Tag Archives: microsoft

Google’s Zoom rival, called Meet, is now free to consumers

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. Google on Wednesday said it’s making its teleconferencing service, called Google Meet, free to consumers. The move takes aim at Zoom, the rival video chat service that’s become a household name during the stay-at-home era spurred by the novel coronavirus. Previously, Meet was …

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Facebook Portal is finally a hit, thanks to a pandemic and your grandparents

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. James McConnell didn’t know much about Facebook’s Portal until Nan Owen, his 91-year-old neighbor, needed help setting up her video chat device last month as the UK locked down to combat the coronavirus. Owen’s active social life — friends and family would stop …

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This hospital is using Microsoft video chat to protect doctors fighting coronavirus

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. You can’t walk into the intensive care units at St. Luke’s University Health Network because of concerns over spreading the novel coronavirus. But if you did, you’d see something new amid the beds, medical equipment and tubes. It’s a device with Microsoft’s Teams …

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Microsoft tells Chrome users to switch to its Edge browser on Outlook

For years, Google has placed prominent pop-up ads on its web properties suggesting people switch to Google’s Chrome browser, saying they’ll get better performance, features and security. Now Microsoft is trying the same idea, taking advantage of its email service to try to push people to its newly revamped Edge web browser. “Microsoft Edge + Outlook = Better together,” says …

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Quarantine sucks. These services make it easier to get stuff done and stay sane

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. Most of us are spending more time at home as a result of coronavirus lockdowns and quarantines. And even when restrictions begin to loosen, it’s going to be a while before things get back to any sense of “normal.” You may still be …

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Microsoft Surface Earbuds will launch in May, report says

Microsoft’s long-awaited answer to Apple’s AirPods will finally be available in just a couple of weeks, according to a report Thursday from Winfuture, citing a retail source. The report says that the Surface Earbuds will be available in many European countries starting May 6, for a price of 199 euros (about $215). The report offered no information on the product …

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Vivaldi 3.0 becomes the newest web browser to block ads and trackers

Vivaldi now has built-in options for blocking online trackers and ads, a change of heart for a web browser-maker whose founder had hoped regulators would step in to protect privacy. The new features, designed to improve performance, too, are set to arrive Wednesday with the release of Vivaldi 3.0. The development of a version of Vivaldi for Android phones, the …

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How to share files with your team while working from home

Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and various lockdowns, quarantines and shelter-in-place orders, many people are now getting used to working from home for the first time. One obstacle you and your coworkers may have run into is the question of how to send and receive files that are too large to attach to an email. Luckily, what was once a complicated ordeal …

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How we’re using the internet while sheltering at home

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. If you’re one of the many people now working at home during the coronavirus pandemic, you know how important a reliable home internet connection is. If your network slows, you can’t complain to your IT department. Instead, it’s your internet service provider that …

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Zoom, Skype, FaceTime: 11 video chat app tricks to use during social distancing

Millions of people working from home and practicing social distancing to avoid coronavirus are taking advantage of free video chat apps to stay in touch with coworkers, friends and family. But staring at your own face framed by your messy living room or plain home office on the screen can get dull — for you and for them.  Luckily, popular video …

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