Hasta La Gadget!

Last year a preview version of Skype integration into Outlook.com was rolled out to users in select markets. What it allows users to do is that they can tap into Skype without actually having to leave their Outlook inbox, this eliminates the need for launching the standalone Skype app when you need to make a call, the magic happens within the inbox itself. Today the Skype team announced that Skype for Outlook.com is now being rolled out to all users across the globe, and that some improvements have also been made to further enhance the user experience.

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Skype For Outlook.com Goes Global original content from Ubergizmo.

Microsoft has announced today that Outlook.com IMAP support has finally been added to the company’s popular email service. IMAP and OAuth both are now immediately available for Outlook.com. The email service already supports Exchange ActiveSync, a protocol that is used by majority of the smartphones and tablets available today which run on Android, iOS and Windows Phone. Now with IMAP support, devices and apps that don’t support Exachange ActiveSync will be able to tap into Outlook.com email accounts.

IMAP is an older protocol that is still widely supported on feature phones and various email clients. Microsoft says that it has heard users’ feedback about the need for IMAP support and its clear to them that this is important, hence the update. Apart from offering connectivity to a wide variety of devices, IMAP also allow developers to build apps and services that offer “value-added scenarios” apart from Outlook.com email. Services such as TripIt, Sift, Slice, OtherInbox and Context.IO have already capitalized on Outlook.com IMAP support, they’re rolling out updates for their apps today. The IMAP support announcement was initially made during an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, Microsoft then followed up with a complete blog post with all of the details.

Outlook.com IMAP Support Finally Added original content from Ubergizmo.

Americans waiting for the Skype for Outlook.com preview can stop twiddling their thumbs — the test release is now available in the US, complementing existing access in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany and the UK. As in other countries, stateside users with merged Outlook.com and Skype accounts just have to install a plugin for Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer to make calls while checking email. Those in other regions will have to sit tight, however; Microsoft only promises worldwide access to Skype for Outlook.com sometime in the “near future.”

Filed under: Internet, Microsoft

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Source: Outlook Blog

Microsoft sits between a rock and a hard place when it comes to privacy — it can’t reveal more about FISA requests, but it’s also accused of assisting with NSA eavesdropping. The company is trying to settle both matters today, starting with a call on the US Attorney General for help. Microsoft hasn’t had a response to its June 19th request to publish aggregate security request data, and it wants the Attorney General to directly intervene by legalizing these disclosures. The government official hasn’t publicly acknowledged the request so far, although we weren’t expecting an immediate answer.

At the same time, Microsoft is expanding its denials of The Guardian‘s recent reporting that it facilitates large-scale NSA snooping. Along with insisting once more that it only offers specific information in response to legal requests, the firm claims that its supposedly eavesdrop-friendly actions were innocuous. Microsoft was only moving Skype nodes in-house rather than simplifying the NSA’s access to audio and video chats, for example. It’s doubtful that the public position will completely reassure doubters given the veils of secrecy surrounding the NSA and its collaborators, but the crew in Redmond at least has a full statement on record.

Filed under: Storage, Internet, Software, Microsoft

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Source: Microsoft on the Issues

Hotmail and Outlook.com have long supported linked email accounts for organizing messages. However, Microsoft now sees connected accounts as tempting targets for hackers — so tempting, in fact, that the company is severing those links as a safety measure. Within the next two months, Outlook.com will move to using its alias system as the only way to handle multiple accounts. Users will have options to forward email and send messages from other addresses, but they won’t get to control multiple accounts through one sign-in. Microsoft will start unlinking accounts in late July, so those who’d like a more orderly transition to the safer (if less convenient) approach will want to act quickly.

Filed under: Internet, Microsoft

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Source: Outlook Blog