Microsoft Teams could be a tempting option for Zoom and Google Meet users thanks to a new feature the Windows 10 makers are pushing out. This year as scores of people around the world had to move their work from the office to the home due to COVID-19 web conferencing services such as Microsoft Teams have become invaluable. Zoom was initially the go-to choice for people looking to hold a video chat online for work or social purposes, but since then Google Meet and Microsoft Teams have both seen user numbers surge as the trio of services battle for supremacy.
But a new feature just announced by Microsoft Teams could make the service extremely tempting for those thinking of crossing over from Zoom or Google Meet.
Both Zoom and Google Meet have limits to how long a meeting can go on for – with Zoom capped at 40 minutes and Google Meet at 60 minutes.
However, just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday season Microsoft is rolling out a Teams feature that will make it easier to connect with friends and family digitally.
Microsoft has announced that to help you “stay connected” meetings in Teams will be able to run for a whopping 24 hours.
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The move seems perfectly timed for the busy Thanksgiving period, with the CDC in America advising people not to travel for Thanksgiving.
Which makes services such as Microsoft Teams even more invaluable that before.
Announcing the move, the Redmond-based tech giant said: “To help you stay connected in the coming months, you will be able to meet for 24 hours with up to 300 participants until further specified”.
Zoom has also announced that they will be lifting meetings time limits, but this is only temporarily – from midnight eastern time on November 26 to 6am ET on November 27.
Microsoft hasn’t announced a cut-off point for their all-day meetings, so it looks like Teams users will be able to enjoy this for a while longer.
To take advantage of this feature, it’s easy as (pumpkin) pie – to start off, a meeting’s host needs to head to the new Teams web link.
Then, just sign in with a Microsoft Account and create a video meeting – which will provide you with a link you can share with family and friends.
They’ll then be able to join in free of charge without needing a Microsoft login.
As we mentioned, you’ll be able to get up to 300 people into your all-day meeting – which should provide ample room to get all of your nearest and dearest into an online video chat.
But if you fancy something a bit different you can also take advantage of Microsoft Teams’ Together Mode.
This supports up to 49 people, and puts all of them together in a gallery view if you’d rather something a bit quirky for your big Teams meet-up.
In other Microsoft Teams news, time is running out for a large section of the Teams userbase who will soon see the service stop working for them – unless they change things up.
The Windows 10 makers have announced big changes for November, with Microsoft Teams set to stop working for millions of people at the end of the month.
In just under a week’s time, Microsoft Teams will stop working on the veteran and popular browser Internet Explorer 11.
Microsoft announced this change was incoming in a blog post published earlier this year.
At the time, Microsoft said: “We’re announcing that Microsoft 365 apps and services will no longer support Internet Explorer 11 (IE 11) by this time next year.
“Beginning November 30, 2020, the Microsoft Teams web app will no longer support IE 11.
“Beginning August 17, 2021, the remaining Microsoft 365 apps and services will no longer support IE 11.”
They added: “Customers have been using IE 11 since 2013 when the online environment was much less sophisticated than the landscape today. Since then, open web standards and newer browsers—like the new Microsoft Edge—have enabled better, more innovative online experiences. We believe that Microsoft 365 subscribers, in both consumer and commercial contexts, will be well served with this change through faster and more responsive web access to greater sets of features in everyday toolsets like Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and more.”
If Internet Explorer 11 is your go-to choice, then these inbound changes may leave you no other option than to ditch IE11 for the newer, Chromium-powered Microsoft Edge software.
