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You won’t be able to escape Microsoft Teams inside Outlook soon
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Escaping Microsoft Teams will soon be trickier than ever after the company announced another partnership for its video conferencing software.

The software giant has revealed that it is working on a new feature that will let users run apps built for Microsoft Teams within its Outlook email service.

The move should make online collaboration and communication a much more seamless and smoother experience, meaning users shouldn't need to constantly switch between Teams and Outlook to stay on top of their work.

Outlook and Teams

According to the official entry on the Microsoft 365 roadmap, the feature is currently in development, with a scheduled release date of December 2022. When released, it will be available for all web and desktop Outlook users across the world.

As well as running apps built for Teams within Outlook, users will also be able to acquire and use these updated Teams apps (including personal tabs and/or search-based message extensions) without leaving the email platform.

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

> Here's another reason email isn't going anywhere any time soon

> Outlook for Windows 10 could be getting a whole new look

The feature could also form part of the highly-rumored all-new Windows 11 email service reportedly in development. Codenamed “Project Monarch”, the service looks to greatly improve email on Windows 11, offering a truly cross-platform experience for users looking to embrace hybrid working.

The new app will reportedly feature an overhauled interface similar to Outlook web, including the rounded corners and icons already seen in a raft of new Windows 11 apps as Microsoft looks to offer a unified design approach across its software suite.

Microsoft has been hard at work recently on a series of updates and upgrades for Outlook as it looks to breathe new life into the often-maligned software. 

This includes an upcoming upgrade that will allow Outlook web users to customize the color of the events in their calendar app, the launch of spelling and grammar checks for Outlook on mobile platform, and another update to let users set a notice showing where they are working, whether that be at home, in the office, or elsewhere.

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Facial recognition will soon be optional for government agencies using ID.me
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The identity verification company ID.me has announced that it will make facial recognition verification optional for public sector government partners.

The Virginia-based company recently made headlines after the IRS revealed its plans to require US taxpayers to submit a video selfie in order to create an account on its website. However, following backlash from citizens,  privacy advocates and lawmakers, the government agency has since backtracked on these plans.

In a press release, founder and CEO of ID.me, Blake Hall explained that the company will now provide public sector employees working for the government with a new option to verify their identities, saying:

“We have listened to the feedback about facial recognition and are making this important change, adding an option for users to verify directly with a human agent to ensure consumers have even more choice and control over their personal data.”

Not a biometrics company

ID.me will now give government agency employees the option to verify their identity with an expert human agent as opposed to having to submit a video selfie.

At the same time, beginning on March 1, all of the company's users will be able to delete their video selfies or photos. This is good news due to the fact that if ID.me were to fall victim to a data breach or even suffer a data leak, employees who used its identity verification service could be at high risk of identity theft as cybercriminals would have access to a great deal of their personal information.

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> IRS drops use of facial recognition for ID verification

> Many Americans aren't aware they're being tracked with facial recognition while shopping

> Thousands of US government agencies using facial recognition without permission

In its press release, ID.me also pointed out that it is an identity verification company and not a biometrics company. So far, the company's trained agents have already verified the identities of over 3m Americans including the unbanked, homeless and international users. During the pandemic, law enforcement and government agencies also employed ID.me's services to prevent criminals from committing unemployment fraud.

While the IRS has dropped its plans to implement identity verification for US taxpayers, the government agency could reverse course in the future.

Via Gizmodo

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It’ll soon be easier to track down all your lost Google Workspace docs
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Tracking down that elusive Google Docs or Sheets file could soon get a lot simpler thanks to a new search upgrade.

The company has revealed it is adding a new setting to its search history tool specifically designed to find files created in its Google Workspace office software suite.

The new addition will hopefully be able to track down and display those hard-to-find files directly in your search history, removing a common headache for workers everywhere.

Google My Activity

The change is coming to the Google  – My Activity page, which contains all the details of your recent searches across both the web and Google's own apps, such as YouTube.

Going forward, search data from Workspace apps will be contained in a new setting, which will allow users to see suggestions from their own search history.

Past searches can be rerun if necessary, and will cover the likes of Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar, and Currents, along with standalone services such as Google Cloud and Google Sites.

Google says it doesn't utilize any of this data for targeted advertising, and deletes all search history data after 18 months (although this can be reset to delete at 3, 18 or 36 months) and users can amend, expand or restrict the amount of data collected on them at any time.

The new setting will begin rolling out on March 29, and will be set to on by default. Users can disable it by heading to My Activity page > Other Google activity > Google Workspace search history.

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> New Google Drive system will stop you losing track of your files

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

> Google could give free G Suite users a way out of paying for Workspace

The news comes shortly after Google unveiled a new look for Gmail that aims to combine several of the most popular Workspace apps in one window.

The approach looks to provide users with a one-stop shop for all their communication needs – whether via email, video conferencing, or just good old-fashioned instant messaging – without them having to open up extra tabs or windows.

  • Keep your online activity protected with the best VPN services around

Via 9to5Google

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Twitter could soon let you be much more verbose in tweets
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Since its inception, Twitter has been about content that's short and sweet. Originally capped at 140 characters, the maximum length of tweets was doubled to 280 in 2018. While this gives a little more breathing room to express opinions, the limit still forces users to be concise – or resort to tweet threads.

But a new option could be on the horizon. Evidence has been unearthed that Twitter is working on a new feature called Twitter Articles. If the feature ends up seeing the light of day, it would serve as an alternative to a tweetstorm, posting links to lengthier articles hosted elsewhere, or posting images of passages of text.

News of the feature came courtesy of serial tipster Jane Manchun Wong, who shared her finding on Twitter:

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The screenshot does not give away a great deal, but it does show that Twitter Articles could be given their own dedicated section within the app.

As there has been no official word about Articles from Twitter – coupled with the fact that the feature was only found by a well-known reverse engineer ferreting around in-app code – it is impossible to say when (or, indeed, if) the ability to post long-form articles will land on Twitter

When contacted by Social Media Today about the discovery, Twitter commented that it is “..always looking into new ways to help people start and engage in conversations”. The company did say that it would offer up more information soon.

Analysis: moving away from its origins

Keeping things short and sweet has long been Twitter's raison d'etre. For years, the character limit has prevented users from waxing too lyrically too regularly, helping to keep content flowing in easily digestible chunks.

But there have long been very vocal bands of users who have been demanding change. Some would like to see the addition of an Edit button to make it possible to amend tweets to correct spelling mistakes, but this is something that – rightly or wrongly – has been dismissed by Twitter. There have been concerns that the ability to edit tweeted material after the fact could lead to confusion and the spread of misinformation.

There have also been plenty of calls for further increases to the tweet character length, and this is something that Twitter has resisted for some time. But with the probable arrival of Twitter Articles, it seems that the company is bowing to pressure – albeit in a slightly different way to what many people would have hoped or expected.

While longer tweets will be welcomed by many, Twitter Articles would indicate quite a change of direction for Twitter and take it further away from its roots. But having branched out with options which as Twitter Blue subscriptions and the Super Follow feature, it is possible that Twitter Articles could be a feature that is only made available to a subset of users – and it could see Twitter transforming into a different type of publishing platform that competes with a slightly different sector.

Via: Social Media Today

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Soon you can manage your Office and Xbox accounts within Windows 11
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Microsoft is making further improvements to Windows 11 with a better way to manage your Office and Xbox subscriptions within the Settings app if a Windows Insider build is to be believed.

A Windows Insider build can allow a user to sign up to a release of Windows that’s under development, which could showcase new apps, new features, or different ways to access parts of the user interface.

This change has been in the ‘Dev Channel’ of Windows Insider since late last year and has recently moved up to the ‘Release Channel’ build, numbered 22000.466. This most likely means that we could be seeing this arrive to all Windows 11 users sooner than Sun Valley 2, the next big update to the operating system.

Analysis: It’s about time

We’ve been pleased to see Microsoft constantly look at aspects of Windows and how it could make the operating system easier on the eye, or just easier to use. While this is a small change, it’s going to make a big difference to those who manage Office subscriptions for their family or small business, or your personal Xbox Game Pass subscription.

Going to 'Settings > Accounts > Your Microsoft Account' in the Windows 11 Release Channel will show your active subscriptions, payment history, and rewards, mirroring what you would normally see on the web.

Microsoft Account in Settings, in Windows 11

(Image credit: Microsoft)

It’s another aspect of Microsoft focusing on the usability of Windows. In the past, such as Windows 8 and Windows Phone, form seemed to matter more than function, and once you got past the main feature that the company was showcasing, you’d be greeted with apps or message boxes that felt as though they had time traveled from Windows 95.

But with other improvements such as a new Task Manager coming, the return of Windows Media Player, and a better Microsoft Store, it looks as though Windows 11 is already shaping up to be a release that’s focusing on the future, not the past.

Regardless, we may see further improvements to how we use the apps and settings that we’ve been used to for years. And if that means few clicks and less confusion for more users, then it will benefit everyone.

Via MSPowerUser

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Microsoft Teams will soon push one of the worst Windows 11 features down your throat
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Although Cortana may be dead on mobile, Microsoft's digital assistant is alive and well on Windows 11 and will soon be making an appearance in Microsoft Teams.

While Cortana was first introduced in 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved on the original Xbox, the smart artificial intelligence construct eventually came to Windows Phone and Windows 10 PCs in 2014 as a digital assistant. 

Just like with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Apple's Siri, Microsoft created Cortana to help Windows users set reminders, search the web and more.

Now though, according to a series of new posts on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, the software giant is bringing Cortana to Microsoft Teams Rooms. With Microsoft Teams Rooms, businesses can configure a meeting room with a number of devices including displays, webcams and microphones so that an organization can use video conferencing software together as a group as opposed to having to use their own laptops.

Cortana is coming to Microsoft Teams Rooms

In the first update to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, Microsoft explained that “Cortana voice activation will be enabled by default on newly imaged Microsoft Teams Rooms solutions” beginning this month.

This means that Teams users will be able to shout out voice commands to their Teams Rooms devices to start a video call, change settings and more. Fortunately though, IT admins will be able to adjust this setting to disable voice activation. At the same time, Microsoft has updated the Cortana iconography that appears on the front of a room display and in the console UI in a Microsoft Teams Room according to the second update.

Finally in the third update, the company explained that Cortana will support additional languages on Teams devices that are set to different locale languages. Currently American English, Canadian English, Australian English, Indian English and British English are supported.

While voice activation can certainly be useful in shared meeting rooms designed for video conferencing, business users may not be too keen on having a character from a video game speaking up during their all-hands meetings.

Also check out our roundups of the best business webcams, best headsets for conference calls and best video conferencing software

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IRS will soon require a selfie to file your taxes
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Paying your taxes online in the US is about to get a whole lot more difficult as the IRS has revealed that taxpayers' existing credentials will no longer work beginning this summer.

Instead, the government agency is partnering with a third-party identity verification service called ID.me that requires users to submit copies of bills and other identity documents though they will also have to submit a live video feed of their faces using a mobile device.

First launched back in 2010, Virginia-based ID.me was originally created to help ecommerce sites validate the identities of customers like veterans, teachers and students who might be eligible for discounts at online retailers. Now though, the company is widely known for providing US states with online identity verification services to help them deal with unemployment fraud.

According to KrebsOnSecurity, around 27 states currently use ID.me to screen for identity thieves applying for benefits in someone else's name. Unlike other online verification services, ID.me requires applicants to submit even more documents including copies of utility bills and details about their mobile phone service in addition to scans of their driver's license or other government-issued IDs.

Getting verified

If an applicant doesn't have the documents required by ID.me or their application triggers a potential fraud flag, the company may require a recorded, live video chat with the person applying for benefits.

As Brian Krebs' credentials at the IRS will soon no longer work just like the rest of American taxpayers, he decided to create an ID.me account and found the process to be quite lengthy and tiresome. For instance, Krebs stepped away for just five minutes and had to login again as well as re-submit the documents he had previously uploaded.

After entering your email and choosing a strong password, users are then prompted to confirm their email address. Following this, ID.me then prompts users to choose a multi-factor authentication (MFA) method. Fortunately, the service supports several different MFA options including a six-digit code sent via text, a phone call to code generator apps and physical security keys that support the FIDO (Fast ID Online) security specifications.

From here, users need to upload the necessary documents and if they are accepted, ID.me will then prompt you to take a live selfie using your smartphone or your computer's webcam. The company then verifies your phone number but Krebs reported that his application got stuck at the “Confirming Your Phone” stage.

Preventing fraud is certainly something the IRS should be doing but by requiring users to submit additional documents and biometric data to a third-party company, the agency is making the process of filing your taxes more difficult for US citizens. At the same time, if ID.me falls victim to a data breach, cybercriminals will have more than enough information to commit identity theft.

We'll have to wait and see how the IRS' rollout of using ID.me to verify taxpayers identities goes but given the difficulties Krebs had getting verified, it has the potential to be a real pain for US citizens this summer.

We've also featured the best software and best accounting software

Via KrebsOnSecurity

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Friendly reminder: soon new ComiXology purchases will not be DRM-free
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Here’s one of your last reminders that ComiXology’s digital store will soon be integrated with Amazon, at which point your new comic book purchases will no longer be DRM-free. 

ComiXology's plans to integrate more closely with its parent company’s store were announced back in September last year, with the change is expected to occur in “early 2022”. There’s no word yet on when exactly the change will be made; however, we suspect it will happen fairly swiftly after Amazon and Visa resolve their squabble in the UK.

Amazon and Visa are back in talks, which suggests they could be closer to an agreement, so it may be only a matter of weeks before the ComiXology store is no more.

Once the switch has been flipped (whenever it happens) ComiXology.com will start redirecting to Amazon.com’s “revamped digital comics shopping experience”, which is set to provide customers a more streamlined way to search for comics and manga on the site.

Unfortunately for comic book fans, though, the change also means that they’ll no longer be able to pick up new DRM-free downloads through ComiXology’s services,  with the new Amazon store not supporting DRM-free downloads either.

Thankfully your library of already purchased comics will remain DRM-free. When asked about changes to its services ComiXology told a user on Twitter “Your previous ComiXology purchases will still allow for DRM-free backups if the publisher allowed for them at the time of purchase.”

So you'll be able to save any comics you buy before the switch as PDFs that you can store independently of ComiXology’s own app.

With that in mind, if you’ve been holding out on buying certain issues in the series you love, you might want to take the plunge sooner rather than later; if they currently support DRM-free downloads you can buy it to secure the PDF download before it's too late.

The change to ComiXology isn’t all doom and gloom. The storefront change will also bring an update to the app, with better navigation tools including flexible filtering and sorting as well as the ability to read while downloading. 

ComiXology’s services will also be better integrated with the Kindle app, which has already added ComiXology’s panel-by-panel viewing experience.

These long-sought-after tools may not completely appease ComiXology fans disappointed by the DRM change, but they may at least soften the blow.

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Microsoft Teams will soon let you combine both your accounts so there’s no escape
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Switching between personal and workplace Microsoft Teams accounts could soon be a thing of the past thanks to a new update to the service.

The video conferencing platform is rolling out changes that will allow users to combine business and consumer Teams accounts, hopefully putting an end to any unfortunate confusion.

Microsoft says the change will allow for much improved communication for Teams users across the world, even opening the door for personal chats whilst on a work network.

Combined Microsoft Teams

“With this update Teams users in your organization will be able to start a 1:1 or a group chat with Teams users who are using their personal accounts and vice-versa,” Microsoft noted in an updated message center notification.

The feature was first announced by Microsoft back in February 2021, but has now entered the rolling out period, meaning users will be able to access it soon. 

“Teams users will be able to chat with team members who are outside their work network and have a Teams personal account,” the official Microsoft 365 roadmap entry for the update added. 

“This is expanding on external access capabilities, enabling Teams users to invite for a 1:1 or group chat any other federated Teams users using an email address or phone number and remain within the security and compliance policies of their organization.”

The update is coming to all Microsoft Teams desktop users around the world, so be sure to keep your program updated to the latest release.

The change is the latest in a series of Microsoft Teams updates as the firm looks to continue helping companies around the world adapt to the new age of hybrid working.

Along with video capabilities, Microsoft Teams also added chat bubbles to its online collaboration tool last year, meaning that users shouldn't miss private messages sent during a video call. Microsoft has also added this feature to group chats so that everyone can keep up with the conversations happening via text as well as those taking place in a video call at the same time, allowing everyone to view chats sent during a meeting on the front of room display in a Teams Room.

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There will soon be no escape from Microsoft Teams, even in the office
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Microsoft is doubling down on efforts to drive the adoption of collaboration platform Teams in conference room settings.

As per two new entries to the company’s product roadmap, users will soon be able to perform a wider range of actions via Microsoft Teams panels, the touchscreen devices mounted outside of meeting rooms.

For example, Microsoft Teams users will be able to “check out” of conference rooms if their meetings end earlier than expected, as a courtesy to colleagues who might need the space. In a similar vein, it will also be possible to extend existing reservations via Microsoft Teams panels, provided doing so does not create a clash.

Microsoft Teams in the office

Both updates are still currently under development, but should roll out to all Microsoft Teams panel users by the end of May.

With the majority of experts predicting a widespread transition to hybrid working once the pandemic recedes, Microsoft is eager to position its collaboration and video conferencing platform as the go-to choice for in-office deployments too.

The company faces stiff competition from the likes of Zoom, which has its own range of conference room solutions, but Microsoft is putting in the legwork with a series of updates of its own.

In addition to the new functionality set to land in the spring, Microsoft recently announced a feature to help companies monitor and limit the capacity of meeting rooms, to facilitate social distancing (if it’s still required in future). 

The desired room capacity is set by the administrator and overcrowding is detected using cameras with people-counting functionality. If a room is over capacity, an alert will appear on the in-room display and Microsoft Teams panel outside.

Microsoft will hope that features such as these, in addition to a roster of intelligent meeting room hardware (displays, webcams, microphones etc.), will help build on the strong foundation established during the pandemic.

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