Microsoft Needs To Fix Skype (theverge.com)

It's no secret that Microsoft has long stopped caring about Skype for Linux. But the VoIP and instant messaging service isn't exactly working well on other platforms either. Microsoft reporter and critic Tom Warren lists a number of issues he continues to face on Skype. These issues include infrequent restarts, too many update prompts, and just having to deal with the unimpressive user interface that Skype throws at everyone's face. "I'm not sure what Microsoft has done to Skype, but it sucks now," he writes. Warren adds: Recently, friends and family have started experiencing some of the many issues I experience, including calls simply not connecting properly and every device in a home ringing non-stop even when a call is activated. Microsoft had promised to fix notifications blasting out to both your desktop machine and mobile, but I still frequently receive them in real-time on multiple devices. [...] I regularly have to restart the app just to make a call, or have my microphone detected correctly. This isn't a single device with driver issues, it's consistent across machines. I can't even scroll up and down on the contacts section of the Skype app with my trackpad, it just doesn't work. Those are bugs that should be easy to address, but Microsoft has also struggled to get the UI right with Skype.

Comments

Are you new here?

[Maxwell]

Wait 5 years, or until a viable competitor emerges. Microsoft will then announce - with great fanfare - that they are creating a brand new super awesome video chat tool. Microsoft lovers will trip over themselves to be the first to herald the arrival of a new age. What they won't remember, what no one ever seems to remember is that Microsoft was responsible for screwing it up in the first place.

I am still waiting for Active Directory to do what NDS used to do in the 1990's. And I can't wait until powershell finally replaces what UNIX has been doing since the 1970's. Remember this FACT: We would not have had graphical desktops without Microsoft! We'd still be using DOS!

Yes, indeed it will be a great day when Microsoft invents, easy, universal video chat...I'm so excited!

I just wish notifications would work on iOS

[devicenull9218]

If the iOS app hasn't been manually opened in the past few hours (minutes?), no call or text notifications come in. How hard is that to get right?

Re:Skype for Business

[tlhIngan]

Recently, my copy of Skype for Business has been terminating abruptly. This is on my PC at work, maintained by my company. I can understand Microsoft not maintaining the Linux or "home" version of Skype, but I would expect their business version to be robust and reliable.

That's the problem, actually.

Skype for Business is really a re-branding of Lync, Microsoft's other conferencing solution. And basically managing to screw it up like how they tried to unify Skype and MSN Messenger. At least the latter was text chat and Microsoft managed to get a gateway going (you could do voice and video on MSN, but it wasn't used heavily)

Then Microsoft rebranded Lync as Skype for Business, integrated its functionality into Skype and all heck broke loose and the two really weren't meant to interoperate well. The user lists merged, but try having a multi-way conference between Skype and Lync users and hilarity ensues as randomly one group or the other fails to get voice, video or other data.

Re:Skype for Business

[iampiti]

Fun fact: Skype for Business' executable file is still named lync.exe