I did not realize this was such a popular feature. I myself have had no occasion to use it.
I suspect however that they will bring it back in an alternative form Very shortly. An explanation of exactly what the problems were with the feature would have been in order. If people actually understood why something was going wayside. People might protest less. Feed: Skype Blogs Posted on: Thursday, August 28, 2008 10:50 AM Author: Peter Parkes Subject: Some more on Skypecasts The decision to retire Skypecasts wasn?t an easy one to make, and I understand that many of our long-time Skypecast users will be upset. However, the reason for retiring them is this ? we want to focus on making Skype software for Windows, Mac, Linux and mobile phones truly great, and so unfortunately we have to be strict about what we concentrate our efforts on. Many of you have commented on the original <http://share.skype.com/sites/en/2008/08/goodnight_skypecasts.html#comments> announcement, and given the number of comments, I?m not going to be able to reply to each of you individually. A number of you said that you were worried that the move would reduce the opportunities to meet new people, as well as making it harder to keep in touch with friends, and so I?d like to respond specifically to some of those points: One more thing, you claim you're doing this for the betterment of the Skype community. The ironic thing is that this is the Skype community. Without Skypecasts we're all alone and there simply is nothing holding us together in anything resembling a community. Please fix whatever it is that needs to be fixed, but don't kill something unique and incredible and amazing. ? yostrovs <skype:yostrovs?userinfo> To take away such a medium is really sad ... some of the best people I know are in this community and this is how we have kept in touch and kept our friendships going .. through thick and thin and yes have met a face or two in person. ? anni.spurlock <skype:anni.spurlock?userinfo> I know how fun Skypecasts could be, and meeting new people was always a big part of this. You might like to take a look at Skype?s <http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showforum=1> Coffee Corner in the Skype Community, where you can find new people, discuss hobbies and interests, and learn about other cultures. I'm also wondering if we can still have conference calls and such. ? ska_sodajerk <skype:ska_sodajerk?userinfo> Yes, absolutely. You can make conference calls with up to 25 participants using Skype, and if all 25 participants are on Skype, then the call is completely free, just like a Skypecast. There?s a guide on how to make conference calls on Skype for <http://www.skype.com/help/guides/makeconferencecall_windows/> Windows, which might be helpful. (You can also make conference calls on Mac and Linux too) Additionally, some of you welcomed the shift in focus away from Skypecasts: This sounds like a good move! Hopefully now you'll concentrate on getting the Linux client up to scratch and making a native 64 bit version! ? cowanh00 <skype:cowanh00?userinfo> As always, our product teams are working hard :) <http://download.skype.com/share/emoticons/0100-smile.png> Make sure you check out Ryan?s Skype for Linux blog <http://share.skype.com/sites/linux/> for the latest news from his team. Finally, I?d like to apologise for the short notice we?ve given you on this one ? I know that it?s far from ideal for those of you who are regular Skypecast users, and I?m sorry we?ve let you down in that regard. <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ShareSkypeEn/~4/377309360> View <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ShareSkypeEn/~3/377309360/some_more_on_skypecasts.html> article...
