Estonia to relaunch Skype as Europe's sovereign platform | Hacker News Reader

Estonia to relaunch Skype as Europe's sovereign platform

estonianworld.com

I really hope this isn't an April Fool's. Skype was an amazing platform.

Then:

* Removal of peer to peer

* Windows UI redesign, away from classic usable Windows

* Mac UI also changed to web-style (which (obviously personal opinion) was a real kick in the face to people who use Macs and valued Mac UI. The UI wasn't flashy. It worked and it fit the system.)

* Emojis everywhere. I used to use it for work. I recall an eternally bouncing emoji for a while during every work call. Incredibly distracting.

* Covid's opportunity completely missed. Zoom and the rest took over.

* Oh, no-one's using Skype, I wonder why.

If they brought back Skype as a well designed, native UI-first, peer to peer, secure, EU-governed platform it stands a chance of outstanding success.

Considering this site seems to be the only one writing about it I think it's safe to say it's bullshit.

Don't forget about live speech translation. You could speak one language, the other guy a different language, yet you both heard your language all the time.

I hired a guy who was one of the video quality engineers at Skype. He had just been laid off but he was one fine engineer! This seems like a fun project.

I don’t see the need to buy it back other than for boosting the brand narrative.

Another reason is that "skyping" is such a cromulent word that event today I still catch me using it in conversation with colleagues and friends.

I see it for that exact reason. It’s still a huge name and will definitely get people talking. Of course the product will have to live up to it.

„By the creators of Skype“ would of course also carry significant weight.

Ever heard of WebRTC?

Thankfully this seems to be an April's Fools joke.

I hate April fools' day.

I think the first words should be: Is anyone else listening to this call?

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