Meanwhile, eBay became increasingly disenchanted with their investment, losing millions of dollars every year.įinally, in September 2008, eBay pulled the plug. The programs ofSkypecasts remained active until September 2008. Skype 3.1 transitioned users from a family and friend network to extended networks for businesses and organisations. These communications resembled chat rooms that were directed by a host who determined who could speak next. Skypecasts allowed users to utilize voice conversations with up to 100 participants. The result was that Skpecasts were introduced in May 2006.

The direction of Skype began to change with an emphasis on sociability. Frustration set in at eBay who announced that they had overvalued Skype. The streaming service was unsuccessful.ĭuring the eBay ownership, Skype continued to make incremental advances.

The founders began to concentrate on a streaming video service known as Joost. In this year, eBay acquired Skype in a landmark transaction for $2.5 billion. With the release of the Beta 2.0 version in 2005, Skype zoomed to new levels of popularity. The 2.0 Beta program first introduced video calling using a greatly simplified new design and a simplified interface. This version revolutionized the Internet call industry and paved the way for the greatest and most expansive Internet communication app. Through the evolution of various Skype upgrades, the company continued to experiment with different colours before finally settling on the current blue background.Īfter the original 0.90 Beta, Skype released several subsequent versions (0.97, 1.0 and 1.4 Beta). Skype’s 0.9 Beta created the platform to permit calls to landlines from PC’s on a fee schedule. The original Skype application permitted voice calls from PC to PC and little else. Skype actually stands for “Sky Peer to Peer.” The foremost voice-over-IP service was launched in August 2003. Skype was founded by Estonian developers Zahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn, Danish developer Janus Friis and Sweden’s Niklas Zennstrom.

Skype online chat history