Articles about Slack

The problem with messaging and video conferencing platforms is that there are just too many of them. You and your work colleagues might be happily working away in Slack, but need to communicate with another team using Microsoft Teams.

To help get around this issue -- and to save you from having to switch allegiances -- Slack is launching new integration options via a new add-on app. This means it is possible to place a Teams call from Slack, and there are many more integrations to come.

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SiriusXM, the satellite radio juggernaut (and now-owner of Pandora), has millions of daily listeners. These days, the company doesn't only provide its popular satellite radio channels in automobiles, but essentially everywhere thanks to its mobile apps for Android and iPhone. Hell, you can listen to SiriusXM though Alexa and Google Assistant hardware these days too. Evert morning, I listen to Howard Stern on my Nest Mini by simply saying "Hey Google, Play Sirius 100." It is quite remarkable.

Obviously, such a large company has lots of employees working around the world. Enabling all these workers to easily communicate  and collaborate is essential. And so, SiriusXM chose Microsoft Teams for this, right? Actually, no. As a huge blow to Microsoft, SiriusXM instead chose Slack.

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Slack may be ubiquitous, but it is hardly exceptional. Look, the chat program is certainly functional, but let's be honest -- it isn't much more than a glorified clone of IRC. Don't get me wrong, I rather like Slack -- we here at BetaNews use it daily to communicate with each other -- but its runaway success is arguably undeserved. And maybe the luster is starting to dull -- Microsoft's Teams has apparently surpassed Slack in popularity.

Over the years, Slack has become a bit slow and bloated -- something very apparent on meager desktop computers with little RAM. Well, hot on the heels of a data breach, Slack apparently wants to make some positive news. You see, Slack announces its desktop app should now be much faster and far less of a resource hog. Rejoice!

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Slack has just been made aware of additional information about a security breach that took place back in 2015, forcing the company to reset the passwords of around 1 percent of its users.

The company announced earlier this year that it has a daily userbase of over 10 million people, so this means that a huge number of users are affected by the incident no matter how much Slack tries to downplay it.

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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.

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A leaked document has shed light on what it is like to work at Microsoft. It reveals the software and online services that Microsoft either prohibits or discourages employees from using, and there are some big names on the list.

One of the most well-known tools to be slapped with a ban is Slack, with others including the grammar checker Grammarly and security software from Kaspersky. The cloud-version of Microsoft-owned GitHub features on a list of "discouraged" tools and services.

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When Slack first arrived on the scene in 2013, it was meant to be an amped-up social messaging app that would improve workplace communication and cut down on email. It’s still serving that purpose, but these days it’s also a tool for interacting with customers, simplifying project management workflow, and integrating just about every app known to man in one place.

Slack now has 10 million users and those getting the most out of the app are those turning Slack into major command centers. Slack is the hub through which all their notifications, calendar reminders, project updates, and files flow.

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As 2018 comes to a close, I find myself doing much reflecting. Linux consumes much of my thinking, and sadly, this was not the year that it overtakes Windows on the desktop. You know what, though? Windows 10 was an absolute disaster this year, while the Linux-based Chrome OS has slowly become more and more mature. Other desktop Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, Mint and Fedora, continue to get better, and Android remains the undisputed king of mobile. As we all know, Linux powers many servers around the globe too. So yeah, maybe it isn't the year of the Linux desktop, but the open source kernel still had a superb 2018 -- I raise my glass to it.

One of the most refreshing aspects of Linux in 2018 was the popularity of Snaps. Canonical revealed that the containerized packages have been a smashing success. Today, the Ubuntu-maker highlights what it feels are the top 10 Snaps of 2018. No, it is not based on popularity or voting, but seemingly, just Canonical's opinion.

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Slack and its rivals Atlassian have announced they are forming a strategic partnership that will see chat tools HipChat and Stride closed down.

As part of the deal, Atlassian has made an equity investment in Slack, while Slack has acquired the intellectual property rights for Stride and HipChat Cloud. Moving forward, Stride, HipChat Cloud, HipChat Server and HipDhat Data Center will all be discontinued, and users will be offered a migration path to Slack -- making it even stronger competition for Microsoft's Teams.

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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.

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At the end of last year, the Linux desktop scored a huge win when Spotify became available as a Snap. If you aren't familiar with Snaps, please know that they are essentially software packages designed to run as a container on any Linux distro. Not only does it make installing software packages easier for users, but it makes things simpler for developers too. Ultimately, Snaps have the potential to solve the big fragmentation problem in the Linux desktop community.

Today, yet another wildly popular program gets the Snap treatment, and quite frankly, it is arguably more significant than Spotify. What is it? Slack! Yes, Canonical announces that the ubiquitous communication app can be installed as a Snap. True, Slack was already available on the Linux desktop, but this makes installing it and keeping it updated much easier.

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Darling of the communication and collaboration world Slack is partnering with Oracle. The plan is to integrate Oracle enterprise software into the messaging tool that graces so many workplaces.

While neither company has yet published details of the arrangement they have come to, both have confirmed the partnership to Reuters. Slack will be used as the interface for Oracle's sales, human resources and business software.

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When you are working on a team -- whether large or small -- collaboration can be a huge pain point. Nowadays, there are more and more remote workers, meaning teammates aren't always in the same state or country, let alone the same office building. After all, there is talent all over the globe -- not just in a 30 mile radius surrounding your place of business. This is one of the reasons why chat solutions like Slack have gained in popularity.

Speaking from experience, many software solutions are quite deficient in maximizing productivity and collaboration. There are still many instances where employees duplicate work and find themselves working off of outdated document revisions. A new startup called "The Mad Botter" is hoping to change this with a new "Wonderland" themed artificial intelligence bot called "Alice." This isn't an entirely new platform, however, and that is a good thing. Instead, the bot ties into existing solutions, such as the aforementioned Slack, plus other services like Trello and GitHub.

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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.

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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.

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