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Posts tagged "Microsoft"

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You might soon be able to sneak into a Microsoft Teams call silently
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Some Microsoft Teams users will soon be able to join calls without other attendees knowing as part of a system-wide security update.

The video conferencing platform is set to receive a new feature that allows select Teams users to access meetings in higher-level cloud tiers, such as those used by government agencies, without needing to go through repeated checks.

An entry on the official Microsoft 365 roadmap, entitled “anonymous meeting join across clouds”, notes how commercial Teams users will be able to smoothly enter meetings in a number of different workspaces and groups, all the way up to Department of Defense (DOD) level in the US.

Anonymous Microsoft Teams

Currently, anyone without a Microsoft Teams account is able to click on a Teams invite link to dial into a call and be shown as an anonymous participant, but this upgrade will now mean more high-level users will also now be able to utilize the function too. 

The roadmap entry goes on to describe how the feature will allow users to, “join meetings in other clouds anonymously from your Teams desktop app”, mentioning not just DOD meetings, but also Government Community Cloud (GCC) calls.

The change will allow Commercial Microsoft Teams users to join GCC and DoD meetings with just a normal meeting link, with the same being true the other way around. Following the update, meeting hosts will be able to control who can enter the actual meeting.

Microsoft says the feature is rolling out now, and it will be enabling the feature in three phases, with Commercial and GCC customers the first to be able to join meetings in “GCC-High” and DOD clouds. 

Next, GCC-High customers will be able to join Commercial, GCC and DOD meetings – and finally, DOD customers will be able to join Commercial, GCC, and GCC-High meetings.

Read more

> It's now quicker than ever to start a Microsoft Teams call

> Office and Microsoft Teams are getting even closer

> New Microsoft Teams apps eliminate an obvious advantage for Zoom

The news comes as Microsoft continue to improve and refine Teams as more and more workers return to the office or embrace hybrid working.

Recently, Microsoft revealed that users will soon be able to add apps built for Microsoft Teams across Office.com and the Office app for Windows, meaning there's now no need to switch between platforms in order to use specific apps.

The company is also working on a new feature that will let users run apps built for Microsoft Teams within its Outlook email service.

Microsoft Teams continues to go from strength to strength, with the latest figures from the company showing that the service now boasts over 270 million monthly active users.

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Microsoft reckons businesses are making a few fatal hybrid working mistakes
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Microsoft has published the results of its latest Work Trend Index survey, highlighting the various challenges businesses encounter as they transition to new working models.

Based on a survey of 31,000 workers across the globe, and trillions of signals drawn down from Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn, the report identifies a series of trends brought about by the shift towards hybrid working.

The broad conclusion is that the calculations have changed for workers when it comes to selecting an employer, and businesses must react accordingly with new policies that support the demand for greater flexibility and autonomy.

Times are changing

Microsoft says one of the greatest mistakes businesses are making is to attempt to revert to old methodologies as society begins to return to normality in many corners of the globe.

Specifically, the company cited the push to bring employees back to the office full-time, driven by fears shared by more than half (54%) of senior executives about the ability for workers to remain productive at home.

At least half of companies plan to mandate a full-time return to the office within the next twelve months, data collected by Microsoft suggests, but a similar proportion of workers (52%) said they would prefer a hybrid or fully remote model.

Instead of tying all employees to a specific style of working, companies should be attempting to balance the preferences of everyone, Microsoft says. It should be the responsibility of the business to make the office worth the commute.

“There's no erasing the lived experience and lasting impact of the past two years,” said Jared Spataro, CVP Modern Work at Microsoft. “Empowering managers to adapt to new employee expectations helps set businesses up for long term success.”

Read more

> Microsoft makes phone calls Ukraine free on Skype

> New Microsoft Teams apps eliminate an obvious advantage for Zoom

> The Microsoft Office app has a fresh new look

Another area of concern identified by Microsoft is the negative effects on work-life balance created by the shift away from the traditional nine-to-five and towards a more flexible system, and the knock-on effects on the relationship between team members.

Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a 28% increase in the amount of work taking place outside of typical working hours and a 14% increase over the weekend. Although Microsoft says it is encouraging to see people making use of new freedoms afforded by flexible working, the company took the opportunity to remind businesses that flexibility is not a by-word for “always-on”.

Microsoft also noted that, while the majority (58%) of hybrid workers say they have maintained bonds with their co-workers, just half of remote employees claim to have a “thriving” relationship with their direct team. To address these kinds of issues, the firm suggests companies should take a deliberate approach to ensuring remote and newly-onboarded employees are supported sufficiently and are offered ample opportunity to get to know their colleagues. 

“The shift to a hybrid workplace doesn’t start with new technology or corporate policies. It begins with culture – one that embraces a growth mindset, a willingness to reimagine nearly every aspect of the way work gets done,” concluded Jared Spataro, CVP Modern Work at Microsoft.

“Every employee will need to develop new skills to adapt to this new way of working, and with the right support and tools, hybrid working can unlock potential for a workplace that works for everyone.”

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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Microsoft reckons businesses are making a few fatal hybrid working mistakes
  • No Comments

Microsoft has published the results of its latest Work Trend Index survey, highlighting the various challenges businesses encounter as they transition to new working models.

Based on a survey of 31,000 workers across the globe, and trillions of signals drawn down from Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn, the report identifies a series of trends brought about by the shift towards hybrid working.

The broad conclusion is that the calculations have changed for workers when it comes to selecting an employer, and businesses must react accordingly with new policies that support the demand for greater flexibility and autonomy.

Times are changing

Microsoft says one of the greatest mistakes businesses are making is to attempt to revert to old methodologies as society begins to return to normality in many corners of the globe.

Specifically, the company cited the push to bring employees back to the office full-time, driven by fears shared by more than half (54%) of senior executives about the ability for workers to remain productive at home.

At least half of companies plan to mandate a full-time return to the office within the next twelve months, data collected by Microsoft suggests, but a similar proportion of workers (52%) said they would prefer a hybrid or fully remote model.

Instead of tying all employees to a specific style of working, companies should be attempting to balance the preferences of everyone, Microsoft says. It should be the responsibility of the business to make the office worth the commute.

“There's no erasing the lived experience and lasting impact of the past two years,” said Jared Spataro, CVP Modern Work at Microsoft. “Empowering managers to adapt to new employee expectations helps set businesses up for long term success.”

Read more

> Microsoft makes phone calls Ukraine free on Skype

> New Microsoft Teams apps eliminate an obvious advantage for Zoom

> The Microsoft Office app has a fresh new look

Another area of concern identified by Microsoft is the negative effects on work-life balance created by the shift away from the traditional nine-to-five and towards a more flexible system, and the knock-on effects on the relationship between team members.

Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a 28% increase in the amount of work taking place outside of typical working hours and a 14% increase over the weekend. Although Microsoft says it is encouraging to see people making use of new freedoms afforded by flexible working, the company took the opportunity to remind businesses that flexibility is not a by-word for “always-on”.

Microsoft also noted that, while the majority (58%) of hybrid workers say they have maintained bonds with their co-workers, just half of remote employees claim to have a “thriving” relationship with their direct team. To address these kinds of issues, the firm suggests companies should take a deliberate approach to ensuring remote and newly-onboarded employees are supported sufficiently and are offered ample opportunity to get to know their colleagues. 

“The shift to a hybrid workplace doesn’t start with new technology or corporate policies. It begins with culture – one that embraces a growth mindset, a willingness to reimagine nearly every aspect of the way work gets done,” concluded Jared Spataro, CVP Modern Work at Microsoft.

“Every employee will need to develop new skills to adapt to this new way of working, and with the right support and tools, hybrid working can unlock potential for a workplace that works for everyone.”

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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Microsoft wants to make a potentially huge change to JavaScript
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Microsoft has backed a proposal to bring optional and erasable type syntax to JavaScript in an effort to make its TypeScript language both faster and easier to use.

In a new blog post, the software giant provided further insight on the proposal and what it aims to do. Essentially, the proposal is calling for type annotations to be added to JavaScript code that can be checked by external type checkers and treated as comments by a JavaScript engine at runtime.

A set of syntax for types that engines would ignore but TypeScript, Flow and other tools could use would also need to be created as part of the proposal.

If the proposal is approved, developers would be able to run programs in TypeScript, Flow and other static typing supersets of JavaScript without the need for transpilation according to InfoWorld.

Type syntax in JavaScript

The new Stage 0 proposal was written and put forth by Gil Tayar, Microsoft's Daniel Rosenwasser, Igalia's Romulo Cintra and Bloomberg's Rob Palmer and is available to read in its entirety on GitHub.

The reason behind the proposal is that over the past decade, static type checking has proven to be fairly successful. In addition to Microsoft's TypeScript, Google created its Closure Compiler while Facebook built Flow to provide syntax for declaring and using types in JavaScript.

Read More

> Python could soon rival JavaScript for web applications

> This ancient programming language is way more common than we all thought

> It's official, these are the most hated programming languages around

At the same time, 69 percent of respondents in the 2021 State of JavaScript survey said that they use TypeScript to compile JavaScript and static typing was voted as the number one feature missing from the programming language.

It's worth noting that Microsoft isn't calling for TypeScript's type checking to be added to every browser and JavaScript runtime. Instead, the company has proposed a JavaScript syntax compatible with TypeScript that could be used by any type checker while being ignored by JavaScript engines.

Via InfoWorld

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Microsoft makes phone calls to Ukraine free on Skype
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Despite the fact that most users have moved onto Microsoft Teams, the software giant has released a new preview version of Skype which is now available to download for Skype Insiders.

Skype Insider build 8.82 includes a number of bug fixes and stability improvements as well as support for Google Play Store in-app billing to purchase credit, subscriptions and Skype numbers.

In addition to these performance improvements, the latest version of Microsoft's video conferencing software and VoIP service will also allow users to make free phone calls to Ukraine on all platforms. This means that those with friends and relatives in Ukraine will be able to call them without having to purchase credits though Skype users in Ukraine will also be able to make free calls to users in other countries.

In a forum post, Microsoft explained that it has added a list of non-profit organizations to the Skype Home Page so that people around the world can donate to help support the Ukrainian people.

Translated Conversations and Support Ukraine emoticons

Microsoft didn't stop at free phone calls to/from Ukraine though as the company has also added support for more languages in Translated Conversations on all platforms. With this feature, Skye users will be able to translate their phone calls to and from the Ukrainian language so that they can more easily communicate with people in the country. 

Read More

> Windows 11 will hammer final nail into Skype coffin

> Microsoft Teams update minimizes the opportunity for miscommunication

> The evolution of the webcam over the years

At the same time, Microsoft has added “Support Ukraine” emoticons on all platforms and Skype users will now be able to use “Ukraine Heart”, “Ukraine Handshake” and “Ukraine Pray” in their chats.

In order to test out all of these new features and show your support for Ukraine, you'll need to be a Skype Insider first but you can become one by signing up here.

Throughout Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Microsoft has been working behind the scenes to support the Ukrainian government by fending off cyberattacks and the company recently suspended all new sales of both its products and services in Russia.

Via ONMSFT

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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Microsoft makes phone calls to Ukraine free on Skype
  • No Comments

Despite the fact that most users have moved onto Microsoft Teams, the software giant has released a new preview version of Skype which is now available to download for Skype Insiders.

Skype Insider build 8.82 includes a number of bug fixes and stability improvements as well as support for Google Play Store in-app billing to purchase credit, subscriptions and Skype numbers.

In addition to these performance improvements, the latest version of Microsoft's video conferencing software and VoIP service will also allow users to make free phone calls to Ukraine on all platforms. This means that those with friends and relatives in Ukraine will be able to call them without having to purchase credits though Skype users in Ukraine will also be able to make free calls to users in other countries.

In a forum post, Microsoft explained that it has added a list of non-profit organizations to the Skype Home Page so that people around the world can donate to help support the Ukrainian people.

Translated Conversations and Support Ukraine emoticons

Microsoft didn't stop at free phone calls to/from Ukraine though as the company has also added support for more languages in Translated Conversations on all platforms. With this feature, Skye users will be able to translate their phone calls to and from the Ukrainian language so that they can more easily communicate with people in the country. 

Read More

> Windows 11 will hammer final nail into Skype coffin

> Microsoft Teams update minimizes the opportunity for miscommunication

> The evolution of the webcam over the years

At the same time, Microsoft has added “Support Ukraine” emoticons on all platforms and Skype users will now be able to use “Ukraine Heart”, “Ukraine Handshake” and “Ukraine Pray” in their chats.

In order to test out all of these new features and show your support for Ukraine, you'll need to be a Skype Insider first but you can become one by signing up here.

Throughout Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Microsoft has been working behind the scenes to support the Ukrainian government by fending off cyberattacks and the company recently suspended all new sales of both its products and services in Russia.

Via ONMSFT

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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New Microsoft Teams app eliminates an obvious advantage for Zoom
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A new add-on has introduced real-time translation functionality to video meetings on Microsoft Teams, closing the gap on rival vendor Zoom.

The service is supplied by a company called Interprefy, which was invited to integrate its cloud-based translation offering into Microsoft Teams.

The integration gives Microsoft customers access to Interprefy’s network of professional interpreters, who dial into meetings on request. Once a session has begun, users can switch between the original audio feed and the interpreter’s translation via a drop-down menu.

Interprefy

(Image credit: Interprefy)

Live translation for video meetings

Back in June 2021, Zoom announced the acquisition of live translation startup Kites GmbH, which was brought on to help develop machine translation (MT) solutions that would allow users to communicate in real-time with colleagues from across the world.

“We are continuously looking for new ways to deliver happiness to our users and improve meeting productivity, and MT solutions will be key in enhancing our platform for Zoom customers across the globe,” said Velchamy Sankarlingam, President of Product and Engineering at Zoom, at the time.

Although this vision hasn’t come to fruition just yet, Zoom has also long offered the ability for human interpreters to dial into meetings via a feature called Simultaneous Interpretations.

Until now, Microsoft has been able to offer neither machine-based nor human translation, but the integration of Interprefy into the Teams platform will fill this gap in lieu of a first-party offering.

“We're thrilled to have been working closely with Microsoft in bringing Interprefy's multilingual meeting expertise to Teams users worldwide”, says Oddmund Braaten, CEO at Interprefy. “This is a huge step towards inclusivity and accessibility of global meetings to foster cross-cultural understanding and collaboration.”

Read more

> It's now quicker than ever to start a Microsoft Teams call

> Office and Microsoft Teams are getting even closer

> Microsoft Teams is not the safe haven you think it is

Separately, but in a similar vein, Microsoft announced earlier this week that it would open up its live captions feature to a wider pool of users in an effort to improve accessibility standards.

Introduced soon after the shift to remote working as a result of the pandemic, the Microsoft Teams live captions feature is designed to ensure all video meeting participants can follow the thread of conversation effectively.

Until now, the live captions feature has been gated behind a registration wall. In other words, if someone was joining a meeting as a guest via a link provided by the host, they would have to make do without the accessibility feature. But this will no longer be the case, courtesy of an update expected to land by the end of April.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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The Microsoft Office app has a fresh new look, but not for everyone
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Microsoft has rolled out a fresh version of Office.com and the corresponding Windows application, with a revamped user interface that’s supposed to maximize productivity.

As explained in a Microsoft blog post, the changes will take effect for business and education customers first, with similar updates for personal accounts to follow “in the coming months”.

The company suggests that business customers took priority in this instance because the new functionalities are largely geared towards managing large volumes of files more efficiently, a challenge that professionals are more likely to encounter.

New-look Microsoft Office

First announced at Microsoft Ignite in November 2021, the changes to the Microsoft Office app and web client are designed to make managing and locating files simpler, by fine-tuning menu screens and introducing opportunities for customization.

“We designed Office.com and the parallel Office app for Windows to be the hub for your content – a place where you can get to all your files and documents, understand what needs your attention, and easily start creating content,” wrote Microsoft.

The most significant upgrade is perhaps the new-look home screen, which now features a Quick Access section that helps surface important files and filter options that allow users to organize files by those most recently opened, shared, favorites and various other parameters.

Microsoft Office

The new Office.com home screen. (Image credit: Microsoft)
Read more

> One of the most annoying Microsoft 365 flaws could finally be fixed

> Microsoft 365 is swooping in to steal G Suite customers

> Microsoft 365 will tell your boss if you send inappropriate messages

There’s also a new My Content pane, which Microsoft says “helps you get to all the work related to you no matter the file type, where it’s stored, or how it was shared with you”. This page also benefits from infinite scroll, which eliminates the hassle of tabbing through multiple results pages to find a specific file.

Lastly, the Create pane lets users create new documents and spreadsheets with a single click, using a variety of templates as the base.

“Just select the type of content you wish to create and you’ll be presented with various template options across multiple apps all at once so you can decide which works best for you,” Microsoft explained.

These updates should take effect for all corporate and education customers by the end of the week.

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Your Microsoft Outlook calendar is going global
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Your Outlook calendars could soon be more organized than ever thanks to a new update from Microsoft.

The company has revealed an upgrade to its email service that will allow users to display a second calendar type.

In the official entry in the Microsoft 365 roadmap, the company notes that users will have “a variety of global calendars” to choose from. This could mean that the likes of the Chinese lunar calendar, Indian calendar and the Islamic calendar will soon be available as options within Outlook, so certain holidays or observances are not missed.

Outlook calendars

The feature is still listed as “in development” for the time being, but Microsoft has included a preview release for March 2022, and a scheduled general release for May 2022, so users should be able to benefit within the next few weeks.

When it does release, the update will be available to all Outlook Web users across the world.

The news is the latest in a series of recent updates announced for Outlook as Microsoft looks to make the service an ideal partner for hybrid working.

Read more

> Microsoft Outlook update will close off a nasty security loophole

> You won't be able to escape Microsoft Teams inside Outlook soon

> Exclusive: Most people use Gmail but don't know how full their inbox is

This includes the ability to browse and reserve meeting rooms on a work phone, meaning you won't be caught without a space ahead of an important meeting. Previously, Outlook users had to search for available meeting rooms using the desktop app or another alternative system implemented by their company, so this offers a significant upgrade.

A separate update entitled “working hours and location” will allow users to set a notice showing where they are working, whether that be at home, in the office, or anywhere else in particular, giving managers more visibility on where their key employees are.

The company is also planning on adding Microsoft Editor functionality on mobile platforms, signalling an end for embarrassing spelling and grammar mistakes on smartphones, as well as adding text predictions to Outlook for Android and iOS.

And in a bid to add a bit more vibrancy to what can be quite a dull platform, another upgrade will soon let users customize the color of the events in their calendar app, letting them not only liven up the view, but also create better distinction and visibility into their working week.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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Microsoft delays Office 365 price rise once again
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Microsoft has once again delayed its planned price increase of both its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 office software suites.

The price increase was first announced by corporate VP for Microsoft 365, Jared Spataro last August in a blog post and was set to come into effect at the beginning of this month. Now though, the software giant has pushed back the change until March 15.

Right when the price increase was set to go into effect, Microsoft announced a set of temporary discounts for cloud service providers (CSPs) that sell Office 365 and Microsoft 365 subscriptions. CSPs currently have until 5pm PDT on March 14 or 12am UTC on March 15 to submit transactions and have them invoiced at the company's February 2022 pricing. 

These temporary discounts are designed to allow CSPs “to clear the backlog of orders for these SKUs due to high demand in advance of the March 1 price increases” according to a Microsoft support document.

First substantive price increase

For those unfamiliar with Microsoft's pricing changes for both Office 365 and Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 Business Basic will increase from $ 5 to $ 6 per user per year, Microsoft 365 Business Premium will go from $ 20 to $ 22, Office 365 E1 will go from $ 8 to $ 10, Office 365 E3 will go from $ 20 to $ 23, Office 365 E5 will go from $ 35 to $ 38 and Microsoft 365 E3 will go from $ 32 to $ 36.  

Thankfully though, these pricing changes do not apply to the company's consumer or education products.

Read More

> Microsoft Office 365 is getting a handy upgrade that will streamline your workflow

> Microsoft 365 update will make sure no one is at a disadvantage

> Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is taking no chances with dodgy attachments

Back in August of last year, Spataro pointed to the fact that these pricing changes were the “first substantive pricing update” to Office 365 since its launch just over a decade ago. He also highlighted how the company has added 24 apps including Microsoft Teams, Power Apps, Power BI, Power Automate, Stream, Planner, Visio, OneDrive, Yammer, and Whiteboard to the software suite and released 1,400 new features and capabilities across three key areas: communication and collaboration, security and compliance and AI and automation.

According to The Register, Microsoft's revenues grew by a fifth to $ 51.7bn during the second fiscal quarter of this year while operating income increased by 24 percent from $ 17.89bn to $ 22.2bn. However, the company's Microsoft Azure cloud services and its server products have been the main drivers of its higher revenue recently. As such, Microsoft's Productivity and Business Processes segment, which includes Office 365, will need to bring in additional revenue to keep up with the company's other divisions.

Via The Register

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