Message from General Computer Development 

Technology: What's in store for 2022 

New technology and improvements to older technology promises to be convenient and accessible, all the way from online shopping to virtual reality. Some trends to be expected in 2022:

1. Online shopping: Vendors will be able to better manage buyer expectations with the use of augmented reality (AR) by creating realistic 3D models of products, yielding a more accurate sample of the item. Buyers will be able to see the product as if they had it in front of them.

2. Passwordless Authentication: passwords are becoming obsolete, especially with artificial intelligence and machine learning becoming smarter, even the strongest passwords won't be secure enough. We will see a gradual shift towards alternative authentication such as mobile devices, token and biometrics (face recognition, fingerprint) as standard methods.   

3. Wider and extensive 5G coverage: in 2021 the number of 5G connections tripled to 670 million. The entirety of the US can expect 5G coverage by the end of 2022, and many countries will follow. Faster internet speeds needs to keep up with high quality 4K content in streaming platforms, and 8K is peeking around the corner. 

4. AI Everywhere: Most of us have interacted with some type of artificial intelligence (AI) at this point. As this technology is ever-learning and only gets smarter, we will see an explosion of AI-powered gadgets, apps, websites, and tools in 2022. It will be difficult to differentiate a chatbot from a human customer support agent. 

5. Virtual Reality: Evolving technology in the areas of internet, artificial intelligence, and other areas will make virtual reality (VR) more widely available and more realistic than ever. VR is expected to grow in medicine and education, allowing students, teachers, researchers and professional to learn more about abstract and complex topics. Remote workers will also be able to use VR to attend virtual meetings and participate as if they were present physically. 

1. Windows 11 is here

You may receive notifications on your computers asking if you would like to upgrade from Windows 10. Note that certain apps, features, and hardware may not be fully compatible with Microsoft 11. An IT professional can review minimum requirements and perform testing before upgrading. GCD has communicated its plan for Windows 11 upgrade to partners and customers. It will be completed per deployment guidelines recommended by Microsoft.

2. Windows Server 2022 - now in preview 

Microsoft announced that Windows Server 2022 is now in preview. It builds on Windows Server 2019, the fastest adopted Windows Server ever. This release includes advanced multi-layer security, hybrid capabilities with Azure, and a flexible platform to modernize application with containers. 

3. Retiring Teams mobile support for certain Androids

Microsoft is retiring the Teams mobile support on Android version 5, 6, and 7. It is recommended to upgrade to newer Android builds. Microsoft also recommends to update to the newer version of Teams if running builds older than 1 year. The retirement will be as follows: 

Android 5 - March 2022

Android 6 - July 2022. Will continue to provide last supported version in the Play Store until September 2022

Android 7 - September 2022. Will continue to provide last supported version in the Play Store until December 2022.

4. OneDrive sync not supported on certain MacOS 

Reminder - The OneDrive team has ended support for the OneDrive desktop application (sync client) on macOS Sierra 10.12 and macOS High Sierra 10.13. Going forward, only the three most recent versions of macOS will be supported. When a new major version of macOS is released, the new version and the previous two versions will be supported. This is in effect since September 10th, 2021. 

Note: Both MacOS Sierra 10.12 and macOS High Sierra 10.13 have been out of Apple's mainline support since September 2019 and November 202, respectively. 

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