How we (don't) use e-mail
Text chats have been in Skype since the very beginning. And since early this year, you can chat with multiple contacts in a group chat, in addition to one-on-one chats. Chatting is one of Skype's main features apart from calling and contact management. And we'd like to tell you of our hidden agenda of making Skype Chat an e-mail killer.
Continue reading "How we (don't) use e-mail" »
ddh819 commented Tuesday, Jun 7
Is there an email checker plugin? or is there an email to skype IM gateway?
tris.hussey commented Tuesday, Jun 7
I 100% agree. Skype IM and voice has become a cornerstone, maybe the keystone to my electronic communications. I haven't played with setting a chat topic and making it persistant, but I can see how powerful it could be.
I have, in fact, used Skype to push a file to someone right across the table from me! Just more efficient than e-mail! And secure too!
theptcompany commented Tuesday, Jun 7
Hey Jaanus!
Really excellent article/blog. Actually I would mind an e-mail killer. Because of Skype my e-mail has dropped to just about zero. Now I need something that will finish it off. 
And yes, persistant multi-chats are an awesome experience.
Regards, Bill
teller commented Wednesday, Jun 8
I think Jaanus forgot one important thing - security. When on open wifi are email is certainly not very secure environment to exchange any kind of information. Skype chat (and voice and file transfer) is encrypted and that's probably important to many users.
mikeymike commented Thursday, Jun 9
Great post! This is one ambitious project to take on email but I must say that I love what you are doing! Overall, this is quickly turning into a killer communications app! I just hope you don't sell out so this company can realize it's full potential.
adamharris007 commented Sunday, Jun 12
Jaanus.
Great excellent post/blog. I will surely point other people to this link.
Keep up the interesting write ups.
Regards
ziga.turk commented Thursday, Jun 16
There just one feature I'd like to have implemented across several tools - shared ontology/taxonomy/hierarchy of files, bookmarks, mail folders, contacts, chats. I'd like to set up this once and have it followed by all applications; automatically. Say that I work on a project: I need to set up a speace for the project in the file system, then a folder for project mails, then a list of project related contacts, etc. etc. Skype may not be the best company to do that, but I'm just throwing the idea around. Maybe someone will pcik it up.
jimcanuck commented Sunday, Jun 26
Ziga's request is probably answered best by a newly released product, Context Portal at www.contextportal.com. Having monitored the developer's development activity over the past year, this is not exactly the most trivial product to build.
gnob231 commented Saturday, Aug 6
Hi Janus,
I'm a newbee. I have not even called anybody yet. But I saw this article. I am in business (IT) and I need to have an audit trail of "notices". For example we open a private FTP channel from a customer and we want them to try it out. I can call them and obviously can tell them and add a whole lot of descriptive info but I still have to email them and give them all the LEGAL specifics. Until we can so that with saved voice so Dragon or some other program can convert the voice and put it on a screen or direct print I think some of us are stuck with email.
But....yes, when my family and I (Philly, Baltimore, Denver, Huntington Beach and Laguna) are trying to get together for a holiday chat SKYPE multi-chat is the way to go!!!!
shwoodham commented Monday, Aug 8
2 big pieces I would need to put my email client to rest and use Skype instead: The ability to send files to offline users and then go offline myself, and the ability to send/receive text (IM or email) and files to/from non-Skype users. I know Skype said earlier that they aren't pursuing these functions so that they can focus on being the best voice service, but is the thinking changing on this? Sure would be handy to have one client handle all communications.
kalle_loukos commented Friday, Aug 19
Great additional help for using Skype! Talk while sitting on your sofa... unfortunately only demo version so far.
genesis77772883 commented Thursday, Nov 17
i just downloaded skype. i have not much experience so i will ask if you can give me some help. i will like to know if this is for chatting. i mean to you have chat room or it is to make call to friends on contats. i was told this is to chat with friends but i seem not to be able to open no chat roooms. please i will appreaciate any commnents. your friend from puerto rico
naeem84 commented Wednesday, Dec 7
i just downloaded skype. i have not much experience so i will ask if you can give me some help. i will like to know if this is for chatting. i mean to you have chat room or it is to make call to friends on contats. i was told this is to chat with friends but i seem not to be able to open no chat roooms. please i will appreaciate any commnents. your friend from naeem khan
rita_owusu2003 commented Thursday, Feb 16
well i dont have much to say but i do like the cite annd want to be a member
somdamusica commented Saturday, Sep 2
guy. Here in Brazil, i´d Like that Internet BroadBand has been More signers. If it has been truth, I would go waist a half taht a waist with Telecomunication. Why ? Because a little part only of my contacts have Intenet BroadBand.
nafcom commented Thursday, Sep 21
Nothing will kill my beloved M2 email client and the way it manages emails (www.opera.com/m2).
Sorry.
Skype is only for voice chat for me. text chat is rudimentary, it's crap. Seriously. it even has no typing indicator which ALL IM clients have (And yes, ICQ was the last that got it).
Skype won't kill email, particuallary not M2, no way 
Sorry to say so.
ucsuk1 commented Thursday, Nov 13
I see your point, but Skype won't kill e-mail. No way, no how.
I have a Skype phone, and when I send messages to my friend on there, they aren't synchronised with my PC so my chats are fragmented between my phone and my PC. Take Gmail for example, everything we have spoken about is stored online in my Chats folder.
Sad truths, as I do like Skype a lot, but I'm not expecting to drop my Gmail account in a hurry, especially as Gmail has now recently added online video and voice chats to its webmail service.