Microsoft will reveal ‘the future of hybrid work’ with Windows 11 on April 5th
source link: https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/15/22979481/microsoft-windows-business-hybrid-work-event-april-5
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Microsoft will reveal ‘the future of hybrid work’ with Windows 11 on April 5th
Now that Windows 11 has launched, what’s next for the hybrid office?
By Richard Lawler@rjcc Mar 15, 2022, 2:43pm EDT
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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Within the last year, Microsoft not only revealed a new generation of Windows, it fully dived in by launching Windows 11 last fall, and now it’s scheduled another preview event to discuss the “exciting future” of “Hybrid Work, Powered by Windows.” Set to take place on April 5th at 11AM ET, it will feature Windows exec Panos Panay showing off Microsoft’s security, productivity, and management features, both in the client and the cloud.
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A Microsoft Teams interface demo showing off a remote meeting. Image: Microsoft
What exactly does that include? The event page doesn’t say much and Microsoft hasn’t openly discussed the event, but we’ve seen plenty of clues about the kind of hybrid work solutions and security tools Microsoft is working on for businesses where the “office” is more of an idea than a location. That includes Windows 365 subscriptions for cloud PCs that you access via a web browser, the rollout of its Fluid framework for Microsoft Office apps (now rebranded as Loop), and a detailed vision of the future of meetings with Microsoft Teams.
Last year CEO Satya Nadella wrote that “Hybrid work represents the biggest shift to how we work in our generation. And it will require a new operating model, spanning people, places, and processes.” Naturally, his LinkedIn post included a screenshot of a metaverse meeting filled with oddly rendered avatars, and Nadella has referenced the term repeatedly since then, so it will be interesting to see how much that does or doesn’t come up in the presentation, or if we see more of Microsoft Mesh.
The Verge will be covering Microsoft’s Windows event on April 5th, so stay tuned for all the latest news.
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There are 30 comments.
I can’t wait to work 24/7 in the metaverse for my favorite Big Corp.
Posted on Mar 15, 2022 | 2:57 PM
Is this going to be another of those virtual offices with inane backgrounds?
I wouldn’t mind if they were avatars, I just don’t want to have my camera on all the time.
Posted on Mar 15, 2022 | 3:03 PM
In my experience medium sized (8+ people) hybrid meetings where there are more than three people not in the same place (either 4+ in the office or 4+ virtual) don’t really work. The current teams options don’t do anything to alleviate this and I don’t think an ultra-wide display facing a horseshoe of tables is a practical solution.
Posted on Mar 15, 2022 | 3:07 PM
In Asimov’s Elijah Bailey series (after the first book), meeting involved replacing a person’s view of half of the room they were actually in with a view of half the other persons room. So if I was at a table, I couldn’t see half of my table. It was replaced by half the table of the person/people I was meeting. And it didn’t need special rooms, or tables – but it did need special cameras and projection equipment. Science fiction, of course.
Posted on Mar 15, 2022 | 3:27 PM
Something like that would work for two or three people but those work fine on current platforms anyway.
Like d0mth0ma5 said the trick is handling larger meetings, especially ones that are split between virtual and office based.
Posted on Mar 15, 2022 | 3:39 PM
If you have a spare 200k or so, CISCO has offered solutions like this for >5 years.
Albeit everyone would need to have these setups at home so its becoming less cost effective.
However, its not beyond the realm of possibility that businesses start offering users not just laptops to work from home but some additional hardware (webcams, microphones, desks, chairs etc.)
The additional costs would be weighed against the health and safety considerations of people hunched over their kitchen counter for 25 hours a week 50 weeks a year.
Posted on Mar 15, 2022 | 10:21 PM
I’ve done the horseshoe with Cisco’s TelePresence system, and it worked better* than Microsoft Teams in a meeting room. Every pair of seats had their own camera, and it effectively divided the meeting room into multiple remote participants. But in the end, that $100K setup really just pretended everyone skyped in from their own cubicle desks.
Posted on Mar 15, 2022 | 4:35 PM
If everyone can Skype in from their cubicle desks I would argue your jobs could all be done remotely.
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 8:35 AM
A hybrid work environment could put some worker demographics at a disadvantage, and undo gains in inclusion made during the pandemic.
Remote work is good for women (because they can more easily avoid unwanted office bro-culture), parents (easier to balance kid pickups and dropoffs), and introverts and neurologically atypical workers (who can focus without office distractions or anxieties).
The problem with hybrid is, workers wanting to return to the office tend to be young neurotypical males. Without teleconferencing tools that put local and remote workers on an equal playing field in a meeting, young neurotypical males will have a louder voice and receive unfair attention over women, parents, and neurologically atypical workers who stay home.
Posted on Mar 15, 2022 | 4:48 PM
You raise good points, but there is a counter that younger people (men and women) could be disadvantaged earlier in their careers by exclusively remote work as they get less exposure to colleagues who can knowledge share on an ad hoc basis (rather than formal training).
It’s cliched, but I think it’s true, that you do pick up a lot of information by osmosis when you’re in the office. I’m a big proponent of flexible working, but I think that some in-office work is a part of that whether it’s 3 days a week or 2 days a month or somewhere in between.
Posted on Mar 15, 2022 | 5:27 PM
You know what sucks? Working with idiots who have constant access to you in an office environment. I actually had to show a middle-aged coworker that you have to click the arrow next to an e-mail account in Outlook to show the Inbox today.
Posted on Mar 15, 2022 | 9:04 PM
You look at that as a burden, and yes, that person should have known that, but you know what? BECAUSE you were working in the office, that person now has knowledge they otherwise would not have. It’s not always about you. Your perspective is actually quite selfish. Think about how you can help others and take joy in that.
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 7:45 AM
You look at that as a burden
Because it is a burden.
When I get questions like that literally 10-15 times a day, I can’t get my job done.
It’s not always about you.
I’m not in a work environment where I have the safety to take time to help people.
Your perspective is actually quite selfish.
Yes, my desire to keep my job and to help feed my family is beyond the pale.
Think about how you can help others and take joy in that.
I want to spend my extra time raising my daughter and helping my wife, not doing the work I was unable to do during the day because I have to babysit co-workers.
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 11:39 AM
Did you just accidentally make a very good argument against remote work?
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 8:17 AM
You mean the part where I get 30% more work done when not in the office?
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 11:39 AM
Work is never a solo project. The employer doesn’t care if you personally get a little more done, he cares that the whole machine functions at maximum productivity.
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 1:57 PM
That would be funny if not for the fact that my employer is hiring someone to do those specific things because it is not a good use of my time. If you want, feel free to take that job and spend your day answering below-IT-Intern-level questions so I can get my work done.
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 2:48 PM
I can see why you might have trouble with human interaction
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 2:52 PM
This might be the first time I’ve heard somebody argue social skills and in-person communication favours young men
Posted on Mar 15, 2022 | 6:06 PM
I see. Men. Men are just bad, in general. And in every way. And even their weaknesses are really strengths when you strain hard enough.
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 10:07 AM
I am confused.
"because they can more easily avoid unwanted office bro-culture"
Isn’t getting rid of this kind of culture the real solution? Why should choosing an in-office/hybrid work model affect it? Sounds like you totally missed the point.
And I can easily think of many reasons why remote work would negatively affect women using the same argument.
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 8:10 AM
It’s much harder to force your bro culture on others in a remote environment. Mainly because there is always a potential you are being recorded using screen capture software or a smartphone camera, but also because unnecessary interactions where something inappropriate might be said are not happening online.
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 8:40 AM
I could not agree more about remote work allowing neurodivergent people to thrive, sans much of the microaggressions, gossip, and political scheming. I just want to focus on the job, get my work done, and log off.
And that simply is not possible in a 9 to 5 office job. You have to sit there whether you have anything to do or not and invent something to talk about with your cubicle or desk neighbor.
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 8:44 AM
The author of this article failed to speculate properly. The timing of the event and Panos presence also aligns nicely with new Surface devices released.
There were leaked tests of Surface devices, likely Laptop 5, running on 12th gen alder lake processors, and the Surface Pro X with SQ3 refresh. This would be the perfect event to show off those devices.
Surface Book 3 was also revealed April 6, 2020, along with Headphones 2.
Posted on Mar 15, 2022 | 9:21 PM
Panos is now also the head of the Windows division (he did the Windows 11 unveiling presentation for instance), so that doesn’t necessarily mean that Surface devices are on the table on April 5. The SB3 reveal 2 years ago wasn’t even a proper announcement, it was just a press release or something similar.
Also, this doesn’t sound like a consumer event at all, so that wouldn’t be the place to unveil a brand new Surface product for everyone (I think the only time they unveiled a new Surface product at a non-consumer event was with the Pro 7 refresh, which wasn’t sold to consumers).
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 8:12 AM
Here comes more bloatware, trackers, ruthless requirements, bugs and non functional features ..
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 1:31 AM
Can they start with multi monitor support for Teams? Zoom is so much better when someone’s screensharing and you want to see them/others at the same time.
Posted on Mar 16, 2022 | 5:10 AM
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