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Microsoft is killing Skype

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Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#81

Post by grishka »

wsc981 wrote: post #45
caseyy wrote: post #38

When Microsoft acquired Skype (the company), it was clear they would kill it. Skype had previously been bought by eBay, for which it served the purpose of entering a new market. Then, it was bought by some investment funds, for which it served the purpose of making money. However, to Microsoft, which already had its Windows/Live messenger (which copied Skype’s homework anyway), Skype served no purpose except to remov…

I am not even sure if Microsoft was interested in the technology. I believe Skype originally functioned using some kind of p2p network. I believe Microsoft replaced this way of working shortly after acquiring Skype. Perhaps on behalf of security agencies.

> I believe Skype originally functioned using some kind of p2p network.

It did! It was some impressively cool tech too. At the time, at least in my country, some ISPs would disable your internet access when you didn't pay, but the LAN between subscribers still worked. So obviously nothing worked, except Skype. My theory then was that it would find a path to route around the disconnection by having the Skype client of a different subscriber on the same LAN, that did have internet access, relay your traffic to the rest of the network.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#82

Post by jajko »

klohto wrote: post #30
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…

> 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.

> 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.

What? None of those were EU government owned, all was private. Do people really have this sort of (completely incorrect) view on how things work in Europe? Not even donald was ever stating such ridiculous things

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#83

Post by pm3003 »

nneonneo wrote: post #31

I put $10 on an account over ten years ago to make sporadic calls (e.g. customer service in other countries). That account still has $5 left, and I’ve made a ton of calls to many different countries. What’s a good alternative here? I just want to make outgoing international calls cheaply.

SIP providers. I used Ippi before 2015, but then EU regulations made it illegal to bill more for EU calls than for domestic calls, so I had almost no more use for it.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#84

Post by hulitu »

caseyy wrote: post #52
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.

I've worked for a European company acquired by big tech in the US. My experience was that the Americans were quite full of themselves and didn't want to learn how we operated. There was a vibe of “things are going to change around here, no more free rides, the grown-ups have arrived.” Awful management decisions were made, most of the talent left, and the team from the original company now only exists on paper. n=1 an…

> If Microsoft had a purpose for Skype.

Yes, it was used as a backdoor to scrap user data when the computer was not in use. That's why i uninstalled it.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#85

Post by KingOfCoders »

tonyhart7 wrote: post #69
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

Loved my yellow Lumia 920. I thought the panels and scrolling start screen was much better (concurrently used Android and iOS at that time).

Just like with Zune, it was not part of MS strategy and therefor dropped. You need to keep working on something like this for years to make it successful. Large companies though drop products that are not a huge success after two years, associated with such products is a career killer.

[Edit] I got the Lumia to decide as a CTO at that time if we would go into Windows phones or not. I asked for more Lumias and XBox (to show cross plattform eCommerce) from MS to evangelize inside the company, but was let hung dry. So we did not support Windows phones. They never went full in.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#87

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

wuschel wrote: post #62
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?

I use MobileVOIP, but voice quality and the probability of a call to connect is inferior to Skype.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#88

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

nneonneo wrote: post #31

I put $10 on an account over ten years ago to make sporadic calls (e.g. customer service in other countries). That account still has $5 left, and I’ve made a ton of calls to many different countries. What’s a good alternative here? I just want to make outgoing international calls cheaply.

I use MobileVOIP, but voice quality and the probability of a call to connect is inferior to Skype.

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#89

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

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…

TextNow, $10 a month

Re: Microsoft is killing Skype

#90

Post by tonyhart7 »

KingOfCoders wrote: post #85
tonyhart7 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Loved my yellow Lumia 920. I thought the panels and scrolling start screen was much better (concurrently used Android and iOS at that time). Just like with Zune, it was not part of MS strategy and therefor dropped. You need to keep working on something like this for years to make it successful. Large companies though drop products that are not a huge success after two years, associated with such products is a career…

absolutely the fact they just give out on hardware side eg:nokia,surface device,zune,vr headset etc is just disappointing

I think this is about company culture as a whole too, MS only know how to make software

this is same problem with google too, with pixel device is very underwhelming success given how many resource they have

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