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Skype Reverses Decision To Drop OS X 10.5 Support, Retires Windows Phone 7 App

An anonymous reader writes Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard users recently found that Skype no longer works on their system: despite upgrading to the latest version they still can't sign in. We got in touch with the Microsoft-owned company and after two days, we got confirmation that a solution was in the works. "We have a Skype version for Mac OS X 10.5 users which will soon be available for download," a Skype spokesperson told TNW. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Windows Phone 7. In a support page titled "Is Skype for Windows Phone 7 being discontinued?," the Microsoft-owned company answers the question with a "yes" and elaborates that it is "permanently retiring all Skype apps for Windows Phone 7." Again, this isn't just old versions going away, or support being removed, but the apps themselves have disappeared.

17 of 99 comments (clear)

  1. Well I guess it's time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    For me to bite the bullet and get an android phone.
    No way am I going to get a windows phone again and risk it going out of support within a year or two.

    1. Re:Well I guess it's time by sideslash · · Score: 2

      For me to bite the bullet and get an android phone. No way am I going to get a windows phone again and risk it going out of support within a year or two.

      Yeah, I definitely believe that this AC uses an old WP7 phone. They just exude credibility, and there's nothing fake or phony about their outrage whatsoever. Given that you can pick up an Android off Ebay for peanuts that will run circles around an old WP7 device and support a lot more apps to boot...

  2. Re:See what happens when you whine enough? by armanox · · Score: 2

    Considering that the only equipment that would be 'stuck' on 10.5 is on PowerPC, and the switch to Intel took place in 2006, I don't really care. Hardware has changed so much since then. Or have you tried using a G5 PowerMac in the modern world? Anything that's GPU accelerated (like browsers), HD video, or Javascript heavy is going to have issues.

    --
    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
  3. Has Mac EVER made an OSX app stop working? by raymorris · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You seem to be confusing two totally different things. Mac users had a perfectly working version of Skype. Microsoft broke what had already been working, by changing the network protocol and turning off the existing servers. Skype worked fine on Mac, then one day Microsoft starting rejecting EXISTING clients, and it's still broken today.

    You seem to be confusing that vs writing NEW versions of applications for unpatched operating systems. Apple is saying "if you want the new features in new versions of the application software, download the OS update." What Microsoft did was cut off existing versions that worked just fine.

    Another point that may be confusing if you're unfamiliar of anything outside of Microsoft's ass crack - updating OSX means downloading a free update, not paying hundreds of dollars and completely wiping the machine like you tend to do in Windows. My 2008 Mac Pro has the latest version of OSX and the Apple applications. I didn't pay them a thousand dollars to update the OS, the Office suite, the mail client, etc. I just click "yes" to install the free update. It's not that hard.

  4. Re:WP7 was a limited platform by sideslash · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's easy to forget the WP7 is a 1.0 product, but I do feel sorry for the people who have phones running that OS.

    Remember, a lot of non-savvy people opted for WP7 based on the name of Microsoft. They will be shocked to find Skype missing.

    Eh, WP7 is old. I don't think people will be that shocked. They should feel guilty for being so far behind the times, and give all their money to a smartphone manufacturer right away. /sarc

  5. typed that backward. Fingers don't believe me. by raymorris · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I guess my fingers didn't believe it could be true and autocorrected what I told them to type.
    It's interesting that the Microsoft announcement is MORE support for Mac and LESS support for Windows.

    1. Re:typed that backward. Fingers don't believe me. by alexhs · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's interesting that the Microsoft announcement is MORE support for Mac and LESS support for Windows.

      The next generation of interesting software will be done on the Macintosh, not the IBM PC.
      -- Bill Gates, BusinessWeek, 26 November 1984

      --
      I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of killer sig, which this margin is too narrow to contain.
    2. Re:typed that backward. Fingers don't believe me. by pushing-robot · · Score: 2

      "Why are we encouraging people to buy new Macs? We should be forcing our own users to upgrade, not theirs."
      — Satya Nadella, Internal Memo, 7 August 2014

      --
      How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
  6. Re:See what happens when you whine enough? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Suck it up fanbois: Apple sucks farts off dead chickens. Their only game is to keep you on the re-purchase treadmill.

    Yeah that must be why they're giving away free OS updates. Nothing says "re-purchase treadmill" like free updates. And every Mac with an 64-bit chips, going as far back as 2007 iMacs, will continue to be supported with new OS updates. If Apple was about what you claim why would a 7 year old system be able to get OS X 10.10?

    And they've supported iPhones and iPads with OS for more than a year after stopping sales. Android manufacturers stop providing updates while still selling the product.

    Basically, you're full of shit with weak sauce trollbait.

  7. Isn't forced obsolescence COOL? by Chas · · Score: 3, Funny

    Is there a reason it can't work on this platform?
    Yes.
    What's the reason?
    We don't want it to.
    Is there a TECHNICAL reason that it can't work on this platform?
    Yes.
    What's the reason.
    Technically, we don't want it to.
    Is there any reason, BESIDES your not wanting it to, that it can't work on these platform?
    Yes.
    What's the reason?
    Because if we don't want it to, remove the apps, and strip out support, it simply can't!

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!
    1. Re:Isn't forced obsolescence COOL? by arashi+no+garou · · Score: 2

      Take it from someone who had a WP7 phone for three years, and now has a WP8 phone: Skype never worked right on WP7 in the first place. It really shouldn't have been there to start with, but Microsoft couldn't have one of their most popular apps be a no-show on their mobile OS, so they put out a crippled mess that only served to piss off their users.

      On WP8, Skype works just as it should, because WP8 is a completely different OS under the hood and can run the background processes necessary for it to function.

  8. Re:See what happens when you whine enough? by Desler · · Score: 2

    And how pray tell do you presume someone would run a current version of OS X on a PowerPC system? You've basically constructed a scenario that is intentionally impossible.

  9. Re:WP7 was a limited platform by Rockoon · · Score: 2

    So much so that Skype could not receive incoming calls on WP7 unless the app was open (and not in the background).

    Sounds like a feature.

    --
    "His name was James Damore."
  10. Re:See what happens when you whine enough? by bondsbw · · Score: 2

    That's a bit unfair to compare Mac computers with Windows phones. Comparing computers, Microsoft has pretty much an unbeatable record when it comes to supporting old versions.

    But iPhones are updated for somewhat longer than Windows Phones (my 3GS was supported from iOS 3 through iOS 6, so 4 years worth).

    --
    All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
  11. Re:WP7 was a limited platform by amiga3D · · Score: 2

    XP lasted because Vista was an abysmal failure. When they finally bugfixed it by bringing out Win7 they at last had a viable alternative. Until Win7 arrived they had nothing to replace XP.

  12. So free is more than $1,299 now? by raymorris · · Score: 2

    Oh, so you're saying Apple's upgrade prices, which range from free to $30, are more than the $1,299 / year that Red Hat charges?
    https://www.redhat.com/wapps/s...

    Please return to first grade.

  13. Re:See what happens when you whine enough? by Desler · · Score: 2

    The issue is not PowerPC hardware.

    You mentioned 10-year-old hardware. Unless you're being intentionally dense, the only 10-year-old Macs are PowerPC.

    The issue is the early Intel hardware which is widely reported as unsupported by later versions of OS/X.

    Yeah, less than a handful of models that represent a tiny minority of Macs in current use.