Technology

Microsoft today extended the support lifespan of Windows 10 Enterprise 1709 and Windows 10 Education 1709 by six months, pushing their retirements to Oct. 13. The original end-of-support date had been fixed as April 14.

Microsoft cited the COVID-19 pandemic's impact, which in just the U.S. has ranged from massive business closings and multi-county lockdowns to a broad movement of companies telling white-collar employees to work from home. By midday March 19, 171 deaths in the U.S. had been attributed to the virus. Globally, deaths approached 10,000.

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Internet capacity is robust, but the massive increase in global consumption is pushing usage beyond its usual spike, EU regulators have warned.

It is probable that streaming media consumption, gaming and video collaboration are responsible for most of this additional demand. To maintain our connected culture during the current crisis, individuals, enterprises and big tech firms must cut down on their bandwidth usage — and the best way to do so is to reduce the use of video.

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Allow me to take your mind off more pressing, serious matters for a moment to consider something of little global consequence here in the land of mobile tech. Any month now, Google will likely unveil its next self-made Android phone, the midrange Pixel 4a. And then, later this fall, we're expecting to see the next full-fledged, top-of-the-line Google flagship — the Pixel 5.

I've said before that the Pixel 4a has the potential to be Google's most interesting phone of the year, much like the similarly ho-hum Pixel 3a proved to be the company's most significant device of 2019. As I observed at the time of the 3a's arrival, the most important announcements often aren't the most exciting ones.

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Demand for Microsoft Teams has surged to 44 million daily active users, the company said on Thursday, with an additional 12 million users in the past week as workers across the world begin to work from home in response to the spread of COVID-19.

Adoption of Teams has grown swiftly in the past 12 months, reaching 20 million users as recently as November.


The recent increase in home working has occurred as workers across the world self-isolate to slow the spread of the coronavirus, with many businesses requiring staff to work from home. This has led to a huge uptick in demand for video and team chat applications such as Zoom, Slack and Teams. At the same time, various vendors have announced free access to certain collaboration software product features, while Microsoft announced today that all UK National Health Service staff will have free access to Teams.

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Before many of us began sheltering in place at home, we used videoconferencing at least occasionally for meetings with colleagues or customers. During the pandemic, videoconferencing is going to become a way of life, because you'll want it for the human connection. And you're going to want to look and sound your best.

IDG Special Report: Navigating the Pandemic

• Business continuity: Coronavirus crisis puts CIOs& plans to the test
• Coronavirus challenges remote networking
• A security guide for pandemic planning: 7 key steps
• 10 tips to set up your home office for videoconferencing
• How to survive and thrive while working from home
• WTH? OSS knows how to WFH IRL

How do you do that? It's actually not difficult — all it takes to project a professional appearance is a little preparation and some common sense. Whether you're having a one-to-one discussion or a one-to-many conference, here are a few tips and tricks that will put you at your ease when you're on-camera.

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