by Dan Moren
Skype 7 gets a reprieve
Microsoft had intended to end support for the desktop version of Skype 7–aka “classic” Skype–in September, but a backlash has prompted the company to reconsider that decision:
Based on customer feedback, we are extending support for Skype 7 (Skype classic) for some time. Our customers can continue to use Skype classic until then.
For many, including podcasters, Skype is an essential tool in our workflow. Skype 8 not only introduced jarring interface changes–bringing it into line with the mobile app–but also lacked features from the earlier version of Skype, including, at one point, the ability to specify an audio input inside the application.
Despite the limitations in classic Skype, we continue to rely on it at The Incomparable and Relay FM. Alternatives have arisen in the past few years, but Skype remains one of the most commonly used audio chat tools. Especially when you run a podcast that has different guests every week, Skype is still the VoIP client you can count on everybody to have installed. Or, to paraphrase the old Winston Churchill saw, “Skype is the worst piece of VoIP software, except for all the others.”1
- I recently had to configure the SIP client Linphone for a radio interview and wow, if you think Skype is bad, try that sometime. ↩