Tag: Skype

24/12/2020 | Skype Blogs | Holidays on Skype

The holidays are upon us! Skype has traditionally played a key role keeping people connected during the holiday season, and this year that’s more important than ever. To that end, Skype has gotten all dressed up with your favorite holiday emojis, expressions and new background designs to help make it a magical, memorable season. We like to call it the “Holidification” of Skype!

Express yourself in the spirit of the season with friends and family

There’s so much more to a conversation than speaking. A smile, a wink, a hand signal, the nod of the head, or even a quiet little chuckle: it deepens, enriches, and engages. Did the story your Uncle John just told make you sentimental? Pop a holiday tree emoji in the chat window. Talking with your cousin in London about whether reindeers really know how to fly? Give her Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer emoji with a blinking red nose! Get a sweet message from your Mom in the chat window? Respond to her comment with a holiday-themed reaction. Skype puts seasonal-themed emojis at your fingertips as you type!

“It’s all about creating more authentic connections,” says Sam Cundall, Animator and Principal Designer for Skype, Seattle, USA. “People should be able say something like, ‘wow, that sounds exactly like my friend Sam, he’s expressing himself the same way he would if he were in front of me.’ That’s the legacy of Skype’s quirkiness and humor: our emojis and expressions help make it as authentic as possible.”

17/06/2020 | Team Skype | Background Replace

Simple, easy to use, Background Replace, on Skype.

Skype knows that video is essential for keeping connected to your family and friends as well as your work. So, we wanted to elevate your experience by adding the ability to replace your background. This way you can keep doing what you love but with that extra bit of privacy you might need.

What is Background Replace?

During a video call, you may not want your family and friends or even your co-workers to see your home environment. We created Background Replace to give you that extra bit of privacy to hide those messy bedrooms, kids running around in the kitchen or the untidy bookcases in your room. You have the option to choose any of your own images to replace your background, like a fun vacation snap in sunny Greece or keep it professional and have a basic blur.

Want to see Background Replace in action?

Here is Valentina Karellas; Fashion Designer, Maker and regular yogi; her studio is usually a huge creative mess with all her samples and machines in the background. She may not always want others to see her messy studio and unreleased designs, so when zenning out in a live group yoga class or on a video chat, sometimes she chooses to use the Background Replace to cover up her future designs.

How does it work in the Skype app?

When the focus belongs on you and not your room, you can blur or customize your background during a video call in Skype. The option to choose a background effect is available in Skype on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

How do I blur or customize my background during a video call in Skype?

1. 1. During a call, hover over the video button or click the More menu.

2. 2. Click Choose background effect.

3. 3. You can Blur the room you’re in currently, choose an image you previously added, or Add a new image to customize your background effect.

How do I blur or customize my background for *all* video calls in Skype?

1. 1. Click your profile picture.

2. 2. Click Settings then click Audio & Video.

3. 3. Under Choose background effect, you can Blur the room you’re in currently, choose an image you previously added, or Add a new image to customize your background effect.

Pro Tip: For best results, use images in landscape orientation and the custom image needs to be saved locally on your desktop. Skype for Windows 10 (versions 14) supports blur background only.

Why don’t I see the option to blur or customize my video background?

To blur your background in Skype, your computer processor needs to support Advanced Vector Extensions 2 (AVX2). For more information, check with your computer manufacturer.

We recently introduced several features that help you boost your productivity when sending messages in Skype* and enrich your overall chat experience. New features include draft messages, the ability to bookmark messages and preview media and files before sending, as well as a new approach to display multiple photos or videos. We also launched split window, so you never mix up conversations again!

Message drafts

Now you’ll never forget about messages that didn’t get sent. Any message that you typed, but didn’t send, is saved in the corresponding conversation and marked with the [draft] tag—so you can easily recognize, finish, and send it later. Messages saved as drafts are even available when you leave and come back to your Skype app.

Message bookmarks

You can now bookmark any message in Skype—whether it’s work related or family photos—and come back to it with one click or tap anytime! Just right click or long press the message and click or tap Add bookmark. The message is added to the Bookmarks screen and is saved with your other bookmarked messages.

Preview media and files before sending

You can now preview photos, videos, and files that you’ve selected to share before sending. Once you select media and files to share, they’re displayed in the message panel, so you can ensure they’re the ones you want to share with your contact. You can also remove ones added by mistake or add new ones right from the panel. In addition, should you want to write an explanation or description for what you’re sending, you can add a message that will be sent along with the files.

New approach for displaying multiple photos or videos sent at once

If you want to share a bunch of photos with your friends or family after great vacation or nice event—just do it and Skype will make sure they’re nicely presented in a conversation. You’ll see a nice album in the chat history with all the photos combined. And you can see each one by navigating and clicking between the photos or videos in an album.

Never mix up conversations in Skype again with split window

A few months back, we announced the launch of split window for Windows 10, which lets you put your contact list in one window, and each conversation you open in separate windows. We’re pleased to say that this feature is now available for all versions of Windows, Mac, and Linux on the latest version of Skype.* To learn more about how to use the split window view, visit our FAQs.

Let us know what you think

At Skype we’re driven by the opportunity to connect our global community of hundreds of millions, empowering them to feel closer and achieve more together. As we pursue these goals, we’re always looking for new ways to enhance the experience and improve quality and reliability. We listen to your feedback and are wholly committed to improving the Skype experience based on what you tell us. We’re passionate about bringing you closer to the people in your life—so if we can do that better, please let us know.

*These new features are available on the latest version of Skype across all platforms, except for split window, which is currently only available on desktop.

Skype has always been the easiest way to share your screen with others, and now we’re taking one of our most popular features on the go. Starting today, we’re launching screen sharing on Android and iOS—along with multiple improvements to our mobile calling experience.

Whether you have a last-minute meeting on the go, or your dad doesn’t know how to use his phone—screen sharing on Android and iOS lets you get it done from anywhere. Maybe you want to shop online with your best friends, or you need to collaborate with someone on the other side of the world from the comfort of your couch—no need to drag out the laptop! Simply start a Skype call, tap the brand new “…” menu, and start sharing your screen.

Speaking of brand new, Skype’s mobile calling redesign streamlines and simplifies the video call. A single tap will dismiss the call controls and let you fully experience the most essential Skype feature—a video call without any obstructions. Want to make it even cleaner? Try a double tap to remove it all. A single tap brings all the controls back, with everything you need the most at the front and center.

We added everything else into the newly redesigned “…” menu. This new menu allows you to access all our useful features, like screen sharing, call recording, and subtitles—all while keeping your video call simple and clutter free.

We’re proud to release these updates to our mobile calling experience, enabling everyone to get more done, from anywhere. Screen sharing on mobile is available on the latest version of Skype on Android and iOS devices running iOS 12 and up.

To learn more about screen sharing, and our new mobile redesign, read our support article. We also love to hear from you on the Skype Community, where millions of Skype users have registered to share their expertise, feedback, and Skype stories.

We’ve all had those moments: You’re about to video call your parents and your laundry is all over the place, or you’re about to have a meeting with a potential investor and your business plan is on a whiteboard behind you, or you’re being interviewed on live television and your adorable child comes marching into the room. There are plenty of life’s moments that can get in the way of you being the focus in every video call—and that’s why we’re introducing background blur in Skype video calls.

Background blur in Skype is similar to background blur in Microsoft Teams. It takes the stress out of turning on your video and puts the focus where it belongs—on you! With a simple toggle, right-click, or even through your Skype settings, your background will be instantly and subtly blurred, leaving just you as the only focal point.*

Background blur in Skype and Teams uses artificial intelligence (AI)—trained in human form detection—to keep you in focus during your call. This technology is also trained to detect your hair, hands, and arms, making a call with background blur just as relaxed and easy as a regular video call.

Background blur is available on most desktops and laptops with the latest version of Skype. For more questions about background blur in Skype, read our support article. We also love to hear from you on the Skype Community, where millions of Skype users have registered to share their expertise, feedback, and Skype stories.

*We do our best to make sure that your background is always blurred, but we cannot guarantee that your background will always be blurred.

At Skype, our mission has always been to bring people together—to make it easier for friends and families to be there for one another—wherever they may be. With that in mind, we’re investing in new ways for you to connect in the most human way possible—by simply using your voice.

Beginning today, Skype calling is available on Amazon Alexa devices—just in time for the holidays. With Skype on your Alexa-enabled device, you can connect hands-free with family and friends around the world just by saying, “Alexa, call Mom on Skype.” In addition to Skype audio and video calling, we’re providing the ability for Alexa customers to call most landlines and mobile numbers internationally using Skype to Phone. To celebrate the availability of Skype calling with Alexa, Skype is offering 200 free minutes of Skype to Phone calling to 34 countries (terms apply).

With Skype and Alexa, you can now connect with your friends and family around the world completely hands-free. Use Alexa-enabled devices like the Echo Dot to make hands-free Skype voice calls wherever Alexa and Skype are available, or place high-fidelity Skype video calls from the Echo Show and Echo Spot directly to Skype on computers and mobile devices.

To get started, simply link Skype with your Alexa account by following the instructions below.

After doing this once, you can start using your voice any time you need to make a call. Detailed instructions can be found on our feature page.

Skype calling on Alexa is available now in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, India, Australia, and New Zealand with support for other countries rolling out soon. And for the best Skype calling and video experience, update to Skype version 8.34 or later.

At Skype, we always appreciate your feedback, visit the Skype.com feature page for more details on compatible devices, how to link your Alexa account, and what new capabilities are supported. Please continue to follow our blog posts for more news and announcements.

Today’s post was written by Gaurav Sareen, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft.

We are excited to bring Skype calling to Alexa devices, so users can easily communicate with their friends and family from their Echo devices, simply using voice.

Users can make outgoing Skype voice and video calls, accept incoming Skype calls, and even make SkypeOut calls to most phone numbers around the world. For example, simply say, “Alexa, call Jimmy on Skype,” or if Jimmy is calling you on Skype, say, “Alexa, answer.”

Alexa users will soon be able to take advantage of the high-quality Skype network across the globe to easily connect with others from any device type such as PC, mobile phone, and Xbox.

This is the next step in the collaboration between Microsoft and Amazon to deliver delightful customer experiences through voice, which began with joining Cortana and Alexa. Since then, we’ve added Alexa integration on Xbox and are continuing to work together to bring the best of Skype and Alexa together to enable intelligent communications for our users.

We’re excited to continue bringing the best of Microsoft and Amazon together.

Skype calling on Alexa will begin rolling out later this year. Feel free to share your feedback and get the latest news and tips by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Also, please join us in the Skype Community.