Skype for Business is not Skype – realising that is half the battle

Re: Skype Lync

Yup. It's just a rebranded Lync. I think the only thing that it has in common with Skype are the letters S-K-Y-P-E

Re: Skype Lync

Yes, even the runtime is still called Lync.exe

Re: Skype Lync

Yes, it is Lync and not only that but its still Lync 2011

There is also something called "Skype Meetings App" which is also Lync but with a new fancy icon and name. Then we also have Skype for Business, Skype, Skype with Chips, Skype with Beans, Skype, more Skype, wonderful Skype....

... Bloody Vikings

Standard operating procedure. Big company buys smaller company, gets rid of everyone who made smaller company, bigger company with no experience of smaller company's service attempts to improve it, wonders why smaller company users are unhappy with the service. This happens every time.

Skype mobile

The software kept getting worse...I had to cancel my premium subscription... and uninstall it, first from the mobile phone, as it was eating the battery, and then from the desktop, as it was eating ridiculous amounts of memory and CPU. I just use the web skype, and that is good for me... but I prefer hangouts these days, it works better. YMMV as plenty of ISPs throttle google and google services...

I took this thread as a reminder to uninstall the app from my Android phone, which I've just done. I'd read about the upgrade here on Reg before mine was automatically updated, and I wondered what all the fuss and histrionics could possibly be about — it's a chat program, how bad could it be? Less than a minute's use described to me in intimate detail why I too would have to finally abandon Skype.

I'm still running a 2015 version on my desktop here, but it's only a matter of time before forced disfunctionality will prompt an upgrade and then myself and the one other person who I still use to talk to with it will likely uninstall. My contacts bar has been an ever-greying wasteland these last few years as people jump to WhatsApp et al, roads I've no intention of going down.

Why can't we just have a stupid-simple plain-vanilla IM client witout corporate behemoths meddling or buying up to scour and deprivatise (looking at you, Facebook)? Grr.

If you trust apkmirror...

Skype 7.46.0.596

Which is the latest non-Snapchat version.

Very much in the same boat. I've used it for years as a free VoIP solution for international (video)calls. It worked fine but years of "improvements" by MS turned it into such a power-hog that my iPhone's battery seems to be discharging even when connected to power supply. Difficulties with getting remote side to pick up calls (possibly user error), deteriorated call quality (now that MS also wanted to MITM connections) and loss of popularity of the app (seems like everyone in my family has moved over) got me reconsider other options. Since I have no desire of setting up a "social" account I just went the path of least resistance and switched to FacePalmTime and (i)Messages. I'm not going to abandon my old school Skype account yet, but MS can surely forget about me switching to an MS account (or UWP crApp). F.. this.

Obviously I've made sure to not to update Skype on the phone and install Windows 7 version on Windows 10 system.

Regarding business use - Lync has been fine but Skync is messy, the UI got worse over time, graphics seem to act in funny ways on MS' "premiere" Windows 10 platform and non-IT users are just confused by the whole distinction between Skype and Skype for Business. Very much like OneDrive for Business experience. Everyone that can uses alternatives with Lync relegated to just IM tool for 1-to-1 office communications.

> Why the hell can't MS leave a good working product alone?

Microsoft's policy is not to offer good products.

Re: Skype for Biz is a 3-D cluster.....

" as what the supposed upgrade from Skype to Skype For Biz I"

Because there isn't an upgrade path. They are completely different products.

What sort of business runs basic Skype anyway?! It's actively blocked in most companies.

Re: Skype for Biz is a 3-D cluster.....

"We're going to move to Jabber"

Be careful what you wish for. You'd be better off moving to fart-based morse code than Jabber.

A number of vendors offer Skype4B enabled desk phones, the most well known being Polycom.

Many people just use headsets,

Re: Slack

At least with Skype the history is visible to me and under my control.

Although quite likely to be mysteriously out of order...

This is typical Microsoft. One group boght Skype, another was developing Lync, nobody will renounce to its power and collaborate to build a strong communication infrastructure where business can call personal users (with maybe some security features to avoid leaks or hacks) and viceversa.

The only result is they are killing Skype and losing all the advantages of having a client so widespread - more and more users have left and are leaving... and good luck in bringing them back.

"MS basically need to offer a unified client that adapts to either a business or personal context."

They are different products. You can message, video or voice call a standard Skype user from Skype for Business and vice versa.

"However, things like Slack just work better"

Slack isn't really a Skype competitor - and barely touches UC. It's more a competitor for Microsoft Team Chat and Yammer.

Oddly the business I work for allows external Skype (personal) contacts to be added and communicated with but does not allow external Skype for Business to be communicated with, even though they can be added.

Apparently if I want to communicate with our clients who also use Office 365 & Skype for Business (even though they are visible in the contact list) we have to go through a process of 'federation' with the client.

Makes no sense to me why we can communicate with world+dog, however our clients who also use Office 365 are a no-no.

In my organisation, we can add "external contacts" but only with an email address. Adding contacts who are still using only old-fashioned Skype IDs can´t be added. So you say this is an IT department issue and they have to authorise this? Interesting... Thx!

Screen sharing

I havent used Lync for a while, but we had plenty of problems with it and sharing desktops.. it worked "most of the time", video was always bad unless talking to a person in the same LAN segment, etc.

For chat it was good, but had a slight tendency to crash with W7.