporter,” the company explained.

Microsoft Teams presentations

The update for Teams presenter mode is still currently under development, but should go live for all users by the end of April.

Microsoft first rolled out presenter mode last year, in an effort to provide Teams users with a way to flex their presentation style to the occasion. For example, standout mode seats the presenter’s video feed in front of the slide deck, while reporter mode places content above the person’s shoulder in the style of a news broadcast.

At the time, Microsoft said the new presentation features were designed to “help presenters deliver content more professionally and offer meeting participants dynamic experiences”.

With the latest update, the company will offer an additional layer of flexibility with the option to resize and reposition the video feed to suit the specific content being presented. This way, Microsoft Teams users can ensure that vital information isn’t obscured by their video.

The feature will dovetail nicely with additional features recently announced by Microsoft that allow users to rehearse their presentations in advance and record these practice sessions for the purposes of fine-tuning.

Read more

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The company also unveiled a variety of hybrid working-centric updates designed to ensure meetings remain equitable with employees split between the home and office.

“Whether it’s creating more engaging meeting experiences, enabling collaboration with external partners, or giving you the flexibility to work where, when and how you want, these new features address the new expectations people have for the workplace,” wrote Nicole Kerskowitz, VP Microsoft Teams.

“While so much has changed about work, one thing remains constant: people are at the center. With technologies like Microsoft Teams supporting people, we can make hybrid work really work by bringing everyone – and everything – together.”

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

This Microsoft Teams update will help you make an impact in your next meeting
  • No Comments

Microsoft is preparing an update for collaboration platform Teams that should help users maximize the impact of their presentations.

As explained in a new entry in the Microsoft 365 product roadmap, Microsoft Teams users will soon benefit from new controls for presenter mode that allow for the video feed to be resized and repositioned.

“Presenter mode video controls enable presenters to move and resize presenter video feed and automatically adjust content size accordingly. This can be applied to all modes, including standout, side-by-side and reporter,” the company explained.

Microsoft Teams presentations

The update for Teams presenter mode is still currently under development, but should go live for all users by the end of April.

Microsoft first rolled out presenter mode last year, in an effort to provide Teams users with a way to flex their presentation style to the occasion. For example, standout mode seats the presenter’s video feed in front of the slide deck, while reporter mode places content above the person’s shoulder in the style of a news broadcast.

At the time, Microsoft said the new presentation features were designed to “help presenters deliver content more professionally and offer meeting participants dynamic experiences”.

With the latest update, the company will offer an additional layer of flexibility with the option to resize and reposition the video feed to suit the specific content being presented. This way, Microsoft Teams users can ensure that vital information isn’t obscured by their video.

The feature will dovetail nicely with additional features recently announced by Microsoft that allow users to rehearse their presentations in advance and record these practice sessions for the purposes of fine-tuning.

Read more

> Microsoft Teams is about to save your PowerPoint presentations

> The line between Microsoft Teams and actual phone calls is blurring

> Microsoft Teams will now tell you how to reply to that tricky message

The company also unveiled a variety of hybrid working-centric updates designed to ensure meetings remain equitable with employees split between the home and office.

“Whether it’s creating more engaging meeting experiences, enabling collaboration with external partners, or giving you the flexibility to work where, when and how you want, these new features address the new expectations people have for the workplace,” wrote Nicole Kerskowitz, VP Microsoft Teams.

“While so much has changed about work, one thing remains constant: people are at the center. With technologies like Microsoft Teams supporting people, we can make hybrid work really work by bringing everyone – and everything – together.”

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More