We at Skype have always wanted our users to say: "Hey, it just works!"

Of course, we'd love the same to be true when our users are trying out Skype Extras. But we also want a lot of people to be able to innovate around Skype, and requiring that all Extras must get Skype Certified before they can reach the users might become a bit too steep barrier, especially for those developers who have only just joined the Skype community.

That said, we at SDP have chosen a middle ground. Effective from July 1st, all premium and featured Extras will have to be Skype Certified.

Our aim is to make "Skype Certified" a quality label that our — and your — users can trust. And as premium and featured extras get much more user attention than the ones that are only listed, we want to make sure that the majority of our users would be happy with what they download and run.

Our certification testers will continue to be tough, and become even tougher over time. After all, they're the last line of QA for you, the developers — and a good QA person is the one who doesn't hesitate to put a "FAILED" stamp on a product that doesn't meet the requirements.

Earning the "Skype Certified" label is, and will continue to be, something every developer can be proud of.

For further information, please visit the Software Certification pages in DevZone.