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Finally, you’ll soon be able to use 3D avatars on Teams calls

Microsoft is planning to roll out a new feature for Teams and Zoom that will allow you to substitute your live camera feed for a 3D avatar when on a video call.

The new feature is set to launch in May, according to Microsoft’s product road map. The 3D avatars will be available in many “customizable body types, skin tones, hair colors and hairstyles, clothes, and facial features, as per prior announcements from Mesh for Teams,” according to Ars Technica.

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Laptop sitting on a desk showing Windows 11's built-in Microsoft Teams experience

Mesh functions as an easy way to stay covert when you might not be in your most presentable state. Currently, the entire list of Mesh features remains unknown. however, there are some hints of Microsoft’s future plans for the feature circulating.

The brand initially announced the Mesh avatars in late 2021 when several companies were invested in the metaverse. The concept was intended not only as a method for showcasing 3D avatars in Teams, but also for users to interact in VR workspaces with other colleagues. Microsoft said at that time that the avatars were supposed to move only when users spoke, but the brand soon plans to have the avatars match the user’s real-time movement with their webcams.

Microsoft also intended Mesh to release in 2022, but the launch was delayed by the burgeoning interest in artificial intelligence (AI) across the industry. The brand made known its collaboration with the company OpenAI and had begun incorporating AI chatbot features into many of its products, including Bing Search and the Microsoft Office suite.

The Mesh project became less of a priority for Microsoft as interest in the metaverse dwindled and more workers returned to offices. The company also experienced a host of layoffs in its transition to AI, Ars Technica noted.

Other brands, such as Meta (formerly Facebook) stated in 2022 that the metaverse would take between five and 10 years to be fully realized. However, it has also since shifted away from that concept in favor of AI.

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Meta just quietly announced when the Quest 3 will launch
A model poses with a Meta Quest Pro over a colorful background.

Meta is planning to launch its third-generation consumer VR Quest headset sometime late next year, the company confirmed during its Q3 2022 earnings call.

The current Meta Quest 2 has been a solid success for the company, being well-received by consumers and critics alike. It had been praised for its sharp display, strong performance, and intuitive control layout, but like almost anything, improvements are always welcomed. This is where the Quest 3 could really make a strong impression.

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How your boss can spy on you with Slack, Zoom, and Teams
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Slack and Teams are both super useful: They enable quick communication around the office, allow for remote work and work-from-home situations, and let employees easily share a variety of content. The downside to that is that bosses can also use them to keep an eye on what you're doing and how active you are during your workday.

How bad can this boss monitoring get? Let’s take a look at what bosses can view on these apps and what you can keep private.
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Watch Meta demonstrate full-body VR tracking with just a Quest headset
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Meta Reality Labs is making big strides in avatar rendering with the latest advances combining machine learning (ML) with sensor data from Quest VR headsets to show your full body, including arms, legs, torso, and head. The result is a very realistic and accurate representation of the poses and movements of a person wearing a Quest 2 headset.

QuestSim: Human Motion Tracking from Sparse Sensors with Simulated Avatars

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