Microsoft claims Outlook.com’s Dark Mode is coming ‘very soon’

The wait for Microsoft to bring Dark Mode into Outlook.com might be over soon. According to one team member working on the email client, this feature will be coming “very soon.” Microsoft first teased this for Halloween last year and it seems the company has been working on it these past few months. The delay is supposedly because of Microsoft’s “insistence that we deliver the best Dark Mode of any leading email client (you’ll understand when you see it, I guarantee).” The one they previewed at Halloween was said to be a prototype and still needed a lot of work before it was ready for a full release. Microsoft claims they have redesigned the code and colors “multiple times” and that they’re now in the final stretch of finishing this new theme.

Microsoft's Outlook.com in now in public beta

Microsoft has released their new Outlook.com web-based email and scheduling cloud app as a public beta. This is the company's opt-in program that lets users get early access to new features on the web. Think of it as a temporary Insider Preview program for Outlook.com.

“Today we’re launching the Outlook.com beta, an opt-in web experience where you can try out our newest product innovations,” Microsoft explains. “Recent advances in programming, design, and artificial intelligence have enabled our engineers and designers to improve the Outlook.com web experience in several areas, and we’re eager to get your feedback.”

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Microsoft to take out Facebook and Google chat from Outlook.com

Microsoft is encouraging its users to use Skype more on Outlook.com. The company sent out emails to Outlook users that they plan to remove Facebook and Google chat integration in the site. They won’t specify why they took out Facebook chat. But for Google Talk they said it was “due to Google’s decision to discontinue the chat protocol used by the Google Talk platform.”

If you’re worried about your Facebook and Google contacts synced with the webmail service, you don’t have to be. Microsoft said that the feature won’t be affected by the discontinuation of the chat options.

Source: The Verge

Skype calling on Outlook.com available for North America and UK users

Great news for Outlook.com and Skype users in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, and France: you now have the ability to make Skype video calls from Outlook. Your Skype contacts are going to appear grouped within your Outlook contact list. You just need to install a plugin before you can video call someone. The browsers supported include Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox. 

Source: Outlook Blog