Microsoft Buys Skype

**techwiz03** · 11-May-2011, 16:59

If you read in the article segment I posted, M$ and Skype CEO plan to still keep with Skype's operational structure of release for windows first then other platforms in a delayed progression. But having experienced M$ there record will do two bad things for the 'other-platforms'. One, gradually extend the delay of new features to the 'other-platforms' inclusive of not offering some features to the 'other-platforms'. And two, inject their slack programmer model into the development as they have done with every acquisition since 1980. I might note here that some very good but feature poor software that they (M$) acquired quickly became feature rich, quality poor, stability poor, security non-existant.

**chief_sealth** · 11-May-2011, 21:10

Originally Posted by steffen13

my problem with that is that I don´t trust these Microsoft guys. They have always tried to harm free software and other operating systems. I don´t have any problem with paying for this service, as I do already now, when I call to a land line in Germany via Skype.

But, as I said, I don´t trust them. They are back in their old "protection mode" as in the 90´s as they have tried to kill everything what could be potencially dangerous to them. There was a time in the earlier 2000´s as they had a slight change for the better, but now as they see that Google and all the other companies give them a run for their money on the market... Microsoft are "back to the roots". This makes me also a bit nervous, because there is nothing good to be expected in the next time for Linux and opensource. However of course I also hope that everything will work out to something good.

And yes, I am convinced, they are that foolish - to kill Skype for Linux. They always were and this never changes. The reason for their simple minds is: "the main thing is: it hurts the competition, even if we get hurt harder then them. " This is crazy, and maybe it is also a crazy opinion of me, but this is how I see this company.

Killing Linux support would drive other non-Linux users away. Microsoft is slowly coming to realize that interopability and compatibility will better serve their interests in the long run than scratching for market domination. It went with little notice, but last year they added full support for non-IE browsers in their Exchange web access. I thought this was interesting, given the competitiveness of the browser market, and Microsoft's past history there.

**glistwan** · 11-May-2011, 22:53

Originally Posted by oldcpu

I don't share your confidence. If that were the case then where is MSN Messenger for Linux (produced by Microsoft) ? MS-Explorer for Linux (produced by Microsoft) ? MS-Office for Linux (produced by Microsoft) ? Visual Basic for Linux (produced by Microsoft) ?

This is a totally different situation. This applications never existed on Linux from the start and porting them to Linux would most likely cost more that they could get back from it. Skype is already on Linux although the support was always poor to say the least compared to Windows.

Originally Posted by oldcpu

I disagree. The Linux portion is incredibly small. The userbase of Linux users, in the view of Microsoft, can be removed and indeed MUST be removed (IMHO).

The only realistic scenario of this happening IMHO is Microsoft wanting to kill skype in order to promote their windows live messenger or whatever that's called but I simply don't see it happening.

Originally Posted by oldcpu

History is full of cases where Microsoft changed standards to make other browsers incompatible. The same is true for other apps.

Yes but those times were drastically different from the times we are living in and Microsoft realizes this as well. Look what's happening to IE. The 9 version is the most standard compliant IE version up to date.

**oldcpu** · 12-May-2011, 00:12

I was not going to post again in this thread, as I think I've made my point and expressed my views.

I DO HOPE that my concerns wrt Microsoft continuance of Skype support for GNU/Linux are unfounded, but the views of those who do not share my concern have not convinced me.

Still, I perceive some counter points to some of the expounded views, and I want to comment on that.

The reply I want to make are about the views that my MS-applications examples (for MS-Windows but NOT for GNU/Linux of MSN Messenger, MS-Explorer, Visual Basic) are not relevant, and are about the reply to my comments wrt Microsoft changing standards (where MS-Explorer-4 and 9 were examples given to refute my view).

wrt the applications, note Microsoft DID and DOES provide MS-Office for MacIntosh where the MacIntosh user base is SMALL compared to that of MS-Windows operating systems. Why was Mac singled out for support and GNU/Linux NOT supported ? Again, Why single out GNU/Linux for NO support ? Surely porting MS-Office to GNU/Linux is NOT difficult, ESPECIALLY now that MacIntosh is on a Unix backbone. No I don't buy that argument about it being too expensive for GNU/Linux but not too expensive for MacIntosh. Unix and GNU/Linux are NOT that far apart. IMHO there IS more to this and that 'more' is commercial self interest.

And as I have noted, my view is supporting GNU/Linux is NOT in Microsoft commercial self interest.

If there was MS-Explorer-4 support for GNU/Linux (I note it was there for Unix - I can't find GNU/Linux references, but I vaguely recall now there were Linux ports) then why was it then dropped ? Does that dropping of Explorer browser support for GNU/Linux NOT contradict the view that once an app is in place for GNU/Linux Microsoft will continue supporting it ? My view is when MS-Explorer-4 was released, Microsoft did NOT have a dominant browser position, so they wanted to be more competitive. Ergo they provided GNU/Linux support as part of their effort to dominate the browser market. With MS-Explorer-5 the Microsoft dominance was clear, so they did NOT produce a version for GNU/Linux.

In my experience when Microsoft has what they view to be a monopoly position, they lever it to their advantage for commercial self interest. Any and all perceived competitors are dealt with ruthlessly in the commercial market that they control with their dominant position.

For MS-Explorer-9, Microsoft are worried about their dominance in the browser market place (as such dominance has slipped since the MS-Explorer-5 days), so if true (and I have not verified that standard claim with my own research but I will accept it as true for this post's views) then my view is Microsoft are willing to be standard compliant for now as it suits their temporary purpose. BUT if they were to regain their dominance in the browser market, I would bet that they would very very VERY quickly again diverge in the standards.

Microsoft are driven by commercial interests and I maintain it is NOT in their commercial interest to provide Skype support for a VERY small portion of the computer operating system market provided by a relatively small competitor (GNU/Linux). It makes no commercial sense as long as that competitor's user base is relatively small like GNU/Linux's is relatively small (small compared to the MS-Windows OS user base).

Anyway, that's my 2-cents. I hope that I am wrong as I am a Skype user on a GNU/Linux platform.

Shall we revisit this part of this thread in 2 years and see if my fears were unfounded ?

**robin_listas** · 12-May-2011, 03:38

On 2011-05-12 08:36, oldcpu wrote:

> wrt the applications, note Microsoft DID and DOES provide MS-Office for
> MacIntosh where the MacIntosh user base is SMALL compared to that of
> MS-Windows operating systems. Why was Mac singled out for support and
> GNU/Linux NOT supported ?

Because it is also a proprietary platform. They can keep their software
closed source with no hassles. This is very important to them.

> Microsoft are driven by commercial interests and I maintain it is NOT
> in their commercial interest to provide Skype support for a VERY small
> portion of the computer operating system market provided by a relatively
> small competitor (GNU/Linux). It makes no commercial sense as long as
> that competitor's user base is relatively small like GNU/Linux's is
> relatively small (small compared to the MS-Windows OS user base).

I don't know about that. It is pure speculation what they will do, one
direction or the other. We'll see what they do.

> Anyway, that's my 2-cents. I hope that I am wrong as I am a Skype user
> on a GNU/Linux platform.

Have you tried google talk yet? :-)

--
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 "Emerald" at Telcontar)

**glistwan** · 12-May-2011, 03:41

I'm still not convinced that there is a real threat for skype on linux

Originally Posted by oldcpu

wrt the applications, note Microsoft DID and DOES provide MS-Office for MacIntosh where the MacIntosh user base is SMALL compared to that of MS-Windows operating systems. Why was Mac singled out for support and GNU/Linux NOT supported ? Again, Why single out GNU/Linux for NO support ? Surely porting MS-Office to GNU/Linux is NOT difficult, ESPECIALLY now that MacIntosh is on a Unix backbone. No I don't buy that argument about it being too expensive for GNU/Linux but not too expensive for MacIntosh. Unix and GNU/Linux are NOT that far apart. IMHO there IS more to this and that 'more' is commercial self interest.

The Macs user base is much smaller than Windows user base but according to most statistics much larger than the GNU/Linux user base. Furthermore Apple owners are used to paying tons of cash for anything. I'm posting this as a referance

MacBook Air Humor: Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Have a Chat

It applies to hardware more than software but still I think most Apple users are used to paying a lot for their software as well which is definately not the case with most GNU/Linux users.

Best regards,
Greg

**oldcpu** · 12-May-2011, 04:28

Originally Posted by glistwan

I'm posting this as a referance

MacBook Air Humor: Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Have a Chat

lol ! a spot of humour as a reference !

I hope my assessment is incorrect, but I guess we will see with time. My 'prediction timeline is'

(1) Today - Microsoft having taken over Skype do NOT immediately have the GNU/Linux download link removed (but they layoff or move to a new job any Skype Linux engineers)

(2) In 6-months to 1-year - Microsoft have a new MS-Windows Skype version introduced (both user's clients and Microsoft world wide Skype servers), which adds new features but does NOT work well with the old GNU/Linux Skype version. Maybe does not work at all with the old GNU/Linux Skype version. Which means GNU/Linux users have less people they can chat with, or maybe works poorly with GNU/Linux Skype versoins due to the updated Microsoft owned Skype servers being less compatible with the old software on the GNU/Linux Skype clients

(3) In 1-year to 2-years, Microsoft remove all reference to GNU/Linux support for Skype, claiming the GNU/Linux port could not be maintained due to the expense to maintain softwre for such a small GNU/Linux user base and claiming the old GNU/Linux client caused the updated software in the Skype servers major problems (blaiming it on either purported GNU/Linux instability problems, or simply blaiming it on the expense of maintenance of the user unfriendly GNU/Linux clients).

I hope I'm wrong.

My plan is to continue using Skype, but in parallel check out the various (many) Video chat options I mentioned in a post of mine earlier in this thread. I plan to check out FREE Open Source apps BEFORE I check out proprietary apps, which means the proprietary Google Talk will be one of the LAST apps I look at.

Again, I hope I am wrong about Skype.

**robin_listas** · 12-May-2011, 04:50

On 2011-05-12 12:36, oldcpu wrote:

> I plan to check out FREE Open Source apps BEFORE I check
> out proprietary apps, which means the proprietary Google Talk will be
> one of the LAST apps I look at.

It is the easiest to setup. Nothing to do on the router or firewall.

The application is propietary, yes, but it is based on an open protocol
(xmpp). In theory (I have not tried) you can use other applications than
theirs.

--
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 "Emerald" at Telcontar)

**JoergJaeger** · 12-May-2011, 15:49

In my opinion it is to early to say, what will happen to Skype.

We will know soon, as there will be an announcement of some kind.
Of course i am hoping that i am right, but i don't dismiss the possibility that i am wrong.

There are good reasons to be skeptical, but there are also good reasons to be hopeful. It would be a real loss if Linux would be getting the boot.
I am already disappointed that there is simply not a good newsreader for Linux, besides Pan. (i am talking binaries)
If Skype would be gone, you really only have Google as your savior which i view as bad too. I just don't trust Google either.

So lets just hope that they will keep Linux support for the future.

**steffen13** · 12-May-2011, 19:41

in this article on arstechnica.com

Why Skype? Microsoft confirms $8.5 billion purchase, clarifies nothing

there is a thought about this deal from a side I didn´t realise before. It just doesn´t make sense for Microsoft to buy Skype from the technical point of view - according to this article, which really is worth reading it.
But there are other rumours on the web, that before Microsoft, Google and Facebook were also interested to buy Skype for 7 billion dollars. So to me it seems like that it was kind of a "playground decision": »before they get this toy, I´ll snatch it away from them«, maybe because Microsoft realises that they are in a battle which is difficult for them to survive.
But all this confirms my thoughts somehow for myself... now as they are in the position that they have won one small fight of this battle, they will take this chance to give Google a kick with their Android OS, just to give Windows Phone a small advantage. So when they have the trigger in the hand... why not extinguish the Linux part too at the same moment?

I trust Google more than Microsoft and I would not hesitate to jump over to Google Talk if Skype dies. I also hope that Google then may enhance Google Talk in a way so that it is a real competitor to Skype.