Microsoft has added the Mesh mixed reality platform to its Teams remote collaboration app, making 3D and VR meetings now generally available to desktop Windows users and those with Meta Quest headsets. The immersive 3D meeting environments feature spatial audio as well as “live reactions” and the other standard Mesh features will be available to those with Microsoft Teams business accounts. Custom immersive spaces are also available to those with Teams Premium licenses. Microsoft says “hundreds of millions” of people worldwide are currently using Teams, although Mesh for Teams has only been in public preview since late 2022. Continue reading Microsoft Adds Mesh to Enable 3D and VR Meetings in Teams

U.S. consumers are consolidating their devices, eliminating outdated ones to make room for new ones that better serve their needs, according to the fourth annual Deloitte Connected Consumer survey. The study found that while 48 percent of consumers purchased a minimum of one new connected device this year, the average number of devices per household fell to 21 in 2023 from 25 in 2021, “when many loaded up on technology during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Although many consumers may be attempting to streamline their digital lives, they remain very interested in virtual experiences and tech innovation. Continue reading Deloitte: Consumer Views of Connected Devices Are Changing

It’s an ideal time to outfit hybrid home workers, and Lenovo is going all-in on the concept, rolling out new tools for digital business users. Foremost among the digital offerings is the ThinkVision 27 3D, a 27-inch glasses-free 2D/3D compatible monitor with real-time eye-tracking. Designed for developers and professional content creators like graphic artists or product designers who can benefit from immersive 3D visualization, ThinkVision has a max resolution of 1920×2160 for 3D and displays flat at 3840×2160, thanks to a lenticular lens in the monitor that can toggle between the two. Continue reading Lenovo Offers Glasses-Free 3D at 4K via ThinkVision Monitor

Designed for hybrid workers, Lenovo’s new dual-screen Yoga Book 9i received several best of show awards at CES 2023. With two 13.3-inch, 2.8K OLED PureSight displays, Lenovo is calling this 9i refresh “the first full-sized OLED dual screen laptop.” One hundred percent DCI-P3 color accuracy and Dolby Vision HDR offers users ultra-vivid images, sharper contrast, and richer detail, according to Lenovo. The Yoga Book 9i responds to hand-gestures for moving between screens and resizing windows, the setup has a haptic touchpad and keyboard, as well as a detachable keyboard that turns off when not in use. Continue reading CES: Lenovo Offers Dual Screens with Its New Yoga Book 9i

HP is targeting the prosumer market with an offshoot of its Elite Dragonfly business line, introducing the Dragonfly Pro Windows laptop and Dragonfly Pro Chromebook at CES 2023. Targeting freelancers, creators and hybrid workers, the aim is to simplify purchasing choices by offering basic configurations and limited customization. ”HP is taking the headache out of hybrid by delivering powerful and best-in-class ecosystem experiences,” said Alex Cho, president, personal systems, HP Inc. By 2027 freelancers will account for more than 50 percent of the total U.S. workforce, HP projects. Continue reading CES: HP Designs Dragonfly Pro Laptops for Hybrid Workforce

The NPD Group’s Paul Gagnon and Ben Arnold presented “7 Ways the CE Consumer Has Changed” in the last few years. U.S. consumer attitudes and behaviors changed from early-pandemic lockdown to the slow reopening, and then the fear of inflation and recession. In general, consumers are buying more for individuals than for shared home experiences, they have equipped themselves for remote work which may suppress future sales until they are ready to upgrade, and they buy when bargains appear even if they plan to actually open them for a holiday or special occasion. Continue reading CES: The NPD Group Analyzes Changes in Consumer Trends

Adobe announced it plans to purchase rival digital design suite Figma for $20 billion in cash and stock. The news was disclosed as part of its Q3 earnings report, which saw revenue of $4.43 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations. Despite the healthy cashflow, Adobe says it may have to finance part of the deal, which will have to clear regulatory hurdles in a very pro-competition environment. Founded in 2011, Figma released its first product in 2015, leveraging the WebGL API to create real-time collaborative tools for web-based design teams “working together beyond company walls.” Figma lists Airbnb, Conde Nast and Github among its users. Continue reading Adobe Will Purchase Digital Design Rival Figma for $20 Billion

Microsoft is bringing Stories to enterprise through the company’s Viva intranet platform. Described as “a social app for digital communities,” the AI-powered Viva Engage combines popular Yammer features like polling and conversation highlights with new tools including Stories and Storyline, which Microsoft calls “personal expression tools.” The move to combine social video and productivity functions has taken some by surprise, but Microsoft says “building social capital is crucial for organizational success,” noting that its Work Trends Index reveals “43 percent of leaders believe that relationship-building is the greatest challenge of hybrid and remote work.” Continue reading Microsoft Rolls Out Viva Engage for Enterprise Media Sharing

Tech workers are adjusting to new hiring conditions, with the larger firms in traditional digital power corridors said to be cutting back while diverse cities step-up to attract new businesses that can boost the local economy. Hiring freezes and layoffs among larger tech firms such as Apple, Netflix and Twitter are meant to mitigate fear of a looming recession. Into the void comes an increasingly aggressive phalanx of cities and towns across the U.S. providing grants and other perks to attract companies. The idea is businesses bring a tax base and staff can work remotely or take advantage of cost savings by relocating to more affordable markets. Continue reading U.S. Cities Are Luring Silicon Valley Firms and Tech Workers

Twitter’s 8,000 employees were treated to a question-and-answer session with Elon Musk on Thursday, the first staff meeting the tech entrepreneur has conducted since his bid to purchase the company for $44 billion. The hour-long meeting, which was live-streamed to the Twitter staff, touched on a wide range of topics, including aliens and “the nature of reality” as well as interests closer to home, such as layoffs, growth plans and, of course, TikTok. The move seemed to reinforce Musk’s intent to close the Twitter deal after suggesting in April that it was “on hold.” Continue reading Musk Shares Some of His Thoughts with Twitter Employees

Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are riding the crypto wave, with some asking if their notion of distributed decision-making marks an evolution from crowdfunding through platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to crowdsourced creativity on a blockchain. It’s already been demonstrated that tokens can be used for smart contracts and to designate property ownership. The film and television industries are just becoming aware of the potential impact of NFTs, which have already disrupted the worlds of art and gaming, driving creator economies. The wisdom of the crowd might be tapped to find fresh stories, too. Continue reading Are DAOs About to Revolutionize the Film and TV Industries?

Cloud computing costs are expected to rise by 20 percent to an estimated $494.7 billion this year, according to a new report from Gartner. Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) is earmarked for the most significant growth, up 30.6 percent to $119.7 billion this year. Desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) is the second most robust sector, at 26.6 projected growth, followed by platform-as-a-service (PaaS), at 26.1 percent. “Cloud-native capabilities such as containerization, database platform-as-a-service (dbPaaS) and artificial intelligence/machine learning contain richer features than commoditized compute such as IaaS or network-as-a-service,” which makes them more expensive, said Sid Nag, research VP at Gartner. Continue reading Led by SaaS, 2022 Cloud Spending to Approach $500 Billion

Remote, a platform that enables companies to hire and compensate distributed employees, has secured $300 million in a new funding round, raising its valuation to $3 billion and making it one of the biggest HR players in the new world order of distributed workforces. Leading the Series C round is SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The company said funding will be used to build new tools and expand the San Francisco-based company’s geographic reach. Work from remote locations has been becoming more prevalent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, priming the market for Remote’s expansion. Continue reading Global Distance Workforce Firm Remote Raises $300 Million

Laptops and smartphones are electronics categories that closed the book on 2021 with different takes on success. Smartphone shipments were up for the first time in four years, growing between 4 and 5.7 percent, according to Counterpoint and IDC research, respectively. Notebook computers, meanwhile, ended 2021 with record Q4 shipments down 1 percent from 2021 but a record 19 percent increase for the year as “the industry prioritized notebook PC production in the face of supply constraints to keep up with hybrid working needs,” according to Strategy Analytics. Continue reading 2021 Marks Renewed Demand for Laptops and Smartphones

Microsoft ended Q2 for fiscal year 2022 on a high note, with sales up 20 percent to $51.7 billion, and net income rising 21 percent to $18.8 billion, beating analysts’ predictions. Cloud revenue grew 32 percent year-over-year, hitting $22.1 billion. Revenue in Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud business was $18.3 billion, a 26 percent jump propelled largely by a basically flat 46 percent increase from Azure and cloud services. “Digital technology is the most malleable resource at the world’s disposal to overcome constraints and reimagine everyday work and life,” Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said in the earnings release. Continue reading Lifted by Cloud, Microsoft Sales Jump 20 Percent for Quarter