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Microsoft is killing Skype

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Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#321

Post by pif »

legitster wrote: post #270

Skype is the epitome of technical debt. Millions of lines of code for a service that isn't technically difficult to provide anymore. When I was at Microsoft, I was told working on Skype was about as popular as being sent to a gulag. The value of the brand is so strong, I am surprised they never launched a "2.0" version built from scratch and without all the vestigial tails.

> I am surprised they never launched a "2.0" version built from scratch and without all the vestigial tails.

I'm surprised that you are surprised!

Rewriting a million-lines-of-code project from scratch without the stupid bits is easy. Getting the equivalent of the working bits, instead...

Joel expressed this concept quite well already 25 years ago: https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/04/06/things-you-should-...

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#322

Post by tombert »

bayindirh wrote: post #106
drooopy wrote: post #101

The way Microsoft and Skype missed their opportunity during the pandemic to maintain or even expand their lead in video conferencing, while allowing a complete unknown (outside of the corporate world, at least) like Zoom to become the dominant platform, should be studied in business schools. The term 'Skype' is so synonymous with video calling that, based on personal experience, it is still used in place of FaceTime…

I think Microsoft killed it the moment when they made everything move through central servers before everyone had good network connection, everywhere. It was P2P before. It was slow, laggy and unstable for most of the time. Also, they didn't invest in the transportation codecs much. After it's marred, they didn't try to mend it much, and when it started to work well due to better bandwidth, they didn't push it back a…

> I think Microsoft killed it the moment when they made everything move through central servers before everyone had good network connection, everywhere. It was P2P before.

Maybe; I think people forget how horrible Skype was on your phone battery when it was still P2P. The P2P-ness of it was definitely pretty cool, but I'm not sure it was worth the decreased battery.

> It was slow, laggy and unstable for most of the time. Also, they didn't invest in the transportation codecs much.

Honestly I've been using Skype to talk to my parents ever since I moved out of my parents place in 2012, and for the last decade or so, it's been perfectly fine. I know it's kind of a meme to hate on it, but it never really was an issue for me.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#323

Post by bee_rider »

Skype’s peer-to-peer architecture seemed like an interesting idea. I mean that’s the sort of thing the internet was supposed to facilitate, distributed communications.

Of course MS screwed it up pretty quickly after buying it, and the name has been a mockery of it’s former potential for much longer than it was an actual thing.

RIP Skype, we never met you.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#324

Post by randerson »

tombert wrote: post #312

Damn, this is the primary way I talk to my parents and my grandmother. Genuine question, what do people here recommend as a replacement for non-technical people? I'll need to walk my grandmother through the process of setting something remotely. No one in my family but me has iPhones, so I think Facetime is out, and I'd need something that can run on a computer. I suppose I'll have to talk my parents into installing…

WhatsApp works well for most people and runs on any device.

I gifted a MacBook, iPhone and Apple Watch to my elderly father, and I now use FaceTime. He came from a PC and is not technical, but he adapted fairly easily. (The fall detection feature on the watch gives us both some peace of mind.)

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#325

Post by concerndc1tizen »

linwangg wrote: post #284

I still use Skype, mainly out of habit, but I guess it's finally time to move on. Telegram seems like the best alternative for me, but I wonder—what are others switching to? Feels like every few years, we have to migrate to a new chat platform.

Telegram requires permission to view all your contacts on iOS :)

So I refuse to use it now.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#327

Post by tombert »

blakeashleyjr wrote: post #319
tombert wrote: post #312

Damn, this is the primary way I talk to my parents and my grandmother. Genuine question, what do people here recommend as a replacement for non-technical people? I'll need to walk my grandmother through the process of setting something remotely. No one in my family but me has iPhones, so I think Facetime is out, and I'd need something that can run on a computer. I suppose I'll have to talk my parents into installing…

I would make the jump to Signal. It's super easy and secure. Has all the features you'd need (minus the online status). It's how I communicate with my whole family.

I use Signal, and I've gotten my parents to use it for texting as well, but I don't think that they have used Signal desktop.

That's likely what we'll end up using since I've already onboarded my mom and my dad on this.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#328

Post by jalk »

jesterson wrote: post #296
lbourdages wrote: post #285

Anyone knows of an alternative to Skype to make free calls to 1-800 numbers? I was keeping Skype in my back pocket during trips abroad for that exact reason (allowed me to get away with using data only eSIMs and still be able to call bank/airline if something happens).

This. And most importantly for me, Skype allowed to call using my numbers (for bank it will look like i am calling from my cell). Any other voip service would just put random number which will trigger additional security checks. Would love to hear about service doing that

My banks mobile app has a Call Helpdesk button, which simply dials the support number with ',,,' appended. That gets you into the fast-track queue and they don't need to ask any security questions as they know it's you. They don't look at the dialing number at all.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#329

Post by Kapura »

Absolutely wild that the entire world got locked inside their homes and everybody became a remote worker and that wasn't enough for Skype or Teams to get used. Embarrassing! and this is the end result.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#330

Post by thwarted »

dadoum wrote: post #263
jimmydddd wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Yes, in many parts of Europe, people commonly use the word "coke" as a generic term for soda, similar to how it is used in the American South, essentially referring to any type of cola beverage rather than just the Coca-Cola brand; this is because Coca-Cola is so widely recognized across the continent." --Google's ai thing

I don't know for other European countries, but at least I can say that it is not true in France. "Coke" is reserved for cocaine, and cola is the generic word for Coca-Cola-like beverages.

I've heard that the French are strict about language, but what does "reserved" mean here? What do the French call coke¹?

¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coke_(fuel) ?

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