You know that Outlook is mostly an email service, which also supports chats. You can click on the chat icon present on the web page to display available contacts and options to start a video or audio call.
If you check the website right now, you should see options to connect with your Facebook friends as well as your contacts on Google services, as the website still allows communication with these contacts.
But Microsoft recently announced in an email that it will discontinue support for Facebook Chat and Google Chat through itsOutlook.com.
The email appears to have only been sent to Outlook.com users who use either Facebook Chat or Google Chat through Outlook.com. The reason for the removal of Google Chat is the withdrawal of Google Talk by Google, which is trying to establish the Hangouts service.
Hangouts, unlike Google Talk, does not use the XMPP protocol, and Microsoft points out that this change will affect conversations but not Google or Facebook contacts added to Outlook.com or another Microsoft account.
The company recommends using Skype on Outlook.com, stating that it "provides a better user experience for video and audio calls," ZDNet reports.
We should see the change in the coming weeks, which will be applied to all Outlook.com users.
Microsoft's decision probably wants to influence some Outlook.com users to switch to its own service to chat with their selected contacts.
Source: secnews.gr
