Patch Lady – Skype gets a reprieve

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You may have already seen this in the Askwoody lounge but for once Microsoft listened to customer feedback. I have seen many many many longtime users[See the full post at: Patch Lady – Skype gets a reprieve]

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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WildBill, woody, Elly, Mr. Natural, abbodi86

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I don’t really care about “support” for Skype 7 (Classic) at all. I don’t need more updates, I just want it to be able to sign in. Skype 8 is a bloated mess of a regression with significantly less options, worse looking overall and if it’s the only option I have, I’ll simply stop using Skype on the desktop entirely.

So long as Skype 7 can sign in, that’s all I care about and I imagine others who prefer Skype Classic want the same. Why is it so hard to continue allowing Skype 7 to connect without actually supporting it with updates or in their forums? Skype 7 is a fantastic program. Skype 8 is a shell of that and worse in every conceivable way. If people want to use it, fine. Just give users a choice. Is that so hard?

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HiFlyer

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Same, I just want a barebones messenger, not some snapchat bull***.

Shame they got rid of MSN / Windows Messenger, even more a shame they still never ported over the promised functionality (custom emotes etc).

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Don’t use Skype but I guess this is a positive from what I read. I guess like a lot new stuff Microsoft throws out there its a regress over the older stuff.

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HiFlyer

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Skype 8.x doesn’t even work on my Mac, so this is a reprieve for sure!

Fortran, C++, R, Python, Java, Matlab, HTML, CSS, etc.... coding is fun!
A weatherman that can code

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As someone who doesn’t use Skype, can anyone tell me what it is about Skype 8 that doesn’t measure up? I’ve found people mentioning that they don’t like it, but no specifics. And I’m curious. What does Skype 7 have that makes it better?

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HiFlyer

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For me, it’s the GUI. The new UI is horrid. If it’s a desktop application it needs to look like one and not something by Fisher Price.

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HiFlyer

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Mine looks pretty much like Version 7. I just selected “Classic Look” or something similar in the configuration when it updated.

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HiFlyer

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Technical issues in general and ones not present with the older version. Ten times fewer options and customizability: e.g. no multi-window support, no tray icon, no way to quit except by signing out (the mobile paradigm). On top of that the subjectively less functional, dense and appealing interface and the usual reluctance by people to any change.

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HiFlyer, Kirsty

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Mine has an icon in the tray when it is running?  I also have it pinned to the task bar.  I simply right click on the icon in either the task bar or the tray and click on “Quit Skype to close it completely, exactly as I did with Version 7? 
My interface looks pretty much as it did before after selecting “Classic Look” or something similar when it upgraded?  I’m not sure which 90% of the options have gone missing. 
I use it to video call contacts or audio call landlines/mobiles.  That works exactly as before?  What exactly can’t be done now?

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Wow…surprise that MS listed to feedback. Is this the first time in history to client? Or did a kid of the MS tell their parent that they did like it and MS did something about it? I am lean more to the kid complaining to their parents. MS has never listen to clients. Skype 8 crashes a lot, the GUI is very disorganized, and the single window is the worse thing about it.

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HiFlyer, WildBill

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anonymous wrote:

…what it is about Skype 8 that doesn’t measure up? I’ve found people mentioning that they don’t like it, but no specifics. And I’m curious…

Kirsty wrote:

Skype 8 Annoyance/Missing Features

No longer can set Away status
Third-party call recorders will not work
Can no longer increase text size
Can not jump back in chat history.
Lossing Skype Credits [very few users reported]
Missing customisations and hard to navigate user interface

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This morning Skype automatically (without my permission) updated itself on my win 7 computer. I now have version 8.27.0.85 running. There is no way I have found in all the settings to stop the updates. The old classic version does not run on win 7 anymore.

Does anyone know how to stop this automatic updating.

I would like to to back to the classic version of Skype (version 7). Is this possible.

mbhelwig

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I upgraded at the prompt, and lost my desktop icons, quick launch toolbar.   I found Skype starting at logon automatically, which was not the prior behavior.   I wasn’t logged into Skype, and couldn’t get logged in.

System Restore saved the day.  I found a restore point just prior to my upgrade, and the former Skype was restored, and I was able to log on just fine.   As far as I can tell, everything is the same as it was before this upgrade happened.  (Win 8.1 x64)

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HiFlyer

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Stopped using Skype a while ago, just as all my contacts did leave the old and bloated platform. There are so many much better alternatives nowadays, think WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram. All sleek and fast messengers that work also perfectly well in a business environment. Skype is a troublemaker with updates, often goes wrong. It’s heavy, uses too many resources and regularly instable. The security concerns under the wins of Microsoft – together with pushy behavior and advertisements – gave us the final signs it’s time to move on.   Never used Skype anymore for over 1,5 years and didn’t regret it for a second.

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HiFlyer

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I gave up on Skype.  I now use Discord.  Gives me all the conveniences without the headaches!

Cheers!!
Willie McClure
“We are trying to build a gentler, kinder society, and if we all pitch in just a little bit, we are going to get there.” Alex Trebek

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HiFlyer

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Various devices become very warm, so if you want to know where the CPU, GPU or SoC is inside your device Skype and some other programs will help you find those chips.

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Oh dear, looks like me Skype updated without my knowledge! (Wonder if Ninite was to blame) But meh, doesn’t affect me that much. All of my friends are active on other platforms like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Discord, so I never need to open Skype to chat with them. I’ve only seriously used Skype once — for a Skype job interview. Other than that, though, Skype gets a huge meh from me.
It had its days as saving people tons of money in long distance phone calls, but now Facebook, Google, and even smaller companies like Discord have all cottoned on to the idea of free voice calls made over the Internet. What does Skype have to offer that its competitors don’t offer?
Skype has failed to innovate, IMO; it has fallen behind. A reskinned UI doesn’t exactly save it (and I thought TeamSpeak’s UI was dated!).

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HiFlyer

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What’s the point of blocking the update? Microsoft has promised (or at least strongly implied) that version 7 will stop working in September.

I put in version 8. Now I have four or five Skype processes running where just one did the job before, and this version chews up half a gigabyte of RAM just sitting there.

I just need hands free audio while I screen share with others via another tool.

Unfortunately, none of the alternative programs I’ve evaluated so far offer hands-free speakerphone operation that equals the quality of a Skype call.

-Noel

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HiFlyer

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Noel Carboni wrote:

What’s the point of blocking the update? Microsoft has promised (or at least strongly implied) that version 7 will stop working in September.

Kirsty wrote:

******UPDATE******
Based on customer feedback, we are extending support for Skype 7 (Skype classic) for some time. Our customers can continue to use Skype classic until then.

Thanks for all your comments – we are listening. We are working to bring all the features you’ve asked for into Skype 8.

Skype won’t be stopping working on 1 September, based on the information updated a couple of days ago, in Skype version 8.0 Replacing Skype Classic/7, as linked in Susan’s blogpost.

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Noel Carboni, HiFlyer, WildBill

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It’s a welcome reprieve for Skype 7, but surely it won’t be long until it’s no longer supported. Skype 8 is a backwards step, but when Skype 7 dies, why not give up on the desktop version altogether and run Skype in your browser? I’ve had a play and it works for me. No more updates, less RAM, one less piece of MS software on your computer potentially collecting info about you, etc., etc.

Alternatively, stop using Skype. The days are gone when there were only 1 or 2 IM options (Skype or MSN Messenger, going back a few years). Now there are so many alternatives, Skype is an also ran. However, unlike other types of software, your choice is at least partly dictated by what the people you communicate with choose to run (no point in getting Signal if nobody you know uses it :D)! Annoyingly, I find that people now use a multitude of different IM platforms meaning more to install/have running…

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HiFlyer, WildBill

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Ya. If they render v7 useless, I’ll just stop using it.

I HATE how Microsoft doesn’t give you customisability. They come out with some STUPID new “Trendy” UI design, foist it on everyone, and then pretend everyone loves it.

Why not just allow customisation so we can use whatever [] we want?

I don’t want that childish trend chasing snapchat c***, I’ll simply move to something else.

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HiFlyer, Cybertooth

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I don’t want applications in my browser, that’s why I installed an operating system, to run programs.

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Bill C., Cybertooth

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I’m not sure where the post is now, but I mentioned that I wouldn’t upgrade to Skype 8 because I don’t have Windows 10. With all this talk about MS extending support for Skype 7 (Classic) past Sept. 1 (or when they get tired of supporting Classic & want everyone to upgrade to Skype 8), I checked the Skype FAQ & found a link to System Requirements. Here’s what that page says:

Note: Skype (version 8) on Windows Desktop requires:
Windows 10 Version 1507, or version 1511
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 (32-bit and 64 bit versions supported)

So Skype 8 is supported under Win7 & Win8/8.1. Good to know; might upgrade or might not. I never use Skype on Desktop & don’t plan to, so it doesn’t really matter for me.

Bought a refurbished Windows 10 64-bit, currently updated to 22H2. Have broke the AC adapter cord going to the 8.1 machine, but before that, coaxed it into charging. Need to buy new adapter if wish to continue using it.
Wild Bill Rides Again...

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HiFlyer

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Seems like just about everything MS touches turns to garbage. Sounds like they’re getting quite the reputation as a company whose products are something to turn away from and run as fast as you can in another direction.

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Bill C., WildBill, HiFlyer, Cybertooth

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How often has it happened that a software vendor has introduced a new version of its software for an operating system and caused earlier versions to simply stop working on the same OS?

 

Keep Running Windows 7 Safely for Years to Come  
Make Windows 10 look and work like Windows 7

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Cybertooth wrote:

How often has it happened that a software vendor has introduced a new version of its software for an operating system and caused earlier versions to simply stop working on the same OS?

Not often, but I’m not surprised. Microsoft forced Win8 users to upgrade to Win8.1 in order to continue receiving updates. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_8

That was on 01/12/16. Since I’m one of the few that liked Win8 & liked Win8.1 even better, it wasn’t a hardship to upgrade & I did it long before the above deadline. Still, I don’t like being forced to do something & most people don’t either.

Bought a refurbished Windows 10 64-bit, currently updated to 22H2. Have broke the AC adapter cord going to the 8.1 machine, but before that, coaxed it into charging. Need to buy new adapter if wish to continue using it.
Wild Bill Rides Again...

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HiFlyer, Cybertooth

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This all reads as very familiar. Skype 7 is loved in hindsight, after introduction of a horrible new UI in Skype 8. Predict a GetSkypeX campaign to solve all problems by making things worse and calling it progress. Skype 10 will be the last Skype you’ll ever need. Version 9 will be symbolically skipped, for reasons.

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HiFlyer

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Frustration expressed in answers.microsoft.com, on the subject of Skype 8 auto-updating in enterprises:

It is stupid and counterproductive decision to update anything without preliminary testing and approving from enterprise security department. Skype 7.40.xx has enough issues and vulerabilities to uninstall it from customer os.
Where is the MSI for any Skype 8.xx version? … Where is version control?
It seems that Skype team focusing on smiles and themes as essential project development strategy.
Idea of forcing enterprise customer to use Skype for Business leads Skype prject to lose market…

Yes, there are issues out there!

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HiFlyer, Elly

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