Web User - UK (2020-01-22)

ChatwithSkypecontactswithoutusing

thedesktopprogramorWindowsapp

You don’t need to use your phone to send
and receive WhatsApp messages

44 22 Jan - 4 Feb 2020

CHATONWHATSAPPAND
MESSENGER
WhatsApp is a hugely popular
messaging tool owned by Facebook.
Although it’s mostly found on iPhones
and Android devices, you can download
the software for Windows and Mac,
making it easy to save copies of photos
and videos to your desktop. However, if
you don’t want to install it, there’s a web
version available at web.whatsapp
.com. To use it, go to the website in your
desktop browser, open WhatsApp on
your mobile device, open Menu or
Settings and select WhatsApp Web.
Point your phone’s camera at the QR
code on the website to connect your
WhatsApp account, so you can use it
just as you would the app.
Facebook Messenger also has a
dedicated chat service (separate from
the main Facebook site) that you can
access at messenger.com. This displays
a list of your friends and past chats on
the left hand side, the currently selected
conversation in the centre, and details
about the person you’re chatting with –
including previously shared photos – on

theright.Youcansearchthrougha

conversation,changethethemeand

start(oraccept)a voiceorvideocall.

Softwareyounolongerneed:

WhatsApp,Messenger

SKYPE WITH FRIENDS IN

YOUR BROWSER

Although there are lots of

alternatives available these

days, Skype remains one of

the most popular services for

long-distance video chats.

Microsoft’s service is available

for all the major platforms

and you can also use

it on the web through Skype

Online (bit.ly/skype493). If

you use the same Microsoft

account for Skype as you do

for Windows 10, you should be logged

in automatically – just click the ‘Chat

now’ button to get started. You need to

be using either Chrome or Edge.

The web version gives you the full

Skype experience and you can view

your contacts, enable notifications,

switch between dark and light modes,

andchangethecolourtheme.

Software you no longer need:

Skype

Communication

providesaccesstoallthetoolsandlets
youeditandstorefilesforuptoseven
days.Theonlyrestrictionis a maximum
uploadlimitof500MBperfile,which
shouldn’taffectmostpeople.

Softwareyounolongerneed:

AdobeCreativeSuite

STREAM MUSIC IN YOUR
BROWSER
If you use Spotify (either as a free user
or a paying subscriber), you don’t need
to download the desktop program to
listen to music because the streaming

serviceoffersanonlineversion.Spotify

Web Player (open.spotify.com) gives

you access to your library and playlists,

and – as ever – lets you search for and

play any songs and podcasts that you

feel like listening to.

At the end of 2019, Apple launched

a beta web player for its streaming

service, Apple Music (bit.ly/applem493).

Without an account, you can only

preview content but, if you sign up, you

can listen to full songs, including your

own music and playlists, and stream

radio stations such as Apple’s own

Beats 1. You can also add songs and

albumsthroughtheservice.

Software you no longer need:

Spotify, iTunes

TherearelotsofwaystorunoldversionsofWindowsinyourbrowser.If you

want to go back to the very beginning, you can fire up Windows 1.0 (bit.ly/

win1-493) and play around with Paint, Write, Notepad, Clock, Calc and more.

The same site also lets you run Windows 95 (bit.ly/win95-493) and Windows

98 (bit.ly/win98-493). MS-DOS is

available, too (bit.ly/msdos493).

A different version of Windows 95

can be found at bit.ly/altwin95-493,

and you can access Windows 3.0 at

bit.ly/win3-493. While most

consumers were running Windows

Me back at the start of the new

millennium, businesses,

professionals and those in the know

were using Windows 2000. You can

run it in your browser by going to

bit.ly/win2000-493.

RUN CLASSIC WINDOWS IN YOUR BROWSER

Apple Music’s beta web player means you

don’t need iTunes to listen to songs