Logitech releases Zone Wired Headset
Wireless is always better than wired, right? Whoa. Slow down there. While wireless products are sometimes more convenient, the truth is, many people prefer wired products, such as mice and keyboards. While having wires on your desk may look unsightly, wired products have the benefit of not needing to be charged. Not to mention, for some businesses, it is against company policy to use wireless keyboards and headsets for fear of communications being intercepted. And so, regardless of what the user wants, wired is all that will be permitted.
Logitech's Zone Wireless Headset, for instance, seems like a great product. If you are someone that wears a headset all day, there is no wire to get tangled in while moving about your desk. Not to mention, it looks quite comfortable. If you like the design, but don't want (or aren't allowed) to use a wireless headset, I have great news. There is finally a cabled variant of the headset, simply called "Zone Wired Headset."
Linux users get an early Christmas gift -- Microsoft Teams
Modern Linux users have it pretty good. In 2019, there are many major players supporting desktop operating systems running the open source kernel. Years ago, it felt like Linux on the desktop was a second class citizen -- switching from Windows was not as easy as it is today. These days, it is totally possible to forgo Microsoft's desktop operating system and still have a high quality computing experience with top-notch software, including video editing and PC gaming.
To show just how far we've come, Microsoft today brings an essential Office 365 program to Linux. No, it isn't Word, Excel, or PowerPoint -- that would be a true miracle. Actually, it is one of the newer Office applications that is seeing a surge in popularity -- Microsoft Teams. This is a top-notch communication and collaboration service. Depending on who you believe, Teams actually has more users than Slack -- a very impressive feat. Now, Microsoft Teams joins Slack on the Linux desktop!
Microsoft Teams is coming to Linux
Microsoft is working to bring its Teams software to Linux. The company has said that it is "actively working" on creating a Linux version of the client, although there is no word on quite when it might be released.
There have long been calls for Microsoft to cater for Linux users. The collaborative Teams software is used by many people in mixed platform environments, and the announcement from Teams engineers have been greeted with enthusiasm.
Microsoft announces that Skype for Business Online will be retired
As Microsoft continue to push Teams, the company has announced that Skype for Business Online will be retired in 2021.
While this is far from surprising, this is the first time a date has been mentioned so users can prepare to transition away. With the retirement date set at July 31, 2021, users have two years to get ready for a move to Teams.
Microsoft Teams is more popular than Slack
Microsoft has shared usage numbers for its group chat tool, Teams. The company has revealed the number of daily and weekly users for the first time, and they reveal that Microsoft Teams has overtaken Slack in popularity.
The number of daily users of Microsoft Teams stands at 13 million, while the weekly figure is 19 million. Considering the service is just two years old, to have surpassed the behemoth that is Slack is an impressive achievement.
A new free version of Microsoft Teams is ready to compete with Slack
Microsoft has launched a free version of Teams, the company's collaborative chat tool. Teams has pitted itself against the likes of Slack since it first appeared, but the arrival of a free edition makes it a viable alternative.
As this is a free product, it should come as no surprise that there are limitations. However, the free edition of Microsoft Team can still be used by up to 300 people -- the same as the Essentials and Premium versions -- which should be enough to cater for most small to medium sized businesses.
Microsoft Teams vs Slack -- how do they compare?
Last week Microsoft rolled out its Teams collaboration app to Office 365 users. Teams has been widely billed as a competitor for Slack, but how do the two big players in this space measure up against each other?
Internet marketing company TechWyse has put together an infographic giving an easy-to-follow overview of how the features of Teams and Slack compare. Slack is the more expensive option for paid users, but it does offer a Freemium model which Teams lacks.
Microsoft Teams rolls out to Office 365 users around the world
As we reported last week, Microsoft is today launching its own business collaboration tool in an effort to fend off the challenge from Slack.
Teams is now available to Office 365 users in 181 markets and 19 languages. Where Teams is likely to score over its competitors is in its close integration with other Office products and with Skype for Business.
Microsoft Teams will be generally available on March 14
Microsoft is preparing to officially launch its competitor to Slack, Teams, which it announced last November.
Microsoft will begin the rollout of its new product by first making it available to Office 365 customers. The launch event and the global rollout will take place on March 14.
Microsoft Teams has 30,000 business customers -- but is it a serious threat to Slack yet?
Microsoft Teams, Slack's latest high-profile rival, is slowly gaining traction. The software giant has announced that 30,000 organizations, spread across 145 markets, "actively used" the collaboration service in the past month. It launched in late-November.
Where are those 30,000 customers coming from? Well, since Microsoft Teams is part of Office 365 that means that the users the collaboration service has are first and foremost Office 365 subscribers -- and there are 85 million active users there. That gives it huge potential for growth.
Slack’s morning after
The rite of passage from youth to adulthood is filled with "morning after” moments -- those times when you realize that only 24 short hours ago (or less) you had bad judgment. Last Wednesday is Slack’s morning after... it thought it mattered as much as Microsoft.
Slack is a great product with deeply devoted fans, there’s no doubt about that. Its management has embraced the "accidental genius" narrative ("We don’t know why people use our product"), have talked about revolutions, and have driven one hell of a valuation. Good for them. Sadly, witty narratives, claims that your technology is disruptive and a lot of paper wealth doesn’t often translate into success as an enterprise software company.
Microsoft launches Teams -- and Slack is worried
It is no secret that Microsoft has been working on a Slack rival, but it is not until today that we get to take a proper look at the new collaboration tool. Called Microsoft Teams, it will officially launch in the first quarter of 2017, though the software giant is making it available as a public preview starting today. Should you give it a try?
The benefit to Microsoft Teams, as the software giant explains it, is the integration with some of its most important products and services, like Office 365 and Skype, to help users collaborate more easily on different projects. You also get support for services like GitHub and Twitter and different security features, but those are also available in other collaboration tools -- like Slack, for instance.
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