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Microsoft Teams adds native Apple silicon support at long last

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Microsoft Teams is getting native support for M1 and M2 Macs ... pretty soon.
Microsoft Teams is getting native support for M1 and M2 Macs ... pretty soon.
Photo: Microsoft

Apple first said it would transition from Intel chips to Apple silicon more than 2 years ago. Then Cupertino launched the first M1 Mac in November 2020. And, finally, today Microsoft said its Teams app will now run natively on M1 and M2 Macs.

So it’s about time.

But don’t get greedy and expect the upgrade immediately. The Redmond tech giant said the rollout to users will be incremental.

Facebook Messenger adds a bunch of handy, Slack-like shortcuts

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Facebook Messenger shortcuts
It's now easier to send silent messages, GIFs, payments, and more.
Image: Meta

Facebook Messenger? Meta Messenger? Just Messenger? We don’t know what it’s supposed to be called these days. But we do know it just added a bunch of useful, Slack-like shortcuts that help you get things done faster.

You can use them to silently deliver messages without notifications, to find the perfect GIF, to send payments and more — all without having to fiddle around inside menus. And Meta says even more are coming later this year.

Major update to Slack for iPad revamps user interface

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Major update to Slack for iPad revamps users interface
Slack for iPad works more like the desktop version.
Graphic: Slack

Slack promises a “major update” for the iPad version of its application. It mixes the mobile and desktop versions into a design suited for a tablet.

With so many people working from home, iPad has become a computer millions depend on for their jobs. And Slack is a part of the daily routine for many of them, leading to complaints about the design of the previous version.

How to schedule messages to send later in Slack for iPhone, iPad and Mac

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How to schedule messages in Slack
Avoid sending important messages at inconvenient times.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Not a good time to send that important message to a colleague in Slack? The widely used communication platform lets you schedule messages to send later on desktop and mobile. You simply choose the date and time, and Slack takes care of the rest.

The feature comes in particularly handy if you work with colleagues in other time zones and don’t want to bother them after hours. Here’s how to send Slack messages later on iPhone, iPad and Mac so they arrive at appropriate times.

Here’s what today’s top Mac apps might have looked like on Mac OS 9

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Zoom on Mac OS 9
A taste of the past.
Image: Michael Feeney

Ever wondered what today’s most popular Mac apps might have looked like on earlier Macintosh machines? These incredible design concepts imagine the likes of Google Chrome, Spotify and Zoom running on the 22-year-old Mac OS 9.

Graphic designer Michael Feeney created the collection as part of his terrific (mac)OStalgia project. Check it out in the four-minute video below.

Apple closing down internal Slack channels where employees debate remote work

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Slack
Solve the problem or delete the channel?
Photo: Stephen Phillips/Unsplash CC

Apple is closing down internal Slack channels to stop employees discussing remote working options, reports Zoe Schiffer from The Verge.

Many Cupertino employees are currently engaged in a Cold War of sorts with their employer over the remote working arrangement coming out of the coronavirus pandemic. As the arguments flare up among staff, Apple has taken the step of shuttering the Slack channels where these are taking place.

How to use Slack’s new Huddles feature on iPhone, iPad and Mac

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How to use Slack Huddles
Host casual conversations, share your screen and more.
Image: Slack/Cult of Mac

Slack is rolling out its new Huddles feature in an effort to bring the office environment to wherever you might be working. The feature lets you hold “quick, informal discussions” with other members of your team.

You can also use it to share your desktop screen, which makes it great for demonstrations. We’ll show you how to use Huddles on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Beeper app promises to bring iMessage to Android and Windows

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Beeper brings iMessage to Android and Windows
15 different chat platforms in one.
Photo: Beeper

Beeper is a new all-in-one chat app that merges 15 different platforms into one. That sounds pretty interesting already, but what makes Beeper really exciting is its promise to put iMessage on Android and Windows.

The app, from Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky and his team, is “using some trickery” to make the impossible possible. But you’ll have to cough up a monthly subscription fee if you want to take advantage of it.

Fresh iOS 14 concept brings big changes to Calendar, iMessage, Music app and more

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iOS 14
Another iOS 14 concept to get you hyped for the real thing.
Photo: Jack Phillip

Some of the most anticipated iOS 14 features that allegedly leaked though an early beta build of the upcoming software are on full display in a fresh iOS 14 concept that’s full of stuff like widgets on the home screen, list view for apps, new call alert screen and more.

The new iOS 14 concept created by Jack Phillip imagines how Apple’s planned mentions feature for iMessage would work, while also tossing in some new ideas, like a list view in Calendar, a Habits app, an overhaul of the Music app’s UI and so much more.

These are our favorite features:

Using Zoom? Take these steps to protect your privacy [Updated]

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yoga class zoom
Zoom lets you keep attending your local yoga class, but at what cost?
Photo: Anupam Mahapatra/Unsplash

Video-conferencing tool Zoom is seeing a surge in use during the coronavirus pandemic, due to people being stuck at home and unable to meet in meatspace groups. I’ve read about people using Zoom to drop in on yoga and pilates classes, as well as for more usual business-related activities.

Slack rolls out biggest redesign with simplicity, customization in mind

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Slack.redesign.image
Slack rolls out major update as coronavirus forces more to work from home
Photo: Slack

Slack, the workplace chat and productivity platform used by more than 12 million people worldwide, is getting a major upgrade soon with a simpler and more organized layout, the company said in a Wednesday blog post.

The announcement comes as more people are working from home in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Slack finally fixes its horribly slow Mac app in huge overhaul

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Slack-Mac
Slack gets the upgrade we’ve all been waiting for.
Photo: Web Hosting/Unsplash

Slack today confirmed a brand new version of its desktop app that will finally fix painfully slow performance many users have been suffering for years.

The new app for Mac and Windows is completely rebuilt with a focus on speed. It promises to launch 33% faster and take up 50% less RAM than before.

Dropbox overhauls its Mac app, adds a bunch of awesome features

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Dropbox-overhaul
Try it out today.
Photo: Dropbox

Dropbox wants to be the only app you use on your Mac to access your most important files — wherever they are stored.

Its overhauled desktop client brings all your favorite cloud services together inside an all-new design with a bunch of awesome new features. It’s more than an app, Dropbox says, “it’s a completely new experience.”

How to change the Slack logo back on your Mac

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Oh man, what were they thinking?
Oh man, what were they thinking?
Photo: Cult of Mac

Slack is everybody’s favorite way to waste time when they’re supposed to be working. And today, the biggest conversation in Slack chats everywhere is Slack’s hideous new logo.

It’s dull. It’s ugly. It has none of the personality of the original logo, and it doesn’t look like the Slack hashtag even if you squint at it hard.

If you’re on iOS, tough. You’re stuck with this awful new corporate abomination. But if you’re on the Mac, there’s good news: You can keep the old Slack app icon.

Step one is DON’T UPDATE THE SLACK APP YET!

Finally, a team management tool everyone will enjoy using

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This team management startup is growing fast, thanks to adaptable, intuitive design.
This team management startup is growing fast, thanks to adaptable, intuitive design.
Photo: monday.com

This post is presented by monday.com.

If you work in or around tech, you’ve encountered platforms like Slack, Asana, Trello or HipChat. The list of players in the team management space is long, and many already feature in workflows the world over. Now Israeli startup monday.com is ready to shake up the game.

Escape emails and get work done with Slack [50 Essential iOS Apps #45]

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Slack iOS app on iPhone in front of computer
Slack helps you get work done by opening up direct lines of communication.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: Slack Email can be a total productivity bottleneck. Following conversations between multiple participants gets confusing. The unfortunate result of all this email chaos? Important tasks get lost in long email chains.

Luckily for collaborators everywhere, messaging app Slack replaces the need for internal email, allowing for real-time productivity and communication for teams. Instead of redundant threads and signatures, Slack strips away the cruft of the email inbox. It turns your communication into what it was meant to be — a conversation.

Stop your boss from reading your private Slack chats with Shhlack

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Slacking off? Then hide your private chats from your boss with Shhlack.
Slacking off? Then hide your private chats from your boss with Shhlack.
Photo: Giorgio Minguzzi/Flickr CC

Did you know that your boss can read your private Slack chats? That’s right — whenever you switch to a direct messaging session to avoid Slack’s public chat thread, you might think you are chatting away from your boss’s prying ears, the virtual equivalent of a quick word in the stairwell.

However, that’s not the case. The boss can drop in and spy on your “private” chats at any time. Luckily, there’s a way to fix that, using a tool called Shhlack.

Apple Mail manager leaves to work on third-party email app

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Former Apple Mail engineer Terry Blanchard.
Former Apple Mail engineer Terry Blanchard.
Photo: Readdle

One of the most important engineers behind Apple’s own Mail app has decided to leave the company and lend his skills to another email app creator.

Readdle, makers of the popular Spark email app for iOS, has hired away former Apple Mail engineering manager Terry Blanchard to work on ‘the future of email’ after he helped Apple develop its email app for the past six years.

How indie devs at Smile won 100,000 happy customers

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Greg Scown, CEO of Smile
Smile CEO Greg Scown leads the team that created popular Mac apps TextExpander and PDFpen.
Photo courtesy Smile

Our App Business section is brought to you by MacPaw, maker of proven Mac apps.

Smile, the indie development team behind super-popular productivity apps TextExpander and PDFpen, cut its teeth writing software for technology that barely exists anymore. But thanks to a user-focused attitude and a wholehearted embrace of the third-party tools that power modern offices, the company has been able to keep ahead of the curve as technology changes.

Slack’s public letter to Microsoft takes a note from Apple playbook

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Screen Shot 2016-11-02 at 15.53.08
It's like it's 1981 again.
Photo: Twitter/Stewart Butterfield

Apple’s pulled some memorable marketing stunts over the years, particularly in its early days when it was still the underdog fighting against much larger opponents.

With the rest of Silicon Valley desperate to have some of that Cupertino fairy dust, cloud-based team collaboration chatroom Slack published an open letter to Microsoft in today’s New York Times — paying homage to an audacious 1981 publicity stunt by Apple at the expense of IBM.