Skype replaces P2P supernodes with Linux boxes hosted by Microsoft

I would guess that the supernode software was written by skype long before the acquisition (they were running their own supernodes, despite what the article claims -- although not as many, and most supernodes were users), and microsoft hasn't had the chance or the reason to port them to Windows yet.

A company with more money than it knows what to do with, acting desperately to save itself from obsolescence.

Skype was flawed from the outset, being non-transparent (about how the network is set up, turning machines into supernodes withtout permission, and the encryption they use). It's all closed. Why? You can't verify it's well-designed. Now it's worse. Do I want MS routing my calls? Scanning every file transfer? Being able to peek at any video?

No thanks. That's not their role.

There are other true decentralised P2P Video/oiceOIP solutions. People now know that free calls, even video calls, through the internet are feasible, even without having technical knowledge.

Right now, use Skype. But it will not hold the market when more robust, flexible, decentralised, transparent services are ready for non-technical users.

Because they will be free. And Skype will not be free: the price you will pay, to a software company[1], is your privacy, at the least, and probably more.

1. No software company has a need to know such things. They are not the government, they are not law enforcement, and they are not defenders of national security. They are a software company. Who are they accountable to? It's just not a smart idea to let MS take this role. The potential for abuse is too great.

Write code or shut the fuck up.

Keep in mind that a large part of Microsoft's business is in the enterprise, and voice is a huge application product for enterprise customers. Exchange has always had some form of voice integration. I haven't used it in years (since back when H.323 was big), so I don't know the current state of affairs, but it is just as plausible that Microsoft is moving to a more traditional client-server structure in a bid to win the mindshare of enerprise purchasers. I'm particularly attached to this explanation because of my insight in to the telecom industry.

Telcos don't want to sell dumb pipes to customers, because dumb pipes are a commodity. Selling a TDM PRI with 23 voice channels is something anyone can do. Carriers are pushing customers away from these products in to SIP offerings that can integrate with customer applications because these products have high exit costs. I can swap out PRIs three times a year without much trouble. Changing application integration is far more expensive. This creates room for higher margins.

Here's the thing: with Skype, Microsoft can enter this space. I don't know exactly how Skype does it, but they manage to deliver a great VoIP product without any infrastructure considerations (network design, QoS, backhaul constraints). I've used SIP carriers who deliver a router with preconfigured QoS that can't call quality as good as Skype.

I'm not suggesting there's magic here or anything, but Skype's product is damned good. If Microsoft were to integrate Skype in to Exchange, that would give them a customer endpoint that could take advantage of a network designed for voice. Exchange could keep intra-office calls local (like a PBX) and segregated on their on VLAN, while aggregating outside voice traffic on separate network interfaces, much like traditional TDM and SIP based PBX systems. This would check all the right boxes for enterprise voice managers. I'm also willing to bet this would push Skype voice quality over the threshold from end-user novelty to enterprise infrastructure.

There are far too many positive business reasons from a straight forward product standpoint to jump straight to the "this lets them mine customer data" viewpoint.