Skype Is Back, but Some Features Are Still Broken

   Skype has finally recovered from yesterday’s extended crash, according to the company’s CEO, but several features remain offline.

   “We’ve been able to successfully stabilize Skype () due to the dedicated supernodes deployed by Skype’s engineering team. We’re at roughly 90 percent of normal user volumes,” Skype CEO Tony Bates announced in a blog post.

   But while Skype’s video, audio and IM capabilities are fully operational, its Group Video Calling and offline IM features are still down for the count. Skype didn’t lay out a time frame for their return.
Bates says that the company now knows what caused Skype to kick the bucket for over 24 hours. He didn’t elaborate on the specific cause (it promises to post an analysis of what happened soon), but states that it was not caused by a malicious attack.

   To make up for the extended downtime, Skype will be issuing vouchers for 30 free minutes of landline calling to all of its Pay As You Go and Pre-Pay users. It’s the company’s first step in what will likely be an arduous process to regain user trust.