Microsoft is killing Skype • Hacker News Board

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#61

Post by kennysoona » Fri, Feb 28, 2025, 8:32 AM UTC

pjmlp wrote: post #21

a_bonobo wrote: post #4

It's amazing how much they dropped the ball during Covid. They already had everyone and everything in place! But the app is a buggy mess, far worse than Teams, and they just refused to do anything about it. I guess MS-internal politics? They had their own Teams and that was the preferred product?

If it was only Skype, Windows development has turned into a mess, it appears teams are filled with newly grads, without any background on Windows development, or Windows developer culture. That is why there are now Webview2 usage all over the place, and after 5 years WinUI 3.0 is still behind the WinForms, WPF and even MFC development experience, even though it should have been a plain port of UWP/WinUI 2.0 into stan…

This is why they tried to remake the Windows interface to be more Mac like as well. What a disgrace.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#62

Post by wuschel » Fri, Feb 28, 2025, 8:33 AM UTC

edwcross wrote: post #32

Microsoft killed Skype for me a few months ago: the Linux version simply stopped working, and unless I install a Snap-based one (which I cannot do remotely on family computers), it's now useless. Also, my Skype credit simply disappeared from the account (granted, it had been sitting idle for a few years, but still). WhatsApp, Signal and similar apps completely replaced Skype, which stopped innovating years ago. Other…

Skype was very useful to call landlines from or two countries e.g. Europe to India. To my knowledge, Whatsapp et al do not fill this niche.

Is there another solution that has this functionality?

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#63

Post by DeathArrow » Fri, Feb 28, 2025, 8:35 AM UTC

It seems Microsoft is moving over from apps, desktop and mobile.

Apart from developer tools, Office, Windows and some games, it seems they killed everything.

Judging on how Windows releases seem to be degrading, I wonder if they will try to pull the plug from there, too.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#64

Post by AnonC » Fri, Feb 28, 2025, 8:42 AM UTC

freetime2 wrote: post #39

AnonC wrote: post #7

Tangential: I have a U.S. Skype Number (i.e., a real phone number offered by the Skype service) that's mainly used to receive and make (occasional) calls from/to a bank and to receive SMS occasionally. The cost is about $40 a year. With Skype Number not available for purchase since December and the Skype platform (including Skype Number) going away soon, what are some simple, good (and preferably cheaper) alternative…

I was using Google Voice for a while, which is nice because it is free and never had any issues receiving SMS. A US phone number is required to activate, so I used a US relative's phone number to activate and then just disabled all the forwarding features so calls and SMS would never be forwarded to that number. Unfortunately, I went so long without actually using it that they took my number away (my fault because th…

GP here: I had the exact same experience with Google Voice (linked to my Skype Number several years ago). Sadly, I could never get it to work with another Skype Number again.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#65

Post by mid-kid » Fri, Feb 28, 2025, 8:42 AM UTC

This makes me wonder, are my old chats still around? Is there any tool to back them up? Skype played a major role in my life for a good while, which I'd want to preserve.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#66

Post by samsk » Fri, Feb 28, 2025, 8:42 AM UTC

freetime2 wrote: post #46

samsk wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try zadarma.com I've multiple numbers there

Any issue receiving SMS messages with zadarma? In the past I have banks block numbers that come from VoIP providers.

Yes, there is still a problem there. Some 'clever' services are blocking probably all VOIP numbers, not only zadarma.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#67

Post by croisillon » Fri, Feb 28, 2025, 8:43 AM UTC

edwcross wrote: post #32

Microsoft killed Skype for me a few months ago: the Linux version simply stopped working, and unless I install a Snap-based one (which I cannot do remotely on family computers), it's now useless. Also, my Skype credit simply disappeared from the account (granted, it had been sitting idle for a few years, but still). WhatsApp, Signal and similar apps completely replaced Skype, which stopped innovating years ago. Other…

yeah my Skype credit has been quietly gulped too but officially you can reactivate it when needed

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#68

Post by ahoka » Fri, Feb 28, 2025, 8:43 AM UTC

sl-1 wrote: post #49

klohto wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> actively harmed by US tech giants Both Nokia and Skype went under due to usual European leadership stagnation and comfort before getting bought. Thankfully both sales funneled enough funds into EU to bootstrap a startup culture here.

Nope, Nokia was killed via suicide-by-microsoft-exec. They took in a MS aligned CEO and promptly proceeded to destroy their own chance of competing (using Maemo/meego or android for their phones) by using MS operating system. I guess one could call it leadership stagnation, but I would argue more it being just plain old stupidity

Microsoft did not buy or kill Nokia though.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#69

Post by tonyhart7 » Fri, Feb 28, 2025, 8:44 AM UTC

dijit wrote: post #29

End of an era, but the writing was on the wall. I have fond memories of using skype to contact my friends and family circa-2011 when I was working for Nokia in Finland. Ironically, microsoft killed nokia the same way microsoft killed skype, an acquisition and then strangulation. if nothing else, it’s at least two times the european tech sector was actively harmed by US tech giants… which isn’t much, but weird that it…

"microsoft killed nokia"

nokia did that to themselves, microsoft aquisition just prolonged its inevitable ends

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#70

Post by tonyhart7 » Fri, Feb 28, 2025, 8:46 AM UTC

riffraff wrote: post #11

Skype got me through my first few years living in a different country from my family/friends/girlfriend/enployer. There was a time when whole companies were on Skype the way they're now on Slack. It's incredible how badly Microsoft mismanaged it.

"Microsoft mismanaged it."

they don't even manage it, like they just let it "stay" that way

I think this is the problem with Trillion dollar company, they don't want focus on "small money" problem and they can just buy tech/company if they find it important enough in the future