I’ve had quite a busy week with going Future Decoded and customer meetings so ive finally got time to soak up some SfB and Teams news and updates from the SfB and Teams world and this weeks been busy.
First off Future Decoded was a great event and my mind is still blown from the session where Microsoft are working on storing Data in DNA ! so far they have got 400Mb stored in DNA. Yes DNA! More info here https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/dna-storage/
So onto the round up of News, ill do a post on each but for today it will just be on the MAC client update as the weekend if close.
So first off Skype for Business on Mac version 16.12.75
I noticed on tech community there was an update for the Skype for Business Mac client released yesterday on 5th October. So great to see the Mac client being invested in and updated for fixes and new features. The tech community blog post is here
There a ton of new features and improvement – definitely go grab this update
Updating
- New version – 16.12.0.75
- Date Published 31/10/2017 – Halloween Edition lol
- Manual Download URL here
- For updates you can use Microsoft AutoUpdate or download and install manually from the above URL.
Client requirements
- Skype for Business Server 2015 or Lync Server 2013 or SfB Online
- OSX 10.11 (El Capitan) or OSX 10.12 (Sierra)
- Outlook Mac build 15.27 (161010) required for Outlook integration
SfBO / Lync Server 2013 / SfB Server 2015 requirements
- Skype for Business Server 2015 customers minimum CU of Skype for Business Server 2015 Cumulative Update version 9319.272 or higher.
- Lync Server 2013 CU Lync Server 2013 Cumulative Update version 8308.974 or higher.
- Lync Server 2010 is not supported – instead we recommend customers continue to use the Lync for Mac 2011 client.
First off what’s new ?
- Easily change devices when in a meeting or call
- Easily switch to a connected audio device
- Choose meeting audio options by pressing Join from Calendar tab
- Maximized screen sharing
- Stop screen sharing when you hang up
- Invite users to a meeting through email
More details below on whats new!
Improvements
- Fixed an issue where the “This call is on hold” message continued to be displayed after switching audio from the computer to a phone.
- Added a check to prevent users from trying to send IMs when they are not signed in.
- Fixed an issue that caused phone numbers to be formatted incorrectly when shown in Outlook calendar items.
- Fixed an issue where a network connection error remains displayed after the network connection is restored.
- Fixed an issue that prevented redialing calls from the Calls tab.
- Fixed an issue that prevented display of the current speaker video when someone was sharing a screen in a meeting.
- Removed the requirement that a user be enabled for Enterprise Voice in order to see the Join Meeting Audio dialog box.
- Add ability for an administrator to customize the sign-in UI to show the User Name field in the sign-in dialog box as well as in Advanced Options. Click here for help with customization.
Known issues
Please don’t forget to make note of these as well, this was last updated 23rd October 2017 with the latest issues listed as below.
E-911 still mentioned not supported! but is mentioned as improved above so not fully sure on this support yet, i would trend carefully.
Latest Known Issues are
- Conference access settings do not default to values defined by policy when scheduling a meeting from Outlook on Mac
- In Outlook, cannot join a meeting from a non-federated organization
- E-911 is not supported
- Contact Management, including Delegate Management, is only supported on Skype for Business 2015 Server with UCS disabled
More details on what’s new
A totally needed features and i do use this all the time in windows client. Great to see it finally landed.
Easily switch to a connected audio device
As above totally needed and awesome its here ! at last !
Choose meeting audio options by pressing Join from Calendar tab
When users select a meeting on the Meetings tab, they can press the Join button to see the Join Meeting Audio dialog box to choose how to join audio. The option to have a meeting call to a phone number is now only available from the Join Meeting Audio dialog box.
Maximized screen sharing
Users will now see screen sharing fill the meeting or conversation window so it is easier to see what is being shared.
Stop screen sharing when you hang up
The app will automatically stop sharing the screen when a user hangs up to make sure others can’t see the user’s screen after they leave a meeting or call.
Invite users to a meeting through email
The user can easily send an email to someone with information on how to join a meeting by clicking Invite by Email in the Meeting Information dialog box.
References
- https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Skype-for-Business-Blog/Skype-for-Business-on-Mac-version-16-12-75-is-available/ba-p/122841https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Skype-for-Business-Blog/Skype-for-Business-on-Mac-version-16-11-149-is-available/ba-p/113958
- https://support.office.com/en-us/article/What-s-new-in-Skype-for-Business-2016-cece9f93-add1-4d93-9a38-56cc598e5781?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US#OS_Type=Mac
- https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Known-issues-Skype-for-Business-on-Mac-494ac5d5-50be-4aa7-8f5a-669c71c98c9a?ui=en-US&%3brs=en-US&%3bad=US&rs=en-US&ad=US#new-3
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=54108&751be11f-ede8-5a0c-058c-2ee190a24fa6=True&e6b34bbe-475b-1abd-2c51-b5034bcdd6d2=True
Martin Boam's Microsoft Blog 