Not long ago, Microsoft rolled out a Skype plugin for Outlook which allowed users to do just about every Skype operation without having to leave the Outlook tab. Today, Google has launched a similar plugin, Hangouts for a Google Apps user who also uses Microsoft Outlook. “Schedule meetings in the blink of an eye with Google Apps shared calendars,” Google tweeted.
Once installed, users won’t have to leave the Outlook tab to start, join, or schedule a conversation on Hangouts, Google explained. It’s an interesting move by Google which might actually help some business users, however, it should be reminded that when Microsoft released a tool to bring support for Google Talks (the previous iteration of Hangouts) last year, one of the bosses at Google didn’t really like the move. Larry Page believed that Microsoft was using two companies inter-operation for its own benefits.
“Schedule a Hangouts video call with other Outlook users in your company with a single click. Join a scheduled Hangouts video call by opening the meeting in Outlook and clicking the Hangouts video call link,” the plugin description reads.
As of now the plugin only works with Windows operating system – Windows 7 or higher (sorry Mac users). You can grab the download from the link below.
