Windows 10: New accessibility improvements in Skype 8.0

Brink · Nov 5, 2018

Skype is designed to keep you connected to the people who matter the most and help you do the work you need to do. We take your feedback very seriously and are grateful to our active accessibility community who point us to areas of improvement to live up to our vision. Building on the work we announced earlier this year, we’ve been listening to your feedback and have continued to work to make the latest version of Skype (version 8.0) even more accessible.

Based off your suggestion to make the transition to the new version easier, we created the Accessibility support for Skype page with details on how to easily use a screen reader to move from Skype version 6 or 7 to Skype version 8.0. The page also demonstrates keyboard shortcuts for Skype version 8.0, as well as how to complete key scenarios in Skype with a screen reader, including chat, adding expressions, and navigating a profile.

In addition, since our last update on accessibility, we made a few more improvements to the latest version of Skype, including:

Focus assist, which announces when you receive an incoming call for keyboard only and screen reader users.

Screen reader announcements from users in the active call list.

Navigational focus announcements within the contact list and settings to improve flow.

Announcing the name, content, and actions of a pop up dialog.

New message announcements when users are in another chat.

Smoother navigation that takes a more natural left-to-right and top-to-bottom path.

Displaying additional information when sending and receiving messages. For example, Skype now announces when messages are sent and when messages you attempt to send have failed.

We are committed to continually improving our software and services to meet the needs of all our customers. Please share your thoughts and ideas via the Microsoft Accessibility UserVoice or contact the Disability Answer Desk for real-time support via phone, chat, or ASL videophone—your feedback is always appreciated. If you are an early adopter—and comfortable with early preview releases—please consider joining the Skype Insider community.
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Source: New accessibility improvements in Skype 8.0 | Skype Blogs

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Brink · Nov 5, 2018

New accessibility improvements now available for Skype

A few months ago, we provided an update on our continued commitment to making Skype accessible. We are very grateful for the feedback you’ve given us—it continues to be an essential and impactful part of our work. We listened and made changes to make Skype more accessible for everyone.

Below are just some of the recent accessibility improvements available in Skype version 8:

Improved navigation now makes the app easier to use. Navigation is smoother and takes a more natural left-to-right and top-to-bottom path.

Additional information about messages that are sent and received is now displayed. For example, we now announce when messages are sent and when messages you attempt to send have failed.

A number of new keyboard shortcuts make it easier to start a chat, answer a call, and navigate within Skype. Visit Skype support for a full list of shortcuts.

Accessibility functionality was rolled out across all platforms. Skype version 8 is available on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and most recently iPad.

If you haven’t already done so, we encourage you to upgrade now—only Skype version 8 will be available after September 1, 2018.

We continually work to improve our technology to ensure it is accessible and empowers every person and every organization to achieve more. Please share your comments and feedback via Microsoft Accessibility UserVoice or contact the Disability Answer Desk for real-time support via phone, chat, or ASL videophone. If you are an early adopter and would like to participate in early preview releases, please consider joining the Skype Insider Community.
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Source: New accessibility improvements now available for Skype | Skype Blogs

Brink · Nov 5, 2018

Improving Skype accessibility

Across Microsoft, we are working to make technology more accessible and empower people to achieve more. We take feedback very seriously and are grateful to our active accessibility community who point us to areas of improvement. Following recent updates to Skype, your comments helped direct us to the areas of our new versions where change was most needed and could be most impactful. We have been working continuously since that time to understand the needs of our customers and have recently issued updates across platforms containing several improvements to address those issues. Accessibility is a journey and there are more fixes to come and we actively want and encourage feedback so we can deliver the right experience that empowers all our customers.

At Skype, and across the company, accessibility is a priority. We know that technology can play an important role in creating a more accessible and inclusive world. We are committed to continually improving our software and services to meet the needs of all our customers.

For the next updates to Skype, we are focusing on Mac, iOS, Windows Desktop, and Android. Although there are still more fixes and improvements to come, the Skype team has been focusing on the following areas: improving visible keyboard focus, eliminating cases where keyboard focus moves to non-actionable controls, ensuring keyboard focus moves back to the controls that opened a dialog or menu after the dialog or menu was closed, improving the accessible names and labels of controls, and improving the control types used.

Please do share thoughts and ideas via the Microsoft Accessibility UserVoice or contact the Disability Answer Deskfor real-time support via phone, chat, or ASL videophone. If you are an early adopter, and comfortable with early preview releases, please consider joining the Skype Insider community. Your feedback is invaluable to these efforts—it’s not just important, it’s essential!
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Source: Improving Skype accessibility | Skype Blogs

malware · Nov 5, 2018

New Skype Version Released

Although, not one of my favourite programs, Skype is considered a high priority software application. The latest 3.5.0.239 release, is now available for download and it fixes some major bugs:

bugfix: Links with invalid % encodings were executed

bugfix: Data execution protection may have crashed Skype

bugfix: Pressing escape did not end call

Security improvements to ensure it is no longer possible to shut down Skype from a web page

DOWNLOAD

Source: Skype

Windows 10: New accessibility improvements in Skype 8.0

New accessibility improvements in Skype 8.0

New accessibility improvements in Skype 8.0

New accessibility improvements in Skype 8.0

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