Microsoft is shutting down Skype: What other technologies have become obsolete? | Science, Climate & Tech News

Microsoft has announced it will shut down Skype, once the dominant video call service, in May this year.

At its peak, the service boasted more than 300 million users, but that number had fallen to more than 36 million users, according to the most recent figures shared by Microsoft in 2023.

The US tech giant, which bought Skype for $8.5bn in 2011, will shift some of its services to Microsoft Teams, its flagship videoconferencing and team applications platform. Skype users will be able to use their existing accounts to log into Teams.

From Blackberries to floppy disks and MP3 players, Sky News looks at other pieces of software and hardware that were once ubiquitous but are now obsolete.

Dumb phones

Smartphones have replaced old-fashioned mobile phones, which were much more limited in features.

They could only make and receive calls and texts, though some could play games like Snake.

The devices have seen somewhat of a resurgence among people wanting to limit their mobile phone use.

Blackberries

Blackberries revolutionised typing on mobile phones by including a full keyboard. They were widely used for business communication including email and messaging services.

But they were made obsolete by smartphones which transformed the physical keyboard onto the touchscreen.

Landlines

The first telephone call was made in 1876 and the device has gone through various iterations in the years since.

Once commonplace in homes and offices, the wired landline has seen its use decline amid the rise of mobile phones.

Floppy disks

While data used to be stored on floppy disks, they were later replaced by CD-ROMs and now live on as the save icon for most software.

They became increasingly smaller since their appearance in the 1970s.

However, they were vulnerable to magnets and heat, which could damage their data.

VHS

VHS cassette tapes became the standard way to watch films at home from the late 1980s.

They had to be rewound at the end of every film, which could be time-consuming.

The release of DVDs began the slow decline of the VHS and eventually replaced it.

Cassette tapes

Cassette tapes were the main way people could listen to and record music from the 1960s.

They were also used to store data for early home computers.

But by the 90s they were outsold by CDs, which later killed them off.

CDs and DVDs

CDs and DVDs in turn would follow VHS and cassettes in becoming obsolete in a world of online streaming.

The convenience and accessibility of streaming services drove the shift towards digital media, and people often now pay for subscription services rather than individual albums or films.

The Walkman and MP3 players

Portable music players like the Walkman and MP3 players have also become victims of the rise of the smartphone.

Smartphones with integrated music apps and streaming services made separate music players mostly redundant.

Pagers

Pagers once let people know someone was trying to contact them, but they would have to head to a landline or phone booth to call them back.

Mobile phones offered instant communication, making pagers obsolete.

Smartphones further revolutionised communication by offering video calls and internet access for instant messaging.

Fax machines

Fax machines in offices were used to send and receive documents, especially those requiring signatures.

They could also be used to send confidential information securely over phone lines.

But they were replaced by emails and instant messaging services.

Overhead projectors

Schools and offices used overhead projectors to project documents onto a screen for everyone to see.

Teachers and professionals could use them to display annotated notes and diagrams.

They were made obsolete by modern projectors and computers.