Skype dials up deal with Facebook

Skype has inked a deal with Facebook by integrating the dominant social network’s News Feed and Phonebook into the Microsoft Windows version of its software. The company added it planned to roll out the tech to Apple Mac users soon, but didn't reveal when that would happen. “We’ve revitalised the look and feel, making voice …

[Nextweek]

I do not understand?

This is nothing. Since Skype is clearly in a state to be brought out.

Facebook should do so and add video and voice to all its hundreds of millions of users. If 10% of their users made some sort of out call from the service that would mean real revenue.

Of course the downside is that Facebook would instantly become the largest telco on the planet.

[Bear Features]

here we go again

Who was the lemon that decided this was a good idea? Was it the same person that thought linking Skype with ebay was a good idea?

If you want to increase contact with a Facebook buddy, you'll give them your Skype, phone number etc. I have nearly 300 FB friends, and two of them are on my Skype contacts, I don't need 'easier integration'... I can add a contact all by myself thank you.

[Anonymous Coward]

losing companies

Sounds like a step towards losing the corporate market to me. My company puts up with Skype because it is genuinely useful and, without spending lots of money, there is no other tool that provides this. However, they don't put up with Facebook, which is barred through the firewall. I wouldn't be surprised if many, many other companies are in the same position.

Skype is well known for finding a way out through a firewall. If this new version allows bits of Facebook in, when it's otherwise barred, I can see these companies being forced to go looking for Skype alternatives and banning use of Skype too.

[THUFIR HAWAT]

corporate market

Are you using Skype on Windows, or Skype for SIP, or what? I would assume that a business would use SIP, or Skype for SIP. If you're just running Skype, then, yeah, I can kinda see that.

[shade82000]

Get out of my face man

So I use Skype...I used to use facebook but I left because quite frankly I think it's the biggest population powered bandwagon since who cares when, and I have no real use for it.

If they integrate facebook into Skype and don't give me an option to disable it then I will stop using Skype and find something else.

I'm fed up of having this crap pushed down my throat.

There are obvious ways of doing things - Isn't that what plugins are for? Skype supports plugins. Why can't they make a facebook plugin for those (billion) people that want it and leave the rest of us alone?

The same goes with my Android phone. Why do I *have* to have facebook / twitter etc preinstalled without the ability to remove it? Isn't that what the Android Market is for?

[Anonymous Coward]

how about fixing a few bugs first?

In the last year or so, skype has introduced a load of new features (none of any interest to me) but every release has been more unreliable than the last. Many failure modes give the user the impression that they are still connected but actually they have dropped off the network. some cause skype to crash when initiating of even in the middle of a call, and often a reboot is required before skype can reconnect, meaning that we all have to run windows messenger purely so we can inform each other about skype problems.

My distributed company relies on skype for chat and voice calls but reliability is now so bad that we are having to consider alternatives.

[shade82000]

Good call...

...cos last time I checked (August) Skype had this amazing feature on every Windows 7 machine we have, where it would receive a call, not allow you to answer it, then just ring and ring and ring until you reboot.

So we had no option but to only allow out Linunx users to use Skype. I don't think they have fixed it yet and Windows 7 is already getting old.

[tardigrade]

Bye, bye Skype....

....It's been nice using you, but I'm not going to have Faceache narcissism ported to my desktop.

[dssf]

If fb and Skype do this...

Then you can expect msoft to become the biggest telco on the planet. Unfortunately, since ms and advert cos are scraping data, it's not unreasonable to presume that ms will gain or at least be able to "sanitize" and cross-reference evern more people.

I can see ms wet dreaming and rubbing palms frenetically over this. SOME governments will want to block this, since Skype theoretically has the most unbreakable encryption in communications. Adding this to ms might make it easier for SOME law enforcement and advert companies to consolidate profiles-to-persons-of-interes, but other governments will want to block it.

OTOH, if fb & Skype marry up, and if ms buys both (and gets to keep them w/o legislative/regulatory opposition), then Linux and OpenSource may suddenly find themselves with inferior or no Skype tools of worth.

[Anonymous Coward]

Am I missing something?

Perhaps only the geekiest will be aware of this, but Pidgin has been integrating skype, facebook, MSN, Irc, et al for donkeys now.....I for one won't be downloading this latest bloated nonsense! http://www.theregister.co.uk/Design/graphics/icons/comment/fail_32.png

[salada2k]

Ummmm... noooooooooo

I think you're missing the fact that Pidgin does NOT integrate with Skype which unfortunately invalidates your comment.

Source: http://www.pidgin.im/