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Cheap laptop for MS Teams

MVV

MVV

pfm Member
I am compelled to use this terrible platform for some of my work. I use Apple and have never owned or used anything else. However the rubbish non-functionality of Teams is even worse via Mac so I’m thinking of getting a cheap MS machine just for Teams. It needs a decent camera and Mike can be as heavy as it likes and as vile to own as needed to keep the price down. I really haven’t a clue. This will be the full extent of its role. Help gratefully received.
 
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whatever you get, I'd advise using an external cam and mike.

Will you be moving it between home/office/sites?

If not why a laptop?
 
To be honest I don’t see the objection to Teams (other than Microsoft = bad) but then I use Mac and PC and just accept them for what they are.

Unless you need a screen to view or share presentations on Teams, if you have an iPhone or iPad then just install the MS Teams app on there and off you go.
 
I agree about the external cam. A laptop cam gives everyone a good discussion about nose hairs, unless the whole thing is lifted up high on a platform - but then you cannot use it unless you have a separate keyboard, and mouse and.....
 
I live on Teams and although it still lags Zoom for VC it is a perfectly acceptable tool. That might be because we are all Microsoft 365 in our company but the interaction between the various platforms works well and Teams is the place most of my day is organised around.

I have setup many personal Teams calls for my friends and they have used all sorts of platforms Mac, iPhone, iPad, MS laptops with browser and with the app. The browser experience is not the best, I don't think you get the grid view (or at least you didn't a while back when I past used it) but all the others seem to work well.

I use a Logitech C920 camera which has a mic as well, pretty decent but for most work calls I use a Sennheiser headset. As has been said, almost any laptop will work, my son has an ancient Lenovo 420 which works well for a couple of hundred quid.
 
The real limitation is the useless BT vdsl connection for most people. One video call sucks up the entire bandwidth...
 
I just run Teams in a browser when I need to use it. Never bothered to install the client software.
 
MVV said:
I am compelled to use this terrible platform for some of my work. I use Apple and have never owned or used anything else. However the rubbish non-functionality of Teams is even worse via Mac so I’m thinking of getting a cheap MS machine just for Teams. It needs a decent camera and Mike can be as heavy as it likes and as vile to own as needed to keep the price down. I really haven’t a clue. This will be the full extent of its role. Help gratefully received.
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What Mac do you have? I can run Windows from a USB drive on both a 2010 Mac Mini and a 2014 Mac Air. You do need access to a Windows machine to create the external disk or someone who can do this for you. Saves having to have an extra computer lying around just boot into Windows and do your thing from time to time.

Just a thought.

Cheers,

DV

PS Although I haven't tried it yet you may be able to do your thing using crossover. You can get a free trial https://www.codeweavers.com/crossover/download

However its a little more expensive than a cheap SSD/case/Windows license from web.
 
No problem with teams here on mac, perhaps if we could get more specific than 'disaster?'

In terms of video quality its shite, but its shite on windows too. Video quality on zoom is far superior.
 
TomF said:
To be honest I don’t see the objection to Teams (other than Microsoft = bad)
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me neither

cutting42 said:
I live on Teams and although it still lags Zoom for VC it is a perfectly acceptable tool.
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We use both and i see no difference other than interface. Each has features I like and dislike


cutting42 said:
That might be because we are all Microsoft 365 in our company but the interaction between the various platforms works well and Teams is the place most of my day is organised around.
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Me too

cutting42 said:
The browser experience is not the best,
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agreed


cutting42 said:
I use a Logitech C920 camera which has a mic as well
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me too, but I also use a Jabra Speak 510 as an external conferencing mike.


farfromthesun said:
eams is an absolute disaster on my Mac.
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My opposite number (another head of dept) uses a Mac and has no complaints about Teams - apart from the fact the feature set lags behind releases for windows. So he runs the windows version in a VM
 
Thank god I stopped working eleven years ago. I only had to endure one (1) 'electronic' meeting (via phone, no images) where the people on the other side of the Atlantic chatted about their chritmas shopping in NY and I, finally, delivered one sentence of something not very meaningful. One hour of my life waisted.

I pity you.
 
I just updated my iMac to BS and was on a Teams meeting a good while yesterday with no problems at all, seems to function just as well for me whether I use my iPad, NUC PC, Dell Laptop or iMac.

Vid quality as mentioned is a bit iffy but it's worked fine all lockdown as an App and part of 365.
 
gintonic said:
My opposite number (another head of dept) uses a Mac and has no complaints about Teams - apart from the fact the feature set lags behind releases for windows. So he runs the windows version in a VM
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I think - though am not 100% certain - that the issue is mostly related to the fact that my firm is using Office 365 and I so I have Teams synced* across multiple devices.

*Not very well synced.
 
farfromthesun said:
I think - though am not 100% certain - that the issue is mostly related to the fact that my firm is using Office 365 and I so I have Teams synced* across multiple devices.

*Not very well synced.
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we do - currently sync across 2 x desktops, 1 x NUC and an Android phone - no sync issues here....
 
farfromthesun said:
I think - though am not 100% certain - that the issue is mostly related to the fact that my firm is using Office 365 and I so I have Teams synced* across multiple devices.

*Not very well synced.
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I suspect the fault probably lies with your IT implementation, our sync is amazing with 365.

I had a laptop failure a couple of months ago and due to limited service visits by Lenovo (not allowed to visit my home so had to leave at our office) I had no work machine. I loaded the 365 apps onto my iPad pro and could work effectively in under 10 mins from starting to load the apps. My login synced everything and I had all my files (Onedrive), Teams, Outlook and Office apps fully functional.

Got bored with a small screen so switched login on my home PC from my personal 365 account to my work one and carried on working there completely seamlessly. 365 is a perfect business tool, it just works all the time, no idea if the IT group are under the surface paddling like mad but as an end user it rocks!
 
365 from an Admin perspective is really good these days and improving all the time, nothing is perfect but it’s a mature product now and we’re getting very few user issues. When it came out it was called BPOS, business productivity online suite, the first course we went to needed Firefox installed cos it wouldn’t work via IE :) Steered clear until it had morphed from Big Piece Of Sh1t into 365 and stabilised.

I have Teams and all other Apps synced and working across multiple devices Android/Apple/Windows - there are a few ways things can get messed up, mixing different Account types/logging in multiple times, maybe that’s something to look at.
 
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