Microsoft has officially announced its proposal to bring plugin-free real time video/audio chatting to web browsers today. They decided to contribute to W3C WebRTC working group, who is working on a universal API for voice/video chat between web browsers. Microsoft’s contribution is labeled as “Customizable, Ubiquitous Real Time Communication over the Web,” or CU-RTC-Web.
Microsoft felt that WebRTC doesn’t meet all of its demands and believes its proposal will solve problems such as no ubiquitous deployability, which doesn’t allow inoperability. CU-RTC-Web,on the other hand, will add real-time, peer-to-peer transport layer, as well as build on the existing W3C getUserMedia API. Microsoft’s proposal confirms its commitment to Skype’s future. This type of technology would help propel Skype forward past other methods of video/audio chat since one would only need to open a browser page instead of requiring a traditional application or plug-in. The technology would also allow Skype users to communicate with friends on Google Talk or other methods of communication. Google and Mozilla are both working on their own similar projects.
Microsoft plans on implementing Skype into its new Outlook.com(formerly Hotmail). Currently, it would require a plug-in to work, but with Microsoft’s new CU-RTC-Web proposal, it wouldn’t. We’ll keep you updated on the status of Microsoft’s proposal as more info becomes available. Let us know what you think of the proposal in the comments section below.