Skype to Become Open Source

Many put a question mark to this phrase, because many are still skeptical as to Skype becoming open source. Developers inside Skype (namely Stanislav Karchebny, a.k.a Berkus) announced that Skype is definitely going open source. Olivier Faurax also shares on his blog his correspondence with Skype on the matter, confirmation the information. However, we still ask whether it will be the complete Skype we know, including its core protocols and algorithms, or simply its user interface. This is the reason for the skepticism. Berkus says, "Having an open source UI will help us get adopted in the "multicultural" land of Linux distributions...".

Why only an open source 'UI' (user interface)? This is most probably because going open source might prove to be rather uncomfortable for Skype. Firstly because if we believe Joltid, the main underlying Skype communication technology doesn't belong to Skype but to them, which is the reason for their lawsuit against Skype. This tempts us to say that besides its GUI and billing service, Skype doesn't own much of its application. Secondly, an open source Skype will nurture potentially serious security issues. With thousands of hands able to make surgery into the app, the prejudice to Skype might potentially stem from simple network attacks to stealing calling credit. In the best case, it's going to be harder for Skype to manage the application.

On the bright side, that is the users' side, open source Skype will be most welcome, especially by Linux users. The app would be far richer that what it is now, with a worldwide cohort of developers free to add any options and features they want to the app. This will also make it more accessible to platforms other than Windows - the actual Linux version of Skype severely lags behind the Windows version.