Microsoft first started rolling out private beta invitations in March. Skype for Web allows users to place Skype messaging, audio and video calls through a web browser. It currently supports Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. There’s no word yet on when the beta label will be removed.
Linux users can of course use the native Skype program for the full experience, but having some functionality on the web is appreciated too. If you only want to use instant messaging anyway, the native program is not necessary.
Microsoft notes that there’s now limited Chromebook support, thanks to instant messaging working on the web version in Chrome OS. You won’t be able to make video or audio calls through Skype for Web on a Chromebook just yet, but Microsoft is planning to support this in future. The software giant is working with Google and others to create ORTC (Object Real-Time Communications) specifications to support a version of Skype without the need for any plugins or extensions. That’s not going to be immediate, so for now if you really want Skype in your browser then get ready to install a plug-in.
Microsoft also announced support for a ton of languages, with the full list below:
Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, English, German, Greek, Spanish, Estonian, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional.
To try Skype for Web on your Chromebook or Linux machine, simply click here.
Source : Skype