Skype is going away.

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My gf told me about this - via a Skype text in Chat - this morning. :( We have been using it since before MS bought it. I have no other MS software on my computers (I use Libre Office). We find it useful because we can just drop files and pics into the Chat window. Apparently there is a way to transfer existing data (chat history, pics etc.) into Teams.

I've used both MS Teams and Zoom for a few things like video calls with lawyers & real estate agents, etc. and they seem to work OK. I downloaded Teams for Web for my MB Air today (as my older OS seemingly won't run the regular version) and for iPhone. Got into a tangle with my MS password which seemed not to work with what I had in Last Pass but I think I may have it sorted out now.

I guess we'll just have to "gird our loins with cheap girds" and try it but I'm not expecting a seamless experience.

Addendum: Discord might be al alternative.
 
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Skype was the first video telecon experience I had. Also used it for VOIP as a telephone line, and as a way to maintain a US tel# when living abroad.

Seemed like magic. And inexpensive.

(I once, circa 1981, shoved $25 in quarters into a telephone in a phone booth on a corner in NYC for a very short call to my GF in Tokyo.)

Mostly use FaceTime now, being an iPhone/iPad guy. Zoom or Teams — there's an app for that — if the guys on the other end want it.

RIP Skype. Thanks for the memories.

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My mom and dad had a story, about when my dad was coming home from the war in the Pacific, and, probably from Oahu, called her in Colorado, on a telephone.

In those days, on a telephone, they bridged the Pacific via shortwave radio. Their conversation was frustrating in that it did not flow smoothly as the SW radio could only transmit in one direction at a time.

They would recount with affection, how an experienced, older operator took over from a junior colleague, and flipped the directional switch perfectly in sync with their conversation.

Of course, they never knew who she was, but throughout their 50 years together thereafter, they would tell that story, and express their affection for the operator who stepped in to facilitate the call.
 
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...Mostly use FaceTime now, being an iPhone/iPad guy. Zoom or Teams — there's an app for that — if the guys on the other end want it...
My gf & I tried Facetime this evening. Kinda iffy... She can only use it (I think) from her iPad or iPhone as her laptop is a Dell PC. I'm all Mac, although I do have a Dell PC but I rarely use it.

I found it clunky on both my MB Air & iPhone. But I'll admt that I'm just not familiar with it and the interface. Main "problem" is adding links or images, etc., which we do frequently. It seems to use the "Share" function, which means you have to go looking for the file or whatever, rather than just dropping it into the Chat window.

She seems to think WhatsApp may be the best alternative. It's owned by Meta, which owns Facebook. Unlike me, she is on FB and Instagram; I'd kinda like to stay as far away from that platform as possible, although not being a FB user may not raise too many privacy problems. If Teams is free for basic home use, which it seems to be, I think I may prefer it.

We are so used to chatting every day - often twice - that we do need a usable alternative.
 
This isn't my bailiwick at all......

... but aren't there all kinds of teleconferencing tools?? My sister set me up with something when she wanted to talk 'face to face'. I got it running, but I don't know beans about that stuff.
 
... but aren't there all kinds of teleconferencing tools?? My sister set me up with something when she wanted to talk 'face to face'. I got it running, but I don't know beans about that stuff.

Yes, there are, but Skype was the most civilian friendly until Gates' monkeys messed with it in 2017. I have used Whatsapp on my phone to speak to family in the UK. Our next trick is to get it set up on a PC/laptop. Either I need to score another laptop or steal my wife's Win 10 machine. My Win7 box is not supported.
 
I've used TEAMS and ZOOM for years - in both professional and personal settings.
They've always seemed provide all the functionality I needed to do everything I wanted/needed to do.
I've never used Skype, so I won't miss it. Maybe I just don't know what I missed.
Meh...
 
OBH, I've never tried WhatsApp, but it is by far the most used communications app in Asia. In your shoes, I'd try to grow accustomed with that.
 
The last couple of years we've used Signal. I did use Viber also from communicating with the Philippine National Police, but it is Russian, so I dumped it.
Apparently Signal has the best privacy protection. (From what I gather of your line of work, this may be pretty important.) Apparently it can handle pics etc. as well. I was reading an article on Skype alternatives and when I saw Viber, my "spidey sense" started tingling. Now I know why!
 
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