You'd think that with Skype firmly under Microsoft's control, the service would roll out new features to Windows first. Bizarrely, though, that's not the case. Skype's video voicemail feature, which previously soft launched on Android, iOS and OS X, is now coming to Windows 7 and up (a Windows 8 version should be forthcoming), hitting the company's end of April promise. The feature, still labeled a preview, works exactly as advertised, letting users record short video clips that can be sent to and viewed by any contact regardless of their OS. There's one caveat though: you'll need to install Skype 6.5 beta for Windows desktop and Flash to test it out. It's just a risk your vainglorious self will have to take for modernity.
Filed under: Desktops, Microsoft
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Source: Skype
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Considering Microsoft's efforts to rebrand, redesign and rebuild its Windows platform, it's no surprise to hear the company is tweaking the visual aesthetics of its other brands, too. Speaking at Design Day 2013, Wolff Olins creative director Todd Simmons and Windows Phone design studio manager Albert Shum talked about the challenges of rebranding a company like Microsoft. "We're still trying to figure out how to put a consumer face on this brand, as an ecosystem," Simmons said, explaining how the team wanted to get away from the idea of Microsoft being a top-down, monolithic entity. The discussion touched on the creation of the Windows 8 logo, but also shed light on efforts to revamp other Microsoft brands. "Other brands are coming along too," Simmons explained, teasing the audience with a pair of sketches. "Bing, Skype, Yammer, Xbox -- everything is under development." With Microsoft's next generation gaming hardware lurking just around the corner, the time for a new logo might just be nigh. Read on to see the pair's full 45-minute presentation for yourself.
Filed under: Misc, Microsoft
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Via: Verge, Travis Lowdermilk (Twitter)
Source: Vimeo, Design Day 2013
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