Skype Outlook.com Integration Goes Global With Added Mac Support

Microsoft has baked Skype support into Outlook.com, extending last year's preview of the VoIP integration into a worldwide launch, and adding HD support for PC users along the way. Outlook.com users now get Skype in a sidebar in the browser, with the ability to start a video call or a text-based chat with a click from the contacts list.

Microsoft has also released a new plugin to enable Skype for Outlook.com in Apple's Safari browser, broadening support for different users.

As for HD video support, that's currently limited to PC users, and requires both participants in the call to be using HD-capable versions of Skype, whether that's the Outlook.com plugin or the standalone app. Microsoft and the Skype team have also polished out the bug some users were seeing, where incoming calls would keep ringing even after you answered them.

Skype began tests of the plugin back in August 2013, following Gmail in trying to make the Outlook.com inbox a centralized hub for communications whether they be text, audio, or video based.

The feature built on Outlook.com's existing integration with social networks like Facebook and Twitter.