What’s Changed or Missing in the Preview Release of Microsoft Teams

With any preview release of software, the product is often not yet fully functional. I look at preview mode like half-baked brownies: the recipe calls for you to bake them at 350 degrees for 30 minutes for them to be edible, but instead you bake them at 200 degrees for 20 minutes, producing something that resembles brownies, but they’re not fully baked or ready to consume. The preview of the new Microsoft Teams is no different; it is missing some features that were in classic Teams, and not everything announced has been fully implemented. With this in mind, it is important to balance what you’re gaining versus what you’re losing… Read More

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Microsoft new Teams Desktop app now available in Preview

Microsoft has announced the preview release of a new and improved Microsoft Teams desktop app for Windows that has already been rolled out in preview mode effective March 27th. The 280 million users, over 1900 third-party apps, as well as over 100,000 custom apps will all benefit from the new Teams desktop app that is faster, simpler, smarter, and even more flexible. In addition, for the IT pros managing the deployment and updates to the app, they will also be nicely surprised with the additional deployment and security options available in the new Teams. Faster and Less Resource Intensive One of the biggest changes made in the new Teams is… Read More

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What’s New in Microsoft Teams Q1 – 2023

Microsoft Teams is an ever-evolving service that has become the primary desktop application for users to collaborate and communicate in throughout the day. With that in mind, Microsoft is investing a lot of resources, both financially and physically, to ensure the product continues to evolve. With so many changes, it is important to keep abreast of the updates and new features to ensure your organization is taking full advantage of this powerful service. This quarterly post on Microsoft Teams will be useful for understanding the highlights of the new features and updates, specific to the Microsoft Teams desktop app and Teams on the web. Teams Premium A new AI-powered offering… Read More

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Introducing Microsoft 365 AI Copilot

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken the technology industry by storm lately, and Microsoft who is always on the cutting edge of new technology is certainly dipping their feet in the AI water, with their announcement of Microsoft 365 Copilot. Copilot integrates Large Language Models (LLMs) with data in Microsoft Graph, and Microsoft apps. At this point this integration is two-fold; Embedded in Microsoft 365 apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, etc.) Business Chat (calendar, emails, chats, documents, meetings, and contacts) By saying a command similar to ‘tell me about today’s meetings topics’, it will generate outcome based on your days meetings, emails, and chat threads. After it presents its findings,… Read More

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TekkiGurus Announces Website Launch for the Microsoft Community

Community site for experts, users and solution providers using Microsoft technology Las Vegas, NV — March 15, 2023 — TekkiGurus.com, the online platform for Microsoft technology enthusiasts, has launched today to over 300,000 members of the Microsoft community. The website aims to provide a comprehensive resource for tech enthusiasts of all levels, from beginners to advanced users, with information, insights and the latest news on all things Microsoft tech. TekkiGurus.com will feature an extensive library of technology-related articles, tutorials, product reviews and how-to guides contributed from an extensive network of Microsoft MVPs, Microsoft Certified Trainers and other industry experts and thought leaders who make their living helping companies understand and… Read More

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Microsoft Teams Premium is Released

In February 2023, Microsoft announced that Microsoft Teams Premium is generally available. Microsoft Teams Premium is an add-on per-user license used to enhance the Teams experience. Teams Premium includes the integration of OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 making one-on-one meetings, large meetings, virtual appointments, and webinars more intelligent, personalized, and secure. Some of these features are already available as individual add-ons, but when you start adding up the total cost of these add-ons, it can get a bit pricey on a per-user basis. Microsoft includes all these individual add-ons in Microsoft Teams Premium for one low per-user price. Speaking of pricing, the per-user pricing of Teams Premium is $10 per user per month.… Read More

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What’s new in Microsoft Teams Q4 – 2022

Microsoft Teams is an ever-evolving service that has become the primary desktop application for users to collaborate and communicate in. With that in mind, Microsoft is investing a lot of resources, both financially and physically to ensure the product continues to evolve. With there being so many changes, it is important to keep abreast of the updates and new features to ensure your organization is taking full advantage of this powerful app. This quarterly post on Microsoft Teams will be useful for understanding the highlights of the new features and updates, specific to the Microsoft Teams desktop app and Teams on the web. Calls            … Read More

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Introducing and Exploring Microsoft Forms

Using Microsoft Forms, you can create inviting surveys, quizzes, and polls that are accessible from nearly any device, and then view the results in real-time. There are analytical tools to summarize the information gathered from the form and that optionally export these results to Excel for use with other analytical tools. Forms are used to gather feedback, conduct surveys, conduct polls, and much more. These forms can be created in OneDrive, as Web-based, inside an Excel workbook, within a OneNote notebook, and as a tab in a channel in Microsoft Teams. It’s extremely easy to create and deploy a form with just a few mouse clicks using an out-of-box template… Read More

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What’s new in Microsoft Teams Q3 – 2022

Microsoft Teams is an ever-evolving service that has become the primary desktop application for users to collaborate and communicate in. With that in mind, Microsoft is investing a lot of resources, both financially and physically to ensure the product continues to evolve. With there being so many changes, it is important to keep abreast of the updates and new features to ensure your organization is taking full advantage of this powerful app. This quarterly post on Microsoft Teams will be useful for understanding the highlights of the new features and updates, specific to the Microsoft Teams desktop app and Teams on the web. Calls            Manage… Read More

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Integrating Microsoft Forms with Microsoft Teams

If you want to gather real-time information, design a quiz in Microsoft Teams using Forms. You can use quizzes to assess learning, get feedback, and research your team’s concerns. When creating quizzes, you can choose that they be Web-based, inside OneNote notebook, or as a tab in a channel in Microsoft Teams. This article provides the basic steps necessary to create a web-based quiz, which, as you’ll see, is pretty similar to creating a form but with a few important differences.   Log into Microsoft 365 and click the Forms option located on the waffle in the top left-hand corner of M365. Click on the drop-down arrow on +New Form and choose New Quiz. Type… Read More

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