Out in the Twittersphere, reaction to Microsoft’s purchase of Skype (what else do you do when you have $8.5 billion burning a hole in your pocket? Buy Skype!) seemed divided between a few points of view:
- Microsoft bought Skype so that Google or Facebook couldn’t buy it
- This could be good: Skype is a great tool but it’s been a little stagnant over the past few years. Maybe after forking out $8.5 billion for it, Microsoft will give Skype an infusion of gusto.
- Microsoft will mismanage Skype just like they mismanage their other projects: endless waits for upgrades, new versions that only kinda sorta work, etc.
As a devoted Linux user, I’ll admit that my concern is more self-serving: what happens to the Linux and Mac versions of Skype now that Microsoft owns it? The Linux version of Skype is great: it works on my desktop and my netbook and I’ve never had any problems with Linux-Windows compatibility on Skype. For the record, the same is true of my recent experiments with WebEx, as opposed to the easy-to-use but Linux-unfriendly GoToWebinar. Readers, any thoughts on the Skype acquisition and where Skype might go from here??
As a Linux user myself I share your concern and I suppose sooner or later MS will want to make changes to Skype protocol and Linux version will stop working if not updated (which is not likely though). MacOS users on the other hand have more chances to see the updated versions.
For my personal purposes I can always use GTalk or Jabber calls but I still have a lot of contacts in Skype. Time will show…
Thanks Oleg! Yes, I’m holding out hope that Microsoft will keep the Linux version running. I only use it on my computer to do Skype-to-Skype or outgoing calls to phones (I don’t have a Skype number and I don’t use it for mobile stuff), so I’m not that locked in to the service. However I do hope that they keep the non-Windows versions running!
I had a glance at SteveB’s email to the employees (a perk of being married to one), and for all I can tell, they want to integrate it into Office, which sounds pretty and shiny. I’m holding out hope that it will mean a vendor-neutral mobile version (I am one of approximately 324 Windows phone users), as I can’t upgrade my phone at this point without losing Skype mobile.
In the big picture, however, I see a trend in the ever-shifting communications landscape. The promise was that we would only every need one number to be reachable. And that promise can be realized. But it takes an increasing amount of geekiness and patience to figure it out.
And once you get a system that works for you (just the right Skype device/OS, porting your landline to a mobile carrier, local broadband supplier, etc.) mergers and acquisitions comes and disrupts a key part of it. In the last six months, we have had to deal with Skype cutting a deal to limit its mobile version to Verizon phones; Verizon selling our broadband network to Frontier, T-mo giving notice it will sell itself to AT&T, Skype selling itself to MS). In our case, we are locked into contracts that don’t allow us to reposition easily.
Lets not forget too, that every time a supplier changes, we get to spend serious time on the line with customer service to set things up again (8 months post-merger, Frontier still can’t set up e-bills). For those of us working on the clock, this is more overhead than we had budgeted. The friction economy comes to home-based workers.
Curmudgeonly yours,
Caitilin
Thanks Caitilin for that inside view! Definitely let us know if you get any more secret scoop 🙂 But I do agree; the “one number for everything forever” idea is great, but it can be messier in practice than it seems on the surface. For example if there’s only one carrier that offers a service you want, but that carrier doesn’t have the type of phone you want, etc. etc. And I think we all agree that the time on hold is a serious pain point and in the end costs time that we could be spending on work. And for the record I don’t think you’re a curmudgeon at all!
i tried many time the skype its voice is very clear and i think skype is best for voice chat
and i am visiting on first time to this blog and i really like it and i find it very help full and very informative, hope that you will keep it up
Thanks for your comment. Yes, I’ve been blogging for about 2 1/2 years and no plans to quit. Thanks for stopping by!
Hello,
As a Mac user, who JUST purchased a Skype online number for use on my new website and business cards (after reading your blog post from a bit back for advice!) – I had that exact thought that Microsoft isn’t going to be very mac friendly. For now, Skype is a perfect solution for me though since I have an iPhone and travel internationally frequently. I can carry my ‘Colorado’ number with me easily anywhere in the world. As long as Skype continues to support Apple products! Thanks for the post.
Kim
Thanks Kim! I agree that the issue is more crucial for people who use SkypeIn and SkypeOut, or who have a Skype number as their main business number. Hopefully all of that will work pretty smoothly, and I agree that it’s great to be able to carry your international numbers wherever you go. Good luck with it!
At the press conference it was made very clear that maintaining support for non-Windows Skype clients and other platforms was critical to maintaining Skype’s user base. And it was one fundamental condition of the sale proceeding.
Look at how MS has recently supported Office for Mac with a 2011 upgrade that really brings Office for Mac much closer to Office for Windows in many ways.
Thanks for your comment Jim! It’s great to hear that Microsoft agreed in advance to maintain support for the non-Windows versions, thanks for that update.
Could someone explain how Skype actuall makes money? I have never ever clicked on an ad using Skype, don’t know anyone else who has, and also get by with just using the free stuff. I’m sure it rakes in bundles of cash, but I’m sure not able to figure it out 🙂
Thanks for your comment Blair! Yes, as a couple of other people commented, Skype seems to make most of its money off its paying services. Even though the paying services are cheap, they still cost something. We’ll see what happens to that fee structure under Microsoft.
@Caitlin – thanks for the insider info. It really won’t rock too many people’s boats, in all likelihood. May even help the userbase to grow as it starts to become a standard feature in Office. And then we all benefit.
@Corinne – from the little I’ve read around the subject, I expect you’ll still be able to use your current version of Skype, but don’t expect too many updates for Linux/Mac versions.
@Blair – they’re a telecoms operator. They sell numbers and calling time. Their costs are low because the Skype system infrastructure is extremely smart – everyone who installs the programme contributes to providing resources to the network by becoming a “node” over which many internet communications can pass, encrypted, of course. This saves Skype, or now MS, from setting up huge datacentres like Google et al. must do for their communication tools.
As for being a Linux user, you’ll always be able to install a form of Windows in a VM if you need the latest versions of Skype. That’s if you don’t mind your system resources being hogged by running two OSs at the same time.
Personally I’ve dabbled in Linux a fair bit over the years but have never been fully satisfied with the experience for business use. When certain key software developers and hardware manufacturers start to support the OS in a more comprehensive and systematic way, I’ll probably take the leap at that point. I’m all for openness, transparency and working together, but not at the expense of my business.
Side note: my N900 smartphone runs Linux (natively, not in the Android way) and is the best computer I’ve ever had the pleasure of using. Skype is integrated into the contacts system, so I may face the same issues as Corinne here. But again, limited scope for business use means my Win7-based netbook with desktop specs should enable mobile working like never before.
Thanks for bringing translation and tech together, Corinne – I enjoyed that 🙂
Thanks for your comment! It will be interesting to see how the non-Windows versions of Skype survive under Microsoft. I do have CrossOver Linux so that I can run Microsoft Office when necessary, but it’s really nice to be able to run applications natively on Linux (that’s what happens when you marry your tech support!).
I use the basic version of skype and i too have never clicked on any of the ads on there, but I know many people who have subscribed to other packages on there in order to be able to do more.
Thanks for your comment; right, I do think that Skype makes money from its paying services. It will be interesting to see if/how that continues now!
I’m also a translator and Linux user. I think Skype will probably continue to support different platforms for a while. But I agree that the future doesn’t look very good, given the rivalry between closed-source Microsoft’s and the open-source Linux camp. But as translator, it’s probably not possible to refuse all products/software Microsoft.