The Skype's Not Falling
On behalf of headline writers everywhere, sorry for the fear escalation.
Take a deep breath.
Skype is not shutting down.
All's running well.
Skype remains very profitable. Likely more than $100 million this year.
Skype has at least 10 months until a court date.
Joltid must prove to a judge that Skype broke a contract.
Joltid must prove the breach in one part of the contract was big enough to justify voiding the whole thing.
Joltid has to prove they were harmed by whatever they claim Skype did.
Joltid has to prove the proper remedy is killing the goose that laid Joltid's golden egg.
Not easy to do.
But let's say Joltid beats Skype/eBay in court.
Let's say the judge tells Skype: stop using Joltid's code and pay a fine too.
That probably won't matter.
Skype's busy making new code.
Skype may even buy code from a Joltid competitor.
Code to swap out sometime in the next 10 months.
So even if Skype loses in court, users keep on Skyping, Skype keeps making money, and everyone's happy except for the people at Joltid.
Skype knows this.
So they're working hard to be ready.
In the middle of next year.
Four seasons from now.
So don't panic.
Don't fret.
Sleep well.
Keep Skyping.
And don't forget your towel.
tags: skype, joltid, dontpanic, towel, pin
Call me at +1-510-316-9773, Skype me, follow @skypejournal and @Phil Wolff.
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14 Comments:
Phew! Now I can sleep again without worrying about being able to keep up my Dutch Skype Blog :)
Great, but what about all the people that are now using hardware devices to Skype, mobiles and PC-Less cordless skype phones, when this update comes are we all going to be left out in the cold? Not everyone Skypes from a computer!
Thanks for your post. I almost panicked. But now I am at peace.
PS: I have that button too! Mine came in the box of the game by Infocom for my Amiga computer. Was it 1985, or '86? :) I often wear it at contract negotiations...
And don't forget your towel.
a reference to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? :)
But Phil....
WE'RE ALL DOOOOOOOOOOMED
is so much more fun ;-)
Awesome, I love this post just for the HHGTG references. Also, good to know Skype is not going anywhere since I just renewed my subscription.
I have a question. How is it possible that the experienced businessmen and women of ebay could conclude the purchase of skype without buying the code? It seems bizarre to me. It is the kind of oversight or negligence on the part of ebay (or perhaps simply a lack of street-smarts or an inability to negotiate) that makes you wonder whether the highly paid executives in suits actually have any idea of what they're doing.
@shinjitsunome, That's a great question. I'm sure someone will bring it up during Meg Whitman's campaign to be Governor of California.
You better be sure the people at voipbuster dont convince people otherwise. They are laughing their asses off right now:
Switch to Voipbuster before it is too late!
As it is now becoming more and more clear that Skype’s services will not be available much longer because their software license will expire (license is owned by Joltid, www.joltid.com), it is now the time to switch to VoipBuster;
“Skype is worthless without the license” (source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/153113-skype-s-hold-up-problem )
“Skype might have to shut down" (source: http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10013367o-2000498448b,00.htm)
“Skype has breached the licence agreement” (source: http://chiefofficers.net/888333888/cms/index.php/news/comms/comms_is_skype_doomed)
To make sure everyone can still use Voice Over IP at even cheaper rates than Skype, Voipbuster has lowered loads of destinations, and no risks at all
So, inform your friends and family to check out Voipbuster and keep calling at perfect quality and cheap rates worldwide and remember Voipbuster users can call each other for FREE!
www.voipbuster.com
Kind regards,
The Voipbuster Team
I enjoyed your post, but mostly I enjoyed the quality scan of the old mid-80's FedEx button... went on a hunt through the 'junk' and 'parts' boxes and found three! Good times!
Thanks,
Tom
without ebay backing up skype and pumping in money... is it possible skype rates will go up? skype might become more expensive too
Would be great if Skype switched to open, standard protocols, and dumped the P2P hookup.
I'd rather go for a system that required proper router setup, if it was guaranteed not to leech off my connection.
Skype is not a good standard!
I am much worried for expected shut down of Skype its my best IM tool on my mobile though i use Vopium for cheap international calls
"Skype's busy making new code.
Skype may even buy code from a Joltid competitor.
Code to swap out sometime in the next 10 months. "
BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!
Hilarious! 10 months to rebuild what by all accounts is core technology of their system - and you think it'll all be sunshine and lollypops?
Have you seen how long it takes the eBay crew to implement even minor changes? And just how "spectacular" they work when they finally do it?
You, sir, win a shiny gold star for optimism.
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