productivity
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Asana for Microsoft Teams lets you turn chats into action items
The popular project management platform Asana is integrating with Microsoft Teams, so that conversations in Teams can take place side-by-side with Asana projects.
G Suite users can make Google Voice calls right inside Gmail
You won’t have to bother switching to another tab to make or receive calls.
Slack's revamped mobile app puts key features within easy reach
Slack has overhauled its Android and iOS apps with quicker access to DMs, mentions, and other features you often use away from your PC.
Microsoft now protects Office 365 users against 'reply all' email storms
Microsoft now offer protection against 'reply all' email storms to Office 365 users around the world.
Microsoft To Do adds features the day Wunderlist shuts down
Microsoft has shut down Wunderlist, but To Do is getting some features that might fill in the gaps.
Todoist's latest feature helps you better organize upcoming tasks
Upcoming View will be easily accessible in the left navigation right under Today and simply labeled “Upcoming.”
Microsoft 365 is now available worldwide
Microsoft Office 365 is now called Microsoft 365, and the company wants not only workers, but also families, to use its software.
Slack adds Microsoft Teams video call options
More of us than ever are relying on video calling apps to chat with friends, family and colleagues. Slack, for example, has seen a huge increase in calls made and received through its app in the last month amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting today, the app will give you more options. For instance, you can now hop into a Microsoft Teams call directly from the productivity app, which said last week it was working on such an option.
Office 365 is turning into Microsoft 365 as it moves into your life
Microsoft wants you to think about its Office 365 subscription service in a whole new light. So on April 21st, the company is renaming the service to "Microsoft 365," as it adds more AI and cloud-powered tools to make you more productive. The pricing stays the same -- $7 a month/$70 a year for personal use and $10 a month/$100 a year for the family plan -- but the scope of the service is much broader. For one, Microsoft is launching a new Family Safety app for tracking screentime and other aspects of your digital life.
Microsoft's all-in-one Office app is now available to all
Microsoft's all-in-one Office app is ready for primetime. The mobile-first application, which the company announced last November, has already been available as a public preview. That version was limited to Android users that signed up through a specific Google Group and 10,000 iOS testers that registered via Apple's TestFlight program, however. The consumer-ready Android app slipped into the Play Store earlier this week -- a littler earlier than planned, a Microsoft spokesperson told Engadget -- and now the iPhone version is officially out of beta. For now, the Android app has "limited" tablet support, and there's no iPad-specific version.
Microsoft releases its unified Office app for Android
Microsoft has followed through on its promise of a unified Office mobile app -- for some people, anyway. Following months of beta testing, the company has released the all-in-one productivity app for Android phone users. Like before, this lets you edit Excel, PowerPoint and Word documents without having to switch apps. You can also sift through your OneDrive files, scan real-world documents with Office Lens and read QR codes.
Microsoft's redesigned Office apps for iOS are faster and simpler
Microsoft is acting on its promise to give its mobile Office apps a makeover. It just released new iOS (and iPadOS) versions of Excel, PowerPoint and Word that all tout a "simpler, faster and more beautiful" redesign. Really, that's another way of saying they have a more consistent look with an interface that helps you quickly edit documents when you're away from your desk.
Microsoft will shut down to-do app Wunderlist on May 6th
Over two and a half years after Microsoft said it'd one day kill to-do service Wunderlist in favor of its own To Do app, it has revealed when it'll drop the ax: May 6th. After that time, Wunderlist's to-do lists won't sync anymore and you'll have a limited time to export lists from there into To Do. As of today, Microsoft won't accept any more sign-ups for Wunderlist.
Microsoft tests Gmail integration in web-based Outlook
Microsoft seems to be testing a new feature that lets users add Google services to their Outlook accounts, as revealed by Twitter user Florian B and reported by The Verge. If available on your account, you should see a pop-up that says, "Add your Google Mail and Calendar to Outlook and easily manage everything in one place." Doing so allows you to switch between your Outlook and Gmail inboxes (though this causes the entire browser tab to refresh) and browse your Drive files. It's not clear how Google Calendar is integrated into Outlook.
Microsoft Japan’s four-day work week boosted productivity by 40 percent
The phrase "four-day work week" fills many people with a sense of ease and optimism, but most of us only get a handful of them per year. Microsoft Japan decided to give its 2,300 employees every Friday in August off and measure the results, according to The Guardian. The company reported happier workers and a 40 percent gain in productivity.
Narbis smart glasses punish distraction by turning opaque
Operant conditioning is a well known psychology principle -- in which "good" behavior is rewarded and "bad" behavior is punished. While positive reinforcement has found its way into everyday life, formal operant conditioning is usually left to professionals. For better or worse, the tech company Narbis is hoping to change that.
MS Word and PowerPoint can tap into Adobe Creative Cloud libraries
You might not have to scramble to find pictures for your next company presentation. Microsoft Word and PowerPoint now have direct access to Adobe Creative Cloud Libraries that store everything from company logos to font styles. In other words, you don't have to bug a team member just to grab a relevant image, or visit a style guide just to find out if your report is on-brand.
Adobe may reveal Illustrator for iPad in November
Adobe's plan to bring full-featured apps to the iPad might not be limited to Photoshop. Bloomberg contacts claim Adobe will preview an iPad version of Illustrator, its vector graphics editor, at its MAX conference starting November 2nd. It wouldn't be ready until 2020, but it would give creatives another major tool if more narrowly-focused apps like Fresco aren't enough.
Google gives its Android office apps a fresher, more consistent look
Google is making it easier to juggle its productivity apps on your phone. The internet giant has released updated versions of Docs, Sheets and Slides for Android with a refreshed visual design that doesn't add any big features, but should provide an easier and more familiar experience. They all have more consistent controls, easier-to-read typefaces and reworked document lists. You won't have quite such a jarring transition as you move from editing a report to finishing a presentation.
Apple refreshes Pages, Numbers and Keynote with new styles and functions
Today, Apple's suite of productivity apps, iWork, is being refreshed. The company announced updates to Pages, Numbers and Keynote across both Mac and iOS. Thanks to the changes, all of the apps will now let users stylize their text by filling it in with gradients or images and using new outline styles. Face detection will help better position photos, and you'll be able to place images, shapes and equations in text boxes so they move with text.
