Skype is 10 years old
Despite the well-known problems with wiretapping conversations, the cooperation of Misoft with the NSA, one cannot but recognize the huge role that the Skype program played for humanity. Especially in the first time, when it was an independent startup, and VoIP technology seemed truly revolutionary for ordinary users.
Skype founder Niklas Zennström
The first version of Skype was released exactly ten years ago, on August 29, 2003. At that time, various VoIP communication technologies via the Internet were already working successfully, but they all provided fairly poor sound quality. The emergence of Skype was like a bolt from the blue, it had a peculiar WOW effect: connection with such a crystal clear sound, completely free - who would even think of calling at an exorbitant price at standard international rates, using a regular phone?
The history of Skype in the years 2003-2013 is a success story that is not yet finished. Skype has clearly affected the number of international calls from traditional telecoms. The use of this program has even been formally banned in some countries, although these bans have not stopped users from using the convenient and so beloved program.
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Now the Skype program is used daily by 300 million users. They generate 2 billion minutes of video calls per day. Given the popularity of the program, it is not surprising that the word “skype” has recently claimed the title of a commonly used verb, which used to be “google” and “xerite” (meaning “search” and “copy” from Google and Xerox trademarks). This is not unusual when a technology gains a dominant position in the market.
The first version of Skype was written by Estonian programmers who were hired by Scandinavian entrepreneur Niklas Zennström in the city of Tallinn. The program was based on proprietary P2P communication with breaking NAT firewalls, the protocol is still kept secret.
The value of Skype is valuable not only for people. Even monkeys were able to communicate with their relatives thanks to video chats, modeled on Skype.
Niklas Zennström and his partner Janus Friis made a good bet when they invested in the development of a startup that provides users with the possibility of free calls. The viability of the free model paid off twice. First, when eBay bought Skype for $ 3.1 billion. The founders received their billions, but bargained for a share of ownership and patents for the peering protocol. Trade was not in vain. Soon they got even more when Microsoft bought the company for $ 8.5 billion.
Skype founder Niklas Zennström
The first version of Skype was released exactly ten years ago, on August 29, 2003. At that time, various VoIP communication technologies via the Internet were already working successfully, but they all provided fairly poor sound quality. The emergence of Skype was like a bolt from the blue, it had a peculiar WOW effect: connection with such a crystal clear sound, completely free - who would even think of calling at an exorbitant price at standard international rates, using a regular phone?
The history of Skype in the years 2003-2013 is a success story that is not yet finished. Skype has clearly affected the number of international calls from traditional telecoms. The use of this program has even been formally banned in some countries, although these bans have not stopped users from using the convenient and so beloved program.
')
Now the Skype program is used daily by 300 million users. They generate 2 billion minutes of video calls per day. Given the popularity of the program, it is not surprising that the word “skype” has recently claimed the title of a commonly used verb, which used to be “google” and “xerite” (meaning “search” and “copy” from Google and Xerox trademarks). This is not unusual when a technology gains a dominant position in the market.
The first version of Skype was written by Estonian programmers who were hired by Scandinavian entrepreneur Niklas Zennström in the city of Tallinn. The program was based on proprietary P2P communication with breaking NAT firewalls, the protocol is still kept secret.
The value of Skype is valuable not only for people. Even monkeys were able to communicate with their relatives thanks to video chats, modeled on Skype.
Niklas Zennström and his partner Janus Friis made a good bet when they invested in the development of a startup that provides users with the possibility of free calls. The viability of the free model paid off twice. First, when eBay bought Skype for $ 3.1 billion. The founders received their billions, but bargained for a share of ownership and patents for the peering protocol. Trade was not in vain. Soon they got even more when Microsoft bought the company for $ 8.5 billion.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/191796/
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