It seems my post on Dropping MSN Messenger for Skype has caused a minor stir (emphasis on the minor).
I thought I’d follow it up, since Stuart did ask with what I love about Skype.
Let me preface this by saying that I generally don’t “love” software. It’s easy to make me an evangelist, but very few programs have done so in the last 10 years. On the short list is Trillian, Visual Studio.NET, Software Update Services, etc. There are a fair number of games that have my attention, but on the pure software front, very few have made me excited.
Skype has. And here’s why:
1. Everyone uses their real names. Out of the roughly 100 people on my contact list, nobody is using some fake name, screen name, abbreviation of their name or any witticism. It’s professional communication, and in professional communication you use your real name.2. The Instant Message side is simple. Not only is it simple, it isn’t cluttered by “Winks”, massive smiley libraries or any number of other “features”. When I want to communicate, that’s exactly what I want to do: communicate.3. Group IM. Group instant messaging is key. MSN does this, but it’s clunky. Most IM clients do this, but it’s clunky. Skype’s is, like everything else, simple. I wish there was an easy way to turn something from a chat into a conference call, but that’s about my only grype with skype.4. Calling. Call other computers free. Call other phones for cheap. Accept calls. Have voicemail. Simple. And it “just works”. I have issues with voice quality when using SkypeOut. I understand why there are issues, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.5. All the ‘little extras’. Profiles are great. Sending files rocks. That it works behind a firewall’s amazing. The little things make it great.At the same time, it isn’t perfect. I wish there was a “Busy” status (sometimes I don’t mind beind disturbed if it’s important, and the “Not Available” icon isn’t strong enough for this purpose). I wish there was a simple way to adjust people’s volumes. I wish I could record my conversations more easily than using HotRecorder. I wish I could schedule calls.
Simple things.
Overall I love Skype for everything it does. But I love it even more for the things the Skype crowd could throw in that they haven’t. Their restraint makes me a fan. Keep Skype simple. Keep improving it. And you’ll likely have a fan for life.
It seems my post on Dropping MSN Messenger for Skype has caused a minor stir (emphasis on the minor).
I thought I’d follow it up, since Stuart did ask with what I love about Skype.
Let me preface this by saying that I generally don’t “love” software. It’s easy to make me an evangelist, but very few programs have done so in the last 10 years. On the short list is Trillian, Visual Studio.NET, Software Update Services, etc. There are a fair number of games that have my attention, but on the pure software front, very few have made me excited.
Skype has. And here’s why:
At the same time, it isn’t perfect. I wish there was a “Busy” status (sometimes I don’t mind beind disturbed if it’s important, and the “Not Available” icon isn’t strong enough for this purpose). I wish there was a simple way to adjust people’s volumes. I wish I could record my conversations more easily than using HotRecorder. I wish I could schedule calls.
Simple things.
Overall I love Skype for everything it does. But I love it even more for the things the Skype crowd could throw in that they haven’t. Their restraint makes me a fan. Keep Skype simple. Keep improving it. And you’ll likely have a fan for life.
