Skype Kind of Goes Open Source
Skype has recently made clear that it will be supplied under an open source license. It kicked off with a member’s request to Skype that they preferred a Mandriva Linux edition of the application, which didn’t exist . Skype quickly saw that this user was not alone in his desire, and that many users were unhappy with a lack of this version. Skype happily announced that they stepped into the open source market, which would permit Linux developers to impact the road map of Skype to answer the needs of various users.
But make no mistake that this distribution is limited to the Linux edition only, so Skype is not totally open source, but this is a a step in the right direction in entering the open source market. It also makes Skype the most popular communication application for Linux geeks obtainable currently.
Inconveniently there is no launch date as yet and the specifics of the software are a bit vague. Linux has confirmed that it is in development however, so let us wish they carry through on their word. One also hopes this is merely a beginning and that development and sharing of an open source Skype will begin to reach other operating systems apart from the world of Linux as well.
While this development at Skype is appreciated by the open source customization community, they still have a very long way to go until they are anywhere near the likes of WordPress who are well known for the amount of WordPress customization you can do with their platform.
Although overall reaction is positive, there are critics who say that Skype’s open source development is not actually open source free software in the accepted sense. This is because because it isn’t yet plain if only UI code will be open, while network code would stay restricted, thus making it appear as though Skype is trying to seek support from the community gratis without giving anything in return. We will just have to wait and see what in the end comes of this. All in all, Skype seems to be progressing in the right direction, and we’ll have to see what the finished product entails.
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