6 ms·

Skype is better, but still problematic

47 points by crunchiebones 8y ago

sametmax 8y ago
I had to use the so called "skype for entreprise". If you think skype went down, wait to try it, it's everything you ever dreaded, and more. It should be the example in wikipedia for the article "failure". With the exploding number of chat apps, individual past, preferences and technical level I gave up on the whole rich client thing. With all my customers I now use https://appear.in https://appear.in It doesn't have great noise cancellation, the chat sucks and you can't send files. But it works without any setup and little technical knowledge from my customers. They go to the address, click "accept" a bunch of times, and we see each others. We can even share screens.
- Udik 8y ago
  Just advised a friend the other day to use it in place of skype- my update doesn't install and she couldn't log in. Appear.in works perfectly, dead simple.
- extra88 8y ago
  Do you mean "Skype for Business?" That is Microsoft Lync rebranded to take advantage of Skype's better name recognition. Skype and Skype for Business share nothing but a name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype_for_Business https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype_for_Business
- dade_ 8y ago
  Skype for business is finally going away, though slowly, to be replaced by Teams.
  - rasjani 8y ago
    But judging from some error messages I’ve seen, it looks like the voice capabilities in teams are still just embedded Lync/Skype. Might be wrong.
    - nathanaldensr 8y ago
      If you spy on the API calls Microsoft Teams makes, you will see several Skype-branded domains involved in the overall process. It's likely they are still relying significantly on Skype back-end technology.
  - solarkraft 8y ago
    An Electron app. Wohoo!
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
sschueller 8y ago
Is there any good open source solution?
- tmikaeld 8y ago
  https://riot.im https://riot.im has reached 1.0 and supports all the same features - except phones (Can be done with SIP integration). Riot UI is (still) confusing for new users. https://wire.com https://wire.com is also open source but much simpler.
  - snvzz 8y ago
    But Wire is not a matrix client, is it? If it is, they hide it well.
    - carleton 8y ago
      Correct, Wire is unrelated to Matrix/Riot. They were listing Wire as another option.
- fghtr 8y ago
  There are also https://meet.jit.si https://meet.jit.si and https://jami.net/ https://jami.net/.
- upofadown 8y ago
  Without a server of some type available nothing can be entirely reliable on the severely broken internet we have to deal with today. Open source projects only provide the software. There has to be someone out there to provide money for the bandwidth/server. The current SIP clients try pretty hard to do things right in spite of the brokenness. You could try: * https://www.linphone.org/ https://www.linphone.org/ Mumble works well with very cheap and available servers but audio only. If you want something really minimal and capable: * http://www.creytiv.com/baresip.html http://www.creytiv.com/baresip.html
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
pks016 8y ago
Skype has gotten worse from the last time I had used (4-5 years ago). Recently, I had to use it for interviews. So, on the day of interview, I usually check if everything is working fine or not. I opened Skype, it promoted me to update it. I usually ignore this but this time, there was no update later. So, I was forced to update. Now, I could not go past login screen whatsoever. I tried different online methods, nothing worked. Finally, I had to use Skype Web, which worked fine.(relief) May be they are forcing update due to security issues but in case of emergency, I should have an option to switch to older version. I do not know. And yeah, Skype Web is there. That's the only hope.
- dazc 8y ago
  I had the exact same problem once, update rendered Skype completely unusable until I could locate a previous version to reinstall.
- roter 8y ago
  Interesting that the whole upgrade friction happens to those of us who use certain software sparingly. Whether it is Skype or Windows or whatever, it perhaps makes you want to use them even less.
  - nkrisc 8y ago
    This appears to be a Microsoft strategy and is why I know longer use my Xbox One. I thought I'd also use it as a Blu-Ray player, but it would ruined too many movie nights with forced updates. It's a self-reinforcing cycle as well, because the forced updates caused me to use it less, which meant the promise of even more time spent updating the next time I wanted to use it. I haven't turned it on in two years. I should probably sell it.
- sethhochberg 8y ago
  ...and of course, Skype for "Web" only works in Chrome or Edge - so better keep a spare browser around for the fallback web version of the awful chat/VoIP client. Is it any wonder Slack is dominating business chat? If they figure out an elegant way to get guests a one-time call with an org from the web for interviews or whatever they're in perfect shape.
nakedrobot2 8y ago
Skype is total absolute dog shit. Nothing about it has been better, ever, since around 2005. What an absolute clusterfuck. I really don't think it could be managed worse - if you handed Skype management to a bunch of untrained 13 year olds, it would, in all likelihood, evolve into a better product than it has been at any point between 2008 and now.
- rendaw 8y ago
  And to clarify, this applies to both Skype for Business and the personal Skype.
  - ericol 8y ago
    Not to mention the tight grip MS is having on the accounts, trying to link everything to Live, plus disabling asccounts for "violation of TOS"and forcing you to provide a cell phone number in order to re enable the account (And no way to find out what exact part of the TOS you broke: Believe me, I tried). I've had a Skype acc for 10+ years; I've been holding back updating the app because the new versions are a total and utterly crap. Last time I opened it the dialog box changed to an "Update now" only button, so I left it there. My company changed from a Skype only (With paid accounts) communication based model to Slack + GoToMeeting when needed. I'd really like to know how much money they stopped making in the recent years.
  - atq2119 8y ago
    Skype for Business doesn't even have a Linux client, while the "normal" Skype Linux client isn't great but works reasonably decently. But Skype for Business is an utter disgrace.
- benologist 8y ago
  I really like https://web.skype.com https://web.skype.com, nothing to install or update and it's got a lot of features, plus it runs under Ublock's purview and it inlines YouTube videos. But I see a banner often saying they've replaced it with something Chrome-specific. :(
point78 8y ago
I loved Skype and by necessity currently use it all day every day. They constantly remove features I use with every update. Is it that hard to leave in what works?
chewyland 8y ago
I always thought, and still do, of Skype being the "If a human on this planet could design a user interface and experience the exact opposite of easy, efficient and friendly." it would be it. I almost feel like the developers are playing a trick on me every time I open the app.

47 points by crunchiebones 8y ago

I had to use the so called "skype for entreprise". If you think skype went down, wait to try it, it's everything you ever dreaded, and more. It should be the example in wikipedia for the article "failure". With the exploding number of chat apps, individual past, preferences and technical level I gave up on the whole rich client thing. With all my customers I now use https://appear.in https://appear.in It doesn't have great noise cancellation, the chat sucks and you can't send files. But it works without any setup and little technical knowledge from my customers. They go to the address, click "accept" a bunch of times, and we see each others. We can even share screens.

Udik 8y ago
Just advised a friend the other day to use it in place of skype- my update doesn't install and she couldn't log in. Appear.in works perfectly, dead simple.
extra88 8y ago
Do you mean "Skype for Business?" That is Microsoft Lync rebranded to take advantage of Skype's better name recognition. Skype and Skype for Business share nothing but a name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype_for_Business https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype_for_Business
dade_ 8y ago
Skype for business is finally going away, though slowly, to be replaced by Teams.
- rasjani 8y ago
  But judging from some error messages I’ve seen, it looks like the voice capabilities in teams are still just embedded Lync/Skype. Might be wrong.
  - nathanaldensr 8y ago
    If you spy on the API calls Microsoft Teams makes, you will see several Skype-branded domains involved in the overall process. It's likely they are still relying significantly on Skype back-end technology.
- solarkraft 8y ago
  An Electron app. Wohoo!
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]

sschueller 8y ago

Is there any good open source solution?

tmikaeld 8y ago
https://riot.im https://riot.im has reached 1.0 and supports all the same features - except phones (Can be done with SIP integration). Riot UI is (still) confusing for new users. https://wire.com https://wire.com is also open source but much simpler.
- snvzz 8y ago
  But Wire is not a matrix client, is it? If it is, they hide it well.
  - carleton 8y ago
    Correct, Wire is unrelated to Matrix/Riot. They were listing Wire as another option.
fghtr 8y ago
There are also https://meet.jit.si https://meet.jit.si and https://jami.net/ https://jami.net/.
upofadown 8y ago
Without a server of some type available nothing can be entirely reliable on the severely broken internet we have to deal with today. Open source projects only provide the software. There has to be someone out there to provide money for the bandwidth/server. The current SIP clients try pretty hard to do things right in spite of the brokenness. You could try: * https://www.linphone.org/ https://www.linphone.org/ Mumble works well with very cheap and available servers but audio only. If you want something really minimal and capable: * http://www.creytiv.com/baresip.html http://www.creytiv.com/baresip.html
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

pks016 8y ago

Skype has gotten worse from the last time I had used (4-5 years ago). Recently, I had to use it for interviews. So, on the day of interview, I usually check if everything is working fine or not. I opened Skype, it promoted me to update it. I usually ignore this but this time, there was no update later. So, I was forced to update. Now, I could not go past login screen whatsoever. I tried different online methods, nothing worked. Finally, I had to use Skype Web, which worked fine.(relief) May be they are forcing update due to security issues but in case of emergency, I should have an option to switch to older version. I do not know. And yeah, Skype Web is there. That's the only hope.

dazc 8y ago
I had the exact same problem once, update rendered Skype completely unusable until I could locate a previous version to reinstall.
roter 8y ago
Interesting that the whole upgrade friction happens to those of us who use certain software sparingly. Whether it is Skype or Windows or whatever, it perhaps makes you want to use them even less.
- nkrisc 8y ago
  This appears to be a Microsoft strategy and is why I know longer use my Xbox One. I thought I'd also use it as a Blu-Ray player, but it would ruined too many movie nights with forced updates. It's a self-reinforcing cycle as well, because the forced updates caused me to use it less, which meant the promise of even more time spent updating the next time I wanted to use it. I haven't turned it on in two years. I should probably sell it.
sethhochberg 8y ago
...and of course, Skype for "Web" only works in Chrome or Edge - so better keep a spare browser around for the fallback web version of the awful chat/VoIP client. Is it any wonder Slack is dominating business chat? If they figure out an elegant way to get guests a one-time call with an org from the web for interviews or whatever they're in perfect shape.

nakedrobot2 8y ago

Skype is total absolute dog shit. Nothing about it has been better, ever, since around 2005. What an absolute clusterfuck. I really don't think it could be managed worse - if you handed Skype management to a bunch of untrained 13 year olds, it would, in all likelihood, evolve into a better product than it has been at any point between 2008 and now.

rendaw 8y ago
And to clarify, this applies to both Skype for Business and the personal Skype.
- ericol 8y ago
  Not to mention the tight grip MS is having on the accounts, trying to link everything to Live, plus disabling asccounts for "violation of TOS"and forcing you to provide a cell phone number in order to re enable the account (And no way to find out what exact part of the TOS you broke: Believe me, I tried). I've had a Skype acc for 10+ years; I've been holding back updating the app because the new versions are a total and utterly crap. Last time I opened it the dialog box changed to an "Update now" only button, so I left it there. My company changed from a Skype only (With paid accounts) communication based model to Slack + GoToMeeting when needed. I'd really like to know how much money they stopped making in the recent years.
- atq2119 8y ago
  Skype for Business doesn't even have a Linux client, while the "normal" Skype Linux client isn't great but works reasonably decently. But Skype for Business is an utter disgrace.
benologist 8y ago
I really like https://web.skype.com https://web.skype.com, nothing to install or update and it's got a lot of features, plus it runs under Ublock's purview and it inlines YouTube videos. But I see a banner often saying they've replaced it with something Chrome-specific. :(

point78 8y ago

I loved Skype and by necessity currently use it all day every day. They constantly remove features I use with every update. Is it that hard to leave in what works?

chewyland 8y ago

I always thought, and still do, of Skype being the "If a human on this planet could design a user interface and experience the exact opposite of easy, efficient and friendly." it would be it. I almost feel like the developers are playing a trick on me every time I open the app.