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Simply put, you can't change a company without changing its management - Andy Grove - Only the Paranoid Survive
Skype drops the ball on free calls
WHEN VOIP OUTFIT SKYPE launched on the scene it was a brave new world boasting Internet voice calling goodness that would free man plus dog from the shackles of telcos everywhere. But it seems that with more than 12 million subscribers the system is getting stretched to capacity.
Once limited only by technology, the Skype network has developed into a two-tier organisation. On one hand there is the paid-for all singing and dancing phone system and the other is the red-headed step child, the free PC to PC system, which now comes with video.
However it is hard to find a user who is satisfied with the free service these days. Anyone who tries to use it for anything more than a glorified messaging service, or making a billed phone call, is suffering.
The most common complaint is with dropped calls, particularly on the video chat. The problem is that a call will often stay dropped for some minutes. The problem appears to be getting worse over the last three months for Blighty users and appears to be traffic related. You are less likely to be dropped using Skype if you are trying to run it at 3am on a weekday than you are at about 7pm.
It seems that the paid-for landline phone line calls are less effected and no one has reported a disconnection, although quality is sometimes hairier than a Dulux dog with extensions.
We decided to see if we could improve things with the Skype 4.0 Beta which has been out since June. Director of Windows Product Management at Skype, Mike Bartlett promised that video was a much-loved feature in Skype 4.0.
Skype is claiming it has use its data-compression techniques to enable high-quality voice conversations with 2Kb per second bandwidth, and video on 6Kb per second, so any problems with traffic should be reduced dramatically.
The first thing you notice is that Skype stops being a fairly discreet system of windows that you can shift around your screen, to one big screen -hogging application that you are expected to manoeuvre between conversations by clicking a button.
Even before we had the chance to test call quality, we found that this was damn annoying.
However it was time to test call quality in test calls to America, Bulgaria, Italy and around the corner. The American call was to an Apple PC so we didn't hold out much hope here and we were not disappointed. The OSX version of the software is a bit behind the rest of the world when it comes to Skype and, sure enough, we experienced dropped calls and lock-outs on both sides of the pond. Bulgaria and Italy had the same thing even on voice-only calls, so this software was rapidly heading toward 'chocolate teapot' status.
Right it should manage a local British call, right? Er... no. They dropped at the same speed as the others.
So that was on the latest Vista laptop. We tried to do the same thing with the same software on Windows XP on a desktop to check that it was not some incorrect settings we had and it also went tits up. What was surprising was the paid-for phone to landline service worked fine, which seems to suggest that Skype knows where its revenue stream is coming from.
We asked Skype for a comment on our findings. We even gave them our Skype number. They didn’t get back to us before deadline.
Perhaps it dropped its connection. ?
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Well, I use skype all the time to communicate with customers in the UK and friends around the world (regularly with aome Aussie friends). I don't experience the call dropping problems you are describing. So I can only assume that if you are on a budget ISP then the problems are more pronounced. Since I don't do "cheapo broadband", you know the sort you free with your breakfast cereal, and neither do my customer whom I supply, we hardly ever get this problem even at peak times.
I read all those articles on web sites around the world about how Skype doesn't work, all the while...we don't use anything else in my company for about two years and it just keeps working and working. Without a hitch and with excellent voice quality. We use both the software version, in a rather sophisticated setup involving Skype's own *.adm template, running several instances on each computer (WinXP & 2000) to facilitate several "extensions", call transfers, etc. We also use the hardware skypephones made by Philips, and as a "globally dispersed" organization, we use it on all kinds of connections (WiFi is bad, unfortunately, regardless of signal strength calls do drop out) in all kinds of countries. Both Skype2Skype and Skype2Phones calls. We don't do video at all though, so I can't say if that makes a diference. On the other hand, to setup the client, it's host computer and your router right (I mean *right*) is more involved than Skype would lead you to believe, and it doesn't like all headsets/mics equally. We tried 11 different ones ranging from cheap $20 stuff to pro $500 jobs, before we settled upon one model. So the point is, no it's not as easy as one would love it to be, but with effort it can be made into a perfectly useable system.
I used to swear to others that the next best thing to talking to a person face to face would be a skype call..and ya i am from the middle east, and i do use the skype out service, but since yesteday i have had this constant call drops in my skype to skype calls, to a point where it becomes practically unusable. And reading this article dashes all hopes of the new version bringing in any relief...which also points to an interesting thing, you can only change/fine tune so much on your software...and no matter how great it is, if the network doenst support you...then it aint worth a dime:)
Interesting article but I use free Skype to Skype every single day and I very very rarely have any issues at all. And the 30 or so contacts I regularly Skype don't seem to have any issue either. Perhaps it is due to your ISP and not Skype.
ahem, @99flake & @Vasek, errrrrrrm the article says the payed for version is fine (surprise, surprise !!) the FREE one is carp, you guys using the free flavour for business then ?? hmmmmm, bit risky i would have thought lol :O)
Like the posters before me, I have not had the problems the author explains. Both the free and paid service work great for both audio and video calls. This article is more about an anecdotal ran than any know problem of Skype continuing in a downward spiral.
We Were Testing SKYPE Way BACK When i Was IN NewYork City & Thats Really LONG MainFrame Time Ago. So Expect Oldie Performance. SKYPE Was Designed as "PERK" To Those Whom Had Equipment & Even Today Its FREE. Unless You Find Some NUT Who'll PAY. Basicly Pay & Pay &Pay Some More, Until YOU get Smart Enough NOT To PAY. Please Don't Confuse SKYPE With Pronunciation of My Post Name, skipe. Its More of ish word with k or Gype with sky SKY IP. skype. like I SKYPEd It from Office.(stole). Its Bambusozle world & Multi teared NO Remorse infastructure, Paying Means NOTHING To SKYPE, As SKYPE Dosn't Get Paid.Just Intermediates. Stewie drashek
Clearly, this has to be the work of the evil Vista. Some how, some way, its Vista's fault. It always is in Inquirer articles.
Nobody would need Skype if we had Internet service providers who actually provide free access to the Internet - in BOTH directions. Unfortunately the vast majority of customers can only connect from their computer to a third party, typically a commercial third party. The other direction is being blocked by the customer's ISP. Thus the need for a third party like Skype. Thank you to the corrupt governments backing the telcos (and other ISPs like TV cable services). This will only change when people stop paying for this kind of Internet access like they ditched AOL. When is Nick Farrell going to understand that it is either "kB" (kilobyte) or "kbit" (kilobit), but NOT "Kb"? See also the examples at http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html
I use it here in Spain all day long to talk to my colleagues in London (mainly just audio, but sometimes video) and have never had an issue. Check your connection/ISP I would say.
I am now pretty sure that the Skype drop out and quality problems not related to the Skye. I used Skype almost from day one and in last two years I started to encounter such problem. I changed ISPs and problems are gone for some time just to reappear later. Last time I started to play EVE and the experience was unbearable - lags all the time , sometimes coming to total stop for a minute or two. So I contacted my "last" :) ISP and they suggested me to get "gamer" package for few additional pennies a month, I agreed. As result not only EVE playback started to feel like running from hard drive (mind that I did not changed the speed up and down remained the same as before going to that "gamer" package) but also all Skype problems were gone and also problems connecting with UltraVNC to US as well... So it can be only one explanation: ISPs throttling regular internet traffic !
I am using skype all the time (calling Europe from USA), and the quality is much better than regular phone. I had some trouble during first seconds of the conversation (sometimes), but after connection established, usually I had no problem (usually I am talking with my wife when one of us on travel, so it is not a short conversation)
I have had a lot problems with Skype in the past, dropping calls, dropping half the call (I can hear them, they cannot hear me) or quality so bad I had to drop the call and start again both free and payfor calls! Add to that Skype using my resources and my bandwidth even when i am not doing anything at all! I discovered raketu.com a few months ago, and it has better quality, less dropped calls, lower prices and uses way less resources and bandwidth. And I use raketu on my laptop and my mobile without a download! Try it out, it rocks.
Bell Canada gets its balls massaged for tempering with customers' network traffic, including Skype. http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.vms/browse_thread/thread/47fcc4cc1993e72c
It may well be your telecom or ISP dropping your calls? Perhaps to convince you to use a paid service? I use Skype on a daily basis calling from New Zealand to South Africa and almost never experience dropped calls. Next time you do your tests eliminate a common factor (in this case you’re calling location) and try calling from different countries.
Can't say that I can identify with your experience. For me it just works, and is a gloriously useful alternative to South Africa's extortionate Telkom.
I'm using Skype on Linux (talk about being a bit behind!) and it works just fine for me. In fact, lately, I have seen more issues with people complaining about their Skype on Windows that I have with it running on Linux. Nevertheless, even though most in our company use it on Windows, we very rarely have any problems. We have had large conference calls with various people in New Zealand, US-west coast, east coast and Europe. I also regularly do video calls with someone in Europe from New Zealand and it works very well indeed. What I noticed is that the talk sometimes seems to hang for a few seconds if other stuff is being downloaded by one of the two parties. Maybe some of those who are complaining have other Internet traffic going on at the same time?
We don't have any issues with Skype from Australia, I regularly talk to my friend in New Zealand, My wife talks to her sister in Denmark and to her friends in Thailand with video and has no issues with drop outs. It must be the UK telecos dropping the calls so you get frustrated and start paying for the calls.
Use Skype daily, no issue at all with quality. Check your ISP before you print this stuff.
Skype? Try Bueno ! I have had a lot problems with Skype in the past, dropping calls, dropping half the call (I can hear them, they cannot hear me) or quality so bad I had to drop the call and start again both free and payfor calls! Add to that Skype using my resources and my bandwidth even when i am not doing anything at all! I discovered bueno.com a few months ago, and it has better quality, less dropped calls, lower prices and uses way less resources and bandwidth. And I use bueno on my laptop and my mobile without a download! Try it out, it rocks.
I use it (the free version) all the time to speak to my sister and friends in Edinburgh (I'm in Victoria, BC. Canada)and have rarely had any problems. Mind you I don't run Bit-Torrent in the background (or even have it switched on) like the author of this article has.