Move over Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Mesh Is Here

Trina Stroedecke
Technology Editor

Imagine this: You sit down in your dorm room and look up and see a table full of your closest friends. They all live in different towns and different states, yet there they are. No need to wear a mask because they are not really in your room with you, they are all in their own separate rooms. Something like this will soon be more than a part of your imagination, it will be a way you have meetings. Microsoft is in the midst of creating a software that attempts to create a holographic experience platform, something that will be used in place of Microsoft Teams or Zoom meetings.

Powered by Microsoft’s Azure cloud, Mesh is a platform that will be able to collaborate with several apps to create a multitude of experiences. That means that whether you have a meeting with a coworker who is currently in another country or just want to see your dog who is at home with your parents, you will not be reduced to a small computer window screen. The most simplified way to explain what Microsoft Mesh will provide to users is by comparing it to that of Xbox Live systems. While Mesh will be used for much more than multiplayer gaming, users will be able to connect to each other and have a conference call, watch a movie, or just talk to someone across the table from them. While the holograms are not yet completely realistic, in the meantime users can create an avatar that they can fit themselves into, or just use a photo of themselves. In the future, Microsoft hopes to be able to stream presentations, conference speakers, maybe even concerts from Microsoft Mesh.

What do you think? Would you sit down in your living room and watch a concert from the front row?

Contact Trina at stroedka@shu.edu