The Weird Downfall of Skype

2010, the industry felt that users had mastered it and were ready to fully immerse themselves in the world of computing, and small changes like this represented that. And there was exactly nothing wrong with that decision, but just ONE wrong decision could complicate things further and even alter the culture of the time. One of the most controversial changes made to Windows 8 was removing the Start menu and replacing it with something called "Tiles." This SUPER confusing and overly flashy feature seemed more limiting than actually useful. Having to go back and forth between programs was a complete pain in the ass.

Yes, you could use multiple programs at once, but most people didn't know that, as Microsoft didn't exactly do a great job of making that clear, and the look of a multi-window screen was just an eyesore. And Skype would be INCLUDED with Windows 8.1, and although 8.1 made some important improvements over the original Windows 8, this version of Skype suffered from many of these problems. What was once a lightweight, straight-to-the-point FAST program was now packed with unnecessary, slow, and complicated-to-use features. And if you didn't know what you were doing, it often took up the entire screen. What if you had to have a work conference call with several windows open at once?

This was going to be a big problem. Microsoft was trying to solve a problem that didn't exist and simply turned what was already a great program into something that wasn't. That warmth was now gone and Skype was essentially just a shadow of its former self. However, it wasn't even just about the appearance and unnecessary features. Technological changes were made to Skype that actually worsened the quality of the product. The same thing that made Skype revolutionary in the first place was now becoming its biggest problem: P2P technology. As we discussed, P2P works by sending your traffic DIRECTLY to the person you're trying to contact, rather than simply going through a middleman first, and it often does this by connecting to a bunch of other computers on the network to reach that person. person.

In the 90s and early 2000s, this was very convenient. This was a time when computers were stationary, connected via cable, and often always on during peak operating hours. Not to mention, dial-up Internet access didn't provide much bandwidth. No wonder it was so popular back then. But as the Internet got MUCH bigger over time, things became much more complicated. Mobile devices are a great example. They constantly change networks and run on batteries. So if you're driving a car and your phone goes off, that's a network that is both unpredictable and unreliable, and this can significantly disrupt a P2P network.

In other words, mobile devices are TERRIBLE for P2P networks. Now, let's fast forward to the early 2010s where most COMPUTERS are mobile devices...yeah, you probably see the problem here. This was actually the root cause of the big Skype outage of 2011, where a software bug shut down a HUGE part of the program's P2P network, so tons of people had difficulty making calls. And so, Microsoft decided to discontinue Skype's P2P protocol in favor of a centralized, cloud-based server that handled all incoming calls. This caused a lot of controversy, as many people were now worried that Microsoft was essentially taking over all of their conversations.

Furthermore, Microsoft's execution of this was simply done poorly. This led to lower quality video calls and more errors that made the overall experience worse. And the reviews of this new Skype showed it. But with Windows Live Messenger now discontinued and even iChat, AOL Instant Messenger and pretty much anything else you can think of, Skype was the only thing left. So in a depressing, nihilistic way, you were literally using a technologically inferior product a decade later, and you basically had no choice, and people didn't like that. And even when Microsoft corrected course by returning the Start menu to Windows 10, Skype was still plagued by all of these problems;

It just wasn't the show it used to be. It's also important to note that MANY of these decisions were motivated by Microsoft's goal of turning Skype into an enterprise program. P2P technology makes more sense in informal conversations, but in a business environment, where you are often working with hundreds of people at a time discussing more professional matters. Not so much. But when you watch a show like this, is the first thing that comes to mind “business”? Now, of course, people used Skype to conduct business, but that's not what it became known for. The optics of Skype being primarily for business just didn't seem right, and this was something Microsoft didn't understand, which is why it continued to damage the program even more.

In the end, Microsoft felt it would be easier to start over and create the enterprise program they initially wanted. Skype's name was too tarnished at this point, so they essentially abandoned it entirely to create Microsoft Teams, which became a much bigger success. Since Skype was once a friendly program for everyone, Microsoft essentially gave it an identity. A program called Discord would appear in 2015 and offer a much more robust, organized and individualized communication experience, especially for gamers. Then, of course, came the final nail in the coffin during the 2020 pandemic. The entire world was now in this unique, never-before-seen situation where they had no choice but to stay home all day and couldn't go out. home.

The only way they could communicate or continue to conduct ANY type of business was digitally. And right at this moment a program called Zoom arrives. You didn't need to create an account with zoom, you just had to click a link. Zoom could support up to a THOUSAND people on a call at a time, while Skype could only support 250. Zoom could replace your background to make it look slightly more professional while maintaining your privacy. Skype would not introduce this feature until later. Zoom used better technology that made video calls higher quality. These are just a few of the MANY things Zoom had going for it.

It was literally in the right place, at the right time and under the right circumstances. Thus, Zoom became the gold standard for professional video calling and Discord became the more casual equivalent, so Skype essentially faded into the rearview mirror and became a relic of the distant past. And when we take all of these things into account, we can really see how strange and unique the disappearance of Skype really was. It was out of his control and inside him at the same time. The technology that made it great was becoming impractical, and Microsoft's approach to solving it was also impractical, and most importantly, they didn't even know who they were selling it to.

They basically did to Skype what they've been doing to Windows lately. Many users have complained about unnecessary bloatware and features within Windows that have simply made it more difficult to use. But the thing is, it's much easier to find an alternative video chat service than it is to find a completely new operating system that has the same level of support for all the programs you need. So the results were much worse for Skype. If there is anything that can be learned from the fall of Skype, it is that sometimes less is more. Do you know what else could have saved Skype?

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