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Skype Blocks Customers Using OS-X 10.5.x and Earlier
lurker412 writes Yesterday, and without previous warning, all Mac users running Leopard or earlier versions of OS-X have been locked out of Skype. Those customers are given instructions to update, but following them does not solve the problem. The Skype Community Forum is currently swamped with complaints. A company representative active on the forum said "Unfortunately we don't currently have a build that OS X Leopard (10.5) users could use" but did not answer the question whether they intend to provide one or not.
Who owns skype now?
I couldnt connect to skype yesterday from my ubuntu box. Way to go microsucks...
This is roughly the equivalent of blocking Windows Vista. Vista was released in 2007 (January) as was Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard 2007 (October)
Skype announced that they would be discontinuing support for older versions of the client back in June.
http://9to5mac.com/2014/06/20/...
Things are very different in the Mac world. Many Mac users buy for the long term. And by "long term", we're talking well over a decade. Buying a $2000 or more Mac isn't like buying a $400 Windows PC or a $150 Chromebook. Macs aren't seen as disposable computers that'll fall apart and be thrown out after only a year or two. They're built to last, the people who buy them expect them to last, and there's no reason why software that already runs on them shouldn't continue to run on them for years to come. Six or seven years is a very long time in the land of Windows, I will give you that. But six or seven years is half of the expected usable lifespan of a typical Mac.
Apple does not support their own 2 year old OSes, I have to upgrade my Mac to a more often than not crappier OS just to get things like Xcode running again and sometimes I even have to buy a new Mac because the old one is arbitrarily locked out from a software upgrade.
So why should Skype's developers care about an ancient version of OS X? Oh, I know, because they are Microsoft, and we love to bash them here!
they also blocked windows xp 64bit...
My client just stopped working, booted me off the network, and after messing with it for a while, I finally got the message that my Skype version is too old, and that I either get the new crippled client, or I can't Skype at all.
Many people have petitioned to have the "ring all speakers" re-implemented. It worked great. But Microsoft's answer has been: Fuck you, we will never do that. Stop pleading, we don't care. It didn't bother me too much until today. I just thought I'd stick with version 5.10.116 forever. Oh well. So thanks, Skype, for making my life shittier today. Boy am I happy I pre-paid a year of unlimited Skype Out!
Don't use Skype.
Switch to Trillian, it support skype accounts so it will still work.
Skype has been a continues stream of disappointments over the last few years.
First they started with this policy of taking away your credits if you haven't used them in a few years. They are still kind enough to let you "reactivate" them. This is like a bank taking your savings because you haven't used them in a while, but allowing you to get them back by dropping by. Its immoral and should be illegal.
Recently they also blocked access from the linux skype client 4.2.0.11 without any warning whatsoever, suddenly you just can't connect. And after updating to the latest version (4.3.0.37), it crashes every time. Turns out you have to do some changes to the sqlite database that holds your history (couldn't they do that automatically?).
Unfortunately opensource IM isn't much better. With so many usability issues, slow development (thinking about pidgin and gajim), and now Google turning their back on openness by disabling XMPP federation, the landscape of opensource IM looks gloomy.
Idiot Skype Blocks Customers Using OS-X 10.5.x and Earlier
Skype Blocks Idiot Customers Using OS-X 10.5.x and Earlier
Skype Blocks Customers Using Idiot OS-X 10.5.x and Earlier
Come on, which is it? The headline needs to tell me, the reader, what my bias should be.
Try this: http://community.skype.com/t5/Mac/My-solution-to-continue-using-Skype-2-8-on-older-OS-X-Lion-etc/td-p/3454441
Simple firewall rule to block access to ui.skype.com. Also, I don't see why /etc/hosts wouldn't work..
127.0.0.1 ui.skype.com
in
Who gives a shit if some company doesn't support an OS that is (a) 5 versions behind the current one, (b) seven years old, and (c) has been obsolete for five years
48 replies to "DON'T FORCE ME TO UPGRADE!...PLEASE!", where the majority are people trying to help the few that are complaining, does not constitute "swamped".
In contrast there are 471 replies to "I show up as Online when I'm not"
Microsoft gave the NSA pre-encryption access to all communication streams via Skype (through the rewrite they did after purchasing Skype). They've never said that access was removed.
http://www.theguardian.com/wor...
It's good to keep it in mind when using Skype (or choosing to continue using Skype) that all messages, pictures, conversations and videos are probably recorded by the NSA for future use. Bummer for the Leopard users on the convenience side of things.
All hail Microsoft. They laid off thousands of employees but the ones who make these great decisions were spared.
Glad nothing has changed.
Let me upgrade my dual 2.5 G5 to Snow...
I've got better things to do tonight than die.
"Unfortunately we don't currently have a build that OS X Leopard (10.5) users could use"
Except for the build we just blocked...
Microsoft will somehow find a way to destroy or abandon Skype like they did Zune, Nokia and other products...
I've got better things to do tonight than die.
C'mon. Most people are doing this. WHY?! Because Snow Leopard (10.6.x) is the first release of OSX that removes the PPC aspect of it. What software developer, in 2014 wishes to provide legacy support for an architecture that Apple abandoned 5+ years ago? No new Macs are being developed with PPC. Let's move with the times already.
"True refinement seeks simplicity."
We literally were informed that the NSA was the reason for the various parties purchasing Skype one right after the other. Then they redesigned it in order to enable NSA spying (or at least make it easier)! They totally rewrote core pieces that forces all traffic through a central point. It's the most illogical thing ever devised except where it concerns wiretapping.
Not to mention this is another crappy Microsoft product now. It's designed to frustrate you to no end and guarantees anti-user 'features' like digital restrictions, intentional bugs (called 'features'), and more.
Apple does not support their own 2 year old OSes, ...
Two days ago I booted up my 2008 MacBook that can not run newer versions of Mac OS X. It offered me various patches. Old versions of Mac OS X are supported.
... I have to upgrade my Mac to a more often than not crappier OS just to get things like Xcode running again ...
Xcode is a special case because it is a developer tool. There is an assumption that developers have the latest OS for testing purposes. Somewhat fair for Mac developers, less so for iOS developers.
... and sometimes I even have to buy a new Mac because the old one is arbitrarily locked out from a software upgrade.
Its not quite arbitrary. My 2008 Mac Book does not have a complete set of 64-bit drivers. The video chipset is an older Intel model that is a little slow. Its a little more than just the boot loader.
When Apple draws a line for OS support it tends to be based on hardware characteristics, not arbitrarily based upon age.
It is just a corporation trying to force older version out of the market place, as they can't control these old versions as they would like.
Most likely a long term solution that will involve always paying for the service.
So, situation normal basically?
Since the introduction of Mac OS X 10.3, security is tossed out the window in order to appease the U.S.A. government (mostly White House directed and NSA affected).
The dumbing down of Mac OS X 10.3 to current and beyond is the removal of BSD architectures and channelize the kernel so that NSA has full access.
NSA full access is necessary by Obama Secret Executive Order. This particular order give the "President" extortion capabilities of users of Mac OS X particularly 10.7 and beyond.
Why does Obama need to extort citizens of the U.S.A. ? Money !
Hangouts?
(*) By easy I mean I don't need to compile it on Linux, it will be already in my distro "software center"/repository. Also, and very important, Windows-only people will have a way to download it and install it.
It's news because so many people are never taught to think of software freedom. Instead sites like this one shill for Microsoft, Apple, and a weaker "open source" message that was designed to draw attention away from ethical examination of the issue. Cutting off service and not providing programs for various systems are just two of the things proprietors with the power they wield over users. Software freedom would mean letting users maintain older OSes as much as they want to, backport programs they found valuable, and run builds of modern programs as much as desired.
You're quite right to point out that Apple is no friend on these grounds. But this shouldn't be looked at in terms of business; the effect on the user is far more important. Proprietors are the same in how they treat people because the heart of any nonfree software is unethical power over someone else's use of a computer. Richard Stallman reminds us that Apple uses this same leverage to pressure users into malicious "upgrades":
Nobody should be obliged to work on developing programs and nobody should have the power to prevent users from developing the software.
Digital Citizen
Because we're really, really tired of software that uselessly, needlessly, requires the "latest and greatest" operating system for no good reason at all, that's why.
If devs need a feature in a new OS -- for instance, let's say you produce something that works with Mavericks (10.9) new multiple screen features, and that's its purpose in life... ok, then the user needs Mavericks and it's perfectly reasonable for you to say "gotta have it, period."
But, say, if you have something as vanilla as an image processing application, with no real need for anything other than memory allocation and file dialogs, and lets say you add, oh, I don't know, a new RAW file format to the application, then please don't tie that capability to the latest OS. Like Apple did. That's just fracking stupid and really... straight up evil. Sure, it can be a system feature, but for the sake of all that's good and has holes in it, what the FUCK does it need the latest OS for? Can a library not maintain a simple bloody entry point? Can an image loader not be coded wholly without calling OS esoterica? Of COURSE it can. I've written HUNDREDS of them under three different major OS's without EVER having to tie even ONE of them to an OS level. So WTF do I have to change my OS in order to get my Canon camera's images to load into Aperture, you pinheaded dipshits?
While I'm at it, Apple and MIcrosoft, stop leaving broken OS's in your wake. When you sell an OS, and it doesn't work the way it was supposed to, you should fix it. Yes, even ten years later. You said it would work, you took the customer's money on that basis, and if it fucking well doesn't work the way you said it would, you need to step up to the plate and make sure it gets fixed. For instance, my Mac mini, at v10.6 can't print UTF-8 via the standard printing system from the console. I need this to print Chinese. Why can't it do this? Because there was a compiler bug in the compiler Apple used to make OSX for the mini. Said compiler bug has long since been fixed. There's nothing wrong with the actual OS code, so ALL it would take is a recompile and an update. WHICH APPLE REFUSED TO DO. No, you don't suddenly get out of saying it could print if it can't print. What you get is a fucking pie in the face and you lose a customer because you can't fucking be trusted to sell shit that does what you say it does.
You want to release a new OS? Fine. Great, even. But FIXING BUGS IN THE NEW OS DOES NOT FIX BUGS IN THE OLD OS!!!!!!
And no, everyone canNOT upgrade to the new OS. Stability is a thing people actually need. Re-testing everything can be a huge job. HUGE.
How about this: Don't release a new OS until... ...IT BLOODY WELL WORKS by which I mean you have NO MORE BUG REPORTS WHATSOEVER for, say, a couple months. From anyone. And all previously reported bugs are fixed.
Now THERE is a radical fucking idea. With a process like that, maybe my Mini could fucking well print like it's supposed to. /rant
Yeah, Microsoft's just as bad (and linux is no slouch at leaving busted shit all over the place either although I have to note they didn't directly take anyone's money and make promises, implied or otherwise, in the process), but I've been under Apple's nasty little thumb for a while now, so, you get Apple rants. My Microsoft rants are really old now.
argh.
And hey, developers... what's the deal with no true peer to peer video comm app without third party dependencies? Ask the OS what the WAN IP is, email the bloody thing to your contact, contact enters same on other end, make connection. Would work fine for a very, very large number of people. Surely the video mavens out there can manage this? Video's not magic, it's just a bloody stream of packets like everything else.
And hey, while I'm at it... no, never mind. Never mind. Blood pressure. Need my pills.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
I have a last-generation iMac G5. IIRC, I bought it in 2008 or 2009. Five years... Is a lot in Apple years. You must upgrade your hardware.
Same thing happened to me under Debian. And no, AFAIK, Ubuntu does not package or distribute Skype (it's a MicroSkype-made package).
What the story doesn't mention is that, compared to Skype 2.8, the Skype 5/6 user interfere sucks. Users have been complaining ever since it was rolled out, and Skype's answer has always been to use 2.8.
Fortunately, there's a way to make the old version not check for updates: use your local DNS or hosts file to address ui.skype.com to 127.0.0.1. The update check fails, and Skype 2.8 runs, fat, dumb, and happy. I'm pretty sure this works for older versions of 5 or 6, as well.
Disinfect the GNU General Public Virus!
You can't fool us Blaise....
I live in NZ and call my parent's landline in the UK with Skype (only because they're too deaf to hear their iPad ringing with FaceTime!).
Last weekend I called and got my mother. 10 seconds into the call it drops.
I get logged out of Skype with a pop up telling me it won't let me back in until I've manually downloaded the latest software, installed and rebooted my Mac.
Totally shit customer service and experience which has the all the stink & hallmarks of that abusive IT "has been" monopoly that sits in it's Seattle Kremlin.
Why the reboot? It's a fecking MAC!
Why let me place the call to family only to then rudely kick me off and enforce a software upgrade, why not warn me before hand?
The sooner MS is gone the better for humanity and technology.
I don't currently use any Apple products, but even I can tell there is a difference between a messaging system that was built right from the start to be locked out of its competitor's OS and one which originally was platform independent, but had that feature removed.
To use a simple car analogy, if I bought a car knowing from the start it only ran on fuel brand X, so be it. If I bought a car which could run on all types of fuel, and during routine maintenance at the shop they changed a part so that it only ran on fuel brand Y, I would be mightily pissed.
Surely you can appreciate the difference.
FB and FB messenger has phone calls
Gmail has em
Google Hangouts
Line
etc.
etc.
etc.
Is anyone really surprised?
Apple decides to block updates of their hardware.
Microsoft decides to stop supporting old software.
You're using closed source software, so you're stuck.
That's the point of Free Software.
Support is crap, and there is nothing you can do about it. Your data is probably being read by the US regime, and pilfered by US companies.
Use open source, preferably compiled outside America, or don't complain.
To be fair to Microsoft, they have done reasonably well with Skype, in actually being able to port it to different platforms. Microsoft has long been embarrassed by their struggle to write quality portable software, presumably due to a chronic lack of development talent.
Most other companies can ship Linux and even Apple versions, without too much fuss, these days.
Did anyone fork the old Gizmo project? I always liked it better than Skype. Cheaper too
...Apple locks users of Windows 8.1 and earlier out of FaceTime.
Wah.
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
that's fucking ancient history man, supporting antique relics is what holds a lot of linux distros back. osx upgrades are free so no matter how much of a cheapass freetard you are you should be able to stay current.
The problem is, they are banning old but working skype versions from their network. When you think of the beginning, where skype was p2p ...
A week or so ago I recieved an email from microsoft telling me I needed to upgrade Skype on my smart phone; and that the version I was using would no longer be supported. I attempted to upgrade, only to find that the new version is too large to download and install on my phone as an upgrade. I then uninstalled the old version, and still didn't have enough space.
My solution at that point was to just stop using Skype.
That probably wasn't what Microsoft was aiming for, but it did change my behavior. Thanks, guys.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
I remember reading about a competing product called "MagicJack". It appears to have cheaper rates and doesn't need a computer as a bonus. I guess folks could consider this as a competitor.
If you're still using Leopard, great, either use one of the older versions of skype, besides which they're much less cluttered and dont have the big disgusting fugly UI of recent iterations (on all platforms) - at least until they screw that up, which is only a matter of time, the updates as far as i am aware are pretty minimal, like most GUI designs nowadays are getting bigger, hiding features, becoming clunkier, dumbing down and are becoming child-like, taking much more screen real-estate. (fail)...
or
you can quite easily , just NOT use skype. its proprietry, so you have vendor lock-in, like it or lump it. if it breaks on your platform and you cant work around it, your options are clearly limited, firstly question if you need the updates, stop using the program, upgrade your platform or move to another VIOP program. thats your lot. if its that important to you to use Skype, you might want to start looking at other replacements ..
- always have an out..
It wasn't a purely arbitrary decision on Apple's part. I have a 2006 Macbook (the black plastic model) over here that allows me to upgrade to OS X Lion 10.7.5 but can't use Mountain Lion or Mavericks. It has a Core 2 (64-bit) processor, and with the 4GB of RAM I put in it, it more than meets the minimum RAM requirement. The sticking point is the Intel GMA950 video chipset, which Apple decided wasn't powerful enough to give a good user experience with the newer features they were adding.
Microsoft, by contrast, tends to include at least some sort of relatively generic video driver for a whole slew of video cards, to ensure a given version of Windows will still boot and run on far older machines. But is that really "better"? I was able to put Windows 8.1 on a circa 2006 Dell Latitude D430, not long ago, thanks to this sort of backwards compatibility -- yet the user experience was awful to unusable when trying to do such things as launching the free pinball game they had in the "Metro" UI.
In other cases, I've seen where you can make older hardware work in Windows, but it causes instability. Then people run around poking fun at Microsoft for the exception errors and blue screens of death that randomly pop up.
Apple markets their computer products as a whole ecosystem ... You're paying a premium for a user experience they've engineered for you. They've never offered more than a few different types of graphics cards/chipsets in their product lines at a given time, and they supply most of the printer drivers too. It's fine if you disagree with the value that supposedly adds, vs. the downsides. But it all adds up to making logical sense why Apple would phase out support relatively quickly for an older Mac with the new OS X releases.
I think you're missing the point, really?
Apple, historically, supports the current OS X and 2 versions back from it. Beyond that, it's unsupported by them. But they don't publish official "end of life" dates for OS X like Microsoft and others do for their OS's.
The reasoning is that quite a few people can and DO like to keep their old machines around, running older software they've invested in, even if the operating system itself isn't getting patches released for it anymore.
There are still people out there using OS X 10.4 Tiger, and 3rd. party products targeted specifically for them ... such as TenFourFox at http://www.floodgap.com/softwa...
A typical hate-frenzy brought on my MS/Apple thread. You people have lost your damn minds.
Let me put this in perspective: 10.5 was the last OS with the baggage of Rosetta; no PowerPC can run higher versions.
Big Whoop. The guy modded up whining about being stuck on Snow Leopard, stop, you're embarrassing yourself. I can't run iOS7 on my first-gen iPod touch either.
You can't have it both ways, you can't whine about owning an 'expensive' computer and not wanting to upgrade your hardware. You want cheap and supported? Get a new Win machine. Want to upgrade? Sell the old computer after 4 years and you've got a decent chunk of change to put towards a new one.
Or, OR, I'm just sayin: don't expect the newest software to run on old OSs. This is your issue, not Apple or Microsoft.
My seven year old computer which has been unsupported by the vendor for three years is now unsupported by third-party products.
I'm going to go cry into my iThingie.
*LMAO*
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
Apple did the same thing with their upgrade to iOS. If you had iOS6 and an older Mac, you could connect through iTunes and everything worked fine. Then they "upgraded" to iOS7, and without warning you had to have a more recent version of iTunes, which in turn requires Mac OS 10.6.8 or newer. So don't think this is some Microsoft conspiracy. It's just typical thoughtless programmers not giving a shit about reverse compatibility.
It's surprising that people are raising a fuss about this, when they didn't say peep about the iPhone thing. Hell, on the Apple Discussions board if you try to bring up something like this, you are ridiculed for having a computer more than three years old.
... and it's pretty pointless. No bugs? You are certainly joking, or at the very least, clueless.
There are *always* bugs and always will be. So what? Many bugs just aren't worth fixing, and are even debatable as a bug. Bugs come in all forms:
A) The software doesn't do what it is specifically designed to do. (obvious, must fix)
B) The software does exactly what it's supposed to do in an insecure way that can be exploited in some fashion. (probably should fix, unless the "insecure" way is part of the assumed envelope of use. For example, the common practice of using an SSL reverse proxy got Google in trouble with the NSA yet using a reverse proxy isn't itself generally considered a "bug".
C) The software does what it's designed to do, but not in a way that the user expects. (Is this a bug? Or PEBCAK?)
D) The software does what it's supposed to but not when an unexpected environment is encountered. (Example: this product is incompatible with A/V $FOO)
E) The software interacts with other software in an unexpected way.
F) The software lacks a feature that some customers would find useful.
G) The software implements a feature in an unattractive or cumbersome way. ... and so on.
A PENCIL has bugs! Yes, a pencil. The lead breaks easily. The eraser doesn't remove *all* the marking when you use it. It requires a sharpener. You can't sign a contract with a pencil. They are horrible for lefties who end up with a dark stripe on the side of the their hand. The paint can sometimes discolor your finger. And on and on and on...
These are all "bugs" yet the design of a pencil hasn't been updated to fix them. There are few things as simple as a !@#$% pencil yet these obvious bugs have *never* been fixed. Oh sure, some have. There have been erasable pens. There are mechanical pencils. Pens can perform some of the duties of a pencil.
So if a bug-free pencil hasn't yet been made, how in the name of anything holy do you expect something millions of times more complex to be "bug free"?
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
Apple sells computing appliances, not computers, and that's an important difference. The batteries in iOS devices are not user replaceable, the computing appliances are often not user-upgradeable, and "expansion" of the devices is limited.
This is all intentional.
You're supposed to buy a new appliance every 3-5 years. And if you're not on the "buy the new iThingie, Ooo, Ooo, Ooo" bandwagon, they don't give a rat's fat ass about you, because you're not continuing to make them money.
If you want upgradeable, buy a bare bones box and install Linux. Old hardware and old devices are supported beyond any sane life span.
If you want to be locked in to a repurchase cycle, buy Apple.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
I'm not sure what's really going on, as the Skype forum comments aren't exactly explicit, but I decided to see what happens for myself. I just launched Skype 2.8.0.722 and it logged in to my account just fine. This is on a PowerMac G5 running 10.5.8.
Also, Skype is telling me there is a newer version available (2.8.0.866), but I don't dare update until I see some better information. I wonder what's really going on here.
No, it is not Ubuntu.
I am a Debian user and have the same issue.
What is really happening is that the new version of Skype does not support ALSA, only PulseAudio.
Now, I have been a very long term user of skype, but only for international calls to landlines, thus having to pay for it. I cannot nake calls anymore due to this issue and Micro$oft will not refund my money (pre-paid) as I paid it earlier than 15 days previously. This is simply theft to me! Without warning you replace a service with one that had different requirements and then are not prepared to refund those that cannot fulfil this new requirement.
I now that Micro$oft needs to make money, but is grand theft the answer to their dilemma?
Brothers in arms
skype should download the older versions of xcode that apple has archived on their developer site and get to work if that's what their customers want ;)
What is really happening is that the new version of Skype does not support ALSA, only PulseAudio.
So install PulseAudio. Fuck what happened to "news for nerds"? All of a sudden youre all retarded, you even spelled out the answer in your post.
Dammit, I told you, no more embargoes.
Who run Bartertown? Who... run... Bartertown?
Say.
microsoft.
SAY LOUD!
MICROSOFT RUN BARTERTOWN.
Tough shit. Embargo ON!
Run skype on your shiny fondle slab and stop bitching. If that is not good enough for you then run Apples version of video chat.
Agreed. But they often don't (and in the case of my example above, didn't.) They just leave it lying around, broken, and your only remedy is to upgrade for a fix, but the upgrade itself can break other stuff pretty thoroughly, which makes it a dangerous path to take.
That's my gripe.
I don't. Inapplicable inherent pencil shortcomings aside, I'm saying that when case (A) as you call it exists, a fully remedial and otherwise non-screws-up-everything response, as far as I'm concerned, is obligatory on the part of the vendor. If that response is not forthcoming, then the vendor has taken the low road and deserves to be taken to task for it. I don't care who the vendor is or what the product is.
If you sell product X saying it'll do Y, but in fact it doesn't do Y, and you refuse to fix it so it does, but only offer a completely different product instead that doesn't do what the original does the same way, then you suck. And that goes double if you have the deep pockets and resources Apple and Microsoft do.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Thanks, but that's not an application in the sense I meant it. Being tied to as rapidly moving a target as a/multiple browser(s) means any one version of it almost certainly is not going to work for long, and the whole idea behind what I said was to reduce third party breakage and involvement to a minimum. An application in this sense must run under the host OS, and use the absolute minimum in host APIs, and require no 3rd party software, in order to gain a significant degree of independence:
Application <-> Host OS <-> Internet <-> Host OS <-> Application
Such an approach aids portability, which is important given that there is at a minimum, Windows, OSX, and Linux to erect an app for. One could almost certainly build it in one shot using Qt.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
He is a customer, not an employee of them last time I checked. While you are at it, tell him is a dimwit for not switching to Windows. People, Microsoft as shown time after time that they are willing to hurt their customer base to make them adopt the newer versions of Windows, and they are not interested at all in the business/work continuity of their customers because it is not profitable customers do no upgrade. So in fact, Microsoft is not "deceiving" anyone, they are true to their spirit and line of orientation. It is just you that are on the wrong to be naive to use their products.
Banned also from my 808 Pureview! E-mail received today: "Skype apps for Symbian are permanently retiring We've noticed that you are, or previously were, signed into Skype on a Symbian phone, and we're sorry to inform you that we are now permanently retiring all Skype apps for Symbian phones. As a result, within the next few weeks, you'll no longer be able to sign in and use Skype on any Symbian phone. You can still stay in touch with friends and family using Skype on an Android device, Nokia Lumia phone or desktop computer. You can sign into them all using the same Skype account. The latest versions of Skype for all your devices are available at http://www.skype.com/download [skype.com]. Do you have a Skype calling subscription? If you want to cancel your subscription please follow the instructions on this FAQ. Requesting a refund To see if you are entitled to a Skype Credit or subscription refund please contact customer support for more information. We apologize for any disruption caused, Skype"
Because we're really, really tired of software that uselessly, needlessly, requires the "latest and greatest" operating system for no good reason at all, that's why.
Someone didn't do his research here. Do you know what Macs are famous for? That's right, the upgrade treadmill! If you didn't want to deal with that, why the hell did you buy one?
But, say, if you have something as vanilla as an image processing application, with no real need for anything other than memory allocation and file dialogs, and lets say you add, oh, I don't know, a new RAW file format to the application, then please don't tie that capability to the latest OS
THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF OS X. The "Integration" aspect is a big thing for it, and that's EXACTLY what Apple's target audience wants. Seriously, this is like raging on about how semi trucks are big, slow, and noisy. I don't know which application you're talking about, but I assume it's iPhoto. In which case, you clearly know very little about it. IPhoto doesn't do any image processing, it's ALWAYS relied on OS X's built in libraries to do that. If you've ever programmed on OS X, you should have known that.
Now THERE is a radical fucking idea. With a process like that, maybe my Mini could fucking well print like it's supposed to
That wouldn't change anything. CUPS is not a part of OS X, it's a separate tool. Unless, you want your OS to do integrated printing? Why Image Processing as well? ^^^^
I've written HUNDREDS of them under three different major OS's without EVER having to tie even ONE of them to an OS level.
Let's get this straight: You have coded libraries under every operating system, yet never once used the built in frameworks? You're telling me you've written HUNDREDS of libraries so small and trivial that they never used any kind of system level frameworks? That's quite an achievement. Or, most likely, you DID use this "OS esoterica". I feel for you, I know EXACTLY what you meant to say, but you're statement is just flat out incorrect.
While I'm at it, Apple and Microsoft, stop leaving broken OS's in your wake. When you sell an OS, and it doesn't work the way it was supposed to, you should fix it. Yes, even ten years later. You said it would work, you took the customer's money on that basis, and if it fucking well doesn't work the way you said it would, you need to step up to the plate and make sure it gets fixed.
Okay, this just ridiculous. One, you're talking about something not part of the OS. They promised you a working OS, not any guarantees that your printing would work. You didn't by a full solution, just the package. Have you even contacted their technical support about this? If you have, I'm sorry for you, but they aren't obligated to fix your issue. The best fix is to simply not buy from them next time. Two, how long have you known about this!?!? If this is an old bug, why didn't you put Linux on it? If you don't have the technical knowledge, need compatibility with an application, or found Linux just as bad, why not return it? You could then spend that money on another computer. Seriously, it's inconveniencing, but there are definitely ways around that problem. As a programmer, I would have kinda expected you to have learned by now how to flow around issues like this.
I went through this process of picking my computer operating system, from Windows to OS X to god knows how many Linux distroes. I eventually arrived at nirvana, and it was something completely off the map: FreeBSD. It's rock solid stable, has got a nice long support cycle, is a pleasure to administrate and ticker with, and has a massive library of over 24,000 applications (and no, this isn't Debian where every app is split between 10 different packages). Again, if you need a specific application, FreeBSD is pretty much ruled out (unless it happens to be a Linux app. Then, it M
"Set a man a fire, he'll be warm for the rest of the night. Set a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
Australia was an example, and apparently it still is.
Re: going free and open source, the main advantage is that you no longer need to use expensive, limiting, privacy invasive apps when there are free and open source alternatives.
A lot of applications that people use daily have no comparable free alternative. Let me know when there's a free alternative to these.
There are plenty of FOSS P2P IM, VoIP and other apps and almost all of them use open web standards that are interoperable (unlike Skype).
Which doesn't help if most of your contacts have been sucked into the network effect of relying on proprietary communication software. Do you want prospective employers and the like to view you as "that guy" who refuses to use what is the de facto standard despite being undocumented?