Communication is one of the main components of our life. The development of technology 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 don't run to the mailbox - we rush to the computer as fast as we can, when the Skype call begins to ring melodiously and loudly in it.
The Leading Communication Tool
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 about this issue. And most of them are false. Interestingly, many Danes and Swedes declare with absolute certainty that the developers of Skype are their compatriots. However, this is not entirely true. This article is about who really invented Skype and how this utility has gained recognition around the world.
Estonian roots
For surea small beautiful European country whose name automatically raises a smile is known - Estonia. For some reason, the population of the former Soviet Union associates this state exclusively with the slowness and slowness of its citizens. Imagine the surprise of many when it becomes known that the creation of Skype is the work of the Estonian guys. Agree, it is incredible that this country with a slow pace of life is home to 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
Skype's history 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 were also working on a file sharing utility between Internet users. This program is called KaZaa. Together with Estonian young people, the founders of the described file hosting service also worked on this project: Dane Janus Friis and Swede Nicholas Zenstorm. In the process of work, not even slow guys designed the code, which became the basis for the future interactive program.
In parallel with how Skype was created, programmers studied the requirements and wishes of users of the World Wide Web. It became clear that people no longer have enough of a simple chat. Therefore, the team of creators decided to giveutility with all possible functions that will facilitate not only written communication, but also video communication, as well as the exchange of various data.
Choose a name
The original name for the utility was the expression "Sky peer-to-peer", which means "Across the sky with each other." The team then settled on a shortened version of "Skyper". However, in the process of registering domains on the World Wide Web, it was discovered that this name was already taken on many resources. As a result, young people "threw" 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 the successful registration of domains with the names Skype.net and Skype.com.
Full version and rising popularity
In August of the same year, an official program came into the public domain, which had almost all the functionality planned by the developers. The so-called beta version was released to the network in order to obtain detailed information about errors and malfunctions. While Skype was being created, the programmers decided in the future, as far as possible, to introduce into their “brainchild” the functions that consumers want to see. It is thanks to the beta version that the developers have collected enough information about the tastes and preferences of users, which allowed them to create a fast utility equipped with various modes.
First completethe version became available to users in the fall of 2003. It is noteworthy that in a few 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.
Dignity utility
What attracted users to this program?
For starters, it's free to use. The minimum and necessary set of functions for communication is available for free. Remarkably, among them the leading position is occupied by video communication. For many people who live hundreds of thousands of miles 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" it is enough to enter your mailbox address in the field, select a nickname and password. And that's it. Now you can enjoy.
This utility also has a convenient and intuitive interface. Thanks to the well-designed toolbar, you can easily switch modes, change tabs and customize the program. The fourth point is a convenient and quick search for an interlocutor. Just go to the "Contacts" tab and click "Add Contact". We enter a name for the 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, the huge advantage of Skype over other programs for communication is the presence of a large number of different functions. First and mostcommon (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 population of China to the new mobile version of the utility, a team of young programmers received serious resistance from local telecommunications companies. The reason for this was the fear of Asian corporations to lose control over the conquered market segments. Only a few Chinese companies made concessions and agreed to add the SkypeOut app to their mobile phones.
Sales and returns
The rapid growth in popularity has 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.
At the moment, this is the full version of the story of how Skype was created. Much is still ahead of the developers. A huge number of plans are in front of programmers. We can only look forward to new and more advanced versions of the Skype interactive communication program.
