Skype has lately stated that it will be supplied under an open source license. It kicked off with a user’s complaint to Skype that they needed a Mandriva Linux edition of the application, which didn’t exist . Skype quickly saw that this user was not alone in his request, and that many users were unhappy with a lack of this version. Skype happily declared that they entered the open source market, which would permit Linux developers to help develop the progress of Skype to meet the desires of different users.
But be clear that this version is catered to the Linux release only, so Skype is not completely open source, but this is a start in entering the open source world. It also makes Skype the best supported communication software for Linux geeks obtainable today.
Inconveniently there is no launch date as yet and the details of the application are a bit foggy. Linux has established that it is in development however, so let us trust they carry through on their promise. One also hopes this is merely a beginning and that development and sharing of an open source Skype will begin to reach other operating systems aside from the world of Linux as well.
Although this announcement at Skype is a welcome move for the open source customization community, Skype still have a very long way to go until they are anywhere near the likes of WordPress who are well known for the amount of WordPress customization you can do with their platform.
Although overall reaction is positive, there are experts who say that Skype’s open source development is not really open source free software in the accepted context. Primarily because it isn’t yet plain if only UI code will be available, while network code would remain restricted, thus making it seem as though Skype is trying to solicit help from the community gratis without giving anything in return. We will just have to wait and see what finally comes of this. All in all, Skype seems to be shifting in the right direction, and we’ll have to see what the finished product entails.