Microsoft: Our product is not our software. It’s you!
I worked on a large(ish) contract (tens of millions) with one of Microsoft’s engineering teams where they were implementing an Azure managed version of software we produced. I would regularly refuse to install teams at the meetings, using teams in-browser only.
It also ensured that the technical project manager had to be the one to transcribe anything in our notes into whatever tools Microsoft was using.
While it was never said, the Microsoft engineers seemed to completely understand and never pushed back against my refusal to a) install crapware and b) not take on work that wasn’t mine.
Not using teams: win win.
I would regularly refuse to install teams at the meetings, using teams in-browser only. I tried to do this for a safety meeting, Teams is also broken in browsers. I’m not sure if intentional or incompetence.
God damn it, at work they pay us to put that stuff on our personal phones… maybe I’ve been a bit too lenient on that, maybe I should get a work phone.
The users aren’t the customers. The customers are the users’ bosses.
And or some random dude in procurement.
To be fair, this is barely a feature. If you are on WIFI anyone that really cares knows where you are already
Before Teams when Evilcorp was using Skype for business the app would update our location within the building.
This is illegal in Norway :)
And Germany.
I was gonna use teams for a few groups of people, but fuck this noise. What are the best alternatives? Something like slack or discord but those have their issues too
Try Stoat, or Matrix.
There are tons of alternatives. As for how good they are I have no idea. It feels like every other day a new discord alternative is highlighted here. But as of now I don’t believe there’s any drop in replacement for discord/teams, but that is not to say you shouldn’t seek out something that is good enough.
Teams can be worse?
You’re doubting Microsoft’s ability to make a product worse?
No, they have shown again and again, that they are capable of the impossible, if it comes to making things worse.
But still, we are talking Teams.
“Scientist invents new, even smellier, dog poo.”
Productivity boosters and surveillance go hand in hand.
There have been teams at Microsoft making everything worse since 1998. Why is this news?
“Tenant admins will decide whether to enable it and require end-users to opt-in.”
If you require someone to opt-in, they’re no longer “opting in”
But you clicked the terms and conditions popup, so you are our slave now.
So glad I only use Teams in a browser, fuck this bullshit.
Don’t install Teams.
You can’t even install it on Linux, they killed the native app years ago and now tell you to use the browser version
And then every link asks if you want to open in app, three extra clicks but worth it
Teams comes pre installed with windows these days.
I recommend KDE Plasma on any linux distribution that comes with it for people interested in recovering their digital sovereignty.
There is a difference betwen the version for corporate (MS365 Business) and the consumer version.
Yes, they have the same name.
Yes, it’s confusing.If people moved to Linux and used FOSS software, these privacy violations wouldn’t even be a problem.
Most people who use teams do so on work devices, I can’t just install Linux on it.
I cant even delete a shortcut on my work microslop machine
Yeah, of course.
If people moved to Linux
When users connect to their organization’s WiFi…
You think my employer would let me use Linux? Creeping on employees is how management feels important.
I wouldn’t use Teams personally unless under extreme duress. Unfortunately professionally it is the norm.
Disable your laptop webcam and microphone, use headset instead. I’ll be looking to see if I can switch to Teams web.
I remember how a subcontractor’s company called me with a lot of private information I assume the subcontractor had spoken to them about. The subcontractor had no clue about it, which completely changed how I had been perceiving the situation. The problem is companies are using the excuse of keeping tabs on their workers to perform outright continuous surveillance on them and try to see how they can exploit any and all information they can salvage for their benefit, which becomes a problem when there is no clear division between personal and professional space.
I’m starting to feel like everything I do at work is under duress.
That’s the point, under capitalism.
I’m glad my work PC only operates in flight mode.
This is what I gathered on the subject, feel free to correct if anything is wrong:
The WiFi tracking works by scanning for nearby WiFi networks, identifying which routers are nearby and their signal strengths, matching those against their database of known WiFi access points, and using that data to estimate your location.
For now the feature will be off by default, first has to be enabled by your company, and then the user has to opt in for it to be used.
For those who are required to use Microsoft products, it can by bypassed by using a wired Ethernet connection and not using Teams on any devices using a wireless connection.
same go for the web browser based teams, or is this just the “app”?
The browser version shouldn’t be able to access this info.
Until Edge updates and silently turns it on
Unlikely, browser vendors are very careful adding such APIs, and MS doesn’t have the pull Google does.
A simple fix is, of course, not to use Edge.
So basically the same every Android phone does. Google had done this kind of tracking since 2007
Windows itself already does this type of tracking to determine your time zone.
Only one team working to make Teams worse???
They have achieved higher productivity by not using teams themselves.
You’ve got it reversed. Switching to Teams greatly hastened development, as the team’s newfound vitriol and frustration could be channeled toward the end user in a neverending feedback loop.
Literally! They were told to return to office to achieve higher productivity (it was circling the news around September?)
It was obviously just a corpo stealth layoff but imagine being told as a Teams developer that Teams is not good enough for remote work
Just one team working on Teams, and they are doing their best to make it worse.
I for one encourage them, it apparently needs to be even worse before my work will consider changing
They’re asking Copilot for help, so have achieved 10x productivity.
yaeh… team Microslop…
