and skype 7 still works today.

They said they won't be forcing everyone to upgrade all at once. Skype 7 still works, but I imagine it's going to get cut off completely at some point. I'm using it until it does. Hopefully by then Skype 8 will have support for multiple chat windows, or Skype UWP will be a bit more accessible.

well i just found out many changes in latest skype and it is actually not that bad, and if you look at this you might get some relief. I did a call this morning along with chat and sending of files, and its all working good. Not the same, but its smooth and usable.

I'm an ol timer, meaning that for me, an IM and VOIP app of this caliber having gone the path it did is certainly a sad senario.  Much has changed with computing over the past few years... I'll never forget that once upon a time services made everyone feel welcome by offering a separate protocol by which other third party devs could take advantage of the product to bring you your own way into an IM platform; Miranda IM from 2011 to 2014 was all I needed.  Today, AIM is gone, microsoft has pushed its own agenda with IM forward and given us an our way or the highway decision, and IM, for me, at least, is no longer the thrilling experience it once was.  Once upon a time IM's opened in their own window or their own tab; that was traditional.  Now, I suppose because it makes for a more appealing sighted experience, everything opens in one window with separate panes.  The former probably exists, but poking around the settings in this new version of skype has not yielded any obvious or immediate results.  Everything seems to be a graphical button that screen readers can mercifully read, and thankfully there is shortcut keys, else navigating would be way worse than dealing with twitter or facebooks websites on a regular basis.

It would definitely be nice if split window view came to Skype 8, I have no plans to move from using that at the moment. The only major annoyance that I see at the moment is that sometimes it kicks me out of the app, which means that I have to sign back in. I get a notification that says I've been signed out of Skype, so I have to retype my email address, and because I have 2FA enabled and the Microsoft Authenticator app on my phone, it's a simple matter of just tapping the right number in the app to sign in. But that's still unacceptable, considering it happens a few times a week, and for no reason. I've Googled the problem, and it seems to be a bug with no fix at the moment. At least it isn't as frequent as it used to be, when I first upgraded to the October update of Windows 10 when it came out, it was happening multiple times a day.

You either learn to live with Skype 8 or switch to another VOIP platform. I've gotten used to Skype 8. It's a piece of crap, but if you want to use Skype, you'll have to use it. It's another case of Microsoft saying "We've changed our user interface, and we're not changing it back, so you better get used to it or take a hike!" *sigh*

Alternatively, use Skype on iOS, Android, or even the Amazon Echo devices. Unfortunately, the current Echo implementation only allows for one on one calls and no text or video messaging.

here's a version of 7 that still runs but I don't know how long it will carry on working for. mine forced me to update a few weeks ago but I managed to find this one.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mpfpexai1vjmi … 1.exe?dl=0

I would be careful with any hacked version of Skype. I certainly don't think the person who posted that meant any ill intent, but maybe try sandboxing it first before just diving in and typing your account info. The fact that it's being hosted on Dropbox is a red flag to me, if this was something even semi-official, it would have a project website of its own.

I mean last time I checked, you couldn't even find the old skype version on MS's website anymore, so these links are all we got rite now..  I trusted it because I read a reddit thread saying that someone got that particular version of skype working but i was just too lazy at the time to get it because it was only classic skype on windows that was giving me problems.

Just out of curiosity, could you link to the source of this working version of Skype?

It just seems like all the simple, practical, user friendly/non-advertisement ridden services are going the way of the abacus, in favor of the modern emoji hell, always connected, social media platform-esque way of doing things.. Which sucks. Skype started back when none of this shit was even an idea, back when most people had to get on their computer to talk to people on Aim or Skype, before there were any social media platforms that the media and advertisers had their fingers in. I guess the only thing of it's kind in regards to that back then would be Myspace?? Idk, I'm too young for myspace, I do wonder what it was like though. I just wonder what will replace skype and do what the old skype used to do.

Honestly, I wouldn't trust a Reddit thread that said "yeah, this isn't hacked, it works". I just wouldn't use it at all; there are too many risky variables to consider. I'm fine with Skype 8 anyway.