Tell me more ×
Ask Ubuntu is a question and answer site for Ubuntu users and developers. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 20 down vote favorite
3

I just learned that Microsoft has taken over Skype.

Will this affect the availability of Skype in the Canonical Partner repository?

share|improve this question
10  
If that happen don't worry The GNU Project has announced a new project called GNU Free Call, an open source Skype alternative planet.gnu.org/gnutelephony/?p=14 don't you think this is for a purpose ;) – Achu May 10 '11 at 15:12
3  
@Achu: Really? GNU Free Call would be great! :) Now we just need a GNU Flash :P – omnidan May 10 '11 at 15:23
4  
This is a bit quick to be worried about this. Skype is still its own company until the transaction goes through, and Canonical may keep the partnership with the Skype division. Also, Canonical may be contractually obligated to keep Skype in the partner repository for a certain number of years. – Jeremy Bicha May 10 '11 at 15:43
2  
@Achu: GNU Free Call.... SERIOUSLY? If Hurd is any example - this is a joke. What we need is something along the lines of LibreOffice (in terms of community, momentum, and dedication). – RolandiXor♦ May 10 '11 at 16:22
1  
@aendruk I voted not a real question since any answer will be totally speculative. – Jorge Castro May 11 '11 at 15:45
show 6 more comments

closed as too localized by Luis Alvarado♦, qbi, Seth, Eric Carvalho, Flimm Feb 19 at 9:23

This question is unlikely to help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. For help making this question more broadly applicable, see the FAQ.

2 Answers

up vote 7 down vote

According what I read, MS will still support Skype for non-Microsoft platforms. Skype not only runs on desktop OSes, but also on mobile OSes such as Android. So it would really be short-sighted of MS to stop supporting it on non-Microsoft platforms.

share|improve this answer
1  
Agrred... buy I'd say MS has been short-sighted at times before :). Hope they aren't with Skype. – luri May 10 '11 at 18:26
1  
Furthermore, killing Skype for non-MS platforms reduces the value of Skype for users on MS platforms, since they can call less people. – James Henstridge May 10 '11 at 23:58
1  
Note this response from the 'Microsoft Open Source Strategist' Steve Lamb: "It's too early to know plans re. Skype - the deal has to close before we can do anything" – Stefano Palazzo♦ Jun 15 '11 at 21:20
up vote 0 down vote

Depends how partner'ish will it be with Canonical. If it belongs to Microsoft, it doesn't necessarily mean that it will cancel its previous partnerships.

share|improve this answer
Does that mean Microsoft assumes the contract... and that Canonical will be a partner with Microsoft...?!? – Nathan Osman Jun 15 '11 at 18:26
it's not the contract rather than being aware and tolerant to other platforms – shookees Nov 15 '11 at 13:37

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.