New Lync Presence and Contacts Features

Lync 2010 adds photos and other features for presence and contact information. Shown here are some of the new features in the Lync 2010 user interface. At the top is the “Me” area where the user can enter a note to display with his presence information, see the photo that will display in calls and contact information, and adjust presence status (currently “Available”). Photos come from Active Directory by default and cannot be changed by the user, but if the organization allows, the user can enter a URL to his photo.

The Me area can also include a location field, as shown here, which supports Lync’s new ability to transmit physical location information to emergency personnel during an emergency call. If the user is connecting from a network location that the organization has not mapped (such as home), the Lync client can prompt the user to enter location information manually. (Transmitting location for emergency calls requires a separate emergency response service subscription from a Microsoft partner and only works in the United States.)