When it comes to technology, things change fast and furious. Software and apps that were state-of-the-art just a few years ago are quickly surpassed by the next best things that can do the same processes faster, easier and, oftentimes, cheaper. And when you’re talking about technology that started over two decades ago, well, sometimes they’re shut down with barely a whimper and only a few even notice.
Such is the case with Skype, which is being shut down by its current parent company, Microsoft, today.
Skype was first released in 2003 as an alternative way to make peer-to-peer voice calls via computer. Historically, making long distance or international calls was done by landlines, and for a long time, they cost a fortune. Back in the 1930s, a 3-minute phone call from New York City to London cost $30 (that’s about $575 in today’s money). That amount had significantly decreased by the early 21st century, of course, but you could still expect to pay a good $1 per minute, or more, for international phone calls from a land line. And even though cell phones were coming of age by the early 00s, international calling was still difficult (and expensive) because technology didn’t have worldwide compatibility yet; every country’s cell phone system was different. So to be able to make international calls from your computer at a fraction of the cost of international calling? Amazeballs.
But anyway, Skype was released and was widely successful. It progressed from audio calls on computer, to video chats, to cell phone access, and beyond. Individuals used it for long-distance chats with friends and family. It was used for virtual classroom field trips. Social media giants such as CNN have used it for guests to be interviewed remotely.
In terms of how financially successful it was, the company was sold to eBay in 2005 for a cool $2.6 billion. It was then sold to Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion (they used it to replace their Windows Live Messenger).
However all good things must come to an end and, in an age where everyone is just a FaceTime, WhatsApp, Google Meet, Zoom, or Teams call away, Microsoft announced in February that they were shutting down Skype in May (today, May 5, to be exact). Their reasoning is to focus on Microsoft Teams, its conference call service, and to streamline its free consumer communications offerings. They also suggested that although Skype remains popular (with 40 million users per day), Microsoft Teams has 320 million users per day.
Microsoft says customers with a Microsoft Teams account will have access to many of the same core features that were found in Skype, including one-on-one and group calls, messaging and file-sharing. The free tier of Teams also allows members to host meetings, manage calendars, and build/join communities.
According to CNET, users had been given the choice of exporting their data to retain their Skype call logs and chats or upgrading to Teams via the free offering. Users will still be able to log into their Skype account to see past calls and chats.
My husband Joe and I were relatively early adopters of Skype. In 2007 or so, I went on a trip to England without him and back then, international calling was still laborious and expensive. I had a laptop so we installed Skype and that’s how we spoke to each other every day while I was overseas. Joe says he probably still has a little credit in his Skype account, but we’re considering it lost money and a “donation” to Microsoft.
Joe and I moved on from Skype long ago, and have regularly used WhatsApp and FaceTime without issue. We even have Zoom accounts, although we mainly used them during the pandemic (a wine pairing dinner via Zoom in May, 2020 – that was certainly interesting!). But for us, the loss of Skype from a “nostalgic travel” POV, is still a small hurt.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
