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Microsoft Rolls Out New Skype for Web; Does Not Support Firefox, Safari, and Opera (venturebeat.com)
Microsoft this week revamped Skype's browser-based client with a slew of new features. From a report: The Seattle company this week announced the rollout of a major Skype for Web update, which introduces high-definition video calling, a redesigned notifications panels, a revamped media gallery, and more. It's available on any PC running Windows 10 and Mac OS X 10.12 or higher with the latest versions of Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. The bulk of the new capabilities debuted in preview last October, but they're available widely starting this week. Skype for Web does not support Safari, Firefox, and Opera browsers, Microsoft has confirmed.
MS has destroyed Edge/Trident so badly that they're moving toward a chromium based Edge.
Is this good for the Chromium project? Microsoft programmers will be looking at the code.
Is this bad for the Chromium project? Microsoft programmers will be looking at the code.
I really am curious to see who wins Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon. Who will control the future tech?
IBM?
Sinclair will re-emerge from the ashes and defeat them all.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
So much for open web standards, privacy, and freedom of choice and platform. The march back to the days of IE are progressing so well. I am sure Google is very pleased, indeed.
I don't know about you, but I will continue to fight it. If a site doesn't at least work on Firefox, it is BROKEN.
Good thing this supports Chrome, then.
That great ongoing support for all things open source... seems to have failed here. Firefox is the default browser in many Linux distributions.
So nice for Microsoft to think of themselves first, to the exclusion of anyone else.
And so you twits that have succumbed to the great haze of Microsoft's support of open source, know that it's only capitulation to FOSS, and not actually ascribing to the culture of the communities of FOSS.
Embrace, extend, extinguish is still their DNA. If they really wanted to make headway, they'd make Skype an API and spawn lots of products made from its bones, so as to curtail advances from Google, FB, and other international social media competition.
There are MBAs in Redmond that truly don't understand how to make dough in FOSS, understand how to bring markets to their fore through transformative yet open infrastructure. Same old song and dance.
---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
This article warrants reposting here:
https://www.theverge.com/2018/...
So nice for Microsoft to think of themselves first, to the exclusion of anyone else.
Microsoft is the new Apple
We are Dead Stars looking back Up at the Sky
I stopped using skype since webRTC became built into browsers. no apps to install, works reliably. Works on more devices than skype.
The best part is that when you have an ad hoc group of people who suddenly need to chat you don't have any dely with people installing an application then coaxing it to work, signing up for a microsoft account etc... Installing all the other spy ware microsoft forces you to install with it.
And while not every webRTC provider is equally good, and bug free, there are some very good ones, and that's all you need. I like appear.in
The downer for me is that my employer blocks webRTC ports forcing the use of skype. ugg.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
I wonder how much money was paid to not support competing browsers to Chrome. The Chromageddon of 95 percent market share will arrive soon after Microsoft adopts it for Edge and Apple and Mozilla will get killed in the crossfire.
Or... those browsers don't support a required API
IMHO, the two have had similar aims for decades. Lip service to FOSS, a huge competitor, hasn't done either well. MacOS has more "free" DNA than Windows (although Microsoft borrowed heavily from BSD licenses throughout their life), but yeah.
Beware the Reality Distortion Fields, folks!
---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
I wonder if this new version will work on my Win7 machine, since it doesn't have cortana installed (TFA says that's one of the reasons for the update).
There is nothing in the update that aids in doing what I used to use skype for - multiple text conversations, and some voice calling. Cortana integration? When I still played with Win10 systems, that was one of the things I worked hard to block. HD video calls? I removed the camera from my computer because skype kept trying to turn it on, and I don't want to give up my limited bandwidth to an unwanted feature.
Our company is moving to Zoom. It isn't perfect. It hasn't even reached the level of imperfection that skype v7 had. It's also trying to map the desktop interface into looking like it's running on a phone.
But, it's easier to set up a conference call without having to worry if the other people are on "skype" or "skype for business".
What exactly do you mean by "freetard"? It's not in Merriam-Webster's dictionary.
No way. In 2031, everyone uses Timex. Computers, phones, tablets, watches, glasses.
I went to file this on webcompat.com, but it looks like it's already been filed as #27392.
View on webcompat | View on Microsoft GitHub
No one has revealed the answer to the question-- is that required API proprietary, or did Microsoft make the details available, or help port it to a neutral spot, or make it available in binary forms, etc? I don't know that answer to that. A community-focused vendor lifts the community, and yes, themselves. Red Hat is pretty good (although not perfect) at doing this for API kits.
It's a state of mind, rather than wallet. With so many interesting and potentially useful code contributions, the casual observer might conclude that they were doing it for themselves and their own benefit *strictly*. There is no evidence that other vendors were included, just that other major vendors certainly didn't announce support, and support has been provided before on each and every one of the now-excluded browser platforms.
If the required API is proprietary, that might be a reason. Opaque APIs are potentially full of bad things, can't be fixed in the open source crowd-sourced fixes, can't be seen for their backdoors, can't be understood for their (potentially excellent) code quality, etc.
They're opaque. This is one of the important basic differences between visible source and closed source, no matter the license.
---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
>
So nice for Microsoft to think of themselves first, to the exclusion of anyone else.
They are a for profit company, what do you expect?
Embrace, extend, extinguish is still their DNA. If they really wanted to make headway, they'd make Skype an API and spawn lots of products made from its bones, so as to curtail advances from Google, FB, and other international social media competition.
The question is "what is in it for them?" if they did such a thing? They'd handle a lot more calls for free and give other companies potentially a lot of data on calling patterns that they get to keep right now.
There are MBAs in Redmond that truly don't understand how to make dough in FOSS, understand how to bring markets to their fore through transformative yet open infrastructure.
More to the point, why should they care about FOSS except how it benefits them? They're making a lot of money as is, and using FOSS when it is useful, so why bother chase a market where they have to share everything and try to compete on services when they already are successful selling what they have?
not actually ascribing to the culture of the communities of FOSS.
Let's face it. Most folks don't care about FOSS' culture or community. They simply want to sue something that helps them get something done; and are not buying into some sort of movement.
I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
Its a web app. This shouldn't happen with them.
Plus its weird that Opera isn't support since that is practically Chrome.
http://progressquest.com/spoltog.php?name=Son+Of+Son+Of+DarkRookie
Destroying the Skype platform isnt easy. MS are close to have exhausted possibilities for ruining this product which was once great..before MS bought it.. Splitting it into private and skype for business was bold, suddenly you had 2 fragments. Then they destroyed the manager so Skype for business suddenly became Skype for employees that work in a company that previously used Skype, because no sane company would implement a solution with a crippled central management. Then MS took the liberty to turn Skype into Teams..which is like replacing a Ghettoblaster with a piece of toilet paper, great for each purpose but not a replacement... So whoever came up with this broken browser solution, really had to think and innovate, to find the last ways to ruin Skype, I think people should appreciate that!
Your understanding of FOSS is typical, and it's pretty myopic. This context doesn't allow you to understand that there are motives in FOSS beyond pecuniary interest. It's not a business model. If you can wrap your head around that fact, and get it out of your wallet, you can get closer to the actual context.
What's-in-it-for-me is a natural desire. How-can-I-help is a more evolved thought process. You can make money both ways.
---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
So much for the new "open" Microsoft. I knew it wouldn't last.
Anything below Edge - at its 4.3% market share - I can understand dropping support for. Firefox is a curious one, though... I guess Microsoft decided that IE and Chrome are 75% of the market, that's good enough to start with!
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
So much for open web standards,
Unlike Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome D - OES NOT support ORTC (Microsoft's NIH-syndrom variation upon webRTC) - well yet (the plan is for ORTC eventually to be reworked into WebRTC 1.1 at which point both Chrome AND Firefox will support it).
Which means that if the current Skype for Web works in Google Chrome :
- either Microsoft has released a special binary plug-in for Google to support their calling protocol.
(It doesn't seem to be the case, at least with my quick testing Chrome doesn't seem to ask to install a plug-in)
- or Microsoft has partially rewritten Skype for Web to allow support for WebRTC-based browser (e.g.: written a ORTC-over-WebRTC wrapper to fill in the gap until ORTC gets approved into standard)...
If a site doesn't at least work on Firefox, it is BROKEN.
...and Firefox *ALSO* supports WebRTC (that's what all the sites like https://meet.jit.si use).
Which means that by fumbling around with user-agent string and maybe a few bug fixes, Skype for Web should work in Firefox too.
I am sure Google is very pleased, indeed.
Google doesn't give a damn about Chrome, they do not sell it, it doesn *directly* earn them money.
Google does give a damn about people using *a* browser (no matter which) and going online, where they will get exposed to advertisements, subjected to tracking, convinced to store all their private things on google's mail and file servers, their data getting slurped, etc.
And that is what Google sells (to ads agencies, to marketeers, to governments, etc...) and makes tons of money upon.
Them building Chrome, as well as them financing the development of Firefox is just a mean to achieve the goal of more people exposed to the web.
If Firefox gets eventually support for Skype for Web, Google will be happy too: means Firefox is a more viable browser, which means additional ways to go online, which means more people eventually showing up on the internet where Google can monetize the shit out of their asses.
The fact that currently Skype only supports Edge and Chrome has nothing to do with making Google happy, and everything to do with Microsoft currently offering a browser which is basically a reskinned-version of Chrome, so of course they had to pay attention to making it work.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Is it really a web based product if you need a special API to run it.
If it is an HTML feature, that these other browsers haven't implemented yet, then that is a different issue.
The issue I have with JavaApplets, Active X, Flash, Sliverlight... is the fact these are not web apps, but executable that just happen run in your browser window.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
When I logged in using Chromium on my Linux system, the "Call" button was greyed out. It always worked in the previous versions, but now it suddenly didn't - nice of Microsoft not to warn me about this and making me find out the hard way as I was about to start an important business call.
Talk about failing silently with no information on the website why or how to fix the problem. So what worked? Logging in using Firefox with the user-agent changed to Windows/Edge. And the "Call" button came back!
Frankly, I don't understand why anyone uses Skype anymore. It's 2019 and there are better gratis alternatives out there.
God, so happy we switched to Slack for video conferencing. The Skype for Web app has been a total shit show every time I've had to use it, whereas Slack just work.
So nice for Microsoft to think of themselves first, to the exclusion of anyone else.
You, me, and virtually everyone else think of themselves first. Many then CHOOSE to act on behalf of others. As for excluding everyone else...WTF are you talking about? Skype is available as a DEB, RPM, or SNAP install for Linux. Does it suck that Microsoft has chosen to implement non-standards based features that break compatibility with standards based browsers? Yes, yes it does. But Microsoft has been doing that for decades so it should come as no surprise. And Google is doing it as well.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
Nah, Atari's gonna make the big comeback. By 2035 we'll all be using mutant 128-core Atari ATW transputer workstations.
webRTC is free, works well, and many sites require no login to use it. You just send people the link, and it works. And I could run my own server if I wanted to.
No they arn't. At least Apple's products are pretty and, provided you stay within the cage they put you in, usually works.
That great ongoing support for all things open source... seems to have failed here. Firefox is the default browser in many Linux distributions.
This is not the fault of Microsoft, but the fault of each browser dealing with script and even standard HTML in some annoying different way.
How does it *NOT* support Opera? It is literally the same codebase as Chrome (both Blink/Chromium based), the same thing the new Edge is being based on. This means they're checking user agents, and denying ones they don't like. This is 2019, not 1999. STOP THIS SHIT RIGHT NOW.
No, Tandy will take over
It's available on any PC running Windows 10 ... with the latest versions of Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
Was that latest Chrome+Windows Zero-Day flaw allowing Web Skype to run on Windows 7 and/or with other browsers?
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
The original Java-based Minecraft, the only one which works on Linux desktops, is currently the only one which cannot interoperate with handheld and XBox players...
You're forgetting the PS3, Vita and PS4 versions, which also aren't the Bedrock the edition and can't interact with Switch, mobile and Xbox versions.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, they altered the UI for Bedrock so it's not quite as good as the "classic console edition" in regards to UI.
It's Electron. Which is a headless Chromium that runs as an application; Discord also uses it and it's not a terrible idea, but I bet a lot of money it's just Microsoft playing coy, Discord works on Firefox just fine, even voice and video chat, but I think only Screenshare server is Discord app only.
Proof: https://electronjs.org/apps/sk... https://electronjs.org/apps/di... (screen sharing is app only as it says on the bottom green box but everything else works fine) https://support.discordapp.com...
After testing in Firefox, video chat doesn't work, voice chat does in Discord on Firefox
So nice for Microsoft to think of themselves first, to the exclusion of anyone else.
They didn't think of themselves first though. I've now heard from two family members who use Skype (they're old, and all their equally old friends use it too), and am reliably informed that the updated Skype doesn't support Windows either. Argh, now I've got to go round and find "Skype Classic" on some dodgy Russian site and reinstall the version that mostly worked for them.
I've been using Preview Web Skipe on Firefox (actually Waterfox) for a few months now.
All you need is to use "User Agent Switcher" and to pretend to be Chrome.
I don't use it to make calls, just occasional chat. So far I have not encountered any kind of problem or issues.
Given the rumors that you need special Chrome plugin for the voice and video calls, there is absolutely no reason to oust FF or Opera.
Microsoft are deliberately blocking these browsers.
I dunno, I've been doing linux since the slackware days, and I remember when Microsoft was astride the world, bullying everyone.
In this case, for Skype specifically the underlying tech is ReactXP https://github.com/microsoft/r... (which just takes react-native and extends it to the web) and is not just open source but pretty righteously herded by Eric Traut on github with respect and fast merging of contributions on a valuable project.
I'm having a hard time feeling indignant about the behavior here, rather I'm using ReactXP in a project of my own because it's good tech with a good license and good community management. Even if it feels like hell just froze while I'm doing it ;-)
how MS has changed, it's not the same company it was 10 years ago!
riiiiiiiight...
On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.