Skype redesign arrives on the desktop for Windows 10 Insiders

Microsoft insiders are getting their first distaste of the future of Skype for desktop, following its hideous mobile relaunch earlier in the summer.
 
Members of the Windows 10 Insider Program are waking up to the nausea and retinal burns associated with the company's decision to change its venerable communication platform to be more like one that is currently haemorrhaging money.
 
As mobile users will know, the new Skype is designed to put the "fun" back into "fundamentally flawed" with a white and luminous colour scheme and a new wavy line motif that adds extra… erm… waviness.
 
There are some new features like inline image sharing, GIF support and one thing we quite like - @ support - so you can flag someone specifically in a group chat.
 
Additionally, there's a single repository for all shared pictures and videos so you can find them again easily.
 
This all comes in spite of the fact that the mobile rollout has been almost universally slagged off by everyone using it for its garish design, buggy interface and missing features, some of which, such as Android sharing, have since been restored.
 
The biggest problem has been less clarity over who is online and who isn't and this is definitely being rectified, though the question remains as to how on earth Microsoft didn't realise before they released it.
 
There's no specific timescale as to when this will be rolled out to the rest of us, but we're expecting it will probably be ahead of the Autumn Creators' Update to Windows 10.
 
One thing in Skype's favour is that the separate Skype for Business app will keep the less flashy design and functionality that it has had all along, but will remain a single protocol with the main Skype offering.
 
Compare this to Google, who rolled out a half-arsed web interface for its new Allo app this week, which is entirely separate to its predecessor Hangouts, its video calling app Duo and its conference app Hangouts Meet. 

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