Posted on 02/06/2017 5:08:43 AM PST by dayglored
Mac and Windows (and Linux) Skype users given until March 1st to modernise themselves
Microsoft's hurrying desktop Skype users to new client software.
As revealed in a post late last week, Redmond's new plan will mean that come March 1st, users of “Skype for Windows desktop (7.16 and below) or Skype for Mac (7.0 to 7.18) will no longer be able to sign in.”
To avoid that conversational crimp, you need merely update your Skype client before the due date.
The change is necessary, Microsoft says, because the clients mentioned above were built for ye olde ſkype and its peer-to-peer architecture. Skype's now heading to a cloudy architecture, the better to allow baked-in services like file sharing from within the Skype client and mobile video chats.
The new software's yours for the downloading here.
Several “flaws” in the Skype platform will be fixed in this update. This is good news all around if you use Skype. I know of 2 large gaming communities that are happy about this.
Skynet lives.
Might well be good news, but with Microsoft’s history, any “forced updates” are going to be viewed with skepticism now by a lot of people, and MS has nobody to blame for that but themselves.
Looking for alternatives to Skype and Linked In. Also YouTube and Google Maps. I don’t like the Microsoft and Google data sucking hydras.
Translation - your old Skype conversations had a reasonable expectation of privacy. Your new Skype conversations will belong to Skype, and they can archive and access them as they want.
Before, the communication system was the product; now the users are.
There’s a service called Discord ( https://discordapp.com ) which seems popular with gaming communities. It allows for voice chat but also modern text chat with channels similar to IRC for groups.
I’ve used it for gaming and it does make it easier to get groups together for discussions of common topics. It advertises as a better alternative than Skype and has mobile clients.
Even though it is a Microsoft product, the Video tab in Bing does a good job of searching a bunch of video sites simultaneously.
Bing has maps, but lesser known groups like Mapquest are still out there.
Switching to a browser from a vendor other than Microsoft and Google helps too. I use Firefox with the uBlock Origin plugin to suppress ads and tracking.
I’m not sure of an alternative to Linked In. I know Microsoft purchased them. For discussion communities on nearly every topic, there is Reddit ( http://www.reddit.com ).
I’ve given up on Skype. It drops audio after about two minutes into the call. No tech support.
Imagine the angst when GoogleEarth changes the terms of use for “kml” files.
Bluffdale Eyes will be happy.
The Peer to Peer is what made this a great app, most of your data never went through their servers and they are killing it
Why do you think I didn’t want to update?
I always uninstall Skype and Microsoft just installs it again and again ,then it stops , then they do an update and it starts installing all over again ,LOL
Skype was a terrific product until Microsoft purchased it and turned it into a giant leech.
When I clicked on the Skype app icon, a screen comes up that says "We've replaced this app with an improved Skype experience. See what you can do with the new app." Has a ~download now~ box.
On the chance that I may decide to use Skype in the future, should I go ahead and download the new version? (If it matters, I have W8.1 on this laptop.) As always, thanks for you expertise and help.
Hmmmmm ..?? I just checked by Windows Update file - and there are no updates .. so I guess I don’t have to worry about disappearing any time soon.
“Skype was a terrific product until Microsoft purchased it and turned it into a giant leech.”
Yep, totally agree. Info harvesting creeps. Add to that all their ‘cool’ changes to GUI and formats. Sucks curdled milk.
I guess programmers must continually change everything to ensure their ongoing employment. And they sure don’t understand their full end users’ desires, focusing only on showing off ‘cool’ new programming tools and widgets and eye candy, and taking suggestions only from their screen-entranced geek peers.
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