PowerPoint presentations may change in the next few months, as Microsoft integrates live and pre-recorded video into presentations you view and create. Microsoft's engineering teams are always hard at work launching features, and today marks Microsoft's spring 2022 update of sorts, on a variety of different subjects. Microsoft announced a new Surface Hub-specific webcam, updated features to Teams and other productivity apps, and some specific improvements to how Microsoft deals with workers who are returning to the office. For that matter, Microsoft also released a survey noting that many workers aren't all that interested in returning to work, either preferring to work remotely or as a hybrid of at-home and in-person work. PowerPoint touches many different lives and careers (even holiday parties) so it's not surprising that two of the most important announcements involve it.

Smarter searches don't necessarily need to live in a search engine. This week, Microsoft will debut two tools that will live in Office: Microsoft Search and Ideas, designed to assist workers trying to dig out the document that they need, now. Microsoft hosts its Microsoft Ignite conference this week, and the company promises literally dozens of announcements--most pertaining to its Azure cloud and related services. But Microsoft also plans a few key developments at the user level, including final rollouts of features the company has announced previously, such as the ability to blur backgrounds within Microsoft Teams video chats and transcribe meetings. The two most significant announcements for Office users are probably the enhanced Microsoft Search experience, which will traverse Windows, Office.com,

The logo of Microsoft displayed in Munich. "Microsoft Monday" is a weekly column that focuses on all things Microsoft. Last week, Microsoft introduced a successor to the Surface Hub called the Surface Hub 2. The Surface Hub 2 is a digital whiteboard product that makes a great addition to conference rooms. The Surface Hub 2 has a 50.5-inch panel with a 4K display. Plus the screen is able to rotate 90 degrees and the content adjusts accordingly.

Microsoft, best known for its software, still manages to churn out a beautiful piece of hardware every once in a while. On the portable side, products like its Microsoft Surface Laptop show that the company still has a keen sense of design and a knack for developing products for the modern era. The larger Surface Studio does the same for the desktop. Now, the company's just-announced Surface Hub 2 promises to be a sleek, extra-large addition to the office boardroom when it begins shipping next year. The Hub 2, a more affordable follow-up to the original 2016 Surface Hub, is a 50.5-inch touchscreen display ringed by only the most slender of black bezels.

Microsoft's Surface Hub 2 is a beautiful bit of kit but it's a vision of the future that feels far removed. Speaking today at the Katapult Future Festival in Oslo on the subject of the future of work, Microsoft's vision feels removed from reality and a little bit farfetched. Put simply, if this puppy isn't about $1000 - and the Verge reports it'll be in line with competitor products so that's $4000 or so - you've just shelled out for a whiteboard that does pretty much what a$300 laptop can do. I'm not seeing anything other than office porn here..the rousing Westworld-esque music confirms it. The video shows a vision of the future for offices you wished you worked in but actually don't.