When was skype made

The first public beta offering of Skype software was released in August , and led quickly to updated versions for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and even the Sony PlayStation portable game device. Skype added videoconferencing options with its January Windows and Macintosh releases and forever changed what we wear in front of the computer. One hundred and thirty-six years after Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone, he could finally see what Watson was wearing!

Basically, Skype converts voice signals into data, sends that over the Internet from the host computer, and then restores the audio on the receiving computer. The system is free between two Skype-linked computers, and has only a small fee if the person on one end is using a conventional phone. Like standard telephones, Skype has convenience features, such as voicemail and call forwarding. Not bad for a company with essentially no revenue. December Skype for iPhone now with video arrives. October Skype launches on Android devices.

September Group video calling for up to 10 people arrives. April Skype launches on the Apple iPad. March Skype Mobile on Verizon Wireless devices now available. Febuary Skype 4. September Skype acquired by Silver Lake investor group. July Skype launches its WiFi and screen sharing features. March Skype launches for iPhone.

September Skype celebrates 1 billion downloads. February Skype hits billion minutes of Skype to Skype calls. Josh Silverman is appointed CEO. October 3 Skypephone introduced with 3, a mobile UK carrier. High-quality video introduced with Logitech. June Skype To Go debuts.

March Skype reaches half a billion downloads. December Skype introduces first calling subscriptions. May SMS sending feature available on Windows. February Skype announces way conference calling on PCs. January Skype video calling launches on Windows. September eBay acquires Skype. After the original 0. Version 2. This version revolutionized the Internet call industry and paved the way for the greatest and most expansive Internet communication app.

The 2. With the release of the Beta 2. The founders began to concentrate on a streaming video service known as Joost. The streaming service was unsuccessful. During the eBay ownership, Skype continued to make incremental advances. Frustration set in at eBay who announced that they had overvalued Skype. The direction of Skype began to change with an emphasis on sociability. The result was that Skpecasts were introduced in May Skypecasts allowed users to utilize voice conversations with up to participants.

These communications resembled chat rooms that were directed by a host who determined who could speak next. Skype 3.

October : Two years on, and with little sign of integration between the pair, eBay admits that its acquisition of Skype has not been a runaway success. While the number of registered users has grown to million, eBay chief executive Meg Whitman admits that usage levels are not high enough. April : eBay announces plans to float Skype on the stock market.

Back in , the pair had created a holding company called Joltid, which had owned the intellectual property used by Skype.

Their threat to withdraw Skype's right to use this code could sink the flotation, analysts warn. Both sides begin legal action. This includes a venture capital firm owned by Marc Andreessen, the technology pioneer who created the Netscape browser in the s.