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Microsoft Will End Support For Skype Classic In November (techcrunch.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the end-of-the-line dept.

Support for Skype Classic 7.0 was slated to end this month, but has been delayed due to customer complaints. Now, according to an announcement today, Microsoft is going to officially end support in November. TechCrunch reports: The company is killing Skype 7 support on the desktop on November 1, following suit for mobile and tablets two weeks later on the 15th. The initial delay was motivated by vocal users unhappy by the changes brought on by Skype 8 in the name of simplification. One user went so far as to launch a Change.org petition asking Microsoft to "Keep the desktop version of Skype alive for professional users." The petition has since racked up in excess of 1,000 signatures, demanding the company keep enterprise features lost in the shuffle. "We're continuing to work on your most requested features," the company writes in an update to the original announcement. "Recently we launched call recording and have started to roll out the ability to search within a conversation. You'll soon be able to add phone numbers to existing contacts, have more control over your availability status, and more."

28 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. RAM use by tepples · · Score: 4, Informative

    How about the requested feature of not using as much RAM as a full-on Google Chrome process?

    (Last I checked, Skype used Microsoft Electron, a GUI toolkit that is literally a copy of Chromium hardcoded to one website.)

  2. "Classic" =/= Desktop by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Skype 8 has a desktop program in addition to a modern/metro crapplet. It even works on real OS's like Windows 7...

    1. Re:"Classic" =/= Desktop by Luthair · · Score: 1

      Skype 8 is a mobile turd wrapped in a window. Where's that apper guy :p

    2. Re:"Classic" =/= Desktop by WoodstockJeff · · Score: 1

      Skype 8 for the desktop is a mobile app that can run on a desktop. It has all the limitations of the mobile version, including making it difficult to manage multiple text conversations.

  3. Put it on paid support by xack · · Score: 1

    And end it In 2023 along with paid Windows 7 support.

  4. Skype Is Dead by labnet · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've noticed in my business world, skype is rarely used anymore. It's either zoom or less often google meetings. The Skype UI is confusing, the whole business skype/normal skype was confusing. (Hello windows and windows RT!, and having the same Microsoft login name requiring different accounts because they still have two different back ends that are not fully integrated)

    I think, once you become a big fat bloated organization, innovation becomes almost impossible.

    --
    46137
    1. Re:Skype Is Dead by bmimatt · · Score: 1

      This is just a (more) aggressive data grab:
      - we store everything for you so you can search it
      - we let you record everything, we'll also sit on the recording data and mine it for whatever we can
      - we let you add contact details, so we can better map out messages and voices to real people ... but we care about your privacy and security.

      Then they'll force cortana on it to try processing in (near)real-time.

      Fuck Microsoft and the pony they rode in on. I'll be moving my parents to something else and deleting skype in the weeks to come.

    2. Re:Skype Is Dead by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      It is not the size of the organisation it is the arrogance of the organisation. Skype users complain, M$ response in crude terms starts like this;

      fuck off you do not have a problem, next
      fuck you, you caused the problem, next
      fuck off some other companies applications caused the problem, next
      there might be a problem but fuck off it is free (after market share starts shrinking alarmingly) next,
      fuck off and stop complaining the new version is better so shut the fuck up, (market share is halved), next
      we sort of fixed it but it really was all the arsehole users fault, (market share is continuing to shrink), next
      you can all fuck off we dropped the product not enough people using it.

      You are on the M$ product to oblivion tread mill, give up early, you will be better off.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  5. Skype, there is a name I haven't heard in a long.. by xpiotr · · Score: 1

    Skype was revolutionary when it came...
    Sold twice by it's creator!
    But MS seems to be making Skype worse in each iteration.
    FaceTime, FB Messenger, Viber, Snapchat, Telegram, Signal offers the same functionality.
    Skype is the next ICQ.

  6. Re:Skype, there is a name I haven't heard in a lon by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

    Can any of these transfer files of any size as well as message? Using Facebook is just plain idiotic for private conversations, at least Microsoft is old world tech before business plans relied on scraping every bit of information off of everyone.

    Skype seems to still be the one that works on everyone's machine, can be used for file transfers, and doesn't make you feel as if there are eyes on you. I'm not a big fan of all the fluff they have added, but it is what it is. I can ignore it.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  7. Re:Skype, there is a name I haven't heard in a lon by WhoBeDaPlaya · · Score: 1

    Uh, I've got bad news for you. Skype was "un-decentralized" by Microsoft when they bought it, ie. everything flows through MS' servers and gets piped straight to the NSA ;)

  8. Really to bad!! by oldgraybeard · · Score: 1

    I despise the new version. Just poorly designed UI, takes more area, bloat, etc. I think it will be something I will be moving away from and not recommending. Something I only use when I have to deal with specific clients who require it.

    Companies should remember, new features and redesigns often work out poorly for products that should have light footprints, do a small number of things well and not be over loaded with things most users will never use.

    Just my 2 cents ;)

    1. Re:Really to bad!! by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      This is really funny, because this complaint could have been made any time in the past 5 years or so and still been perfectly relevant. Microsoft was at the forefront of usability and GUI design in the 90s (IMO) and they've pretty much abandoned everything they learned.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  9. Re:original features, please by uffe_nordholm · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I can't agree more: when MS bought Skype, it didn't take long for Skype to turn to shit. And mostly the UI. I used to use Skype to help my 70+ year old mother when she ran into computer problems, and Skype was my number one choice since she already knew the UI (at least well enough) and she could share her screen with me. That seems to have been removed from Skype completely (at least from the Linux versions), and thus I have no reason to use Skype any more.

    On a personal note, I remember when ICQ was still popular, and MSN Messenger was only just starting to get a foothold on the market: one of my friends was adamant that MSN M was better than ICQ, because you could send emojis! And it was prettier! If that really is what people want, then MS has made the right choices for Skype. It's a pity that they seem unable to satisfy the computer-savvy nerds at the same time.

  10. This sucks since we can't get Microsoft Teams... by greenwow · · Score: 1

    to work for everyone yet so we're still stuck on Skype. We have a mix mostly of Apple devices since we publish an iOS app, Windows 7, and Linux that has trouble with Teams. For even the people, like me, that can get Teams to work, taskmgr.exe shows that Teams uses more memory than even Visual Studio or IntelliJ. When Microsoft kills Skype, we're going to have to spend a lot of money and piss off a lot of customers.

  11. Re:Skype, there is a name I haven't heard in a lon by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

    Yeah but I'm not prepared to explain ICQ to everyone I need to communicate with.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  12. Re:Skype, there is a name I haven't heard in a lon by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

    I have no worries about the NSA. I have worries about companies that collect who my friends are. I'm not so egotistical to think the NSA cares about that, but I knoew Facebook does.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  13. Re:Nothing to say more: Skype suddenly woke up dea by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 2

    Yep. Updated Skype recently to 8, it was essentially unusable. Went back to 7 fairly quickly. Given the choice between Skype 8 and nothing, I choose nothing. Or at least something that isn't Skype.

  14. I ended my usage of Skype by Tough+Love · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Skype has been all downhill ever since Microsoft killed the P2P in favor of centralized spyware. Slack, Discord and even Hangouts are way better. All of them are rampant privacy violations, but Skype is the worst.

    --
    When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    1. Re:I ended my usage of Skype by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      They HAD to go to centralization to even make it viable.

      That is no excuse for dropping the P2P for devices that support it. Microsoft could easily have made it an option but they are more interested in spying, not doing what is best for users.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  15. Re:Skype for smart tv's by 6Yankee · · Score: 1

    I bought a combined Skype/landline DECT phone. It wasn't cheap. Skype Certified, it said... And Microsoft killed the API.

  16. Two ways by DrYak · · Score: 1

    The (old, Qt-based) classic Skype is deprecated and isn't supported on Linux at all (won't even connect to the network).

    There is an official Beta for Linux, which is basically the Skype Web webapp wrapped together with a Chromium browser engine (Electron).

    The webapp also works directly on Chrome and Firefox (apparently Microsoft has somehow ported their code using ORTC to the WebRTC standard ?)

    A plugin for the purple engine (as used by Pidgin, but also compatible with several frameworks like Telepathy) that relies on the Web API has been written and functions nicely for Chat, but currently doesn't support Voice and Video (it was started back when Skype Web was ORTC only and needed a binary plugin to work on Firefox. The dev simply hasn't had time to developped that since, but there's no technical limitation nowadays preventing this from happening).

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  17. Web Skype by DrYak · · Score: 1

    The web app is basically the new official Skype.

    Forget about the desktop application, Skype 8 is just the web app wrapped together inside Electron.

    Instead :

      - go straight to https://web.skype.com/ with your browser, at least you won't have to endure their crappy wrapper.

      - use the SkypeWeb lib Purple plugin (either directly into Pidgin, or into something else that is compatible like Telepathy). Though that one doesn't support Voice and Video, only chat.

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  18. Again? by Daralantan · · Score: 1

    Haven't they already announced a delay due to user feedback 2-3 other times already?

  19. And nothing of value was lost by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 2

    For years now.

  20. Migrated off Skype by iTrawl · · Score: 1

    * messages not being delivered
    * no option to retry sending an undelivered message
    * adding delayed messages to the middle of the conversation (possibly off screen by now) to confuse people when they say "You didn't tell me that" and then scroll and see that the text is there, but wasn't there when the conversation was happening
    * can't fetch history easily - the old version could fetch 1 month, 1 year, or all of it; the new version fetches a small chunk when you scroll all the way to the top, and it gets slower and slower as you fetch more
    * history search says "nothing found" while at the same time highlighting the word in your chat window; this is more likely if the chat window contains history fetched through scrolling

    You'd think that Microsoft don't use Skype themselves, because these things are easy to spot.

    --
    "Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
  21. MSFT bought GitHub by tepples · · Score: 1

    Microsoft announced acquisition of GitHub over three months ago. See the press release and coverage on Microsoft's official blog.

  22. Web version. by antdude · · Score: 1

    Web version is lacking a lot of features like export chat conversations. Copy and paste is a pain and formattings are lost. :(

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).