Microsoft is hard at work on a new version of Teams. Microsoft Teams 2.0 launched in preview earlier this year on Windows, and it will soon be the default version of Teams on the platform. Additionally, the new Microsoft Teams will ship in preview to macOS, the web, and other platforms later this year.

The information comes courtesy of Petri's UnplugIT podcast. In the first episode of the show, Microsoft Product Lead for Teams 2.0 Anupam Pattnaik discussed the revamped service and the company's plans for the next version of Teams.

“Right now, the classic Teams is the default because we do not have all the features that we support in classic Teams in the new Teams,” said Pattnaik. “That’s the reason we have right now classic Teams as the default option, but sometime later this calendar year, we’ll make the new Teams the default option when we have feature parity, and when we feel confident that users can switch to the new Teams.”

"We plan to make the preview of the new Teams available to our Mac, VDI, and web users later this calendar year. We also do plan to roll it out to our other customer segments like EDU, and Government Cloud later this calendar year."

Before the new Teams becomes the default on Windows, Microsoft will need to bring it to feature parity with Teams "classic." For example, Breakout Rooms are not currently supported in the new Teams, but will be by the end of 2023, according to Pattnaik.

In addition to a revamped interface, the new Teams promises up to 3x faster installation, 2x faster launch times, and 1.7x quicker switching between chats and channels. Joining meetings should be up to 2x faster as well. Despite the performance increases, Teams 2.0 will use fewer system resources than its predecessor (up to 50% less memory and 70% less disk space).

Windows Central

YouTube is getting rid of Stories, a feature for temporary posts, beginning in June. Users won’t be able to post Stories starting June 26th, and existing posts will expire after seven days.

Stories were first introduced in 2017 under the name Reels and were available to users with over 10,000 subscribers. Similar to Instagram (which in turn lifted the concept from Snapchat), YouTube Stories disappeared after a set amount of time; creators could use Stories to post updates or behind-the-scenes content to promote their channel. But looking around today, it doesn’t seem to have caught on — access was limited, few creators seem to be regularly posting Stories, and the feature doesn’t get much promotion even from YouTube.

In the absence of Stories, YouTube wants creators to instead post content to other surfaces on the platform: Community Posts and Shorts. The company recently expanded access to Community Posts, a text-based updates feature, and added the ability to have posts expire after a certain period. Creators can also share polls, quizzes, images, and videos as Community Posts, which appear in a tab on channels.

YouTube has also been working to funnel the popularity of short form video into its TikTok competitor, Shorts, and trying to convince traditional long form video creators to start making shorter content as well. In February, YouTube began sharing ad revenue from Shorts with creators under a revamped monetization plan.

The Verge

Microsoft has confirmed that upcoming Windows 11 updates will provide built-in support for multiple archive formats such as 7-Zip and RAR files. This development implies users won't have to rely on additional tools or the standard Windows zip utility to compress files.

During the Build developer conference currently in progress, Microsoft shared its strategy to offer compatibility with a wide range of archive formats. These will include tar, 7-Zip, rar, gz, among others. This enhancement meets a persistent request from the Windows user base. While earlier iterations of the operating system had built-in support for zip archiving, this often proved inadequate when compared to alternative solutions. As a result, formats like 7-Zip and RAR necessitated the use of third-party tools such as WinRAR.

Microsoft stated that the support for these file compression formats will roll out in the upcoming week. However, it should be noted that it will feature as part of a preview version of Windows 11 and won't be included in the recent Moment 3 update.

Guru3D

WhatsApp has granted users one of its most awaited features - the ability to edit messages.

"For the moments when you make a mistake or simply change your mind, you can now edit your sent messages on WhatsApp," the Meta Platforms Inc-owned messaging app said in a blog post on Monday.

With the feature rolling out globally in the coming weeks, senders will be able to modify their messages within 15 minutes of hitting send.

The function can be accessed by long-pressing the message and choosing "edit" in the drop-down menu. The modified message will carry the label "edited", without showing edit history.

Competing apps such as Telegram and Signal already allow users to edit messages, while microblogging site Twitter rolled out the ability to edit tweets to select users last year.

Reuters

If you watch YouTube videos primarily on your TV, you may soon come across 30-second ads you won't be able to skip, just like commercials on traditional TV channels. The video platform has announced during its Brandcast event for advertisers that it's bringing 30-second unskippable ads to connected TVs. It will make the option available through YouTube Select, which is a targeting option open to eligible clients who want to reach the audiences of the website's most popular channels.

YouTube says 70 percent of Select impressions land on TVs, so the new format will give advertisers the chance to show more of their services or products in a way that allows "for richer storytelling." If you already regularly see two 15-second ads consecutively, then the new format wouldn't make that much of a difference for you — unless they show up more frequently, of course. The format is now generally available in the US and Canada and will expand worldwide later this year.

In addition to introducing longer non-skips, YouTube is also bringing "pause experiences" to connected TVs as an experiment. Pause experiences are ads that show up when you hit pause on what you're watching, similar to the promos Hulu launched in 2019. They're expected to be highly visual and even interactive, and they could include QR codes you can scan to perhaps visit the brands' website or social media channels.

engadget

Microsoft's Windows 10 version 22H1 operating system reaches end of servicing in June 2023. To ensure that devices continue to receive security updates, Microsoft announced that these devices will be updated to the latest feature update for Windows 10 automatically.

In other words: Microsoft will install Windows 10 version 22H2 automatically and without first getting user consent on devices running Windows 10 version 22H1.

The company writes on the Message Center: "To help keep you protected and productive, Windows Update will automatically initiate a feature update for Windows 10 consumer devices and non-managed business devices that are at, or within several months of, reaching end of servicing."

Windows 10 administrators of Windows 10 version 22H1 devices have only a say regarding the required restart of the system to complete the update to version 22H2.

The update to Windows 10 version 22H2 happens automatically, unless Windows administrators have configured the system to block these kind of updates. Microsoft notes that the forced update applies only to Home and non-managed systems running the Windows 10 operating system.

The update to Windows 10 version 22H2 is the final update of its kind for Windows 10. Microsoft announced that it won't release additional feature updates for its Windows 10 operating system anymore. The operating system itself reaches end of servicing in October 2025.

Microsoft suggests in the message that customers may also consider upgrading to Windows 11, provided that the Windows 10 device is compatible with Microsoft's newest version of Windows.

Windows 10 users may check the installed version of the operating system by opening the Start Menu, typing winver and selecting the result. A small program window opens that displays the version of the operating system and its build number.

Another option that users have is to select Start > Settings to launch the Settings app, and to switch to System > About. The version of the operating system and other information is displayed on the page that opens.

Ghacks