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Posts tagged "Teams"

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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

> 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.”

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Microsoft Teams is about to save your PowerPoint presentations
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Your next PowerPoint presentation might be a lot more exciting thanks to a new feature that also draws in Microsoft Teams.

The company has announced it is bringing two separate tools together to make your meetings more engaging and interactive using its popular video conferencing platform.

The upgrade now means you'll be able to bring your Microsoft Teams camera feed into a PowerPoint presentation, hopefully meaning an end to death by slides.

Microsoft Teams and PowerPoint

The change has been made possible by integrating Cameo and Recording Studio, two existing tools announced by Microsoft in 2021 that looked to help improve the PowerPoint experience.

Cameo let users bring their live or recorded Teams camera feed into a PowerPoint presentation, giving users the chance to customize where on a slide they'd like to appear. Recording Studio allows users to record a presentation in PowerPoint and deliver on-demand video, so your co-workers or colleagues can watch whenever they like.

Microsoft PowerPoint Teams record

(Image credit: Microsoft)

The two tools will now be combined in PowerPoint, meaning that when a user is done creating a presentation, they can use Cameo to decide how and where they appear on the slides, and then carry out the actual pre-recorded speaking with recording studio just by clicking the new “record” button within PowerPoint, all without having to switch between multiple platforms.

When the presentation is taking place, PowerPoint Live will then deliver the recorded video.

Read more

> Microsoft 365 is getting a load of features we already knew about – and a few we didn’t expect

> Office and Microsoft Teams are getting even closer

> New Microsoft Teams apps eliminate an obvious advantage for Zoom

Microsoft says the tool can be useful for speakers who may be unable to attend a “live” meeting in-person, but still want to be a part of it, as Cameo with Recording Studio means, “you’ll still show up in the meeting as if you are “live.””

Recording studio is generally available now for use in PowerPoint, and Cameo is set to be released within the next few months.

The news is only the latest in a series of partnerships between Teams and PowerPoint as Microsoft looks to make its Office suite more useful for workers everywhere.

The company recently revealed PowerPoint Live is getting support for live slide translation, meaning slides can be instantly translated during a Microsoft Teams call. Both presenters and attendees can translate presentation content privately by right-clicking on the presentation, which will bring up a “Translate Slides” option. 

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Microsoft Teams is about to save your PowerPoint presentations
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Your next PowerPoint presentation might be a lot more exciting thanks to a new feature that also draws in Microsoft Teams.

The company has announced it is bringing two separate tools together to make your meetings more engaging and interactive using its popular video conferencing platform.

The upgrade now means you'll be able to bring your Microsoft Teams camera feed into a PowerPoint presentation, hopefully meaning an end to death by slides.

Microsoft Teams and PowerPoint

The change has been made possible by integrating Cameo and Recording Studio, two existing tools announced by Microsoft in 2021 that looked to help improve the PowerPoint experience.

Cameo let users bring their live or recorded Teams camera feed into a PowerPoint presentation, giving users the chance to customize where on a slide they'd like to appear. Recording Studio allows users to record a presentation in PowerPoint and deliver on-demand video, so your co-workers or colleagues can watch whenever they like.

Microsoft PowerPoint Teams record

(Image credit: Microsoft)

The two tools will now be combined in PowerPoint, meaning that when a user is done creating a presentation, they can use Cameo to decide how and where they appear on the slides, and then carry out the actual pre-recorded speaking with recording studio just by clicking the new “record” button within PowerPoint, all without having to switch between multiple platforms.

When the presentation is taking place, PowerPoint Live will then deliver the recorded video.

Read more

> Microsoft 365 is getting a load of features we already knew about – and a few we didn’t expect

> Office and Microsoft Teams are getting even closer

> New Microsoft Teams apps eliminate an obvious advantage for Zoom

Microsoft says the tool can be useful for speakers who may be unable to attend a “live” meeting in-person, but still want to be a part of it, as Cameo with Recording Studio means, “you’ll still show up in the meeting as if you are “live.””

Recording studio is generally available now for use in PowerPoint, and Cameo is set to be released within the next few months.

The news is only the latest in a series of partnerships between Teams and PowerPoint as Microsoft looks to make its Office suite more useful for workers everywhere.

The company recently revealed PowerPoint Live is getting support for live slide translation, meaning slides can be instantly translated during a Microsoft Teams call. Both presenters and attendees can translate presentation content privately by right-clicking on the presentation, which will bring up a “Translate Slides” option. 

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The line is blurring between Microsoft Teams and actual phone calls
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Your Microsoft Teams calls are set to see a significant boost thanks to a partnership between the company and some of the world's leading mobile operators.

The software giant has announced the launch of Operator Connect Mobile, a new service that will utilize the network footprint of existing operators to make sure Microsoft Teams Phone calls are more reliable and flexible than ever before.

Among other things, the new launch means that users can have a single business-provided number for mobile, desk, and Microsoft Teams, allowing them to work flexibly and securely from any location, device, or network.

Microsoft Teams Phone boost

Microsoft has signed up the likes of BT, Verizon, Swisscom, Telia and Rogers to support the launch later in 2022, providing what it calls “true fixed-mobile convergence”.

This should mean that mobile calls can be prioritized on the cellular voice network or internet connection for better call continuity and quality of service, with users also able to seamlessly move between devices and Teams endpoints without dropping calls.

An expansion on the company's hugely successful online collaboration platform, Microsoft Teams Phone combines VoIP and video conferencing services to allow users to make and receive phone calls within the software.

The platform styles itself as an all-in-one app that enables rich, reliable, and secure calling, offering services such as conferencing, do not disturb, reverse number lookup, voicemail, and delegation functionality.

The company claims that Microsoft Teams Phone has around 80 million active users across the globe, helping narrow the gap between home and office as more organizations embrace hybrid working.

It now hopes that Operator Connect Mobile will help grow this number, allowing organizations to combine their user's mobile identities with the existing Microsoft Teams and Office 365 cloud tools.

Read more

> You might soon be able to sneak into a Microsoft Teams call silently

> Office and Microsoft Teams are getting even closer

> New Microsoft Teams apps eliminate an obvious advantage for Zoom

“Today’s announcement marks an important milestone for true fixed-mobile convergence,” Microsoft noted in a blog post announcing the news. ” Operator Connect mobile is a first-of-its-kind fixed-mobile convergence that’s intuitive, device agnostic, and enterprise compliant.”

“Operator Connect Mobile enables new opportunities for flexibility, efficiency, security, and compliance, which is particularly relevant in the new hybrid workplace. And as we continue to expand the functionality, the lines between voice calls and meetings, mobile and Wi-Fi networks, mobile and desktop devices, and office and field settings will continue to blur. This is the promise of organizational mobility, and it’s made possible with Operator Connect Mobile.”

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 Teams will now tell you how to reply to that tricky message
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A new update to Microsoft Teams could make replying to awkward messages a lot less painful than before.

The video conferencing platform is working on an upgrade that will offer “suggested replies” in chats on Teams.

Already a common sight on the likes of Gmail, SMS messages and more, the suggested replies feature will examine the context of the previous messages and provide a couple of possible responses, handling all the brain work for you.

Microsoft Teams replies

In the Microsoft 365 roadmap entry detailing the update, the company notes that Teams will use “assistive AI” in order to analyze previous messages and create the suggested responses. 

Users will get up to three recommended responses to choose from, and will be able to send their choice with just a click.

The feature is still listed as “in development” for the time being, but Microsoft has assigned a general availability date of April 2022, so we could see a launch within the next few weeks.

Upon release, the feature will be available to all Microsoft Teams users across the world using the desktop platform.

Read more

> Microsoft Teams online vs desktop: What's the difference?

> Office and Microsoft Teams are getting even closer

> Microsoft Teams for dummies: A simple tutorial for beginners

The feature is the latest in a series of upgrades for Microsoft Teams as the company looks to make it an indispensable hybrid working tool.

Recently, Microsoft Teams has seen a pair of add-ons introduce real-time translation, giving users access to a large 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.

Microsoft Teams also recently announced it is opening up its live captions feature to a wider pool of users in an effort to improve accessibility standards. Until now, the live captions feature has been gated behind a registration wall, so 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.

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.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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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.

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.

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One of the best Microsoft Teams features is coming to more users
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Microsoft Teams is working on an update that will extend one of its most useful features to a wider pool of users.

According to a new entry in the Microsoft 365 product roadmap, guest users will soon gain access to the live captions feature for Microsoft Teams on desktop, a facility currently available to registered users only.

The roadmap suggests the update for the collaboration platform is still under development, but should take effect for all users by the end of April. TechRadar Pro has asked Microsoft whether users can expect the change to be extended to the mobile client in future.

Microsoft Teams live captions

Introduced soon after the widespread shift to remote working as a result of the pandemic, the Microsoft Teams live captions feature is designed to ensure that all video meeting participants can follow the thread of conversation effectively. That includes anyone with hearing impairments or whose command of the language spoken in the meeting is imperfect, but also anyone with a poor connection or working in a noisy environment.

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.

Multiple queries from IT administrators in the Microsoft help forum suggest this is a problem a number of businesses have encountered. Strangely, responses from advisors suggest there may be a workaround that involves meddling with settings in the Admin Center, but the reliability of this method is unclear.

Read more

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

> Brave is now trying to dethrone Microsoft Teams and Google Meet

> This Microsoft Teams update could help you find a new job

With the upcoming update, however, Microsoft will make it far simpler for guests to access the live captions feature in Microsoft Teams meetings, without the administrator of the host domain having to wade through the advanced settings.

The update is the latest in a long line of improvements delivered by Microsoft in an effort to establish Teams as the go-to platform for workplace collaboration, in the face of increasingly fierce competition from the likes of Zoom and Slack.

In recent months, for example, Microsoft has announced new integrations between Teams and Office, chat filters designed to help users focused on the task at hand, and optimizations that reduce the platform’s power consumption.

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It’s now quicker than ever to start a Microsoft Teams call
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There could soon be no escape from a quick Microsoft Teams catch-up after the company released a new update that makes setting up a call easier than ever.

The video conferencing service will soon let users cast directly from their desktop to Microsoft Teams Rooms hardware, meaning there's no need for a formal meeting any more.

Instead, users can employ the new Teams casting feature to wirelessly connect to a Teams Room, no matter where in the world they are.

Microsoft Teams casting

In its entry in the Microsoft 365 roadmap, the company says it sees the upgrade as ideal for quick ad-hoc sessions that don't require setting up a formal meeting.

The feature will work across Windows and Mac versions of the Teams desktop client, with users able to broadcast their screen and cast content stored locally on their computer or accessible via Office 365.

The feature is still listed as “in development”, but Microsoft has listed a general availability date of March 2022, so you shouldn't have to wait too long. The tool will be made generally available to desktop users everywhere upon release.

Read more

> Microsoft Teams for dummies: A simple tutorial for beginners

> Why Slack isn't afraid of Teams or any other competitor

> Best Microsoft Teams apps: The most useful Teams integrations to boost your productivity

The news is the latest example of Microsoft Teams working in harmony with other services and products in a bid for improved efficiency.

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.

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.

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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Brave is now trying to dethrone Microsoft Teams and Google Meet
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Brave Software is rolling out a series of upgrades for its privacy-focused video conferencing service, Brave Talk.

As explained in a new blog post, the headline addition is a new browser extension that allows users to attach Brave Talk links to Google Calendar invitations, in the same way as they might with Google Meet. The idea is to give people a simpler way to integrate Brave Talk into their regular working routine.

Beyond the browser extension, the company has also expanded the free version of its video conferencing service, which now supports unlimited video calls for up to four participants (up from two).

The premium version (costing $ 7/month), meanwhile, has received a number of new business-centric features as part of the update, from breakout rooms to emoji reactions, attendee polls and advanced moderation facilities.

Brave tackles video conferencing

Brave is perhaps best known for its web browser of the same name, which blocks both ads and tracking cookies, but the company is expanding rapidly in new product areas. For example, there’s now a Brave VPN, firewall, crypto wallet, news aggregator and search engine, all of which are said to be optimized for privacy.

Pitched as an alternative to video conferencing services operated by the likes of Microsoft and Google, Brave Talk is another member of this growing portfolio.

“Unlike other video conferencing providers, which can involve collecting and sharing user data without adequate transparency and control, Brave Talk is designed to not share user information or contacts by default,” Brave states.

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“Brave Talk is designed to serve you, not track you, and is designed for unlinkability [whereby there is nothing that links a participant to a call]. This privacy protection carries through to the Google Calendar extension.”

For Google Workspace customers at least, the ability to add a Brave Talk link to a Google Calendar entry with ease will minimize the friction involved in switching service, a crucial factor in accelerating adoption.

The extension of the free service to include unlimited calls for up to four people, meanwhile, will make Brave Talk a perfectly viable option for anyone in need of a video conferencing service for occasional personal use.

The main caveat is that Brave Talk calls can only be hosted by someone that uses the Brave browser, which currently holds a comparatively tiny share of the market. The ability for Brave Talk to challenge the likes of Microsoft and Google in the video conferencing market, then, is tied to whether the company is able to challenge the same two rivals in the browser space too.

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