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Skype 5 for Mac

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Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#61

Post by kahawe »

emehrkay wrote: post #31
poutine wrote: post #15

I refuse to upgrade to Skype 5 after trying it once and accidentally upgrading a second time when the app tried to auto upgrade itself. The horrid UI combined with Skype's stated desire to bring ads to the client makes me search for an alternative which sadly there isn't. In a business setting I would say that 90% of the time Skype is used as an IM client because of its working persistant groups and functional file t…

What's missing from skype that isnt provided by AIM or GTalk? Is it the ability to make phone calls?

What's missing is all the people and business partners who are already using skype right now and who have not switched to an alternative and probably don't plan to. Users seem to be very accepting of all sorts of nonsense in software if "everybody else" is still using it and they can contact their loved ones through it. (Just like why is "everyone" using facebook and twitter instead of competitor x and y?)

And I am not sure you are in a position to tell a client "sorry, we would rather use GTalk or Jabber!".

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#62

Post by elliottcarlson »

sudont wrote: post #44
elliottcarlson wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The protocol is proprietary - and in that case it is in Skype's best interest to maintain a similar look and feel throughout all platforms they support. This of course doesn't mean that they shouldn't be doing so much more on both systems - I just think in this case the requirement of having a similar application on both systems is necessary.

There's an appropriate saying about history: it doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes. A good cross-platform app isn't just dumbly copied at the whiteboard stage of MVC planning. It needs to have certain similarities, sure, but the key interface elements will integrate with the host operating system. Since Windows has window-attached menu bars, why don't cross-platform apps on a Mac have the same thing? Don't say becau…

I agree that the application shouldn't be a verbatim copy on each system. There are obviously platform specific UI and methods that need to be adhered to. My point is that the general interface should be similar enough to be able to move a user from one platform to another and they would be comfortable enough to use the application with just the minimal knowledge of that host platform.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#63

Post by ryannielsen »

dguaraglia wrote: post #47
raganwald wrote: post #2

Skype has noticed that there is a discrepancy in quality between the two versions, and has decided to make the two versions more similar to each other. Unfortunately, instead of making the Windows version of Skype better, they’ve decided to fix the discrepancy by making the Mac version of Skype more like the Windows version. This is the number one reason that I prefer Mac-only products to products that are available…

I wonder if you realize that because the Macs have a "tiny market share" (as you describe it) it's just easier (cheaper, too) to produce a re-chromed version of your software rather than writing a completely new interface just for those users. Also, it's a plus for the users coming from the PC market because they don't have to relearn the interface.

> it's just easier (cheaper, too) to produce a re-chromed version of your software rather than writing a completely new interface

Is it? Can you cite some sources?

I'd less native UIs to take longer, as more custom widgets and chrome is requires. Not to mention, the result is more likely to "feel wrong" since it's less likely to conform to that platform's conventions.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#64

Post by miah_ »

Apocryphon wrote: post #56
yarone wrote: post #34

Saw a tweet recently that summed it up nicely: "@anildash: Seems like Skype and iTunes are battling it out for the RealPlayer Memorial Award for Most Annoying Desktop Client App." If you remember RealPlayer, know Skype for Windows, know iTunes for Windows, you'll know exactly what I mean.

Why are the most essential programs in life the ones that always have the most obscenely bloated updates?

The only reason iTunes seems to be essential is because there is almost no competition on OSX. Its a fairly horrible music player / media organizer compared to most Windows based software.

I only use Skype to video chat with my daughters and it could be easily swapped over to Google chat + Video.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#65

Post by lovskogen »

elliottcarlson wrote: post #60
jdminhbg wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure the second half of your first sentence follows from the first, but that's not all that important. OP said he'd rather use Mac-only apps, to which the response was "I guess you only want to talk to Mac users." You can very easily have (and there plenty of examples of) Mac-only apps that talk a protocol that also has Win/Linux/Android/iPhone/etc-only apps. You don't have to give up OS-specific design to ha…

My second point was more that Skype should improve the application for both platforms. Certainly interoperability isn't an issue - the point is that it's in their best interest to maintain a common application interface. For example, I work at a company of 50 people and we have all variations of Mac, Windows and Linux machines running. By being able to support one interface internally it makes it a lot easier - as we…

And easier for you is better than easier for 49 people?

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#67

Post by jarek »

raganwald wrote: post #59
dguaraglia wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if you realize that because the Macs have a "tiny market share" (as you describe it) it's just easier (cheaper, too) to produce a re-chromed version of your software rather than writing a completely new interface just for those users. Also, it's a plus for the users coming from the PC market because they don't have to relearn the interface.

I wonder if you realize that because the Macs have a "tiny market share" (as you describe it) it's just easier (cheaper, too) to produce a re-chromed version of your software rather than writing a completely new interface just for those users. Considering that I wrote that companies might think it's cheaper, I'm going to go with yes, I realize that companies might think it's cheaper. Likewise, it's also cheaper for P…

> But if someone owns a PC and decides to switch to a Mac, it's because he explicitly doesn't like the PC experience.

[citation needed]

edit: bring them on! :D

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#69

Post by sudont »

elliottcarlson wrote: post #62
sudont wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's an appropriate saying about history: it doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes. A good cross-platform app isn't just dumbly copied at the whiteboard stage of MVC planning. It needs to have certain similarities, sure, but the key interface elements will integrate with the host operating system. Since Windows has window-attached menu bars, why don't cross-platform apps on a Mac have the same thing? Don't say becau…

I agree that the application shouldn't be a verbatim copy on each system. There are obviously platform specific UI and methods that need to be adhered to. My point is that the general interface should be similar enough to be able to move a user from one platform to another and they would be comfortable enough to use the application with just the minimal knowledge of that host platform.

I guess that would be my point as well? I felt my comment was less a retort and more of an addition.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#70

Post by ascott »

jfrumar wrote: post #30

I concur with the Skype 5 degraded UI. I also have a warning to others: After struggling to see the benefit of Skype 5, I wished to downgrade back to the previous version. However, I couldn't find a link anywhere on the Skype.com website for previous versions. As a result I searched on Google and found a third-party website offering previous versions for download ( http://mac.oldapps.com/skype.php?old_skype=37 ). I d…

Gak! Thank you so much, I downloaded and installed their software this morning. I've deleted it and changed my skype password, I hope that's enough.

Version 2.8 can be found on Skype's website (Techcrunch linked to it in a recent article): http://www.skype.com/intl/en/get-skype/on-your-computer/maco...

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