[m365weekly] #51

☁️What’s on my mind

Is Microsoft treading on dangerous grounds yet again? Organizations will be able to use automated emails to encourage their users to start using the Edge web browser (source).

I fully understand that Microsoft wants to recommend the Edge web browser to every user in the world. And they may have very nice and noble intentions in doing so. However, I also know that such moves, at least in Europe, always provoke mixed reactions. There were lawsuits and there were court orders in the past. The result of such lawsuits is usually that Microsoft has to release a special version of the product in which users have more choice. Just think of the special versions of operating systems with an N at the end (for example, Windows 10 PRO N).

I use Chrome myself, and I admit I get a bit nervous when I land on Microsoft websites and I’m greeted with a bar at the top that almost forces the Edge browser on me. Is it better than Chrome? Maybe, but I’m certainly not going to switch a browser overnight.

Have a great week.
Matic Z.

FEATURED STORY: MICROSOFT IGNITE 2021 RECOMENDATIONS

From 2-4 November, Microsoft is once again organizing the Microsoft Ignite 2021 conference, which will once again be completely virtual. The upside is that it’s free and open to anyone interested in the world of Microsoft technologies.
As there are nearly 400 sessions, you can find some of the recommendations that the experts have gathered on the links below.

Microsoft Ignite 2021 – The official conference site where you can register for free.

Microsoft Ignite 2021: My Schedule, 10 for Teams and Everything Else I’d Recommend. Chris Hoard from microsoft365pro.co.uk would recommend quite a few very interesting sessions to attend. Bonus: he lists a few tips on how to make the most of this virtual conference.

Microsoft Ignite Fall 2021 – A guide to Office, Outlook, and a lot of new stuff. Recommendations for those who are into Office and Outlook.

Microsoft Ignite 2021 guide to SharePoint, OneDrive, Viva, Lists, Syntex, Stream, Visio and more. Handpicked sessions for SharePoint and Viva geeks.

💻 Productivity & Modern Workplace

The role of SharePoint in Microsoft 365. A great article for those who want to understand what is the engine that drives a large number of Microsoft 365 services.

[Explain to me like I’m 5] Microsoft Office 2016 vs Office 365. Before you find yourself having to explain to someone the difference between Office 2016 (or any other version) and Office 365, read this short but sweet Reddit thread.

Microsoft Teams vs. Zoom: Which is the Best Collaboration Tool? Sometimes it seems difficult to compare the incomparable. But in this article, they have at least roughly succeeded. What is the verdict?

How to Stop Teams Clients Auto Starting. When you install Windows 11, you get Chat in the taskbar. This is basically the Teams personal client – which basically means that now you have two different Teams clients on your PC.

2 Easy Methods To Schedule Out Of Office In Microsoft Teams. Teams also knows the Out of office message, similar to the one you set up in Outlook.

How to save Microsoft Forms as a template. If you want your colleagues to benefit from the surveys and forms you create, you need to save the Microsoft forms as a template.

☁️Sysadmin Stuff

7 Essential Hacks for SysAdmins from Microsoft MVP’s. How to be a more productive and effective sysadmin? Listen to this great lecture and learn from the best.

How to Use a Microsoft 365 Retention Policy to Manage Inactive Mailbox Content. Most Microsoft 365 tenants will have to manage the mailboxes of ex-employees. Retention policies are an excellent method to achieve this goal if you remember to add mailboxes to a suitable retention policy before deleting their Azure AD account.

5 Serious Microsoft 365 License Management Challenges. Managing licenses can be a nightmare. Do you have good control of licenses in your organization?

Improved DKIM Configuration Page is Prompt to Check Domains. A new Microsoft 365 DKIM management page is a good prompt to check that all domains used to send email in n Office 365 tenant are configured properly for DKIM.

☁️Security & Data Governance

Password Freedom. What would a world without passwords look like? Pretty perfect, isn’t it? It’s closer than you can imagine.

SMTP AUTH Exception Smoothens Path to Removal of Basic Auth in Exchange Online. The recent announcement that Exchange Online will disable basic authentication for several protocols in a year’s time has attracted a lot of attention. One year can be a long time, but in this case, I have the feeling that it will be too short for many.

☁️Noteworthy (long)reads

Installing Starlink with Dual WAN on the UDM Pro. Starlink in action.

Cloudflare launches R2 cloud object storage service – Protocol. There is clearly room for competition. Read what Cloudflare is up to and why other providers should be at least a little afraid.

😂 On a Less Serious Note

☁️ Last but not least …

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