back to article Microsoft shoehorns Skype into Outlook.com - we quickly kick the tyres

Microsoft has slotted voice-chat app Skype into Outlook.com, melding email and telephony into a single platform - which almost works smoothly. The functionality comes with a browser plugin, and makes video and voice calling as simple as sending an email, aping Google's Hangout platform but with Skype's infrastructure. Outlook …

COMMENTS

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  1. Bill the Sys Admin

    No support for RT, talk about kicking somebody while they are down...

    1. Craigness

      No support for Android either, but tablets generally don't do browser plugins and have better ways of achieving this functionality. I don't see people complaining about Hangouts not being supported this way on tablets.

    2. graeme leggett Silver badge

      If you are using RT then you've probably got a small device (no sniggering at the back) and would use the Skype client rather than the browser?

  2. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Phil W

      Re: "one has to wonder"

      As I understand it this can sort of be done already, by having some on premises Lync servers, connected to Office 365 externally and a SIP-PSTN gateway internally.

      Though why you would do that rather than doing a full Lync on-premises deployment with a SIP-PSTN gateway I'm not sure.

      Cost difference perhaps.

    2. Richard 22

      Re: "one has to wonder"

      I think the Skype brand is probably too strong to kill for a while at least. Skyping someone is pretty much in common parlance now among non-tech types wanting to keep in touch with their children/grandchildren - remove the brand and you'd end up with a lot of confused Grannies.

      1. Al Jones

        Re: "one has to wonder"

        Confusing Grannies doesn't seem to be a problem for Microsoft, if you believe some of the comments about Windows 8.

        Microsoft often seems to make commercial decisions that leave observers scratching their heads, so Skype's strong brand recognition isn't a guarantee of anything!

    3. o_0

      Re: "one has to wonder"

      There are many Lync certified SIP trunk providers, and Lync can do external calling to the PSTN. It can also call Skype users if you enable Skype Federation.

      Where are you getting your information from?

  3. Slacker@work
    Coffee/keyboard

    Best line I've heard for a while.....

    "Windows RT users will be disappointed too, as the plugin won't work for them, but RT users are probably used to such disappointments by now."

    Well done el Reg - that made me actually LOL

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Skype, for those times you need to share your tattoo of an owl.

  5. Peter Gordon

    Doesn't work in IE for Mac? Doesn't work in Windows RT?

    Even Microsoft don't support Microsoft products!

    1. Vladimir Nicolici
      FAIL

      Unsupported browsers: Internet Explorer 10 :)

    2. Flywheel
      Thumb Up

      Ah, there'll be a Linux hack in a couple of weeks..

    3. Jordan Davenport

      You might as well complain that Microsoft isn't support Windows 98 either...

      IE for Mac was dropped years ago. Safari effectively was its replacement due to licensing agreements between Apple and Microsoft.

      1. Peter Gordon

        Re: You might as well complain that Microsoft isn't support Windows 98 either...

        But Safari isn't supported either ;-)

      2. Levente Szileszky
        FAIL

        Re: You might as well complain that Microsoft isn't support Windows 98 either...

        Ah I see, so RT is the new Win98? Or IE10 is?

        FYI it's nothing else but the end result of the Ballmerian uber-incompetence, nothing else. As I'm saying for years now: BALLMER MUST GO ASAP - the later Ballmer et al gets kicked out THE MORE DEADLY DAMAGE WILL BE, THE MORE IT WILL COST TO REPAIR the Ballmerian "legacy".

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    One stop shop for the NSA

    Awesome

    1. dogged

      Re: One stop shop for the NSA

      Because nobody uses Google+ ?

  7. ScissorHands

    No support for IMAP

    Means I'm not touching it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Windows

      Skype

      Means I'm not touching it.

      There, fixed that for you...

  8. Charlie Clark Silver badge

    WebRTC

    This looks like an attempt to sabotage WebRTC by keeping chat proprietary.

    The use case is just bizarre. OTT communications like Skype work best as standalone apps on mobile devices - why is the call not from the seedy tattoo studio with the guy half-pissed? That is surely closer to reality!

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Spammers can now cold call you on Skype?

  10. Steen Hive
    FAIL

    An issue?

    Outlook will keep track of one's existing Skype account, storing the password and username – though given they're both run by Microsoft that's not really a security issue.

    You're taking the piss, right?

    1. P. Lee
      Facepalm

      Re: An issue?

      Yep. Though I suspect most people auto-login on skype.

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