Microsoft recently announced that the Skype for Web beta is available for anyone in the US or UK to try. A Web-based version of Skype could be useful for anyone who needs to quickly make a voice or video call from a borrowed PC, a new one fresh out of the box, or any other computer that doesn’t have the full Skype software already installed and doesn’t want to take the time go through the download and installation process. Essentially, this release should appeal to anyone who uses the service on even a casual basis. Unfortunately, it doesn’t even work right in Windows 10’s own browser — and that OS is coming out in less than two months.
You can try out Skype for Web beta by pointing your browser at https://web.skype.com. Whether you can actually use it, though, depends on a combination of the version of Windows you run and the Web browser you use. If you are running the current generation Windows 8.1, then the answer is yes for both Microsoft’s own Internet Explorer browser as well as Google’s Chrome. Chrome needs to have the Skype Calling extension installed before you can make voice or video calls using Skype for Web. You will be prompted to install the extension the first time you try it.
However, if you’re running Windows 10 Insider Preview on your PC or tablet, you may be in for a surprise. Skype for Web doesn’t work with Microsoft’s own Edge browser, which will be the standard in Windows 10. (Edge is currently named Project Spartan if you are running the Insider Preview.) If you visit the Skype for Web page, you will see a warning that it works best using Internet Explorer and suggests you use it instead. If you elect to “Keep going in Project Spartan,” you’ll find yourself faced with an attempt to install the Chrome extension which, of course, doesn’t work wit Project Spartan (Edge).
It gets better. If you have Skype for Web attempt to start Internet Explorer in Windows 10 Insider Preview, you may find what I found: Internet Explorer is not installed on the computer. So, what should you do if you want to try Skype for Web on a PC running Windows 10 Insider Preview? Why, install Chrome! That’s right, I needed to use Google Chrome to try Microsoft’s Skype for Web beta on my x86-based tablet running Windows 10 Insider Preview.
And, if you have an aging Surface RT like I do lying around, if you turn it on, you will find that Skype for Web beta renders without complaint in RT’s version of Internet Explorer. However, neither voice nor video calling options are available in this browser. Those options are greyed out. If you try to call a Surface RT with Skype for Web running in its version of Internet Explorer, you won’t even be notified that someone is trying to call you. You can, however, exchange text messages.
Native Skype clients are, of course, available for all of these versions of Windows. However, if you want to avoid the hassle of installing software and then dealing with periodic downloads for updates, a Web-based Skype solution is very appealing. But with Windows 10 and its new Edge browser set to launch in less that two months, it’s more than a little curious to see this kind of Web incompatibility at this late stage of Microsoft’s beta releases.
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