This week has been quite busy when it comes to Microsoft news. We have a lot to unpack including Windows bugs and their respective fixes, new GPT integrations, and upcoming Windows features.
Integration RSS
Microsoft has unveiled improvements to its Bing integration with multiple apps and services including Microsoft Start, SwiftKey, and Skype. The company is on a mission to bring Bing everywhere.
Listening to Spotify music while using the Strava app for workouts is possible now. The popular workout app has announced in-app Spotify integration for all users as part of a major software update.
Opera's parent company Kunlun Tech has announced that it is looking to integrate ChatGPT into its products soon. However, the firm has revealed no details about availability or planned products.
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Microsoft is implementing a handy integration that will allow customers to seamlessly access certain Teams chats directly from Outlook without opening a dedicated app or browser window.
Xbox One and Series X|S owners can now jump into Discord Voice calls. While the integration is now out for everyone, the process still requires a call transfer from the Discord app to an Xbox console.
Further expanding what WhatsApp can do, Meta has announced today that users can browse, add products to cart, and pay all within WhatsApp. This has been made possible through partnership with JioMart.
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Microsoft has announced that it is rolling out Discord Voice chat for some Xbox Insiders today. The integration does exactly what the name implies and should enhance multiplayer gaming experiences.
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Spotify is rebranding its Clubhouse competitor "Greenroom" to "Live". The experience is also being integrated with the main Spotify app but you'll still need the Spotify Live app for some things.
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Microsoft has revealed the first set of enhanced Teams apps that can now be integrated with Microsoft 365 services such as Outlook and Office.com. However, they are available in preview only for now.
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Microsoft may be integrating a Skype Meet Now panel directly into its Edge browser, accessible via the omnibar. It is currently toggled off by default in Edge Canary, but can be enabled.
After months of alternating between Windows 10 and Windows 11 on my primary machine, I feel like I kind of miss the News and Interests integration with the Taskbar that was offered in the former.
Microsoft and Meta (formerly Facebook) have announced a multi-faceted Workplace integration with Teams, allowing their joint customers to communicate and collaborate securely with each other.
Microsoft is currently exploring the option to integrate its Office web apps more deeply in its Edge browser. This comes via a new context menu option that allows you to directly open Office web apps.
Windows 11 packs an updated Clock app which brings a welcome feature called Focus Sessions. However, it features rather horrendous integration with Spotify that leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
Today, we're discussing Microsoft Teams' integration with Windows 11. Although it features a decent flyout UI directly from the taskbar, we think that overall, it is quite unpolished right now.
Microsoft has announced that Universal Print will be able to directly integrate with OneDrive across all browsers and devices starting from this week. This is a major step in cloud printing.
Microsoft has announced that it has started testing Team's native integration with Windows 11 for some Insiders today. Given that it is still being tested, there are a few limitations to note.
You can now use Zoho Notebook directly within Microsoft Teams. Upon signing up for the online note-taking before the end of the year, you will also receive $500 in Zoho wallet credits.
Azure Lab Services integration with Microsoft Teams is now generally available. The service allows you to provision VMs on demand, and invited users can utilize them without an Azure subscription.
The Google Phone app is getting a dedicated floating Duo button that sits right above the dialer button. Tapping on the button will open the Duo app from where one can make a video call.
Spotify announced today the launch of integrative new features which will allow users to share music and podcast episodes from the music streaming service to popular social media app Snapchat.
Adobe announced today a new set of prototype tools and an Adobe XD skill for Alexa to integrate Adobe XD and Amazon Alexa. The new tools can preview voice prototypes on any Alexa-enabled device.
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Over a week ago, an unofficial extension that brings Timeline integration to Chrome was taken down due to the "Windows" trademark. It has now finally been republished on the Chrome Web Store.
Windows Timeline Support, created by Dominic Maas, developer of SoundByte, has been removed from Chrome Web Store due to trademarking issues. The fixed version is still pending review.
Dominic Maas, known for developing a UWP SoundCloud client called SoundByte, has released an add-on for Firefox and Google Chrome that allows them to sync with Windows 10's Timeline feature.
In a bid to enhance its Slack competitor, Microsoft and Evernote have announced an integration between the two services. Evernote for Teams is available now in the relevant app directory.
Microsoft today announced a collaboration with Discord which will allow gamers to link their Xbox profiles with Discord and share what they are playing as well as sync their friends list.
Social media platforms Instagram and Snapchat have temporarily disabled integration with Giphy due to the presence of a "racist GIF" with racial slurs that pops up when a user types "crime".
Microsoft is said to be considering natively integrating Cortana into the Outlook apps on Android and iOS, allowing users to interact with, listen to, and reply to their email through voice commands.
A much-requested feature, Skype integration is coming back for Outlook.com users who were enrolled on the website's long-running beta. More improvements are expected in the coming months.
Last week, Microsoft removed Cortana functionality from its Dynamics 365 previews without explanation. Apparently, after some consideration, it removed its original statement in favor of more details.
Cortana is being integrated into just about everything Microsoft is developing, but for some reason, it has chosen to pull the voice assistant from its CRM service, with few details offered.
A few months ago, Microsoft and Amazon announced a unique partnership that aimed to integrate Cortana and Alexa. The companies have now missed the original deadline but remain optimistic.
It appears that Microsoft is rebranding the Windows Store to "Microsoft Store", the same name as its online retail store, which potentially means that the company could be integrating the two outlets.
The official FXNOW app is now available for Windows 10 devices. Boasting integration with Cortana, the on-demand streaming service allows access to popular movies and TV series on FX, FXX and FXM.
Users of the popular collaboration platform Slack now have another way to engage in real-time communication, as Microsoft has made Skype integration available as a preview on Slack.
Thanks to a new feature announced by Volvo Cars, you will be able to live out your Knight Rider fantasies by sending commands to your car via the Volvo on Call app and Cortana on the Microsoft Band 2.
The next milestone in Microsoft and Dropbox's partnership is giving non-business users the ability to work with Dropbox files directly from the browser when using the Office Online web apps.
Unlike Bing, Google has largely avoided social integration in its search results. This may be changing soon, however, as Google is reportedly going to start embedding tweets in the near future.
