Toronto Zoo to host the first Skype virtual field trip with students in Port Alberni, B.C.

To celebrate Canada's 150th birthday, Microsoft is partnering with heritage sites and points of interest including the Toronto Zoo to give Canadian students the opportunity to learn more about their country – without leaving their classroom – via Skype virtual field trips.

On Monday, January 23, 2017 join Janet Kennedy, President of Microsoft Canada and Robin Hale, Chief Operating Officer at the Toronto Zoo as they connect with students from Port Alberni, B.C. – more than 4,000 kilometers away to give a behind-the-scenes tour of the Toronto Zoo's Great Lakes Program.  

Click to read more ...

You can now use Skype without an account

Microsoft is making it easier for you to talk to the friend of yours who has been begging you to get on Skype. The app now lets you quickly chat or make voice or video calls without needing a Skype account. Just head to Skype.com (you need to use a web browser on a computer) and select start a conversation and add your name to sign-in and use the app as a guest. You’ll then get be given a unique conversation link you can share with a person or a group. Once they click that link, they’ll be able to join immediately. They can even join as guest if they’re using Skype for Web.

Guests have access to all the features free Skype accounts have, such as screen sharing and file sharing. Group chats are also made available to you. These conversations will be available for 24 hours and if you need to maintain access to the log, you’ll need to sign up for a free account.

Skype on iOS now lets you make calls using Siri

Taking further advantage of iOS 10, Microsoft updated its consumer version of Skype for the iPhone and the iPad. The apps get deeper integration with Siri and now lets you place Skype calls using Apple’s voice assistant without needing to launch Skype first. Incoming Skype calls will also now appear on your screen with an interface that looks almost identical to regular phone calls. The latest iOS version also lets you store Skype details for your contacts on the service right into the contacts app of the operating system. For those using Skype for Business, Microsoft plans to bring the feature in next month.

Source: The Verge

Microsoft Skype to drop older versions of mobile and Mac OSes

If you’re using a non-Windows 10 Mobile client as well as older Android, Mac OS, and iOS devices, you’ll have to say goodbye to access to Skype. The messaging service is moving from a “peer-to-peer to a modern, mobile-friendly cloud architecture” and will make the changes starting October. Those who will have access to Skype include Android 4.03 and later, Mac OS X clients using 10.10 Yosemite or later, and iOS 8 and later. Microsoft still plans to support older Windows desktops though (even XP and Vista).

This change, according to Microsoft’s Gurdeep Pall, is so the Skype team can focus on the platforms most of their users access Skype from and it’ll help ease the introduction of the planned changes as well. The one issue Microsoft might run into, according to Digital Trends, is that only 10 percent of its mobile base uses Windows 10 Mobile compared to the 78 percent that use Windows Phone 8.1. They got the figure from AdDuplex.