Skype Now Runs In The Browser: Sans-WebRTC & Via Outlook.com

An tweet by Mark Gillett, CVP Skype & Lync at Microsoft, alerted me to the fact that Skype now runs in the browser via a small plugin.

How do you get going? Skype didn’t overly advertise to me to download the plugin. Actually I had a little time finding it. (probably looking too hard…) Below are the steps I followed:

Goto People and find a user that is online. Now click on Video Call.

You will be asked to agree to a TOU & Privacy Policy.

Now the plugin will start downloading.

The plugin is approximately 4MB. (as shown below)

Watch for the Security Warning and click Run

Done!

You can now start a call either from the People screen or the Communication pane.

The Skype plugin is a different Window. (from the browser)

Call in progress

Pop out IM during a call

You can also launch via the Communication pane.

Our Outlook

Some notes:

• Skype from Browser does not require the Skype app, just the plugin
• The plugin is around 4MB
• Incoming Calls popup much like Skype client
• I haven’t figured how to change audio/video devices (if you know, please comment)
• Make sure geo.gateway.messenger.live.com is not blocked on your network.
• Multiplatform support (source)
• Windows: Explorer 8+, Chrome 19, Firefox 12
• MAC: Chrome, Firefox

It looks like Skype is okay running in the browser. (albeit using a plug-in) Will there be this same openness to running “native” in a browser? Interesting road ahead.

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Skype FAQ: https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA12247/how-do-i-call-video-call-and-instant-message-my-outlook-com-contacts

Microsoft Lync Getting Web RTC: Plugin-Less Voice & Video in Browser “API Code Is Done”

Microsoft has been steadily marching towards the goal of bringing Voice/Video media into the browser without a plugin. In Feb 2013 they noted a roadmap of bringing voice/video/app sharing media to the Microsoft Lync UCWA API. The first part of UCWA arrived in March 2013 and focused on presence and IM. At Enterprise Connect 2013 Derek Burney, Corporate VP Microsoft Lync, noted that “…the Microsoft Lync Web App uses a plugin today. Microsoft will support webRTC as soon as the standard is ratified. This is a super exciting initiative.”

And now it appears that the code is done (but not yet released) for a Lync API that will bring plugin-less Voice/Video into the browser via HTML5. Tom Kisner, a UC Architect attending Microsoft TechEd 2013, noted the UCWA Overview presentation (June 4) demonstrated voice & video in the browser. The presenter noted “we are done [with API code] and currently scrubbing”. Kisner noted further that the API is using only HTML5 no plugin to bring voice/video into the browser.

The TechEd UCWA Deep Dive session (June 5, in progress as of this writing) is revealing more about the real time component of UCWA. Below is a diagram of media flows (submitted by Mattias Kressmark) and we will post more as information becomes available as this session (OUC-B405) is in progress as of this writing.

It should be noted that UCWA with real time media already is what powers the VOIP/video capabilities in the new Lync Mobile 2013 client. (According to Girija Bhagavatula during OUC-B405 TechEd2013 session, 3 out of the 5 Lync clients are already powered with UCWA)

One could presume that UCWA could be used to remove the need for a plugin for LWA (Lync Web App/ web-based meeting join experience). Lync currently does not have a stand-alone end user web client, but with this API developers or Microsoft could certainly create such a client.

Microsoft has not noted when the voice/video portion of the UCWA API will be released.

If you would like to learn more about Lync UCWA please take a look at the official
https://ucwa.lync.com/


Other Sources:
https://twitter.com/twkisner/status/342009358730792961
http://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2012/07/ucwa-api-in-lync-server-2013-opens.html
Derek Burney announcement: http://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2013/03/corporate-vp-microsoft-lync-derek.html

OUC-B405 TechEd2013
http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/NorthAmerica/2013/OUC-B405#fbid=nK7UeP1mZN-

Corporate VP Microsoft Lync Derek Burney: “Microsoft Will Support WebRTC As Soon As The Standard Is Ratified”

We have known for some time that Microsoft is doing work around webRTC (or a standard like it CU-RTC-WEB). Yesterday in a Q&A after his keynote at Enterprise Connect 2013 Derek Burney, Corporate VP Microsoft Lync and Microsoft Office Data, noted that Microsoft is excited about the prospects plugin-less media coming to Microsoft Lync. His comment:

“…the Microsoft Lync Web App uses a plugin today. Microsoft will support webRTC as soon as the standard is ratified. This is a super exciting initiative.”

This is of course not the first time Microsoft has mentioned Lync and webRTC. On Jan 17, 2013, Adalberto Foresti, Principal Program Manager Microsoft Open Technologies, on the interoperability@microsoft blog noted that Microsoft has a CU-RTC-Web prototype and that CU-RTC-WEB or even RTC-Web could be used with Microsoft Lyn'c’s new UCWA API:

“UCWA can be layered on the existing draft WebRTC API, however it would interoperate more easily with webRTC implementations if the standard adopted would follow a cleaner CU-RTC-Web proposal.”

Burney and Foresti both seem to have Microsoft Lync foremost in their minds as they think about webRTC (or Microsoft’s own initiative CU-RTC-Web). The two areas they have explicitly mentioned:

• Lync Web App (What is LWA? click here)
• Lync UCWA API (What is UCWA? click here)

Aswath Rao, communication strategist at EnThinnai and webRTC watcher, notes that “Microsoft Lync already conforms to webRTC framework so it merely needs to align with webRTC once it is ratified.” The Microsoft Lync Web App is already doing the kind of functionality webRTC promises and achieves voice & video via a plugin today.

Observers have noted that webRTC is not likely to show up on all browsers for some time. But panelists at Enterprise Connect 2013 have noted that the benefits of webRTC could be realized sooner via webRTC plug-ins for browsers that do not initially support webRTC natively. This intermediate step could provide the benefit of replacing many plugins for one plugin until the browsers support it natively.

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EC13 WebRtc Comment:
http://www.nojitter.com/post/240151301/microsoft-lync-takes-center-stage/
http://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2013/03/lync-news-out-of-enterprise-connect.html

UCWA and WebRTC:
http://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2013/03/lync-news-out-of-enterprise-connect.html

My WebRTC Research Web Links

 

Video that summarizes WebRTC

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebRTC

WebRTC for All Browsers:
http://code.google.com/p/webrtc4all/

SIPml5.org: HTML5 SIP Client:
http://sipml5.org/