Skype

So I know that Skype released version 4.0 a while back, but I've been holding back on updating my 3.8 because I love it so much. With the purchase of my new laptop, I have come to a crossroads: do I abandon using Skype, or should I suck it up and use 4.0?

Now I know I've never been one who liked change, but the 3.8 -4.0 update is (excuse the language) GOD AWFUL.

Skype 3.8 was so simple and clean it was beautiful. Then the people at Skype were bought out by eBay and everything went downhill.


The main log in screen already tips you off that there is nothing pretty behind that facade. Not to mention the fact that it takes FOREVER to sign in now.


If you click to expand the above picture, you can see the rather UNintuitive new functions of Skype version 4 (I erased all my contact names to protect everyone).

1. I can't find my "pings". (see purple)
   
2. The conversation windows have merged into the contact list window, making Skype look ugly and bulky. (see blue)
   
3. All conversation show up under a unified tab of "conversations" (see green), making running multiple conversations stupidly difficult.
4. Numbers 2 and 3 won't matter if all my contacts are "offline" according to the new version. (see red)
   

How version 4 was released is beyond me.

What I find absolutely hilarious is the sheer number of "Beta" version have been released. There was only one beta for version 3.8, and it was an absolutely fantastic version. There have been 9 beta versions of 4.0 and yet they didn't seem to fix ANY of the problems that Skype users are complaining about.

Better yet, they released a beta version of 4.1 (4.1.0.130), and found it sucked so much, they went back to version 4.0.

The current version for Skype is 4.2.0.141 Beta.

I normally wouldn't bitch about something that really doesn't matter to me (I don't care if I'm on Skype or not), but what bugs me a bout it is that Windows has also put in some stupid "compatibility issue" into the new 7 OS and none of the versions prior to 4.0 can be installed. This doesn't matter much to my laptop at school, because I'm still running the XP OS, but on my new laptop at home, I have 7 and am very bitter about being forced to use such an awful product.

Will the Skype employees ever listen to the USERS, and bring back the old layout?