Skype for Windows - What is it?

On 5/5/2015 11:51 AM, wrote:
I am running Win7 64bit and had some Optional Updates today. One of them was
"Skype for Windows". I did not update it and moved it to "Hidden" - what is
this program and is it necessary?

Thanks for any insights.
charliec


The following use-case might be helpful in understanding Skype.

My wife and I live in the U.S., in southern California; we have a
Windows PC. My daughter and her family live in the central prairies of
Canada, in Saskatchewan; she has a Mac. We use Skype and a webcam to
see and talk to each other and to see how our granddaughter is growing.
Although Skype has the option for a voice-only connection, we do not
use that since my daughter has a flat-fee long-distance phone plan that
includes calls to the U.S.

By the way, Skype has the option to show on my PC a small window that
displays what my webcam sees. That means I can see what my daughter
sees of me while also seeing a larger window with my daughter in it.

Skype requires that you create an account with a user ID and password to
connect through its server to other Skype users.

--
David E. Ross

Why do we tolerate political leaders who
spend more time belittling hungry children
than they do trying to fix the problem of
hunger? http://mazon.org/

wrote:
On Tue, 05 May 2015 19:14:25 +0000, Stormin' Norman wrote:

On Tue, 05 May 2015 12:08:22 -0700, wrote:

On Tue, 05 May 2015 18:55:12 +0000, Stormin' Norman wrote:
On Tue, 05 May 2015 11:51:08 -0700, wrote:

I am running Win7 64bit and had some Optional Updates today. One of them was
"Skype for Windows". I did not update it and moved it to "Hidden" - what is
this program and is it necessary?

Thanks for any insights.
charliec

http://www.skype.com/en/
Thanks - but that doesn't tell me much about whether it is necessary or not - or
whether I should upgrade/update it or not. Is it already installed on Win7
computers and this is an update to it?
Sorry, I thought it was self-explanatory. If you do not currently use Skype,
you probably do not need it. Pushing it out via updates is simply Microsoft's
way of trying to increase the user base of Skype, which it acquired in 2011.

Thanks - I don't use it and as you probably guessed - I didn't know what it was


The previous Messenger program, is the "excuse" for sending
you Skype.

Skype was a perfectly good program and ecosystem, made
by an independent group of people. Microsoft bought the
company for $6 billion, then proceeded to modify the
architecture to help the NSA.

The original Skype protocol was distributed. It was
also a model of encryption. For customers which had direct
PC connections to things like bridged broadband modems,
their PC could be nominated as a "SuperNode".
And perform some of the Skype functions on behalf of Skype Incorporated.
It meant the architecture was more distributed, and
harder (not impossible) to tap for the NSA. If a company
uses a centralized or central server protocol, the NSA
just sucks down a copy of their entire gigabit feed,
to scoop up what it needs. If a company won't play nice
with the NSA, they just tap into the fiber optic
connections outside the building. (A reason that companies
like Google now encrypt all transport between facilities.)

So when Microsoft bought Skype for $6 billion, they modified
things a bit to make it more centralized. (No more user
computers being used as SuperNode machines.) You'll have to
draw your own conclusion (chicken versus egg), as to why
they had to mess with it. Since the distributed architecture
worked perfectly well for the Skype original designers,
you'll have to draw your own conclusions. The Skype design
was very clever, and intended to slip through Port 80,
so even employees in corporate situations could make
Skype calls, and "thumb their nose" at the IT department
(as the traffic is almost unstoppable).

Now, on the business side, Microsoft needed a way to
get Skype onto every user computer. They could have
bundled Skype with the Windows Live Suite. But there
would have been lower delivery rates that way (for example,
I'm not a big consumer of Windows Live Suite). So instead,
they cooked up the idea that it was a "replacement" for
an existing program on your computer. And that gives
an excuse to be delivering it by Windows Update. And the
rest is history.

*******

Skype to Skype calls are free. Skype to PSTN (Public
Switched Telephone Network) calls cost money. So if
you can get all family members on the thing, you can
"have a long gab" for free.

So let's look at some ISP packages, and what kind of Skype
they would enable...

Freedom 6/ 0.8 ADSL Skype voice, video might not work well
Freedom 7/ 1 ADSL Skype voice/ maybe Skype Video in low res?
Freedom 15/ 1 ADSL Skype voice/ maybe Skype Video in low res?

Freedom 15/10 VDSL Skype voice/Skype Video in high res
Freedom 25 VDSL Skype voice/Skype Video in high res
Freedom 50 VDSL Skype voice/Skype Video in high res

The idea is, a voice only call wouldn't need a lot of "upload"
bandwidth. That's the second number of the asymmetric ISP package.
The 800Kbit option is pretty bad, as in practice it only
delivers 400 Kbit/sec on a good day. A low-res Skype video
call might have a lot of "jumping or lurching" in the feed.

The VDSL packages with much more generous upload rates (probably
all at least 10Mbit/sec, with real value less than that),
they're going to be better suited to grabbing a webcam and
doing a video call with family members.

The performance of Skype video also changes from release
to release. And people with simply amazing hardware, can
suffer irritating service delivery. So even if you do
your homework, the software itself can let you down.

But at the very least, you should be able to use Skype
as a replacement for some long distance voice calls.

Paul

On Tue, 05 May 2015 11:51:08 -0700, wrote:

I am running Win7 64bit and had some Optional Updates today. One of them was
"Skype for Windows". I did not update it and moved it to "Hidden" - what is
this program and is it necessary?

Skype is a Voice over Internet (VoIP) program that lets you telephone
other people using the Internet rather than the public switched
telephone network (PSTN). It means the calls aren't metered.

The program is necessary if you want to use Skype to talk to someone
else who uses Skype. If you don't want to do that, it is not
necessary.

I use it to talk to my daughter who lives in Greece, and uif I used
the PSTN it would be quite expensive. Also, I find her easier to hear
on Skype because it uses the computer's speakers and there are two of
them, rather than the single speaker in a phone held to my ear.

Skype can also be used as a videophone if you want to.


--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

On Tue, 05 May 2015 12:08:22 -0700, wrote:

On Tue, 05 May 2015 18:55:12 +0000, Stormin' Norman wrote:

On Tue, 05 May 2015 11:51:08 -0700, wrote:

I am running Win7 64bit and had some Optional Updates today. One of them was
"Skype for Windows". I did not update it and moved it to "Hidden" - what is
this program and is it necessary?

Thanks for any insights.
charliec


http://www.skype.com/en/

Thanks - but that doesn't tell me much about whether it is necessary or not - or
whether I should upgrade/update it or not. Is it already installed on Win7
computers and this is an update to it?

My laptop came with it installed, and perhap0s others do as well. It
is necessary if you want to use it. It is not necessary if you don't,
just as a web browser is necessary if you want to look at web sites,
and unneccessary if you don't.


--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

Wolf K wrote:
On 2015-05-05 3:53 PM, Ken Springer wrote:
On 5/5/15 1:14 PM, Stormin' Norman wrote:
On Tue, 05 May 2015 12:08:22 -0700, wrote:

On Tue, 05 May 2015 18:55:12 +0000, Stormin' Norman
wrote:

On Tue, 05 May 2015 11:51:08 -0700, wrote:

I am running Win7 64bit and had some Optional Updates today. One
of them was
"Skype for Windows". I did not update it and moved it to "Hidden"
- what is
this program and is it necessary?

Thanks for any insights.
charliec


http://www.skype.com/en/

Thanks - but that doesn't tell me much about whether it is necessary
or not - or
whether I should upgrade/update it or not. Is it already installed
on Win7
computers and this is an update to it?

Sorry, I thought it was self-explanatory. If you do not currently use
Skype,
you probably do not need it. Pushing it out via updates is simply
Microsoft's
way of trying to increase the user base of Skype, which it acquired in
2011.

To add to Norman's messages...

It's just another instant messaging program. It replaced MS Messenger,
and in reality doesn't do anything Yahoo Messenger didn't do long before
MS Messenger. One exception is screen sharing, where one user can see
the other user's screen. But if the reason for this is to help the
other user, Teamviewer is a better choice since the person that's being
asked can actually manipulate the questioner's computer.

It's a lot more than an instant messenger. I think we'll see Skype, or
some universal standard version of it, within a iteration or two on all
"mobile devices".

"Screensharing"???

Nope, You don't see the other user's screen, you see what the other
user's webcam sees. IOW, it's phoning with video. We use it a lot to
call our nearest and dearest who live on the other side of the country.
There's and Android version for your cellphone, too. You can use Skype
for direct-dial long-distance, but sinbce we don't use it for that, I
can't commenton it.

[snip other comments]


New feature... See flash video on this page.

http://www.skype.com/en/features/screen-sharing/

Paul

David E. Ross wrote:
On 5/5/2015 11:51 AM, wrote:
I am running Win7 64bit and had some Optional Updates today. One of them was
"Skype for Windows". I did not update it and moved it to "Hidden" - what is
this program and is it necessary?

Thanks for any insights.
charliec


The following use-case might be helpful in understanding Skype.

My wife and I live in the U.S., in southern California; we have a
Windows PC. My daughter and her family live in the central prairies of
Canada, in Saskatchewan; she has a Mac. We use Skype and a webcam to
see and talk to each other and to see how our granddaughter is growing.
Although Skype has the option for a voice-only connection, we do not
use that since my daughter has a flat-fee long-distance phone plan that
includes calls to the U.S.

By the way, Skype has the option to show on my PC a small window that
displays what my webcam sees. That means I can see what my daughter
sees of me while also seeing a larger window with my daughter in it.

Skype requires that you create an account with a user ID and password to
connect through its server to other Skype users.

When my son was overseas we used a similar program called Tango. It
was voice and video over the internet and was free. Not sure if it is
still around.

--
GW Ross

Closed Hearing for the Caption Impaired...

On 5/5/15 6:42 PM, Wolf K wrote:
On 2015-05-05 5:00 PM, Ken Springer wrote:
[...]
I will plead guilty for being unclear, but not incorrect. Skype has
screen sharing, [...]

I see no setting for screen sharing. You can see what your webcam sees,
if you want to call that screensharing. It's not what I would call it.

You have to be on a video call to start with. Not sure what you see
with windows, or where things are, but click on the plus sign, and a pop
up menu will appear, offering send files, send message, other stuff,
including Share Screen. This only works one direction, as does Teamviewer.

My Window Skype and I (Mac) do this all the time when she needs help
with something, or we just want to show the other something and email or
file transfer is just too much work.


--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 36.0.4
Thunderbird 31.5
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On 5/5/15 6:38 PM, Wolf K wrote:
"Screensharing"???

Nope, You don't see the other user's screen, you see what the other
user's webcam sees.

See my reply to your message to me about screen sharing.

--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 36.0.4
Thunderbird 31.5
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On 5/5/15 6:38 PM, Wolf K wrote:
There's and Android version for your cellphone, too.

Forgot to mention, it works on Android tablets also. I have it on my
Nexus 7, and my friend on her Galaxy 3.

--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 36.0.4
Thunderbird 31.5
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On 5/5/15 6:45 PM, Wolf K wrote:
On 2015-05-05 5:36 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 05 May 2015 16:28:47 -0500, John Aldred wrote:

On Tue, 05 May 2015 19:14:25 +0000, Stormin' Norman wrote:

On Tue, 05 May 2015 12:08:22 -0700, wrote:

On Tue, 05 May 2015 18:55:12 +0000, Stormin' Norman
wrote:

On Tue, 05 May 2015 11:51:08 -0700, wrote:

I am running Win7 64bit and had some Optional Updates today. One of
them was "Skype for Windows". I did not update it and moved it to
"Hidden" - what is this program and is it necessary?

Thanks for any insights.
charliec


http://www.skype.com/en/

Thanks - but that doesn't tell me much about whether it is necessary or
not - or whether I should upgrade/update it or not. Is it already
installed on Win7 computers and this is an update to it?

Sorry, I thought it was self-explanatory. If you do not currently use
Skype, you probably do not need it. Pushing it out via updates is
simply Microsoft's way of trying to increase the user base of Skype,
which it acquired in 2011.

I was puzzled by this one too. I have Skype installed on my laptop but
not on my desktop PC. I was being offered the update for both machines.

If you update, does it automatically run at startup or is it just a program that
is available if you want to use it and then shut it off?

By default yes, it runs at startup. You can change that, and you can
shut it down after a call. It also pops up a notification that you're
available, seen on every computer your Contacts are running at the time.

Your web status is also configurable. Mine is turned off.

Remember the video call in Space Odyssey 2000? It's like that, only better.



--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 36.0.4
Thunderbird 31.5
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

Paul wrote:


Now, on the business side, Microsoft needed a way to
get Skype onto every user computer. They could have
bundled Skype with the Windows Live Suite. But there
would have been lower delivery rates that way (for example,
I'm not a big consumer of Windows Live Suite). So instead,
they cooked up the idea that it was a "replacement" for
an existing program on your computer. And that gives
an excuse to be delivering it by Windows Update. And the
rest is history.


Paul


Both Skype and One Drive can be offered as updates from the Windows
Live/Windows Essentials built-in code. Additionally, either could be
offered via Windows Updates when at least one component of the
'Essentials suite' is/was installed.

Additionally, if Messenger was installed then both Skype and OneDrive
would be offered - Skype as the replacement for Messenge, and SkyDrive
(before rename)since Messenger sharing changed from a MSFT server to the
signed on Messenger user's SkyDrive...offering SkyDrive desktop provided
local folder access to what was shared in Messenger.

If Live Mesh (another component of the Windows Live Essentials suite)
was present then SkyDrive (later renamed OneDrive) would be offered via
the programs the suite's built in code.

The suite's built in code was activated upon program application use
which checks the current version vs. current available...in the case of
Messenger and Mesh once deprecated then Skype and SkyDrive became the
current version replacement.

Finally, if Windows Update was configured to receive Microsoft Updates
(which it would be when Office was installed) then Skype and OneDrive
can be offered. The exception would be OneDrive on Windows 8.1 because
the OneDrive app (not the Desktop version) is already present with the o/s.

Thus, 'could have bundled it with the Live suite' isn't necessarily
entirely correct nor 'the rest is history'. While not in the installer,
it would be offered as replacements for deprecated installed
applications via the programs built-in code or via Windows Update based
on presence of the Essentials suite or Windows Update Microsoft Update
setting.



--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps

Ken Springer wrote:
On 5/5/15 6:42 PM, Wolf K wrote:
On 2015-05-05 5:00 PM, Ken Springer wrote:
[...]
I will plead guilty for being unclear, but not incorrect. Skype has
screen sharing, [...]



https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA1...indows-desktop


--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps

Ken Springer wrote:
On 5/5/15 2:01 PM, Beauregard T. Shagnasty wrote:
Ken Springer wrote:

It's just another instant messaging program. It replaced MS Messenger,
and in reality doesn't do anything Yahoo Messenger didn't do long before
MS Messenger. One exception is screen sharing, where one user can see
the other user's screen.

I think you are quite confused here. Skype is used to see who/what is
sitting *in front of* the other user's computer. Skype is a
videophone. If
you'd looked at the link Stormin' Norman posted, you'd know that.

Negative, kind sir. :-) You can video chat with Yahoo just like you
do in Skype. I did that with YM before I'd ever heard of Skype.

And Skype can be used in text only mode as well.

But if the reason for this is to help the
other user, Teamviewer is a better choice since the person that's being
asked can actually manipulate the questioner's computer.

Yep, that is Teamviewer. Skype doesn't allow you to control the other
computer, only to see and converse with the operator of it.



Video was available in Messenger before the feature (and a few other
features) were deprecated.

Skype is more than a video phone - it's an IM client (Skype contacts,
Facebook Contacts), a phone dialer, a video communication tool (with
Skype, Facebook, Outlook contacts) and comes with Contact integration
across Skype, Outlook, and other social media (3rd party).

Note:
-Skype honors Skype usernames and Microsoft Account names
-Skype also provides sync (incoming) with Facebook timeline, account
status, and comments on friend's, and video chat with Facebook contacts.
-Skype provides screen sharing



--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps

Wolf K wrote:

Nope, You don't see the other user's screen, you see what the other
user's webcam sees. IOW, it's phoning with video. We use it a lot to
call our nearest and dearest who live on the other side of the country.
There's and Android version for your cellphone, too. You can use Skype
for direct-dial long-distance, but sinbce we don't use it for that, I
can't commenton it.

[snip other comments]



https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA1...indows-desktop

--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps

wrote in message
...
I am running Win7 64bit and had some Optional Updates today. One of them
was
"Skype for Windows". I did not update it and moved it to "Hidden" -
what is
this program and is it necessary?

Thanks for any insights.
charliec

EU court rules that Skype's name is too similar to Sky network to claim a
trademark
http://www.windowscentral.com/eu-cou...medium=twitter