Skype for Web Beta Is Now Available to US and UK users
If you're someone who uses Skype rarely, then installing the application can seem like a huge time waster, but a better solution is inching closer and closer for all of us. After being initially launched as a closed beta in the fall of 2014, Microsoft decided to move forward and make the beta version of Skype for Web generally available to everyone in the US and the UK. Broadly speaking, the Web version has almost the same functionality as the application itself, allowing users to partake in voice and video calls, or chat (via text) with their buddies.
However, after you've taken a closer look you will see that there are several disadvantages in using the browser version. For starters, the application requires a plug-in to do its thing, so you won't be able to use it on Chromebooks. Additionally, you don't have as many options for managing and organizing your contacts as you do in the full app and you can't change your mood. Hopefully, all of these things will be fixed by the time the service goes out of Beta, but even if they won't, Skype's browser version would still be a good solution for most people. Lastly, Skype for Web is not compatible with Windows 10's Edge Browser so if you're an early adapter, you will have to wait a little while longer.
A drawback that most likely will not get combed out is that by using the service you automatically agree to use tracking cookies which Microsoft will use for "analytics, personalized content, and ads". While it may not be such a big deal as probably most of the websites out there are already monitoring you, it's still something worth mentioning.
