Windows Insiders are so passé, Microsoft now has Skype Insiders Microsoft has kicked off a Skype Insiders program for people “interested in providing feedback to shape and enhance the Skype experience!” That's Skype Community Manager Allen-S' exclamation point, reproduced from his post explaining that the new group “will have early access to Skype software and services updates and …
The only time I (sometimes) use it is through the Outlook.com website (text only), but I'm never installing that garbage on my PC again. I still don't get it: MSN Messenger worked just fine and was hardly as intrusive as my last Skype session (now several years ago). I even accepted the advertisement display because... Well, it was a free chat client.
Now I mostly use my phone :)
It is still the most used video comms software, despite it being easy to prove it's intercepted (I tend to entertain myself with proving this to lawyers - it's rather interesting to see them go white :) ).
Until that changes, Skype matters. Sadly.
WebRTC and anything based on it is now part of almost any browser, but few have the concentrated power and marketing muscle it takes to bring this into regular use other than the exact people you would not trust with anything confidential, like Google.
There's also Jitsi, but that has the doubtful honour of having a user interface that's worse than Microsoft Office and, to make matters worse, it runs on Java.
WebRTC may be available, yet even Mozilla discontinued the FireFox Hello. It's just that existing networks/contacts and inertia matter a lot to users (including myself). Still, with all the privacy consideration I'd not use Skype for anything outside legacy (=family) contact. And I'm not sure why MS has any willing insiders ever since the release of W8. Employees?
"taking it away from its peer-to-peer roots in the name of a browser-based client and in the hope it can add more services
and more bloat, and more useless "features", and some CPU-cycle eater that MS seems to have an endless supply of. Then, of course, it will be "integrated" with Office and IE (in the kernel, obviously), and end up in a WU mandatory high-priority patch that will tie everything in with your MS profile.
Thank God I'm on my way to Linux.
Skype has become bloated and buggy after it was acquired by Microsoft.
It got worse after the forced marriage of MSN Messenger with Skype.
It's time to wean oneself out of Microsoft's ecosystem. There are a few quality video chat apps out there.
It loads quickly, essentially integrated into the system.
The benefit that UWP gives of having the same app on the phone, available at the same time is very handy.
Now Skype (although still in preview) integrates mobile Text messaging into the conversation thread, like WinPhone of old, but incorporated into the PC version too, it is more compelling than (say) WhatsApp with its PC interface in a browser (although that is useful when having to type a lot).
We definitely need the location bit back though, too useful to lose.
Skype got dumped. Started looking the momemt M$ announced their intentions.
I want a discreet program, not more browser bloat..and it has become much more buggy and unreliable since the move to the cloud. As my PFY said "the only program we have an issue with at work is the one program we still use from M$" He's learning fast :-)
RocketChat is interesting if you want to try bleeding edge. No idea if it will fly but it's an adventure to try.
Wait what skype insiders? Didn't the windows users got it with the force update?
meanwhile,
GWX: Hi, I'm the new Skype. You have been scheduled for a 3am skype call. Click close to ignore this message. Oh and if you want to reschedule the skype call, please go to microsoft/BrokenLinks or microsoft/OutdatedDocumentation for detail that we're too lazy to put in to make the users' life easier.
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