Microsoft Edge web browser gets plugin-free Skype, and that is great news for Linux users

As a Linux user, I have stopped using Skype recently. What was once a great experience on Ubuntu, Fedora, and other such operating systems, has been seemingly abandoned by Microsoft. Skype on Linux is barely usable nowadays, as the client has not seen an update in quite a while. This is rather tragic, as it is otherwise a great service on other platforms, such as Android, iOS, and of course, Windows.
 
Users of Windows 10 that use the Edge web browser are getting a cool update this month, as Microsoft is rolling out plugin-free Skype support. While that is cool, the really intriguing aspect is the potential for Linux users, as it should lead to similar functionality on browsers like Google Chrome and Firefox.
 
"Today, we're excited to announce that Skype for Web, Outlook.com, Office Online and OneDrive now support real-time, plugin free voice, video and group video calling on Microsoft's Edge browser, using the ORTC media engine that was recently embedded in Microsoft Edge", says The Skype Team.
 
The team further says, "today's launch is exciting news and is the first step towards fulfilling the commitment we've made to support WebRTC in Skype and Skype for Business. But we want to bring seamless calling to everyone, not just people using Microsoft Edge. To make this a reality, we will continue to work on enabling audio and video interoperability with Chrome and Firefox browsers, once they both support the H.264 video codec".
 
There you have it folks, not only is Microsoft focusing on its own Edge web browser, but Firefox and Chrome too. Since both of those browsers are available for Linux, it could once again make Skype a valid option for users of operating systems based on the open source kernel. Maybe this is why Microsoft has not been focusing on the Skype client for Linux.
 
Do you use the Edge browser? Are you a Linux user that leverages Skype? Tell me what you think of this news in the comments.
 
Photo credit: Viachaslau Kraskouski / Shutterstock
 
~ Brian Fagioli