Skype Opens Up SkypeKit SDK To All Devices And Desktop Apps

http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/22/skype-skypekit-sdk/

by mattyb • 16 years ago

84 21 16 years ago

techcrunch.com

mattyb• 16 years ago

Developers can register for an invitation to the SkypeKit Beta Program beginning on July 23.

http://developer.skype.com/public/skypekit

BonoboBoner• 16 years ago

"SkypeKit supports Linux now and in a few weeks Windows and Mac support will come out as well."

wow, never thought this order would ever happen ;)

obsaysditto• 16 years ago

I think they're concentrated on the mobile environment.

SkypeKit for consumer electronic device makers will be available tomorrow, June 23, based on the Linux OS. For desktop software developers, SkypeKit will be available for Windows and Mac in the next few weeks.

http://blogs.skype.com/devzone/2010/06/skypekit_beta.html

sjs• 16 years ago

It's amazing that Unix kernels rule the modern mobile OS landscape. Like Objective-C and Cocoa, it shows how far a good, simple design can take you. Talk about reusability, Linux has proven to be a good fit for everything from your phone (and smaller) up to Crays (and larger). Amazing.

please• 16 years ago

looking forward to see this integrated into empathy.

nuclear_eclipse• 16 years ago

Looking forward to see this integrated into Irssi.

kreneskyp• 16 years ago

I look forward to seeing this integrated into boxee.

jokermatt999• 16 years ago

Etc, etc, etc. Adding it into existing chat clients is a fairly obvious usage. I'm curious as to what else can be done with it that won't be expected.

lowkey• 16 years ago

Um, let me get this straight. They are pre-announcing the fact that I will be able to sign up for for the waiting list in a month? Exciting news :(

teilo2• 16 years ago

So, does this mean that they are going to stop being such jerks about allowing Skype on mobile devices? You know, like killing Skype for Android because they want to force people to pay on mobile for what they can do for free everywhere else?

minouye• 16 years ago

Isn't this an issue with the carriers and not Skype? In the US, Skype is currently available for Android devices on Verizon's network.

Isamu• 16 years ago

I downloaded Skype onto my wife's Droid on the Verizon network. The app doesn't work with wifi though, which is annoying. I think Verizon is requiring it to work only through their data network, so they get paid.

Maybe Skype is releasing this SDK in the hope of making an end-run around these kinds of barriers?

teilo2• 16 years ago

No. If it were an issue with the carriers, then Skype could easily have made the now-defunct Skype Lite WiFi-only, just like they do on the Blackberry, and just like many other VOiP apps, such as Vonage, do on both the iPhone and the Android.

The fact is, Skype Light, released in January '09, used your carrier's minutes when you made calls. In that regard it was similar to Google Voice. This was most definitely NOT a carrier issue.

Skype was planning to charge monthly fees, payable to Skype for using the mobile version of Skype. It was this, and not the carriers, that precipitated Skype Lite being pulled from the Marketplace.

joe-mccann• 16 years ago

Anyone know what tech stack/language the SDK is in? Java? C++?

ComputerGuru• 16 years ago

I'm betting it's a platform-agnostic API.

They need to be able to run from both .NET (Windows 7 devices), *nix (embedded systems), Java (Android, BlackBerry), and C/C++ (iPhone) environments.

Most likely it'll be some sort of SOAP/REST API for authentication and management combined with a SIP or SIP-like standardized VoIP protocol.

tomjen3• 16 years ago

I doubt that - it wouldn't make sense to write something that wasteful (in terms of computation, not tech) for something that primarily target embedded stuff.

Most likely you will have a relatively simple C api (not C++, as the C++ isn't likely to be portable across compilers).

dannyr• 16 years ago

I'm baffled why I cannot sign up for the waiting list now.

Does it take a month to actually build a waiting list form?

orborde• 16 years ago

I wonder how F/OSS-friendly their licensing will be. I know that Pidgin is pretty ambivalent about their Skype plugin due to licensing issues: http://pidgin.im/pipermail/devel/2009-April/008070.html

samratjp• 16 years ago

Dear Boxee, if you stalk HN, please give us Skype :-)

samaparicio• 16 years ago

I'm actually quite excited about this and have been waiting for it for 5 years.

I think Skype Kit can bring a lot of innovation to software and create a much bigger ecosystem around their network

Skype Opens Up SkypeKit SDK To All Devices And Desktop Apps

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