April 4, 2005 4:00 AM PDT
Skype dreams for developers
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In just
Since the company began licensing or giving away its proprietary source code late last year, an estimated 1,000 programmers have jumped on the bandwagon, creating dozens of free and commercial products for the service. Developers get the source code by promising to either give their products away for free or provide Skype a share of the profits.
What's new:
Developers, developers, developers! Skype knows outside help can make its Net calling software a major technology--that's why it made source code available to enterprising programmers.
Bottom line:
Source code licensing is hard. Developers complain that they're undersupported, and the confusion could stifle Skype's attempts to build a profitable business around its phone call giveaway.
"Skype prioritized freely offering the (source code) to expand the potential of Skype and inspire great developers worldwide," Skype spokeswoman Kelly Larabee said. "We will extend and formalize our software developer programs with time."
Building a viable developer community is considered a key step in the evolution of software dynasties. A few years ago, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer drilled the concept into the heads of
Skype's developer program has seen some limited success so far. In the vanguard are relative unknown companies such as
Also in the works are Skype-based advice lines selling legal and medical information, astrology forecasts and other services. Paypal-style payment services for Skype have already been developed to handle micropayments involved in such transactions, potentially turning Skype into a sort of eBay for advice and dating services, if Skype developer Jyve has its way. The company is developing tools to let Web site operators cash in on just such a trend.
"Where I see money being made is for professionals to charge for their time over a Skype line," said Jyve CEO Charles Carleton.
Third-party
Some backers of
Cannibalism--a gray market?
Although crucial for Skype's long-term prospects, courting developers is not without its risks.
Skype is beginning to
Skype has two other paid services up and running or in tests that might similarly come under attack. SkypeOut, launched last
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Millions of people 31 million respectfully around the globe are enjoying the free SKYPE model for communication but will it be all sweet and blooming in the near future.
After opening up it's doors for developers some turmoil had to come along and due to the big dollar signs some like to think that they are entitled to comments like these below has surfaced and could become a non calculated problem that would bring them down.
"Some developers have complained they were basically left on their own to navigate complicated licensing contracts and technical issues, leaving it unclear whether developers are allowed to profit and under what conditions."
Interesting issues only time will tell how it's going to pan out.
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