Some more on Skypecasts
The decision to retire Skypecasts wasn’t an easy one to make, and I understand that many of our long-time Skypecast users will be upset. However, the reason for retiring them is this – we want to focus on making Skype software for Windows, Mac, Linux and mobile phones truly great, and so unfortunately we have to be strict about what we concentrate our efforts on.
Many of you have commented on the original announcement, and given the number of comments, I’m not going to be able to reply to each of you individually. A number of you said that you were worried that the move would reduce the opportunities to meet new people, as well as making it harder to keep in touch with friends, and so I’d like to respond specifically to some of those points:
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One more thing, you claim you're doing this for the betterment of the Skype community. The ironic thing is that this is the Skype community. Without Skypecasts we're all alone and there simply is nothing holding us together in anything resembling a community. Please fix whatever it is that needs to be fixed, but don't kill something unique and incredible and amazing. — yostrovs
To take away such a medium is really sad … some of the best people I know are in this community and this is how we have kept in touch and kept our friendships going .. through thick and thin and yes have met a face or two in person. — anni.spurlock
I know how fun Skypecasts could be, and meeting new people was always a big part of this. You might like to take a look at Skype’s Coffee Corner in the Skype Community, where you can find new people, discuss hobbies and interests, and learn about other cultures.
I'm also wondering if we can still have conference calls and such. — ska_sodajerk
Yes, absolutely. You can make conference calls with up to 25 participants using Skype, and if all 25 participants are on Skype, then the call is completely free, just like a Skypecast. There’s a guide on how to make conference calls on Skype for Windows, which might be helpful. (You can also make conference calls on Mac and Linux too)
Additionally, some of you welcomed the shift in focus away from Skypecasts:
This sounds like a good move! Hopefully now you'll concentrate on getting the Linux client up to scratch and making a native 64 bit version! — cowanh00
As always, our product teams are working hard 
Make sure you check out Ryan’s Skype for Linux blog for the latest news from his team.
Finally, I’d like to apologise for the short notice we’ve given you on this one – I know that it’s far from ideal for those of you who are regular Skypecast users, and I’m sorry we’ve let you down in that regard.
“To take away such a medium is really sad … some of the best people I know are in this community and this is how we have kept in touch and kept our friendships going .. through thick and thin and yes have met a face or two in person. — anni.spurlock
You might like to take a look at Skype’s Coffee Corner in the Skype Community, where you can find new people, discuss hobbies and interests, and learn about other cultures.” – um, am I missing something or does that text forum not have audio?
So Skype is getting completly worthless. I will look for some alternate services… Our site http://www.skypecaster.de was just started..
But there is no official interesting forum for nonenglish speaking users, so where can, for example, russian users meet? Search using one-form dialog?
In scypecasts users can make interesting places (of course there are many talking of idiots) themselves, and it’s simple. Not good, i just began talking there… And was planing visiting foreign language skypecasts to know more about the world. =(
Peter,
I heard pressure from Ebay was a big factor in closing down the Skypecast service, is this true?
Peter, by what you’ve said it seems as though Skypecasts won’t be returning for quite a while, as you said you are focusing resources on other areas. So will it be 1-3 years before it returns?
Oh well, I hope when they return they will be much better than they are now.
Regards,
Ryan
http://www.operation513.com
Here is a great option for Skypecast type broadcasting! I’m using it now and there is NO software to download. Can host up to 944 people at one time and the host has FULL control and it’s FREE! http://www.calliflower.com
Good luck with the projects, is the best decision in the long term
Gentleman, good day. I as soon as have learned that you have decided to suspend the service of the skypecast. Understood you it that this your decision comes lived from we customers like a betray? We were happy also for spending something more (money) in order to telephone, there are programs that they make to telephone FOR FREE in average world (as an example VoipStunt), others that they make to FOR FREE communicate but with a graphical interface a lot, a lot most beautiful of yours skype (as an example ooVoo). The greater price that we pay skype we mean it also like support to the skypecast. You know the “Fidelizzazione” term? Have betrayed you it. We all are going towards other platforms, you we serenely continue to kill you. Alfonso Siviero
I hope this frees up some time to get cracking with the Skype + GoogleTalk integration which was bandied about a few years back. Even if it’s just text chat integration, that would be lovely.
Hi Peter
Thanks for replying to my comment. It is nice to hear the Linux client will get some loving. I hope we get more than just words soon though….
I’m sure your product teams are working hard and this is the reason the last post on the Linux blog was back in March!
Skypecasts were good for disabled / people with limited mobility – it is a pity.
Hi Peter,
I am a Canadian working in China.Thanks to Skypecast,I met a lot of wonderful Chinese people who enjoyed using Skype so much duo to the special feature of the cast.Trust me,Skypecast is the soul of Skype! Taking it off,you guys are making the biggest mistake which will result in a huge loss of you market in China where QQ (a chinese IM which has all the features that Skype has except the cast )would be more than happy to see such a stupit decision were made by you guys!
If the only true season to close the skypecast is the cost,why don’t you make a survey on how much people in the world would like to pay for hosting a cast? If the price is accepted by most of the hosts,and the cost of your server and maintenance can be covered,why not keep it so that Skype as whole can still remain competitive? Don’t kill YOUR SOUL if you want survive in this world! Think it over Please!!!
If the only true reason to close the skypecast is the cost,why don’t you make a survey on how much people in the world would like to pay for hosting a cast? If the price is accepted by most of the hosts,and the cost of your server and maintenance can be covered,why not keep it so that Skype as whole can still remain competitive? Don’t kill YOUR SOUL if you want survive in this world! Think it over Please!!!
I support all the skypecasts! From the first to the last!
Please consider that for people like me who lives in a small village need of Skypecasts, cause are the best ways to speak another language (english in my case).
So too helpful, above all! (I support Mikel’s Skypecast!)
Bye!
I have enjoyed the skypecasts along with all of you, but I must say that for some of you to gripe over something that was provided completely free to you is pretty lame. It costs money to provide the amount resources to run skypecasts and there two reasons why they could not provide this service indefinitely. The first reason is that it is just not good business. Every company will provide incentives for people to get to know their service in hopes that many will sign on to their premium service. I happen to use and pay for quite a bit of their other services. The reality is that many of the paid services were suffering because of the amount of resources that are being consumed by the non paying services. In plain English, most of the complaints are coming from those of you who have never paid a dime for any skype services at all and are the same people who post all kinds of Skype Sucks messages whenever you could not get the free services. These guys aren’t going to say it but I will and I hope they post it.
As a paid user, what really has sucked is having the quality of my calls go down because too much was being drained by the non paying community. Maybe if more people had paid for premium services, Skype could afford to expand and provide enough power for all. But in the end I believe they had a choice between raising the cost of premium services to cover what the casts were eating up, or discontinuing the casts to provide the best quality service for its paying customers. God forbid they would have started charging for the cast membership… you freeloaders would have called for a boycott of something you never spent a dime on to begin with.
Skype is a business. It takes money to run it. Why don’t you open up your food pantry for 8 million people a day and see how many you can feed on the off chance that a small percentage are willing to give a donation for the next meal. See how long you can feed people. Skype has done an outstanding job but I think it is stretched to the limit trying to accommodate everybody. What they are doing is smart for the long term health of its brand.
No doubt that closing the casts will vastly improve the quality of their voice call services and attract a whole new base of customers who have been reluctant to come on board because of what we affectionately call “the Skype Monster”… Guess what folks… look in the mirror… that monster was all of us.
Nothing is free forever. How about thanking Skype for putting up with us as long as they could afford it and just get over yourselves. If you want to see how much it costs to provide this service then I suggest a few of you decide to hire a programming engineer and come up with your own community for free and see how long you can afford it. I sure am going to miss the casts and the fun I had with many of you. But I am going to enjoy more having a better quality service for my paid calls.
To the folks at Skype. Thanks for the memories. You have provided a great community service. Even though it was also provided to get paying customers, you still did a great job all things considered. Now if my other services continue to suck after ending the casts… you are going to have one hell of an angry paying customer on your hands. I am betting, you know what you are doing and Skype is going to have a formidable VOIP market presence in short order. Here’s to the future.
“for some of you to gripe over something that was provided completely free to you is pretty lame” – who can say how valuable skypecasts have been to skype in numerous ways?
This is really sad. This is my speculation: I believe the decision probably comes down to money, and Skypecasts don’t generate revenue directly. But it is a huge draw for people to get introduced to Skype and its services. I think the executives at Skype are missing a great opportunity here. There are so many people that use Skypecasts and want to continue to use it – figure out a way to make money at it! Put some advertising on the skypecast pages – that’s how Google makes their money while providing their service for free to users.
it’s really depress me that the skypecast will be stoped if the problem is the money . i am sure most skypecast uesers are willing to pay something for it has already becomes a part of their life ! please think it over!
My Name is Marcio Romero, i’m argenitian (cordoba), working in USA.
Congratulations for that desición! I believe that SkypeCasts already was a repository of pornography and truly crazy people. People whom is not possible to make business. It’s time to have good business and services with Skype customers.
As a host of many skypecasts,I have spoken with thousands of people since the annoucement to quit casts. And allmost all of wich I have spoken to are willing to pay for the skypecast service. So how about it, you guys at skype willing to develope a skypecast forum that works and us as users can pay for it? I’m in and so are lots of other people that use skype. Hope you think about it at least.
Hey Skype
After the first shock of losing skypecast it turns out ther is other sulutions out ther some are even better then skype so i gusse you will regret that decision as you will lose a lot of users!
Thanks for giving in to the pressur of the need to Controll what people are allowed to talk about and what not!
like bigbrother we dont need you to watsh and Controll every aspekt of ouer live!
Skype found a very nice way of saing it when you said the way the “product was used” tells me everything i need to know!
It was a very good plattform wehre people all ofer the world culd excange ther thorts of cours that must be stopt and it stinks that you did stop it!
One day big brother might even tell us what we are allowed to think!
Free people can live with a viewe idiots who sometimes disturb thats better then being treatet like a child to tell us how we have to use your product!
IT STINKS BIG TIME
Its skypes lose many fund allrady other plattforms!!!!!!