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Tag: outlook

  • Microsoft Outlook for Mac Is Now Free for All

    Microsoft Outlook for Mac Is Now Free for All

    Microsoft has surprised Mac users by making its Outlook email and calendar app free, with no license or Microsoft 365 requirement.

    Microsoft’s Jeremy Perdue made the announcement in a company blog post:

    Now consumers can use Outlook for free on macOS, no Microsoft 365 subscription or license necessary.

    Whether at home, work or school, Mac users everywhere can easily add Outlook.com, Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo! or IMAP accounts in Outlook and experience the best mail and calendar app on macOS. The Outlook for Mac app complements Outlook for iOS – giving people a consistent, reliable, and powerful experience that brings the best-in-class experience of Outlook into the Apple ecosystem that so many love.

    There’s no denying that Outlook is the leading email client, especially in the business world. Mac users have long enjoyed using the app on their platform of choice, but it has always required purchasing a license or a Microsoft 365 subscription.

    Perdue teases upcoming new features in a future release:

    There is more to do and many more features we are excited to bring to the Outlook Mac experience. We are rebuilding Outlook for Mac from the ground up to be faster, more reliable, and to be an Outlook for everyone.

    It’s interesting that Perdue mentions “rebuilding Outlook.” Microsoft revealed at the beginning of 2021 that it was rebuilding Outlook to be a web-based universal version that would work across both Windows and Mac. It’s certainly likely the upcoming rebuild is a reference to the web-based version. If so, it makes sense that the company would be willing to make its legacy version free.

  • It’s Not Just You…Microsoft Outlook’s Spam Filters Are Borked

    It’s Not Just You…Microsoft Outlook’s Spam Filters Are Borked

    Users’ inboxes were flooded with spam Monday, an apparent issue with Microsoft Outlook’s spam filters not working.

    According to Mashable, the Twitterverse is ablaze with reports of inboxes filled to the brim with spam messages. The emails ranged from random — but not necessarily harmful — emails to blatant phishing attempts.

    There does not appear to be an explanation for the issue, nor is there a time frame for when it will be fixed. Mashable reached out to Microsoft for comment, but has not received a response.

    We will update this story as more information becomes available.

  • Microsoft Services Recovering From An Hours-Long Outage

    Microsoft Services Recovering From An Hours-Long Outage

    Microsoft services appear to be working after an hours-long outage that impacted Microsoft 365, Outlook, and Teams.

    According to Downdetector.com, users started experiencing problems in the early morning hours of Wednesday, January 25. The issue appeared to impact a broad range of Microsoft services and lasted for several hours.

    The company acknowledged the issue on Twitter, saying it appeared to be a networking issue.

    The company’s status page says services have been restored, as does their Twitter account.

  • The Advantages of Using Outlook for Collaboration and Teamwork

    The Advantages of Using Outlook for Collaboration and Teamwork

    Image Source

    There’s no denying that collaboration and teamwork are two of the most important drivers of business success. Having a well-oiled machine where team members communicate efficiently and are always on the same page can make a huge difference when it comes to productivity since it means you are getting the most out of your human resources.

    On top of this, the rise of remote work has made collaboration and teamwork even more important in the modern workplace. With team members now spread out across the world and face-to-face interaction becoming less frequent, it can be difficult to keep everyone in sync.

    Fortunately, with Microsoft Outlook, businesses can leverage the power of collaboration and teamwork while still staying secure, no matter where team members are located. On that note, here are the main advantages of using Outlook for collaboration and teamwork:

    Increased Productivity

    One of the most significant advantages of using Outlook for collaboration is its ability to help teams stay productive and organized. By harnessing Outlook’s powerful tools such as shared calendars, task reminders, and automated scheduling services, team members can not only keep track of their assigned tasks but also stay on top of deadlines, follow up with colleagues, and ensure that all projects move along smoothly.

    Moreover, by integrating with Office 365 suites like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, team members can collaborate on projects in real-time without the need for cumbersome email chains or other slow-moving systems. This helps keep everyone in sync while still allowing teams to work remotely or from different offices around the globe.

    Improved Communication

    Outlook makes it incredibly easy for teams to stay connected in real-time without the need for lengthy in-person meetings. Through its chat and messaging features, team members can quickly share ideas, updates, and questions – helping them to stay cohesive while working apart.

    Additionally, Outlook’s voice calling feature lets users make calls directly within its interface – allowing them to get answers faster no matter where they may be. And with the ability to create a custom Outlook email signature, team members can maintain a professional image and streamline communication with clients and colleagues alike.

    And perhaps most importantly, Outlook helps create a people-centric environment by making it easier for everyone to interact with each other regularly. This fosters stronger relationships between colleagues which can help increase morale and productivity, leading to more successful collaborations all around!

    Streamlined Collaboration

    When collaborating on projects or reports within Outlook users can easily share comments with one another within a shared document or project which makes gathering feedback simpler than ever before. When changes have been made they are synced automatically so there’s no need to copy/paste files back and forth between team members anymore.

    Additionally, tasks assigned within this shared environment are tracked in real-time meaning that everyone knows who is responsible for what at any given moment – helping increase overall efficiency.

    Enhanced Security

    One of the biggest concerns in today’s modern workplace is security – especially when dealing with sensitive data exchanged over multiple devices.

    Fortunately, Microsoft has taken steps to ensure that Outlook remains secure at all times by implementing TLS encryption (Transport Layer Security) as well as two-factor authentication methods. This requires users to enter both a username/password combination as well as another form of identification such as an SMS code sent directly from their mobile device before being allowed access to their account.

    Flexible Scheduling Tools

    Outlook also provides incredibly useful scheduling tools that make it easier for remote teams to adequately manage their workloads even if they are spread out over multiple time zones. Shared calendars allow team members from across the globe to view upcoming tasks and events together so no one misses out – ensuring efficient workflow throughout all operations regardless of physical location.

    Additionally, task reminders help keep everyone informed about deadlines and upcoming assignments – further simplifying project management.

    Integrations With Popular Business Tools

    Finally, Outlook integrates with some of the most popular business tools available today, making it easier than ever to collaborate with the tools you already know and love. This includes applications such as:

    With the integration of these tools, users can stay up-to-date with projects and calendar events without having to switch between multiple applications or tabs. As an example, if you have an important meeting today, you can sync your Outlook calendar with Slack so that everyone on your team receives the event invitation in real time.

    Conclusion

    Outlook remains one of the most versatile platforms available today due to its capabilities around facilitating collaboration and communication while still maintaining a high level of security throughout operations. With helpful scheduling tools such as shared calendars and task reminders, those using Outlook can effectively work together regardless of location while staying organized and productive along the way – ultimately resulting in greater efficiency during all stages of any given project.

  • Uber Receipt Emails Are Crashing Microsoft Outlook and Word

    Uber Receipt Emails Are Crashing Microsoft Outlook and Word

    Microsoft has identified an issue with receipt emails from Uber, as well as some others, that are causing Outlook and Word to hang and/or crash.

    A recent update seems to be the cause of the issue, and will result in Outlook and Word not responding when certain emails are opened. The issue seems to only happen when opening emails with complex tables.

    When opening, replying, or forwarding some emails that include complex tables, Outlook stops responding. The same table contents will also cause Word to stop responding.

    This issue started in Current Channel Version 2206 Build 15330.20196 and higher. It also occurs in current builds of Beta and Current Channel Preview.

    The company has already issued a fix that will be released to the Beta channel soon. In the meantime, users who can’t wait for the fix will need to roll back to the previous version.

  • Microsoft: ‘The Digital Employee Experience IS The Employee Experience’

    Microsoft: ‘The Digital Employee Experience IS The Employee Experience’

    Microsoft has shared a number of insights about how remote work has become the “new normal,” and updated several apps to reflect that.

    Like many companies, Microsoft was working to bring employees back into the office starting in October. With the surge in Delta cases, however, the company is not only pushing back its return to the office date, but is no longer projecting a new target. Instead, according to Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Modern Work, the company recognizes “our ability to come together will ebb and flow,” and will simply base its decisions on public health guidance moving forward.

    The company also reveals that, while its research shows that most employees crave in-person time at work, many still want to maintain the flexibility of remote work. There are also disparities between the amount of time managers and employees want to be in the office. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella refers to these complexities as the Hybrid Work Paradox.

    Despite any challenges, however, Spataro says “going forward, the digital employee experience is the employee experience.” The company is rolling out updates to multiples apps and services to better reflect that reality.

    Microsoft Teams will receive AI-enabled cameras, active speaker tracking and people recognition. Outlook will gain a new Outlook RSVP feature so individuals can specific whether they will attend in-person or digitally, as well as redesigned Working hours to better accommodate and notify others of flexible work schedules. The company will also make the Microsoft Viva Connections mobile app available as a public preview later this month.

    It’s clear Microsoft is all-in on hybrid remote, accepting it as the new reality and determined “to take a learn-it-all approach, and lead with data rather than dogma.”

  • Microsoft Outlook a Major Security Issue for WFM

    Microsoft Outlook a Major Security Issue for WFM

    Amid an unprecedented transition to work from home (WFM), Microsoft Outlook has come into focus as a security weak point.

    Microsoft 365 has been an important factor for many organizations, helping their employees stay connected and productive while working remotely. Unfortunately, using Microsoft Outlook is directly linked to a higher incidence of data breaches.

    Software company Egress found “that 85% of organizations using Microsoft 365 have had an email data breach in the last 12 months.” In addition, there was significant disparity between the number of data leaks experienced by companies using Outlook, versus those that weren’t.

    Organizations using Microsoft 365 have seen a 67% increase in data leaks via email since March 2020 – compared to just 32% of the businesses who don’t use it. And these aren’t one-off incidents. We also learned that 15% of Microsoft 365 organizations had been breached over 500 times during that same time period.

    Microsoft is already under scrutiny for its role in the SolarWinds breach. This latest report is sure to be an unwelcome one, and will likely increase scrutiny even more.

    In the meantime, organizations that rely on Microsoft Outlook would do well to read the Egress report in its entirety.

  • Microsoft Acknowledges Outlook Outage

    Microsoft Acknowledges Outlook Outage

    Microsoft has acknowledged an outage impacting Outlook, for both desktop and Microsoft 365, with a fix in the works.

    Users started reporting issues with text disappearing while typing an email. Microsoft has acknowledged the issue on its status page, saying a fix should be rolled out progressively over the next several hours.

    We’ve identified the underlying cause of impact and are applying a fix. This fix will reach all affected users incrementally over the course of the next four-to-five hours. Once users receive the fix, they will need to restart their email client to apply the fix. In some circumstances, users may need to restart their client a second time for the changes to take effect. We expect to complete this process and restore service for all affected users by May 12, 2021, at 3:00 AM UTC.

    As of the time of writing, Downdetector.com was already showing the mitigation efforts were starting to pay off, with a decline in the reported number of issues.

  • Microsoft Planning a Web-Based Universal Version of Outlook

    Microsoft Planning a Web-Based Universal Version of Outlook

    Microsoft is planning on consolidating Outlook for Windows and the Mac, providing a single version based on web technologies.

    Outlook is one of the most popular productivity apps, enjoying widespread use across Windows, Mac and iOS/iPadOS. In order to support those platforms, however, Microsoft has to maintain multiple version of the application, one for each platform. This represents a significant degree of overhead, even for a company as large as Microsoft.

    While web technologies were once used strictly in the creation of websites and web-based applications, modern advances have paved the way for web languages and technologies to be used in desktop applications. This has been a boon for developers, making it relatively easy to target the web, desktop and mobile platforms from a single codebase.

    According to Zac Bowden at Windows Central, Microsoft is preparing to take this approach with Outlook, basing a single desktop client on the web version of Outlook. Codenamed Project Monarch, the new approach is the culmination of Microsoft’s “One Outlook” vision.

    Bowden’s sources tell him the new version will still behave like a standard desktop app, complete with offline storage, native OS components, notifications, share targets and more.

    This is good news for Outlook users, as it will help ensure that all users enjoy the same features and experience.

  • Microsoft Sets Its Sights on Zoom With Teams Upgrade

    Microsoft Sets Its Sights on Zoom With Teams Upgrade

    Not one to rest on its laurels, Microsoft has released an update to Teams that appears to have Zoom squarely in its sights.

    Zoom quickly established itself as the video communication platform of choice for businesses and individuals alike in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It goes without saying, that hasn’t gone over well with Microsoft, especially since the company owns Skype, one of the oldest video communications platforms.

    In recent months, however, Microsoft Teams has become the darling of the company, and it seems clear it views Teams as its best chance to take on Zoom. With its most recent upgrade, it’s clear that Microsoft is fighting back to reclaim some of the video conferencing market share.

    The first eye-catching feature of the new release is custom background effects. Teams already had the ability to blur backgrounds, but this new feature allows users to upload their own images, or use one of the presets that come with the app.

    “No need for a green screen, or even a blank wall. Teams uses a highly trained model that differentiates the subject from their background and can impose a custom background over everything else, making it easy and fast to start expressing yourself in all your meetings,” writes Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365.

    The second Zoom-like feature is the ability for free accounts to schedule meetings in advance. Like Zoom, Teams users can either copy the invitation link or send an invitation for Outlook or Google calendar.

    Another feature that will greatly benefit users is live captions.

    “Teams free users can now turn on live captions during their calls and meetings,” Spataro continues. “This feature makes meetings more inclusive, giving participants another way to follow along with the conversation and address the needs of participants with different hearing abilities or language proficiencies. It’s currently available as a preview in U.S. English.”

    Overall, this is a welcome upgrade to Teams and will likely go a long way toward helping Microsoft make a dent in Zoom’s lead.

  • Windows 10 Includes Improved Cortana

    Windows 10 Includes Improved Cortana

    Cortana has received some nice upgrades in Windows 10, with a focus on helping users be more productive.

    Cortana is Microsoft’s “personal productivity assistant,” and the company is doubling down in its efforts to make the assistant as helpful as possible. With an unprecedented number of people working from home, Microsoft sees an opportunity for Cortana to help users juggle the plethora of demands on their time.

    Cortana in Action
    Cortana in Action

    “To help you save time finding what you need and stay focused, we’re releasing a new chat-based Cortana experience in Windows 10 focused on enhancing your productivity,” writes Andrew Shuman, Corporate Vice President, Cortana. “With this, you can ask Cortana using natural language to quickly check your schedule, connect with people, set reminders, or add tasks in Microsoft To Do. You can also find local information, get definitions, and keep track of the latest news, weather, and finance updates with Bing as a Cortana optional connected service.”

    Microsoft is also upgrading the Play My Emails feature in Outlook for iOS, giving Cortana new abilities, such as scheduling a meeting based on the contents of an email, or adding an email to your task list.

    The company is also bringing a new Briefing email to your inbox, courtesy of Cortana.

    “This personalized brief will appear automatically in your Outlook inbox near the start of your workday, providing intelligent, actionable recommendations of documents for you to review ahead of the day’s meetings and drawing your attention to pending requests or commitments from prior emails that you may want to follow up on,” continues Shuman. “This email will also make it easy for you to reserve “focus time” during your workday for uninterrupted focused work with Microsoft Teams notifications silenced.”

    The new features are nice additions, and will likely be a big hit with customers.

  • Microsoft Teams Gets Outlook Integration and More

    Microsoft Teams Gets Outlook Integration and More

    Microsoft just announced a bevy of new features for Microsoft Teams, bringing Outlook integration, targeted communication, new files experience and more.

    Microsoft is currently battling Slack for dominance in the corporate messaging space. Slack has recently netted some high-profile customers, driven in part by companies who compete with Microsoft not wanting to be dependent on their software. On the other hand, Microsoft has at least double Slack’s user base and touts Teams’ deep integration with the rest of their software as a key advantage.

    With this latest round of updates, that integration is front-and-center, starting with Outlook.

    “Teams is the hub for getting work done with your team—but we know that that is not the only way people communicate,” writes Marissa Salazar. “We have built this new integration between Outlook and Teams to make it easy to collaborate no matter where the conversation is taking place. The user can move an email conversation from Outlook, including attachments, into a Teams chat or channel conversation by clicking on the ‘Share to Teams’ in Outlook. They can also share a conversation from Teams to an Outlook email by clicking on the more options (‘…’) icon in a conversation.”

    The update also brings targeted communication, allowing team members to use @mentions to send communication to everyone assigned to a particular tag. The update also rolls out the new SharePoint-based file experience to all users. Another interesting feature is live captions in Teams meetings, which should help “those who are deaf or hard of hearing, have different levels of language proficiency, or are connecting from loud locations.”

    All-in-all, the February update includes a number of significant improvements that are sure to help Microsoft continue gaining new users.

     

    Image Credit: Microsoft

  • Apple May Allow iOS Users to Change Default Apps

    Apple May Allow iOS Users to Change Default Apps

    Apple may (finally!) be on the verge of allowing other apps to be set as the defaults in iOS.

    Since iOS was introduced, users have not been able to change the default apps, such as Mail, Safari and Music. While other apps could be installed and used, they could never be set as the defaults. Any clicked web links would still open Safari and any clicked email links would still use Mail. While Safari and Mail are both extremely capable programs, there are other apps that offer different advantages and, in some cases, are better. Microsoft Outlook, for example, routinely wins praise for its features, not to mention integration with the rest of Office.

    According to Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter say Apple may finally be ready to give up some control and let users set their preferred apps as the defaults. The move is being considered amid ongoing scrutiny and accusations that Apple’s apps have an unfair advantage over its rivals, an argument that certainly has weight to it. While some tech savvy individuals may opt to use other apps for browsing and email, and jump through the necessary hoops to make it work, the average user will simply use the easiest option.

    Apple is also said to be considering a similar change for the music service on the HomePod, as well as letting users change the default music service when using Siri on an iOS device. While the sources say nothing has been finalized, it’s possible these changes could happen later this year.

    Apple has been pushing the iPad as a computer replacement for some time. This is an important and necessary step that should have been taken years ago to assist that goal. Hopefully, with new opportunities available, it will further encourage developers to create desktop-class apps in categories they otherwise might have ignored.

  • New ‘Spaces’ Feature Could Come to Outlook

    New ‘Spaces’ Feature Could Come to Outlook

    Outlook may be getting a major upgrade with a new ‘Outlook Spaces’ feature, providing a new project-based organization system.

    Twitter user Walking Cat (@h0x0d) tweeted a video of the new feature in action. Cat also posted a test form that contained the following description:

    “Spaces pulls together your documents, emails, and events using the search terms you provide here. In upcoming releases, we’ll be using AI to assist in discovering and grouping work items into Spaces.”

    As some users replying to Cat’s tweet have said, while the feature looks amazing, it will be interesting to see how well it does at a time when Microsoft is pushing Teams as a means of communication and collaboration. For many individuals, Teams is increasingly replacing email in importance. For those who still rely on email, however, this has the potential to be a major improvement.

  • Microsoft Introduces Bing Pages To Help Individuals & Companies Manage Their Brands

    Microsoft Introduces Bing Pages To Help Individuals & Companies Manage Their Brands

    First reported by MSPoweruser, Microsoft has unveiled Bing Pages, a new way “for brands to manage their public personas on Microsoft products like Bing and Outlook.”

    When searching for a well-known or popular person, company or brand, Bing will often display enhanced search results that provide far more—and usually more visually appealing—information than a standard search. With Bing Pages, Microsoft aims to bring those results to everyone. The program is currently in beta.

    According to the official site, “Bing Pages is a beta program that lets users manage their presence on Microsoft products such as Bing and Outlook.com….Participants who sign up for this program get their own page on Bing to highlight their contact information and social media channels. They can also promote social media posts in relevant search results–at no cost.Businesses can use Bing Pages to customize their Outlook profile with updated contact info, images, and content. These changes also appear in Bing search results.”

    The signup page is available to everyone and only requires an email address and Twitter account to get started.

  • Workona Launches Desktop For The Cloud; Raises $6 Million in Seed Funding

    Workona Launches Desktop For The Cloud; Raises $6 Million in Seed Funding

    Workona has announced “the launch of their cloud desktop, a work management platform that allows users to access and manage resources across more than 75 popular cloud apps from a single unified system.”

    The company recently completed “a $6 million seed funding round, led by K9 Ventures and August Capital, to accelerate its product development and user acquisition.”

    Recognizing that “modern teams run on cloud software,” Workona is trying to bring the disparate pieces of a cloud-based workflow together in a productive, intuitive manner. Workona’s cloud-based desktop connects to the most popular cloud apps in use today, such as Amazon, Asana, Basecamp, Box, Dropbox, Evernote, Google Docs, Outlook, Zoom and more. Each app can be accessed and worked with inside Workona. Shared workspaces take collaboration up a notch, increasing productivity even more.

    “So many people spend their days working in the cloud, but there was no platform to manage that work. That’s what Workona does,” said Quinn Morgan, Workona co-founder and CEO. “Previously, all of your cloud apps, projects, and documents were scattered across the web. Workona’s cloud desktop pulls them together into one powerful system.”

    Having a central location to access different tools and platforms significantly increases a user’s efficiency.

    “Workona is a force multiplier because it impacts every level of your work,” Morgan said. “Your apps and projects are at your fingertips, so every action you take is significantly faster.”

    “Workona solves a problem that is staring us in the face, but we haven’t noticed it yet,” said Manu Kumar, Workona board member and K9 Ventures investor. “Microsoft and Apple used to put an enormous amount of engineering power into optimizing the desktop, but all that was forgotten when we transitioned to working in the browser. Workona has picked up where they left off by bringing the best features of a desktop to the cloud.”

    The company says that early users come “from both startups and Fortune 500 companies, and include industry leaders like Twitter, Salesforce, Amazon, and NASA.” It’s a safe bet that list will continue to grow.

  • Microsoft Introduces Third Party Add-ins to Outlook on Android

    Microsoft just revved up its Outlook Android app making it more productive and fun for users. In a recent announcement, the tech giant announced that it has updated the software to now support a variety of third party add-in apps.

    Third party add-in apps became available to iOS users since February 2017 with a promise that an upgrade for Android users would soon follow. Microsoft fulfilled that promise with the updated add-in support feature bringing in enhanced functionality for Android users who have commercial email accounts for Outlook.com and Office 365.

    With the new feature in place, Engadget notes that responding with GIF, taking notes, and scheduling in Outlook will get easier for Android users. To activate the desired add-in, simply go to Settings and choose Add-ins to display the list of apps currently supported. Next, click on the plus sign next to the app you wish to enable for your Outlook account.

    It seems that Microsft is streamlining user experience especially for those involved with team projects. The new Outlook now supports third party team collaboration apps such as Wrike, JIRA and MeisterTask.

    Adding some personal touch to your emails is also made easier with the updated Outlook. You can now add some humor to your emails by using MojiLala with its extensive collection of stickers that you can attach to your messages. As an alternative, you may also opt to use Gfycat with its GIFs to spice up your messages.

    Other useful apps include Evernote, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Translator, Nible, OnePlaceMail, Outlook Customer Manager (Coming Soon), Smartsheet, and Trello. Once Outlook’s changelog gets updated the add-ins should go live.

    Microsoft is also planning to introduce the add-ins feature for Gmail users. According to the company, the feature will be available to Gmail accounts in the next few months.

    [Feature Image via Youtube]

  • Microsoft Outlook Mobile Apps Get Redesign, Have 30 Million Users

    Microsoft Outlook Mobile Apps Get Redesign, Have 30 Million Users

    Microsoft announced that it has redesigned the user interface of Outlook on iOS and Android. The company also revealed that in the nine months since launch, the mobile apps have gained 30 million active users.

    One in five of the apps’ active users are connecting more than one account, the company says, and they’re accounting for 1.2 billion Outlook sessions per month.

    “These numbers show what we’ve known for some time—despite reports to the contrary—email is a key communications channel across all parts of our life, and there is growing demand for a mobile email experience that helps to effectively manage those conversations,” says Javier Soltero, corporate vice president for Microsoft’s Outlook team. “We made terrific progress over the last nine months, but we are just getting started.”

    The iOS redesign is rolling out today.

    Microsoft Office for iOS redesign

    “Outlook for iOS receives a clean, refined new look that puts your email, calendar, people and files front and center,” explains Soltero. “Throughout the app, we focused on improving the small but important details that add up to making Outlook the best designed, most powerful mobile email app available. We tweaked UI elements by adding visual cues to help you see and process information more quickly at a glance. We also improved navigation around the app and made key features more prominent—so you can do more with fewer taps. When getting work done on the go, it’s these little time savers that count.”

    The message list calls out event invitations with the “event” icon showing events at a glance including details of the event and an RSVP button. The flag and attachment icons re more prominent and look more like the Windows experience.

    As you scroll through your inbox, you can now tap the Mail button to go back to the top.

    The compose feature now has more simplified options and those are easier to access.

    Optimized-A-fresh-new-look-for-Outlook-for-iOS-and-Android-2-F

    The Calendar navigation icon now shows the date, and the Today buton moves as you scroll through the calendar while the day picker grays out days that have passed so it’s easier to find the current day.

    The Android redesign will launch in early November. It’s a bit different as it leverages Material Design to make it feel like a more natural fit for the operating system.

    “To make this redesign possible, over the past few months, Microsoft put the design expertise and fresh thinking of their new friends from Sunrise to work,” a spokesperson for Microsoft tells WebProNews.

    Microsoft announced its acquisition of calendar app creator Sunrise back in February. The Sunrise team is now officially part of the Outlook product team.

    There will also be an update for Windows Phone eventually. Microsoft is also sharing more details on future Sunrise integration with Outlook Mobile for iOS, Android and Windows. In the months ahead, you can expect to see richer calendar experiences in Outlook including Interesting Calendars and connections to other apps and services. Outlook will also improve its ability to create meetings and handle them across time zones.

    Outlook will eventually replace the current Sunrise app, but that won’t happen until the Sunrise features are fully integrated.

    Images via Microsoft

  • Report: Gmail Android App To Support Third-Party Accounts

    Google officially announced Android 5.0 Lollipop last week, and now it appears the Gmail app is getting a new update to go along with it.

    Android Police is reporting that the new app will be able to handle email accounts from other providers like Yahoo or Outlook, and will enable users to switch between accounts with a swipe or touch via drop-down.

    It shows this in a Google-made video, which also shows off a new design for the app. Check the above link to get a look.

    The app makes use of Lollipop’s “Material Design,” which is illustrated below.

    Google has yet to officially announce the new Gmail features. Look for that pretty soon. The company hasn’t even updated its Gmail blog or Gmail Google+ account since August and September respectively.

  • Microsoft And Salesforce Launch Strategic Cloud Partnership

    Microsoft And Salesforce Launch Strategic Cloud Partnership

    Microsoft and Salesforce just announced a strategic partnership, which will see the two creating new solutions that connect Salesforce’s CRM apps and platform to Microsoft Office and Windows.

    The company announced two specific products: Salesforce1 for Windows and Windows Phone 8.1 and Salesforce for Office 365. The former will let customers access Salesforce “and run their business” from their Windows device. A preview will be available this fall followed by general availability in 2015.

    With the latter, businesses will be able to access and collaborate on Office content from within Salesforce and on Salesforce1 using Office Mobile, Office for iPad and Office 365. They’ll be able to use OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online as storage options for Salesforce, and use Salesforce and Outlook together with a new Salesforce App for Outlook. Finally, businesses will be able to connect Salesforce data to Excel and Power BI for Office 365.

    “We are excited to partner with salesforce.com and help customers thrive in a mobile and cloud-first world,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “Working together we’ll deliver new solutions that connect the customer insights of Salesforce to the cloud productivity of Office 365, the cloud platform of Azure and the mobility of Windows, so our customers can do more.”

    “Today is about putting the customer first,” said Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. “Together with Microsoft, we are building bridges that allow customers to be more productive.”

    Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

    Image via Microsoft

  • Microsoft Adds New Gmail Import Feature To Outlook.com In Hopes Of Stealing Away Users

    Microsoft announced a new feature for Outlook.com aimed at making it easier for users to import their Gmail accounts. As you may know, much of Microsoft’s “Scroogled” efforts have slung mud at Gmail, in hopes of gaining more Outlook.com users.

    Interestingly enough, there aren’t nearly as many people complaining about Gmail these days as are complaining about Yahoo Mail, despite Gmail also getting design changes recently.

    Microsoft and Yahoo are important partners, of course, so it’s no surprise that Microsoft wouldn’t want to do more to hurt that relationship. It was revealed this week that the “search alliance” between the two companies is responsible for 31% of Yahoo’s revenue.

    Microsoft says that “discontent with Gmail seems to be on the rise.”

    “According to a recent study by market research firm Ipsos, nearly 1 in 4 consumers would switch email providers if it was easier to do,” writes Naoto Sunagawa on the Outlook blog. “That same study also highlighted the areas that customers identified as most important; these include ensuring ads don’t interfere with the email experience (70%), offering advanced spam filters (69%), providing an easy-to-understand user interface (67%), and not scanning the contents of email to serve ads (58%). We have focused on many of these areas with Outlook.com, and so for those looking to make a change in their personal email provider, Outlook.com is a natural choice.”

    “Of course, even if you are frustrated with your current provider, the thought of switching to a new service can seem daunting,” Sunagawa continues. “So we’ve introduced new functionality right into Outlook.com that does the heavy lifting for you. All you need to do is follow a few simple steps to connect your Gmail account (using OAuth) to your Outlook.com account (if you don’t already have one, it’s easy to get). This will import your Gmail emails into your Outlook.com inbox and, because you’ve connected both accounts, your Google contacts will automatically appear in Outlook.com. The structure of your inbox, including read/unread status of your emails, will be preserved. The new tool will even set up your Gmail address as a ‘send-only’ account so you can continue to send email from your @gmail.com address, right from Outlook.com, if you still want to.”

    You can get the step-by-step here.

    The feature will be rolling out over the course of the coming weeks.

    Image: Microsoft