Virtual meeting tool Zoom has become one of the first companies to announce an app designed specifically for the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset, shipping February 2. Zoom’s new app “seamlessly blends video conferencing with users’ physical space, blurring the lines of in-person and remote meetings” with the Vision Pro for “a more real-world, immersive environment,” according to Zoom. The result is an “authentic spatial representation” of people and their motions in the Vision Pro world on Zoom. The app supports Apple’s Persona feature, which uses machine learning to generate digital avatars. Continue reading Zoom Meetings for Apple Vision Pro App Get Avatars and More

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

On the heels of its success debuting the new Bing AI search engine, Microsoft has revamped Teams, promising twice the performance using half the memory resources and allowing users to appear as 3D avatars in video meetings. Teams now features AI and the interface has been redesigned. For now, the new Teams is available only to those who opt-in to a public preview for Windows users, though Microsoft plans to make it more widely available (including on Apple devices) later this  year. In January, Microsoft reported Teams had 280 million monthly active users, up from 250 million in July 2021. Continue reading Microsoft Upgrades Teams with Avatars, AI, Improved Speed

Canon went all-in on VR at CES, demonstrating how the technology can be applied beyond games. As part of a partnership with director M. Night Shyamalan and his upcoming Universal Pictures thriller “Knock at the Cabin,” Canon invited attendees to don a VR headset and interact with characters from the film using the company’s Kokomo software for 3D VR video calls. The camera-maker’s goal is “to bring people closer together by revealing endless opportunities for creators,” Canon USA president and CEO Kazuto Ogawa said, invoking the theme “Limitless is More.” The company demonstrated solutions spanning entertainment, sports, communication and more. Continue reading CES: Canon Demos VR for Movies, Sports, Video Calls, More

AMC Theatres is getting in on the growth in Zoom popularity by introducing two-way video-equipped rooms. Working with Zoom Video Communications, AMC will equip Zoom Rooms in 17 of its major markets’ theaters in 2023. “This combines the excellent experience of Zoom with the comfort and state-of-the-art sight and sound technology of AMC’s modern and centrally located theaters,” AMC said of the new alliance, which targets “companies and other entities with decentralized workforces and customer bases to bring people from different markets together for virtual and in-person events and meetings.” Continue reading AMC and Zoom to Offer Videoconferencing in Movie Theaters

Zoom has added features including gesture recognition and a virtual whiteboard. The new Zoom IQ for Sales uses AI to analyze calls. Zoom Events has added Backstage to simulate the look and feel of an in-person event with “a persistent space for event panelists and staff to communicate behind the scenes before, during, and after a Zoom Events webinar session.” Management can now view “breakout rooms” from a main session to assess how participants are engaging, and a Central Library of Polls lets organizers more efficiently manage polling data, both in preparation and to share results. Continue reading Zoom Debuts Gesture Recognition, Virtual Whiteboard, More

Microsoft’s sales rose 12 percent to $37.2 billion, with a net profit of $13.9 billion for Q1 of its fiscal year, exceeding Wall Street expectations. Its cloud unit Azure’s revenue jumped 48 percent from the same quarter last year, driving the quarter’s results, said chief financial officer Amy Hood. Much of the dramatic leap in Azure’s use can be attributed to online demands created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, the company’s gaming content business showed a 30 percent increase in sales from last year. Continue reading Microsoft Q1 Revenues Rise in Part Due to Azure Cloud Unit

Spatial lets its enterprise customers use VR or mixed reality headsets to meet in virtual spaces. The company now plans to launch support for desktop web browsers, Android and iOS — open to all and free. That support means virtual meetings can include participants who do not have a headset. According to Spatial co-founder and chief executive Anand Agarawala, “in light of COVID, we’ve actually had an intense amount of demand — about a 1,000 percent increase.” He added that, unlike Zoom, “something like VR gives you that level of presence and personification.” Continue reading Spatial VR/AR Meeting Platform Is Now Free and Open to All

More people are working from home now and some of them may not return to offices once the coronavirus pandemic eases its grip. Twitter, for example, said most of its employees could work from home indefinitely. OpenText Corporation in Canada announced plans to close more than half of its 120 global offices, and New York media company Skift will vacate its Manhattan headquarters when its lease expires in June. Big Tech companies, however, have invested significantly in their spaces and their switch to remote working is uncertain. Continue reading Companies Examine Feasibility of Working-from-Home Model

Microsoft recently invited journalists into its Envisioning Center for a peek into its vision of the future — in particular, its vision of the future of productivity. Inside the center, Microsoft houses some of its prototype work. Journalists witnessed teams working together on giant collaborative screens, meeting in rooms equipped with devices to automatically recognize participants, and doing work at touch-powered desks. The bulk of all provided demonstrations revolved around the use of touch, voice, and augmented reality. This marks a new way forward for Microsoft.

Continue reading Microsoft Shares Vision For Present and Future Productivity

Google recently integrated full Google Cast capability directly into its Chrome browser, a significant upgrade to its previous Cast extension that allowed streaming from Chrome to supported devices like the company’s popular Chromecast. The Cast icon will appear on all sites that support it, enabling Cast functionality from the Chrome menu, no software download required. Cast is also now available on third party hardware such as TV sets and speakers. More than 38 million casts were sent from Chrome in August alone, representing over 50 million hours of consuming media content. Continue reading Google Builds Cast Functionality Directly into Chrome Browser