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When Skype debuted in 2003, it was the first time I remember feeling that an individual appand not just the broader internetwas radically disrupting communications. Thanks to its implementation of the voice over internet protocol (VOIP) and its simple interface, the app allowed users worldwide to call virtually any phone number directly from their PC with ease, in addition to calling other Skype users via its peer-to-peer (P2P) network. If you are too young to remember a time before smartphones, FaceTime, and WhatsApp, take it from me that Skypes launch was truly revolutionary. It suddenly became simple to call home if you were traveling internationally. And if you frequently needed to contact overseas companies or individuals for work, Skype significantly reduced the associated costs. Bye-bye, outrageous international phone call charges. But come Monday, May 5, 2025nearly 22 years after it changed communicationsSkype will shut down for good. Since P2P voice calling is now integrated into nearly every popular messenger app, many will not miss it. But for the subset of us who continue to use Skype to call bona fide phone numbers via VOIP, well need to find new solutions. Heres why Skype is shutting down and how you can find suitable VOIP alternatives. The downfall of Skype Over the course of its 22 years, Skype has changed ownership many times. In 2005, just two years after the Luxembourg-headquartered Skype Technologies debuted its revolutionary app, eBay acquired it for $2.5 billion. In 2009, eBay sold its majority ownership in the app to private investors. Finally, in 2011, the service was sold in its entirety to Microsoft for $8.5 billion. At the time, $8.5 billion was the most Microsoft had ever paid for a companyand there was a good reason why it made the splurge. By 2008, Skype had swelled to a base of 400 million registered users, making it one of the most-used apps in the world. Microsoft saw Skype as the future of communication, and when the 2011 acquisition was announced, Skype CEO Tony Bates said that with Microsofts ownership, we will be able to accelerate Skypes goal to reach 1 billion users daily. But over the next several years, as Microsoft integrated Skype into everything from Windows to smartphones to Xbox consoles, the app increasingly became bloated, going through numerous UI refreshes. What was once an easy P2P and VOIP service that allowed you to quickly call other users and nearly any phone number in the world was now cumbersome to use. But Skypes problems werent all self-inflicted. The service was also faced with an explosion of competition. As smartphones proliferated, nearly every major communications app added P2P calling, including giants like Metas WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, Apples FaceTime, and even more niche messengers like Signal. The mid-2010s also saw the rise of business communications apps like Slack and Microsofts own Teamseach of which allowed workers to communicate with their peers efficiently over text, voice, or video. And then came the pandemic in 2020. The world was under lockdown. This should have been the time for Skype to shine, but instead, Zoom took over, becoming the go-to communications app. It was simple to use, whereas Skype was cumbersome. Skype never recovered from that missed opportunity. With other apps having gobbled up Skype’s user base, and Microsoft’s increasing focus on Teams as its communications platform of choice, its no wonder that earlier this year, the company announced Skype will shut down for good on May 5. Skype VOIP alternatives for calling landline and mobile phone numbers The two main features that helped Skype take the world by storm in the early 2000s were P2P and VOIP calling. P2P let one Skype user call another using their username as the call identifier. VOIP let a Skype user call an actual phone number from the Skype app. Today, P2P calling apps are ubiquitous. The technology is integrated into nearly every smartphone messaging and communications app out there, including FaceTime, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Signal. Heck, even photo-sharing apps like Instagram have P2P calling functionality. But if you want to call an actual phone number from a smartphone app or your computer, your options are much more limitedespecially after Skype shuts down on Monday. Thats because none of the popular apps above support VOIP calling. However, there are still a few good VOIP alternatives out there. Some of the best include: Google Voice: Google Voice gives you a phone number anyone can call to reach you, and from your Google Voice account, you can also make VOIP calls to most phone numbers in the world. However, VOIP calling is limited to users in the United States and Canada. Viber Out: Viber Out is an add-on service from the makers of the free Viber app, a P2P communications app. Viber Out adds VOIP functionality to Viber. This is the solution that most resembles what Skype was like in its prime: a simple, easy-to-use VOIP solution that allows you to purchase a variety of calling plans. Worldwide monthly subscription plans that let you call mobile and landlines start at just $5.99/month at the time of this writing. Zoom Phone: This is an add-on plan to Zoom that allows you to make VOIP calls to cell phones and landlines right from the Zoom app. This makes Zoom Phone similar to both Skype and Viber Out. There are various pricing options depending on whether you plan to make calls to U.S. and Canadian numbers or to phone numbers in other countries. Its worth noting that Microsoft will also continue to offer ways for people to call landline phone numbers via a Microsoft Teams add-on feature called Teams Phone. However, Teams Phone is heavily designed around business use, so its features may be overkill and its cost a bit impractical for individuals simply looking for a quick, easy, and cheap way to make VOIP calls. Microsoft has also confirmed that any Skype users who still have active Skype Credits and subscriptions (which were required to make VOIP calls via Skype) after May 5 can still make VOIP calls by using a new Skype Dial Pad tool, which will remain available on the Skype web portal and withinthe free version of Microsoft Teams, known as Teams Free. However, these solutions are only available as long as your existing Skype credits or subscriptions remain.
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E-Commerce
A cardinal of the Catholic church going viral for singing John Lennon’s “Imagine” was not on this year’s bingo card. Pope Francis’s passing on Easter Monday sent shockwaves around the world, with around 250,000 visitors flooding St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican to say goodbye to the progressive Pontiff. As the Vatican readies for the conclave, speculations on who might take over the highest role in the Catholic Church is on the rise. But, on TikTok, users have already chosen its favorite contender: Filipino prelate Luis Antonio Tagle. Videos of Taglea liberal-leaning front runner for pope referred to as “Asian Francis”resurfaced in the days following the pope’s passing announcement, aimed to paint the contender in a bad light. “The song’s lyrics directly contradict Catholic doctrine…is this scandal or scandalous ignorance?,” the caption of the video posted by a conservative news agency read. Various users in the comment section denounced the contender, supporting a more conservative option like Guinean prelate Robert Sarah. Yet many came to Tagle’s defense, with one user commenting “The guy sang a song about world peace. If that’s really the most dirt you can dig up on him, he’d make an excellent Pope.” Another user commented on the same video, “God forbid a pastor advocates for peace.” God save the memes Now users are taking it the extra mile, resurfacing more videos and edits and slating Tagle as the internet’s pick for the next pope. On a video featuring Tagle smiling as he sways his hands and dances in a church, commenters showed their support, saying “I want this pope please god,” “with you, Francis II,” and “I like him, he has my vote from Uruguay.” Fans have taken to edits to show their support as well, with on video titled “Tagle core,” a spin off of a TikTok trend stitching together videos to the music of Aphex Twin, features the Filipino cardinal singing, dancing, and talking in between laughs. His support has also been memefied, with users jokingly creating videos “POV” videos, imagining a future where the Vatican is filled by dramatic singing interpretations. In another video, edited in Korean-fancam style, garnered more than 299,000 likes, with thousands of users debating between Tagle and Sarah on the comments.One user commented, “me following this pope election like it’s reality TV.” Another user captured the recurring sentiment of social media users, saying “first conclave in the tik tok era i’m so happy to be alive in these historic times.”
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E-Commerce
President Trump issued an executive order ceasing public funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) late Thursday. The order directs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to eliminate funding for the two news organizations, citing ideological bias. However, the question remains. Is it even possible for Trump to defund PBS and NPR? According to Trump, Neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens, the order reads. I therefore instruct the CPB Board of Directors and all executive department and agencies to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS. Patricia Harrison, the President and CEO of CPB, issued a statement on the order, stating that the President of the United States cannot exert power over CPB. CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the Presidents authority, she said in the press release. Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government. The CPB was established in 1967 under the Johnson administration as a part of the Public Broadcasting Act (PBA). Within the Act, Congress explicitly forbids any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over public telecommunications, or over the Corporation or any of its grantees or contractors According to the history page on the CPB website, CPB registered as a nonprofit in 1968 and established PBS in 1969 as a means of connecting public television stations and distribute programming. NPR incorporated in 1970 as a public radio program service. In 1975, Congress amended the PBA to advance local programming and further protect public media from political interference. Now, both NPR and PBS are essential aspects of American media culture. PBS typically produces educational content, while NPR focuses on news and media. They cover almost 99 percent of the population, according to NPR, and are key components of local emergency and disaster warning systems. For the current fiscal year, Congress allocated $535 million for CPB, affirmed in a recent stop-gap bill passed by a Republican-controlled Congress. CPB remains fully funded by Congress through 2027. At a U.S. House oversight committee meeting in late March, leaders of both PBS and NPR spoke about the importance of providing news to Americans at no charge, according to NPR. They said that stations would feel the effects of a lack of funding the most. Most of the public funds available go to local stations, We will challenged this Executive Order using all means available, NPR president and CEO Katherine Maher said in a statement. The President’s order is an affront to the First Amendment rights of NPR and locally owned and operated stations throughout America to produce and air programming that meets the needs of their communities. A much shorter statement from Paula Kerger, president and CEO of PBS, echoed the same sentiment. The Presidents blatantly unlawful Executive Order, issued in the middle of the night, threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years, she said. We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue to serve our member stations and all Americans.
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E-Commerce
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