Microsoft news recap: Microsoft Teams gains free tier, calls for facial recognition regulations, and more

Jack Wilkinson

Microsoft

Microsoft news recap is a weekly feature highlighting the top Microsoft news stories of the past week. Sit back, grab some coffee, and enjoy the read!

Microsoft launches free Teams version, available worldwide in 40 languages

In a change that pits Microsoft Teams directly against Slack, Microsoft has launched a free tier aimed at small-to-medium businesses. It comes with 5GB of storage for each user, up to 300 users.

MIcrosoft Teams Windows Phone

Microsoft wants facial recognition to be regulated, cites government surveillance

Microsoft is calling for government regulation of facial recognition and asks tech companies to adhere to their ethical responsibilities. Microsoft’s President and Chief Legal Officer, Brad Smith, wrote a blog post discussing the positive and negative side to advancements in facial recognition technology.

Patent shows Microsoft was working on touch-less input

A new patent has come to light that shows Microsoft has been working on touch-less input on touchscreens at least until 2016. It supports all of the standard input gestures you’d come to expect, although, it’s not clear if the technology will be used by Microsoft or not.

Azure grows revenue by 93%, announces new expert MSPs, speed improvements

If anyone thought Azure’s continuous growth would slow, they’d be wrong. Microsoft’s Azure service has continued to grow consistently, with its last report showing revenue growth of 93%.

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week with more Microsoft news.