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Comment by ancarda | Hacker News Reader

>These changes will significantly improve the call quality and speed of delivery of instant messages, while retaining excellent battery life of mobile devices.

How does scrapping a desktop API affect mobile in this way?

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Because Microsoft can update the Skype architecture so that it is more centralized like other IM applications. Right now a lot of Skype is peer-to-peer, which is not good on mobile. I, for one, am really looking forwards to this change.

I don't see how that affects the API.

    [API] --> [Skype] --> [Other Skype Clients]

Rather than:

    [API] --> [Skype] --> [Microsoft Servers]

Changing how the network is built shouldn't affect the API in this way since there's an abstraction layer (The Skype program). It would really only affect those who have reverse engineered the Skype protocol and built their own clients.

As for making Skype more centralized, yes, that will improve the experience for mobile users but it can be done without scrapping the API.

IMO, this is an excuse to scrap it and not a legitimate reason.

Skype moved away from peer to peer for supernodes. Here's the article: http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/05/skype-replaces-p2p-s...

I thought that MS had already re-engineered Skype, and most of the if the peer to peer operation was removed in favor of central MS server control. Which also had the side effect of making it possible/simpler for the NSA/FBI to gather information from skype conversations.

Windows powered laptops and tablets are and always were mobile devices for Microsoft.

If the mobile skype app can call desktops, then maybe they interface with the desktop API.

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