Communication is one of the main components of our life. The development of technology has pushed letters written by hand to the "backyard", giving the palm to IT tools. The latter include mobile communications and the Internet. With their help, you can freely communicate, being hundreds of thousands of kilometers apart. Now we are not running to the mailbox - we are rushing off to the computer with all our feet when Skype's ringtones ring out melodiously and loudly in it.
Leading utility for communication
Without exaggeration, we can say that this program is a kind of symbol of freedom on the Internet. Many users of this utility are seriously interested in how Skype was created and who was its founder? There are many opinions on this issue. And most of them are false. Interestingly, many Danes and Swedes say with absolute certainty that the developers of Skype are their compatriots. However, this is not entirely true. This article talks about who actually invented Skype and how this utility has gained worldwide recognition.
Estonian roots
Everyone probably knows a small beautiful European country whose name automatically causes a smile - Estonia. For some reason, the population of the former Soviet Union associates this state exclusively with the slowness and slowness of its citizens. What is the surprise of many when the fact that the creation of Skype is the work of the Estonian guys is becoming known. You must admit that it is incredible that this country with a slow life course is the birthplace of one of the fastest programs for communication on the Internet. This fact contains a seemingly hidden allusion to an absolutely false idea of ​​the temperament and character of Estonians.
The origin and development of the utility
The history of Skype began in 2003. It was then, about 11 years ago, that the Estonian guys Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jan Tallinn developed the initial code, which was the foundation of the future program. At that time, they also worked on a file-sharing utility between Internet users. This program is called KaZaa. Together with Estonian young people, the founders of the file sharing described above worked on this project: Danish Janus Friis and Swede Nicholas Zenstorm. In the process of work, not at all slow-moving guys designed the code, which became the basis for the future interactive program.
In parallel with how they created Skype, programmers studied the requirements and wishes of users of the World Wide Web. It became clear that people already lacked a simple chat. Therefore, the team of creators decided to give the utility all the possible functions that will contribute not only to written communication, but also video communication, as well as the exchange of various data.
Name selection
The original name for the utility was the expression "Sky peer-to-peer", which means "through the sky with each other." Then the team opted for an abbreviated version of Skyper. However, in the process of registering domains within the World Wide Web, it was discovered that this name was already taken on many resources. As a result, young people “pushed back” the last letter “r” from the name and opted for a simple and concise Skype. This name selection process took several months. The final decision was made in April 2003. The result was a successful registration of domains with the names Skype.net and Skype.com.
Full version and growing popularity
In August of the same year, an official program entered the public Internet, which possessed almost all the functionality planned by the developers. The so-called beta version was released on the network in order to obtain detailed information about errors and malfunctions. While creating Skype, programmers decided in the future, as far as possible, to introduce into their "brainchild" the functions that consumers want to see. Thanks to the beta version, the developers gathered enough information about the tastes and preferences of users, which allowed them to create a quick and equipped with various modes utility.
The first full version became available to users in the fall of 2003. It is noteworthy that for several months the number of users of this program has grown hundreds of thousands of times. A huge number of people thanked those talented programmers who invented Skype.
Utility Benefits
What attracted users to this program?
For starters, this is free use. The minimum and necessary set of functions for communication is available for free. What is noteworthy, among them the leading position is video communication. For many people living hundreds of thousands of kilometers apart, this mode is a great opportunity to be closer to each other.
The second point is a quick registration. In order to become a member of the large "Skype family", just enter the address of your mailbox in the field, select a nickname and password. And that’s all. Now you can enjoy.
This utility also has a convenient and intuitive interface. Thanks to a well-designed toolbar, you can easily switch modes, change tabs and customize the program. The fourth point is a convenient and quick search for the interlocutor. Just go to the “Contacts” tab and click “Add Contact”. Enter the name to search and in the window that appears, select the one we need. A request to be added to the contact list will be sent at the same time.
Of course, a huge advantage of Skype over other programs for communication is the presence of a large number of different functions. The first and most common (as with all similar and similar utilities) is the ability to send and receive simple text messages. The presence of video calls has made Skype the leading application for contacting distant interlocutors. In addition, using the program you can share various files: send photos, documents, music, videos and more.
First problem
Two years after the release of the program, the first unpleasant event for developers occurred. Trying to introduce the Chinese population to the new mobile version of the utility, a team of young programmers received serious resistance in the face of local telecommunications companies. The reason for this was the fear of Asian corporations to lose control of the conquered market segments. Only a few Chinese companies made concessions and agreed to add SkypeOut to their mobile phones.
Sale and Return
The rapid growth in popularity attracted the attention of large companies to this program. In 2005, the developers sold their "brainchild." The buyer was eBay, which offered $ 2.6 billion for the interactive utility. After some time, the corporation, known worldwide for its online auctions and the PayPal payment system, paid bonus payments to the developers of the program, increasing the cost of Skype by 500 million. The history of the creation and modernization of the utility includes another owner. In 2011, eBay sold the rights to the program back to the developers and their attracted investor, Microsoft. The deal amounted to 8.5 billion dollars.
At the moment, this is the full version of the story about how to create Skype. Developers still have a lot to do. A huge number of plans are faced by programmers. We can only look forward to new and more improved versions of the Skype interactive communication program.