Good news ... and bad news for Skype-using Apple fans and small biz

Microsoft is pulling Apple-leaning Skype users deeper into its lair. Well, some of them. There's good news for iPhone and iPad owners, and bad news for some Mac users. The good news: Office docs via Skype on iThings The free voice and chat service now includes native support for Microsoft Office products in its iOS apps. In …

[Anonymous Coward]

Skype is an 500-lb pig, and keeps getting fatter

This used to be a nice, compact application which did exactly what I needed it for: voice and text chat, with an occational file being exchanged. If I needed to take a peek into the said file, I already had the tools and the knowledge of how to do so, thank-you-very-much.

It is gradually transforming itself into a multi-gigabyte beast, with its own background update service and a tentacle stuck into every conceivable nook and cranny of the OS.

I still run it on my linux box (where it is still reasonably lean, and keept the classic interface thanks to the lack of updates) and on my android phone (but only after digging out an older, less bloated APK) - but it is gone from all my windows desktops, and it is not coming back.

[Gotno iShit Wantno iShit]

Re: Skype is an 500-lb pig, and keeps getting fatter

Absolutely agree about Skype being a bloated pig, the protocol is just as awful as the (windows) client. So serious question: The sign in process on Windows is a hideous bandwidth hog, anything less than tethered 4G or ADSL times out before it completes. I wiresharked it once but can't recall the numbers. A reconnect is much smaller so when I'm off to work in the middle of nowhere I have to remember to sign in at home and suspend but not shut down my laptop. Then I have to ensure I reconnect as frequently as I can to prevent something timing out and a full sign in being needed. It rarely lasts a week, once a full sign in is needed and I'm screwed for the remainder of the trip so I've not actually bothered trying in over a year.

Are the Android or Linux versions any better? Would they get connected over Edge or a DSL shared with 100 other engineers all trying to do an E.T. (phone home)? I only want the text client.

[thames]

Muppets

"Unfortunately, there is no OS X app for Skype for Business yet; it's not due out until at least the summer. ... In the meantime, Mac-powered businesses will have to make do with Lync for Mac 2011, which is rather old and not terribly well-liked by OS X users"

What a bunch of muppets. They want to be a major force in the mobile applications market for businesses, but they can't get their act together to coordinate the different parts of their own business. Any even marginally competent management team would make sure that they don't phase out one service before providing the replacement.

"The free voice and chat service now includes ... "

A whole bunch of stuff that 99% of users neither need nor want.

[Halfmad]

Re: Muppets

Yeah it's a bit daft but they should look at all the good things Apple have done for non-mac users like iTunes.. Appleworks..

God I can't keep a straight face.

Bottom line is this is el'reg, MS get it in the rear regardless of what they do by the baying crowd.

[hplasm]

Re: Muppets

" MS get it in the rear regardless of what they do..."

And how they do it.

They should try not being shit.

[SecretSonOfHG]

Meanwhile the Linux support is lagging

We're still on 4.0.3