Skype Gets More Free

[GoodBytes]

Since Microsoft acquired Skype, Microsoft is making Skype more free to attract users.

A couple of months back, Skype offered group video chat with multiple users, and now Microsoft has it again.

 

 

Now Skype is offering desktop screen sharing to group of people for free. You no longer have to get the Premium service to enjoy this feature.

The feature should be enabled now, assuming you have the latest version of Skype running.

 

Source: http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-is-slowly-making-skype-better-by-making-it-freeer

[Snickerzz]

And more ads!

[Askew]

Have they dealt with whatever was allowing peoples' IP addresses to be publicly visible and cause that huge wave of DDoS attacks on individuals?

 

I stayed away from Skype since hearing about that, everyone I knew that was a youtuber/twitch streamer had to use fake names on Skype to avoid this, and quite a few moved to Google Hangouts/Teamspeak.

[The Crazed Child]

The screen sharing feature is appealing, it makes it way easier for me to solve my brother's Minecraft issues.

[alby800]

YAY, this is good because I am always screen sharing with my friends but when we are in a group call one of us has to leave lol

[Tataffe]

Fine. Now on to fix the annoying bug where you are shown as online though you aren't. You know, basic stuff.

[ShadowCaptain]

Awesome in another 6 months they might start paying us

[GoodBytes]

I'll just let the NSA get a direct back door into my PC... GG...

lol. They don't need to offer you the service for free for that.

[brownninja97]

Well its nice at least

[ShadowCaptain]

When you live where I do, you give up trying to hide from the NSA

[Trik'Stari]

Didn't you used to be able to do this for free? I remember doing so on a minecraft server I was on for a while

[fojacko]

Didn't you used to be able to do this for free? I remember doing so on a minecraft server I was on for a while

 

No, if at least one member in the group had premium everyone could be in the group chat.

[Socky]

Still terrible

[VSG]

No, if at least one member in the group had premium everyone could be in the group chat.

 

Group chat + desktop sharing wasn't there previously but 1-on-1 chat + sharing was there, as was group chat as well. MS is just giving back most stuff that was there before because no one in their right mind was paying for Skype premium.

[Huginn]

Have they dealt with whatever was allowing peoples' IP addresses to be publicly visible and cause that huge wave of DDoS attacks on individuals?

 

I stayed away from Skype since hearing about that, everyone I knew that was a youtuber/twitch streamer had to use fake names on Skype to avoid this, and quite a few moved to Google Hangouts/Teamspeak.

 

I believe they haven't. I like to watch competitive CS:GO and I believe they still stay away from it.

Not entirely sure though.

[dmegatool]

Still waiting for the group video on mobile. They said it was coming a while ago now... 

[qwertywarrior]

fuck skype use TOX

[LAwLz]

I saw the title and got really excited, then I realized it was free as in free beer and not freedom.

Oh well, better than nothing I guess but it feels like my premium Skype is getting less and less valuable.

[Khraft]

I saw the title and got really excited, then I realized it was free as in free beer and not freedom.

 

I think Open has replaced free in that sense, and imo describes it better.

[LAwLz]

I think Open has replaced free in that sense, and imo describes it better.

The mini-Stallman in me is going nuts over that. "Free" and "open source" are two different things. "Free software" also includes things like being able to modify and distribute the modification however you want, run the program for whichever purpose you want and so on. It Includes more things than just being able to see the source code.

The term "open" has also lots its meaning since people are calling Mantle, Freesync, Android and many other things "open". Hell I've even seen people call Windows Phone open just because other companies than Microsoft can use it.

Mantle is currently closed source, and the drivers for it are closed source as well. Freesync appears to be a proprietary implementation of VESA's adapstive-sync standard. Android keeps getting more and more binary blobs in it and Windows Phone is just flat out closed source.

[mgsstar]

This is a pretty nice addition to the app as it allows users to be able to get computer help from other users. But I think they should really fix the group chat bug on the Windows 8 app as I would always have to launch the app to check for notifications.

[Mooshi]

And more ads!

 

 

# Copyright © 1993-2009 Microsoft Corp.

#

# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.

#

# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each

# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should

# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.

# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one

# space.

#

# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual

# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.

#

# For example:

#

#      102.54.94.97     rhino.acme.com          # source server

#       38.25.63.10     x.acme.com              # x client host

 

# localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.

# 127.0.0.1       localhost

# ::1             localhost

127.0.0.1 apps.skype.com

 

Follow directory in screenshot C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc, edit hosts file with wordpad, add "127.0.0.1 apps.skype.com" to list. Enjoy no ads.

 

You're welcome.

[Snickerzz]

 

Follow directory in screenshot C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc, edit hosts file with wordpad, add "127.0.0.1 apps.skype.com" to list. Enjoy no ads.

 

You're welcome.

i have skype premium for 3 years

[TetraSky]

Switched away from skype like 6 months ago.
I loved MSN/Live Messenger, because it was an actual IM client, with all the features you could want from an IM client, but then M$ decided to buy Skype and force everybody onto it by shutting down msn/live messenger, skype has awful, supbar IM client functionnality, can't even change the color of your font for crying out loud.

So I switched to Trillian and couldn't be happier, especially because me and my friend share pictures a lot and it makes things so much easier to do just that since I don't have to download each and every single pictures/screenshots, they just appear in the chat window and I can click on them to have them pop up. (Unless skype changed that in the last 6 months, I doubt it though) Sure there's "ads" (Trillian ads, telling you pay, not too intrusive and at least it's not random ads from some other companies) but they can be disabled quite easily.