Now you can join an ongoing NBA game like it’s a video conference
Get yourself an $11 beer to complete the effect. (Microsoft/)Microsoft teams didn’t enjoy the same kind of cultural moment that video chat darling Zoom experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as many coworkers suddenly found themselves spread out around the country—and sometimes even the world—Microsoft’s collaboration suite quickly became a crucial product for many employees. While teams is typically better for discussing the latest batch of financial reports than enjoying yourself, the NBA is tapping the tech in order to put some semblance of fan interaction back into its socially distant games. The NBA collaboration is based on the Together Mode Microsoft built into Teams software. It works similarly to other video chat services, which detect a person and make it look like they’re sitting in front of a different background. Rather than arranging everyone in a simple grid pattern, however, Microsoft super-imposes the participants into a single background. So,...