Confinement requires, Microsoft took advantage of a virtual conference to announce a redesign of Office 365. Now called Microsoft 365, the pack seeks to attract a more family audience.
From April 21, Office 365 subscribers will switch to the enriched offer of Microsoft 365. In addition to adding new features to Word, Excel and PowerPoint, the Redmond company opens Teams to the general public and unveils a new control application parental.
Teams and Microsoft Family Safety bring families together during confinement
Initially dedicated to professionals, the Teams collaborative tool is open to individuals. New features emphasize the organization of daily life in private spheres, both remotely and at home. Each user is able to create thematic discussion groups facilitating exchanges between relatives, friends, neighbors. The integration of a dashboard accessible to members of the same family centralizes calendars, to-do lists, shared files and locations of each.
In addition to Teams, Microsoft is launching Microsoft Family Safety. Available on Android and iOS for Microsoft 365 subscribers, the parental control application aims to protect loved ones online and outside. Traditional geolocation and screen time options allow you to remain vigilant with regard to the activities of your children, both on Windows and on Android and Xbox. More surprising: the driving reports help parents to supervise young drivers, providing information on possible detours or on (non) compliance with speed limits.
One could legitimately worry about the collection of so much personal data from Teams and Microsoft Family Safety. Microsoft says the company does not share any of this information externally.
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Better editing and presentation tools for Office suite software
Microsoft does not forget the professionals and reveals some features welcome in the corporate world. Word is thus enriched with Microsoft Editor, an elaborate version of the spell checker well known to all. Using artificial intelligence, Microsoft Editor is able to identify syntactical and stylistic imperfections in a document. Best of all, it detects plagiarism and rephrases what you can’t express properly.
PowerPoint welcomes the “Presenter Coach”, a virtual assistant capable of identifying the faults of an upcoming presentation: speech too fast, tone too monotonous, level of language too familiar, etc. The new “Designer” tool analyzes the visual quality of the slides and allows you to submit proposals for more aesthetic presentations.
Excel and Outlook also welcome some new features. The first now includes “Money” and allows you to connect your tables to your bank accounts to simplify the management of your transactions and your budget. The second links professional and personal agendas, ending the infernal juggling between several calendars. We will also note the deployment of “Play My Emails” on the Android version of Outlook.
Despite all these new features, the price of Microsoft 365 remains unchanged. It will take 9.99 euros per month, or 99 euros, per year for a Family offer, and 6.99 euros per month, or 69 euros per year, for the Personal pack.
Source: Microsoft News
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