Windows 11 gets chatty as Teams integration turns up
- Reference: 1626875049
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/07/21/windows_11_teams/
- Source link:
As such, the promised Teams integration [1]has put in an appearance in Windows 11 – for a lucky subset of Windows Insiders, that is.
Our Intel-based Windows 11 Preview machine picked up the update, which currently only does chats (audio and video calling, screen-sharing and meetings remain in the "Coming Soon" category for the time being). And we can report that the experience is only marginally more clunky than the full-fat Teams client. It is also likely to generate a fair few friends-and-family support calls as consumers click the mystery Chat icon in the Taskbar and wonder what to do next.
[2]
The app signs in with a user's Microsoft account and will sync with their Skype and Outlook contacts. Popping in someone's email or phone number will either send them an invitation email or ping a notification before chat can begin.
[3]Windows 11: What we like and don't like about Microsoft's operating system so far
[4]Zoom! That's the sounds of comms firm chomping down on loss-making Five9 in transaction valued at $14.7bn
[5]It had to happen: Microsoft's cloudy Windows 365 desktops are due to land next month
[6]Windows 11 still doesn't understand our complex lives – and it hurts
We found a few oddities in our testing – emailed invites to chat attempted to kick off video and audio meetings when pasted into a browser, for example. This is all preview stuff at the moment, although is a clear indicator of Microsoft's direction of travel. Sorry, Skype fans.
However, with Windows 10 support stretching a good few years into the future, those preferring not to join the Teams party in Windows 11 can stick with their existing OS integration.
[7]
Fashionably late to the party, our Arm-based Windows 11 device (aka the [8]Raspberry Pi-400 or "Frankenstein's Windows installation") also received the update, and insisted on reminding us how wonderful Microsoft 365 was during its reboot.
We imagine that the ever-tighter integration of Teams with Windows might concern some of the Redmond cloud vendor's messaging rivals. The arrival of the promised code comes almost a year to the day from when Zoom [9]slung a sueball at Microsoft over the decision to bundle Teams into Office.
[10]
We have asked Zoom for its take on this latest update, and will update should the company respond. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/07/20/first-preview-of-chat-from-microsoft-teams-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YPhEm9os60B3AeB2I8gK2wAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/19/microsoft_windows_11_hands_on/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/19/zoom_five9_acquisition/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/14/windows_365/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/12/windows_11_still_doesnt_understand/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YPhEm9os60B3AeB2I8gK2wAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/30/windows_11_pi/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/22/slack_versus_teams/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YPhEm9os60B3AeB2I8gK2wAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Microsoft, come here please. Just a short chat.
Your job is to make sure the computer runs. Simple, right? Run. The. Computer. No more, no less.
You want to develop extra bits of software for people, that's grand. But keep them separate from the OS. Regardless of what you think, not everyone is going to want everything you make. Stop forcing them to swallow it anyway.
Now get off my lawn!
[as a complete aside, I'm waiting with baited breath for the day where we get a borked sign with the ad overlayed with a Teams chat window as some poor sod tries to chat with a billboard]
Minor correction
> Now get off my lawn LAN!
Unfortunately the institutions that are supposed to protect us, consumers are asleep at the wheel.
I mean, Microsoft, Google and Apple should all be heavily fined for integrating all this nonsense into the operating systems.
Things like app stores, communication software, browsers should all be developed and provided by 3rd parties.
Re: I'm waiting with baited breath
What do you hope to catch?
When is an OS....
Q. When is an OS not an OS?
A. When it does anything other than facilitating the utilisation of desired software on the appropriate hardware.
Yes, other OSs do come with complete suites of applications and utilities, but they're optional. You don't need Thor wielding his hammer to remove them if they're installed inadvertently or as a trial (eg. Win10: remove MS News app, lose the calendar). That's if you can remove Windows' toys at all.
"We imagine that the ever-tighter integration of Teams with Windows might concern some of the Redmond cloud vendor's messaging rivals."
Will Microsoft land on Park Lane, or will they land on Chance and get "Do not pass Go...."? Because it's defo monopoly territory.
power hungry
I remember when my laptop battery used to last all day, now it's half of what it used to be... oh wait, Teams is running...
(at one point the battery manager reported Teams was responsible for 78% of my battery usage!)
"As such, the promised Teams integration has put in an appearance in Windows 11 – for a lucky subset of Windows Insiders, that is."
Looks like someone mixed up their definition of the word "lucky".