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Microsoft's Cortana bot can schedule meetings on your behalf
Microsoft is trying to turn Cortana into the digital assistant of your dreams with a new AI bot called Calendar.help. The beta service requires an invitation, but once signed up, you link it to your Outlook, Google or Office 365 calendar apps. Then, when it's time to schedule a meeting, send an email to attendees and Cc: Cortana. The message can include natural language like "sometime next week" or "make this a Skype meeting." From there, it'll look at your calendar and contact other attendees by itself to find the best time for everyone.
Outlook now displays coworkers' availability on your phone
Sunrise is officially dead, but Microsoft just added a new feature to the Outlook iOS calendar that might help you forget it. In a trick borrowed from the desktop app, the iOS version of Outlook has a new scheduling assistant that makes it fairly easy to book a meeting. All you need to do is create an event and add coworkers in the "people" field, then choose the date picker.
Microsoft's Outlook.com Premium gives you custom email
How much do you value control over your email? Enough that you're willing to pay for a custom experience, but not so much that you're willing to jump through hoops to do it? Microsoft might have your back: it just held a quiet launch of the public preview of Outlook.com Premium, a subscription version of its web-focused email service. Fork over $50 per year ($20 per year as part of a promo) and you'll not only ditch the ads on the web, but receive five personalized email addresses at no extra charge during the first year (it's $10 per year afterward). Microsoft will automatically share calendars, contacts and files between those custom addresses, too, so your family or small business will stay in the loop.
Outlook on the web can import GDrive files and Facebook photos
Microsoft is showing its Outlook.com users some love by adding both Facebook and Google Drive integration. If you use Outlook on iOS or Android, you probably already know that you can link it with your GDrive account. Now that the feature's finally available for the service's web version, you can open file attachments and even edit the document right within its interface. All you need to do is click on the attachment icon and type in your Google log-in. The process is pretty much the same if you want to email your Facebook photos.
Microsoft's Sunrise calendar app gets a stay of execution
When Microsoft made a final appointment to terminate Sunrise on August 31st, fans of the app were discouraged. Not only were they losing their favorite calendar program, but Redmond has not integrated very many features into Outlook as it promised when it purchased the app last year. However, it has now decided to delay Sunrise's shut down. "We have chosen to wait a little longer in order to deliver a few more Sunrise-inspired features in Outlook," a spokesperson told PC World .
Use Microsoft Outlook to schedule a meeting at Starbucks
At March's Build developer conference, Microsoft gave the full rundown on a number of Office extensions for Mac. Part of that announcement was a Starbucks add-in that allows you to send gift cards and book meetings inside Outlook. Well, that extension, er "add-in," is ready for prime time. This means that you can easily send a "thank you" cup of coffee or schedule a meeting at your nearby Starbucks location while you're looking at a related email. And if you need to place an order, the add-in will boot you out to the coffee company's mobile app to input all the details for your Grand Soy Latte or Iced Americano.
Microsoft Outlook has an Android Wear watch face
Microsoft Outlook made its debut on current wearables with an Apple Watch app last year, before launching an Android Wear app in April. Now Microsoft has gone a step further, by updating its app with an Android Wear watchface. Outlook users with a Wear device get details on their day's schedule, next upcoming meeting or unread messages right on their initial screen, without needing to dive into an app or wait for a notification. If your work setup is centered around Outlook instead of Gmail, it should make dealing with scheduling and messages far easier -- grab the latest update from the Play Store and sync apps on your Android watch to get the latest version.
Microsoft brings Outlook mail and calendar to HoloLens
You can't get a Microsoft HoloLens yet unless you pony up $3,000 for the developer edition. But when a consumer version does become available -- either through Microsoft itself or through companies that choose to use the Windows Holographic platform -- you'll easily be able to access your emails and schedule on the headset. Microsoft has released HoloLens versions of Outlook Mail and Calendar, so those who do have the developer version no longer have to load them on a browser.
Outlook arrives for Android Wear devices
Microsoft is putting Outlook on the wrists of Google fans. The email app now has support for the Android Wear platform. With it, you can check any notifications that pop, pore over messages, and use pre-set responses or voice dictation to bang out a quick reply. Android Central notes that the app is rolling out to users, so not everyone might have access to the wrist-bound productivity app just yet. This is a welcome addition to the version of Android tailored to wearables to be sure, but a little bit late - - Outlook's had an Apple Watch app since last August.
Outlook for iOS and Android syncs calendar info from other apps
Ever since it acquired Sunrise, the popular social calendar app, Microsoft's been bringing more of its features to the Outlook mobile apps. To that end, Outlook for iOS and Android can now sync with Evernote, Facebook and Wunderlist, which will let users get information from those third-party services directly on their inbox. This includes events, notes and tasks, making it easier for you to stay on top of scheduled meetings, reminders and other things that help with productivity. Microsoft says integration with these apps is just the start, hinting at support for others in the future.
Outlook Premium gives you custom email addresses for $3.99 per month
News of a planned premium version of Microsoft's Outlook email platform broke a couple of months back, but at the time it was merely described as a pilot program. Thanks to a landing page discovered by Paul Thurrott, we know now Microsoft's subscription-based service will cost users $3.99 per month. For the price, Outlook.com Premium will give users an ad-free inbox, better calendar sharing and the ability to choose up to five custom email address domains. So if you're a fan of Outlook, but not so down with an outlook.com or hotmail.com email address, this could cure what ails you.
Outlook.com update brings a load of new features, including GIFs
Microsoft teased a revamped version of Outlook.com last year, including a preview that began in May. Today, the company announced that the updated web-based email service is now open to all. In addition to a redesigned look, Outlook.com migrated over to the Office 365 platform. New users who sign up for the first time will be privy to the update immediately and existing users can expect the changes to roll out over the coming weeks.
Outlook for iOS turns your meetings into Skype calls
If you use Skype on a frequent basis, you've probably wanted to schedule a few of those internet-based calls. Doing that on your phone, however, has been a hassle -- at least, until now. Microsoft has rolled out an update to Outlook for iOS that lets you turn any meeting into a Skype call, and join that call by tapping a button. Theoretically, you'll never hold up an important talk while you're sifting through your Skype contacts. And there's more on the way if you prefer face-to-face video chats, too.
Microsoft will warn users targeted by government hackers (update)
Microsoft promises to notify its users if it believes that the government's targeting their account. In its announcement post, the company says it already notifies subscribers if an unauthorized person's trying to access their Outlook email and OneDrive. But from now on, it will also specify if it suspects the attacker is sponsored by a government.Microsoft VP Scott Charney writes:We're taking this additional step of specifically letting you know if we have evidence that the attacker may be "state-sponsored" because it is likely that the attack could be more sophisticated or more sustained than attacks from cybercriminals and others. These notifications do not mean that Microsoft's own systems have in any way been compromised.
Outlook for iOS now supports 3D Touch
Microsoft's Outlook for iOS has quickly become one of the platform's best options for managing your inbox, and today it got a handy new feature: 3D Touch support. iPhone 6s and 6s Plus users can now press on the home screen icon to reveal options for quickly sending an email, adding an event to your calendar, or jumping straight into your calendar view. It doesn't seem that any 3D Touch gestures have been added anywhere else in the app, though -- you're limited to these quick actions from the home screen.
Skype video and voice chats come to Office and Outlook on the web
You can already have Skype text chats while you're collaborating on Office Online docs or checking mail at Outlook.com. But wouldn't you rather talk to your colleagues and keep your hands free for, you know, work? You're about to get just that: Microsoft says it will bring Skype's video and voice chats to everyone using Office Online and Outlook.com, starting in November. On top of this, it's trotting out a Chrome extension that lets you quickly work with Office and Sway content in the browser, whether it's stored on your PC or in the cloud. All told, you don't have to worry quite so much about leaving Office's native apps behind.
Outlook on the web borrows Facebook's Like and Twitter's @mention
Microsoft is giving Outlook on the web a couple of familiar social media-flavored features. First, it's adding a thumbs up on every email, which you can click on the reading pane. That gives you a way to publicly "Like" or show ideas support, particularly for school/work group messages -- if someone else likes the email you sent, you'll get a notification. The other one is obviously inspired by Twitter's @mentions: when you want to call someone's attention in the body of an email, simply type @ to open up your directory and list of frequent contacts. If the person wasn't originally in the group message, his email address will automatically be added in the To: box.
Microsoft promises that Windows 10 doesn't violate your privacy
Microsoft famously accused Google of "Scroogling" users by selling their private data to advertisers. But when it launched Windows 10, Microsoft was itself roundly criticized for over-zealous personal data collection. Critics say it does things like send parents reports of their kids' PC use, prevent users from opting out of certain types of data collection, and scan PCs for counterfeit software. The software giant has responded to those accusations in a Windows blog post, saying that it only collects data that makes its products work better and that it gives users control over information collected.
Microsoft Send brings chat-style messaging to Outlook emails
To help ease the burden of email, Google created Inbox, and now Microsoft is looking to lend a hand, too. With Send, you can keep it brief for those times when "in-and-out email" is all that's needed. It's less about organization and more like an IM-like option for your inbox. The app provides the short convos that text or IMs usually afford, but allows access to your email contacts and stores all of the threads in Outlook for later reference. In other words, you can quickly send a "meet me downstairs" to a colleague without having to make a phone call or send an email with a subject line, etc. There's also a Quick Reply tool with some pre-entered responses to save you even more time -- things like "on my way" or "I'll get back to you."
Microsoft buys the company behind to-do app Wunderlist (update: official)
Microsoft's quest to conquer the mobile productivity app world by acquiring it is still underway, it seems. A Wall Street Journal source claims that the folks in Redmond have bought 6Wunderkinder, better known as the creator of the to-do app Wunderlist. Neither company is commenting on the scoop at the moment, but the deal is reportedly worth between $100 million to $200 million. The question, of course, is what Microsoft will do with its new prize. The company turned Acompli into the new versions of Outlook for Android and iOS, but it hasn't done much yet with Sunrise's calendar app. Given how handy to-do lists can be when paired with email and schedules, our money's on Outlook and similar apps eventually doing a better job of juggling your daily tasks. Update: Sure enough, Microsoft has confirmed the acquisition. The company plans to "apply Wunderlist's innovations" to its apps and services, but stresses that it's going to leave the existing app and its pricing as they are.
