As we mentioned in our last post, Windows 11 is coming and with its announcement also came with the announcement of what’s being dubbed “Teams 2.0”.
In preview builds right now appearance wise Teams 2.0 is very similar to the Teams you’re used to using. It has the same minimalistic UI you’re used to. However, one change is you can now switch light, dark and high contrast mode. This is a customization feature found in other video conferencing software now brought to Teams to make the program more user friendly and inclusive.
Speaking of customization, you can also shrink your Teams windows exactly how you like now instead of simply shrinking the window down horizontally only. This will allow users to integrate a Teams window as they’re setting up their workstations for the day. The application can also “click” into place, fitting the size of the square or rectangle the user has left for it.
Under the hood you’ll find that Teams 2.0 is much lighter than your existing Teams applications. While this is an early build of the program it’s interesting to note and holds true to Microsoft’s promise of making Windows 11 lighter in every fashion. Many video chat programs are memory hogs for older machines and a more agile chat client would be welcome for those as well as lighter duty laptops with less memory capacity.
You can also quickly invite users with a link with Teams 2.0, allowing users to hold meetings more on the fly without having to schedule something through the Outlook calendar. This is one benefit found in Zoom that we think Microsoft is wise to integrate into Teams to broaden their appeal.
Another change is you can now find users by their phone number or by syncing your contacts with Outlook and Skype. It’s clear with Windows 11 the goal is to have Teams be the de facto video chat choice and adding the ability to lookup friends and family will greatly extend the use of Teams outside workplaces.
Although we still expect workplaces to be the primary use of Teams and we’re looking forward to more changes aimed at catering to the workforce marketplace beyond the scaled down client size (though don’t get us wrong, we definitely approve of that benefit). In the current preview builds video chat and voice chat are disabled so we’re unable to comment on that functionality at this time.
This is still very early on in the process, and we anticipate more changes to come not just for Teams 2.0 but also Microsoft 11 as a whole.
In fact, it’s already been announced that the web client version will be released for preview soon, improved PowerPoint integration and also the ability to utilize multiple user accounts under a single client. Microsoft is a flurry of activity as they gear up for the fall release of Windows 11.
Users currently on Windows 10 are already receiving patches aimed at getting their computers Windows 11 ready. As we noted in a previous blog Windows 11 will be a free upgrade to users already on Windows 10.
Still on Windows 7 or 8 in your office? It’s still possible to upgrade to Windows 10 either for free or for a small $99 upgrade fee. This is going to much less than Windows 11 will be retailing for at launch and a 50% discount on the Windows 10 Pro retail cost. Windows 7 ended extended support in January of last year and Windows 8 will be soon as well. It’s not a good idea to remain on an operating system no longer supported by Microsoft and can leave your business much more vulnerable to cyber security attacks.
If you need assistance upgrading the machines in your office so that they’re Windows 10 or 11 ready, reach out to us here.
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This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.
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