[dot] Interview with Jaanus Kase from Skype

[Dot Stories]

URL: http://dot.kde.org/1095235415/

From: Tom Chance and Fabrice Mous <>
Dept: where-IP-telephony-feels-at-$HOME
Date: Wednesday 15/Sep/2004, @10:03

Interview with Jaanus Kase from Skype
=====================================

   Some time ago we made a mention of Skype on Linux
[http://dot.kde.org/1083161759/] in one of our short newsflashes called
'Quickies'. We were very pleased by the way it nicely blends itself into
the KDE desktop. Now we contacted the Skype people
[http://www.skype.com/] where we came in touch with Jaanus Kase who took
time to answer our questions.
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     Please introduce yourself.

     I am working in Skype project management team, and one of my tasks
is to  manage Skype for Linux - collect feedback from users, work with
developers,  testers and external parties. I don't do actual coding
myself, but I do a  lot of design and quality assurance. I'm using
MEPIS, SuSE 9.1 and Java  Desktop System Release 2, and Windows XP.

     When will version 1.0 for Linux arrive?

     The version 1.0 release that was launched on July 27 was for the 
Windows platform, as well as the SkypeOut service
[http://www.skype.com/skypeout.html]. The Linux version 1.0
[http://www.skype.com/download_linux.html]  is on its way and new
versions are coming out for closed testing all the  time and will reach
the public once they're ready. There will not be a  significant leap in
features between before-1.0 and post-1.0 versions  - it's a gradual
evolution as we continuously innovate and improve  the software.


 [http://static.kdenews.org/fab/screenies/skype/skype9.png]
     The Linux client doesn't seem to have the full functionality of the
 Windows version. In particular, it lacks the advanced settings tab
[http://static.kdenews.org/fab/screenies/skype/headsets.jpg], which 
limits Skype to the default sound device and makes using a headset 
difficult. Are there plans to more fully develop the Linux client?

     Yes there are plans and in fact, the sound device selection will be
available  to the public soon. The goal for the Linux version is to
bring it on par with  the Windows version feature- and quality-wise.

     The Skype website does mention the amount of downloads but how many
 people do you think are using Skype?

     Today we know have just over 8 million registered users on Skype as
we also  track this information. The concurrent online users figure,
which you can see  in the Skype client, is approaching half a million.
These are very  significant numbers and they are growing all the time.

     How does Skype compete with for example MSN which has the largest
share  of the instant messaging market?

     Skype offers free superior sound quality Internet  telephony. In
addition, it includes:

    * Conference calling - enables simultaneous and seamless voice
      communication  between groups of up to five friends, family or
      colleagues. The Linux version  currently has only conference
      client but will have hosting too.
    * Global Directory - the user-built global Skype contacts directory
      with  numerous search options and an easy add-a-contact tool
    * Customization - My Picture image display
    * Mobility - login into Skype account on more than one PC anywhere
      in the  world.
    * Multiple Skype accounts on one PC

     In comparison with other IM/voice clients, we can ensure:

    * Better usability in networks. MSN and many other VoIP providers
      have voice  calls, but those cannot penetrate firewalls or NAT.
      Skype has solved this  problem. The same goes for other forms of
      communication (file transfers,  instant messages) that sometimes
      don't go through firewalls.
    * Better performance. MSN is server-based, meaning that performance
      suffers in  peak hours and users simply cannot do voice calls due
      to server overload.  Skype calls are truly P2P, involving the
      distributed network itself for  routing calls, so it scales up
      very well and does not suffer from this kind  of performance
      problems.

     We are working on adding more user requested features to the
software, such as  video calling, etc.

     Are there any plans to allow the Skype client to connect to other 
networks, e.g. MSN, ICQ, Yahoo!, Jabber! etc., like many Linux IM
clients?

     We believe in interoperability.  However, our main goal is to
respond to our  users' requests and needs, and to focus on continuing to
innovate and make  Skype the best offering for Internet telephony. 
Connecting to other networks  is currently not a user requested feature
for us to make it a priority at the  moment.

     How many people are working fulltime on Skype?

     We have approximately 45 people working on Skype.

     Why did you consider writing software for Linux?

     Skype for Linux was one of the most requested developments from our
user base,  but also because we see Linux as an important emerging PC
desktop platform.  This is illustrated by the fact that many major
vendors are starting to offer  Linux systems (HP, Sun, IBM to name just
a few), and that many companies,  government institutions and local
governments in Europe, Asia and elsewhere  have announced their
migration to Linux. The proportion of Skype for Linux  users is still
small as compared to those running it on Windows, but we  expect it to
increase over the coming years.

     Simply put, we want everyone to be able to run Skype and talk to
their  friends, family and colleagues, regardless of what platform they
use or  whether they have a computer at all. Embedded and mobile
devices, some of  them on Embedded Linux, are an important future
development path for Skype.

     Skype is released under a proprietary license. It was mentioned in
the  forums that you may be experimenting with an open source API. Can
you  tell us a little more about that?

     The API is going to be available to other apps over a remote call
protocol  when the Skype client is running. Other apps can then call
Skype functions  such as "call this contact", "send IM to this contact"
and Skype also  notifies other apps about incoming calls, IM-s and other
events. A simple  usage scenario would be to have a Skype Name field in
address book  applications and a button for calling those persons. If
you then click it, a  Skype call is placed.

     You invite people to contribute translations for Skype via the
forum [http://forum.skype.com/bb/viewforum.php?f=18],  which then become
the property of Skype. Have you considered a more open  community
approach, such as that used by the KDE Project?

     We see the forum as an open community and we encourage it very much
- people  upload translations, other people can immediately download and
modify them.  In general, we try to maintain a friendly relation with
various Linux  communities including KDE, and some Skype for Linux
developers also  contribute to KDE apps as their hobby projects.

     Are any of those hobby contributions related to Skype in any way?

     Currently no.

      Create conference...

     Have you considered contributing to Qt or any other Free Software 
projects as part of Skype's development?

     We might do that if we get results in our work that would be of
value to the community as well as OK to publish according to our license
and IP protection policy. However, currently Skype is UI-wise not a very
complex project and most of the development effort goes into the
proprietary P2P and voice engine that are proprietary code. However,
there are some interesting utilities we have done, for example for
reusing the same language files and translations in Windows and Linux
versions, that we will make available to our users.

     If an open source Skype client (not necessarily your one) could be 
released as part of KDE, you would have your product shipped in almost 
every Linux distribution, and localized by KDE translators. Would that
not  outweigh the financial benefits of your closed source model?

     Short answer: no. Getting shipped in any Linux distribution is
still a small  percentage of users, as compared to Windows users.
However, having said that,  we keep a close eye on the Linux community
and its various business models.  We are truly multiplatform, already
having Windows including Pocket PC, now  Linux and upcoming Mac, and we
learn from all the users and business models  of all the platforms and
try to pick the best experiences from each.

      Skype currently uses Qt for the Linux GUI. Have you considered
using Qt for all three clients, and possibly integrating Skype for Linux
with the KDE libraries?

     We have considered it, but currently we stay with the native
toolkits for each platform - those that our team members have most
experience with. However, the world is changing constantly and we cannot
say with certainty what UI toolkits we will be using in the next year or
five years. We will always be using the toolkit that is the most
efficient for us to work with and provides the best user experience.

     Skype for Linux will not be closely integrated with KDE libraries,
at least not the core part of it. While there might be add-ons,
developed by either Skype or the users that have KDE-specific functions,
we already have users who work with Skype for Linux on many different
window managers and desktop environments, and therefore we want to stay
quite desktop-independent.