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Skype For Microsoft Edge Will Work From the Browser, No Plug-Ins Required
We mentioned a few months back Microsoft's beta of a browser-based intrerface to Skype. Now, reports Engadget, Skype will be able to work without a plug-in (as was required for the beta). However, it will work -- at least at first -- only with Microsoft's Edge browser. The latest Windows 10 Insider Preview build comes with Object RTC API. That's the element that allows real-time audio and video communication without the need for any installation not just for Skype for Web and Outlook.com, but also for other WebRTC-compatible services. To note, Chrome, Firefox and Safari all support WebRTC standards, but it's unclear if and when Skype will enable a plug-in-less experience for those browsers, as well.
Please don't run executable code inside my document viewer.
kthxbye
But does it run Linux?
Since the release of Skype 7.0 (actually the preview version, 6.22), the largest thread on the the Skype community forum has been about one request - can we have our screen space back?
(My take on this at great length at http://moteprime.org/article.p...)
This news gives me some hope that, with appropriate HTML and RPC chops, we will see third-parties allow users some measure of customization of the Skype UI.
Sean Ellis
Follow OfQuack's antics on Twitter.
I suspect well be getting the always on, talk to your web browser functionality so you dont have to click anything when you want ot make a call. You can just say "skype, call my mom" and and bing, skype will inform microsoft, the nsa, and your mom that you want to talk. And when you dont want ot talk to mom, skype will make sure any naughty keywords you use while sitting at your computer are also promptly forwarded to the NSA as well.
U must be joking brother Microsoft really going to provide soft app for free.
With Windows 10 at ~9% market share of desktop OS's, Edge is currently at ~2%. Incorporating Skype isn't going to help Edge attract many more users, if any, since it still is not compatible with many websites and crashes more than other browsers. I use Edge solely to open my Outlook.com mail since the Mail app in Windows 10 won't do the job. The whole Windows 10 situation is quite fubar, it seems to me.
Unfortunately, Microsoft has completely ruined Skype, and they will probably never be able to recover the users they lost. My grandparents got locked out when Microsoft started requiring a Microsoft ID, so I switched them to gchat. Plugins are easy enough to install and unless Microsoft fixes the ridiculous Microsoft ID requirement, I can't see many people using Skype ever again. Let's face it, Microsoft is just not competive with the new generation of tech companies and the only reason they lasted as long as they did is because they had a near monopoly, maintained by compatibility issues, for decades.
I've multiple Skype accounts since ages. Never been forced to require a Microsoft ID. Stop spouting bullshit.
Except that ORTC is an open standard, that is being pushed by both Microsoft and Google because it's better / easier to use than WebRTC. WebRTC could be extinguished but no harm is done except to early adopters (and even they could just plug in a shim.)
The problem here is that the browser has become two different things:
1) A document browser.
2) An app-runner.
As much as I hate it, there is huge demand for an app-runner, so that use case is not going away. The mistake was to try to tie both of these things into the same web-browser framework. We could have had a document viewer separated from an app-runner, but instead we have them both mixed together, with all the complexity that entails. It's not a problem that's going away, and expect Javascript exploits to multiply in the next few years, if not decades.
There's too much momentum with Javascript + HTML to go back now.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Whether a plugin is needed , or not?
Maurice W. Hilarius Voice: (778) 347-9907
I don't think I consider building the code into the MS browser as being cause to celebrate that no plugin is needed.
Why use a proprietary technology?.
This is microsoft we're talking about, proprietary is what they do best.
Buck Feta. You know what to do.
I lost my self respect long ago.
'stupid people' want to interact with me and Skype was there to facilitate that.
"Pushed by Google"? Last I heard, Google was for WebRTC over ORTC.
At least black tape over the camera works.
Bad news though, tape over the mic holes on a modern tablet DOES NOT WORK, I've tried recording with several layers of tape over every hole and the audio is still pretty damn good. Enough sound gets in to tablets/laptops/etc via the case and any socket holes to let built in mic work.
Scotch/Cellotape doesn't work over the camera either, it sees through it and focusses beyond the fuzziness of the tape. Has to be black tape.
There's a lot to be said for fridges. If you put your electronics in there they are air tight, so limit sound, and light.
I know it's easy to simply cut and paste from the original article (heck, it's one way to get people to actually read part of the article), but why not make corrections to gross errors?
Apple is not supporting WebRTC and has not implemented any of the features necessary for it. Not in desktop nor in mobile.
They're for both. WebRTC and ORTC are to merge. There's also a talk by Trent Johnsen from Hookflash about the confusion around ORTC.
It looks like Microsoft Corporation just invented Firefox Hello, or Facebook Video chat.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
Yes you can sign in without it, the point is, it is difficult enough to make people switch : http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/...
It still can't render basic flash in under about 15 seconds and ummm oh let me think....oh yeah! THE ADDRESS BAR IS HIDDEN! Who designed that slow, clunky, unusable pile of garbage?
Damn, now I have more work to do on the Pidgin plugin. Anyone know if gstreamer supports ortc yet? ;)
Extinquish? I knew you weren't playing with a full deck of cards, but still...
You are partly correct.
WebRTC has 2 parts: protocols & codecs (RTCWeb WorkingGroup at the IETF) and the browser API (WebRTC at the W3C). Al lot of the people are the same people.
All parts of WebRTC was already being worked on before Microsoft really got involved. And Microsoft wanted a more low level browser API than the other WebRTC browser API that was already being worked on. Microsoft wanted this for things like Skype.
Eventually a new community group (not workgroup) was formed at the W3C to work on a new API called ORTC.
The working group at W3C that works on WebRTC have committed themselves to adopt ORTC. So now WebRTC has 2 APIs, only Microsoft has an implementation of ORTC. Firefox, Chrome/Chromium and Opera have an other. And it looks like WebKit/Safari will get WebRTC support too.
The older API is easier to use, because the newer API is more low level, but there are or will be Javascript libraries which will present you with one API which should work with both.
Having a low level isn't such a strange thing any more in browser/webdevelopment land, because as it turns out you can have Javascript libraries which abstract the stuff most don't need to know. Because a lot of times webdevelopers use those anyway, to abstract the differences between browsers.
It's starting to look like more and more browser APIs will be more low level, so high level APIs can be built on top and changed more easily.
Lots of people/companies who work together at the W3C have now basically made this policy:
https://extensiblewebmanifesto...
New things are always on the horizon
Correction, I checked:
The W3C Working group has NOT yet committed themselves to adopting the ORTC API from the community group.
So basically, Microsoft is still on their own. The browser API is not a standard yet and it might still change before it is part of the real WebRTC standard.
New things are always on the horizon
...bloatware.
Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
That's what I have been thinking for some time now. Microsoft still has deep pockets, but one day these are going to get empty, what with all the spending on Nokia takeovers, failed OS versions etc. etc. I can't wait for the day, really, and will dance on their grave.
Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
Really don't understand that the Skype app how works ? I know that how do i use it as well.
Oh look M$\fed shills downvoting negative comments! Color me surprised!