Skype to be renamed Microsoft Windows 7 LiveMeeting Communicator VideoChatMediaCenter

[Lemur]

As you may have heard, Microsoft bought Skype for a cool $8.5 billion USD. I'm kinda bummed. Skype has been my go-to cross-platform anything-can-talk-to-anything device.

Thoughts?

[Tellos Athenaios]

Waiting for the Songsmith integration. But you'll probably get adds, cashback, and Bing instead.

On a more serious note, someone is laughing all the way to the bank right about now. Apparently, this princely sum of $8.5bn is about 4 times more than what that company used to be valued at only a year ago; and that was pretty far out in Wallstreet Moneymens' Fantasyland already seeing as the whole venture isn't what you'd call profitable. So far Skype has been a company with roughly the following businessplan: “we've got a lot of users, so where is the revenue? well, better sell ourselves then”. Ask Ebay.

[Beskar]

There are some advantages to this, but I really dislike Windows Live Messenger who integrated stuff like Facebook, etc into it and made it rather rubbish, so if they did the same with Skype, I would have to end up stop using it.

[Skullheadhq]

There are some advantages to this, but I really dislike Windows Live Messenger who integrated stuff like Facebook, etc into it and made it rather rubbish, so if they did the same with Skype, I would have to end up stop using it.

You know this is going to be inevitable, do you?
Inb4 audio ads in skype conversations, why can't they leave good things alone.

[LeftEyeNine]

Owners selling it are not to blame but M$ are.

Some hates are boundless. ^___________________^

[caravel]

Anything MS touch turns to crap - Skype was bad enough...

[Lemur]

A sober, balanced and thoughtful take: Microsoft will **** up Skype.

Microsoft has become a huge, bloated, bureaucratic, dysfunctional nightmare. When I think of those brilliant engineers at Skype trying to deal with their counterparts at Microsoft—drones who are consumed with internal rivalries, slowed down by bickering and hierarchy, obsessed with trying to figure out whose butt you need to kiss to get a better performance review and bigger bonus—well, it makes me want to cry.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

I really hope they don't screw up one good thing that came from Estonia..

[Skullheadhq]

I really hope they don't screw up one good thing that came from Estonia..

Can't the Estonian government buy it back, your national pride depends upon it!

[gaelic cowboy]

I suppose it's gonna get integrated into xboxlive using the kinnect camera

[Lemur]

I really hope they don't screw up one good thing that came from Estonia..

For some reason hearing the word "Estonia" makes me think of "Freedonia," land of the brave and free.



Meanwhile, I hear the Linux natives banging their drums in the jungle night. They speak of a new king, named Ekiga, who still rules in the wilds, free from the Redmond colonists. Anybody tried it? Any good?

[vartan]

Hey guys n gals, question. I've been using Pidgin for MSN since WLM doesn't let me change my display name (it's tied to your full name). After reading about this purchase by Skype, I wanted to ask: is there any similar FOSS analogue for Skype?

[Lemur]

Hmmm.

Hey guys n gals, question. I've been using Pidgin for MSN since WLM doesn't let me change my display name (it's tied to your full name). After reading about this purchase by Skype, I wanted to ask: is there any similar FOSS analogue for Skype?

Meanwhile, I hear the Linux natives banging their drums in the jungle night. They speak of a new king, named Ekiga, who still rules in the wilds, free from the Redmond colonists. Anybody tried it? Any good?

[vartan]

Sorry I thought that meant Linux-only. Cheers.

EDIT: Nevermind. Looks like it don't work with Skype 'cause Skype keeps their protocol proprietary. Bummer.

[Lemur]

EDIT: Nevermind. Looks like it don't work with Skype 'cause Skype keeps their protocol proprietary. Bummer.

Right, but I don't see how this is a problem. You and the person you want to talk to will both need Ekiga just as you would both need Skype. Difference being, since it's open-source, no corporation can buy it and create platform lock, as I fear Microsoft will be tempted to do with Skype.

[Tellos Athenaios]

For linux there is: http://www.xs4all.nl/~mfnboer/twinkle/index.html but basically what you are probably (never having used Skype myself) looking for is a softphone SIP client.

EDIT: And of course there are various XMPP clients which can do VoIP.

[vartan]

Right, but I don't see how this is a problem. You and the person you want to talk to will both need Ekiga just as you would both need Skype. Difference being, since it's open-source, no corporation can buy it and create platform lock, as I fear Microsoft will be tempted to do with Skype.

I understand, thank you, and sorry. I was simply hoping to find software that would let you communicate with Skype users just as there are AIM-compliant messengers that are not AIM...