This quote by Glenda Cloud is one that inspires the Skype Developer Program Team to constantly improve developing with Skype. With this in mind, we have decided to overhaul the online extras gallery and provide a platform for Mac, Linux and Mobile apps while also promoting our remote access third party extras and further the exposure of those published in the Extras Manager.

Currently, we have two ways of publishing Extras – the first is our former method which involved publishing through the Extras Gallery and meant users had to leave Skype to download Extras from third party websites. Our more recent version is through the publishing studio and allows users to download from both the Extras Manager in the Skype Client and the Gallery.

This version has proved extremely popular with users. We have now had over 15 million downloads since December 2006 and extras such as Crazy Talk have increased from one thousand downloads per month to one million downloads per month.

We have many useful extras being featured in the Online Gallery that aren’t taking advantage of the popular and lucrative Extras Manager, so we’ve decided that from 1st July 2007, the online Gallery will only feature Extras from our Manager. This means that all third party Extras that are currently only being displayed in the online Extras Gallery need to be developed through the publishing studio to continue their relationship with Skype. For more information about this process, please see https://developer.skype.com/Docs/Extras

There will, however, be a few exceptions to this policy. We will have an additional three categories that will exist exclusively in the Extras Gallery. These will be:
1. A channel for Mac Extras
2. A channel for Linux Extras
3. A further channel for web based applications such as mobile apps that can’t be developed into a sparc file and submitted to the Extras manager.

At this point, there are a few options available to those wanting to develop with Skype. You can either publish through the publishing studio by Thursday 21st June 9am GMT to be included in the Extras manager for Q3. If this isn’t a possibility due to the nature of your application, send an email to gallery.editor@skype.net with a brief description of your Extra and which of the above three channels you would like the Extra to appear in. Following this, please submit your Extra through the Extras Gallery by Monday 18th June 9am GMT to be included in the Gallery for Q3.

Any Extras that haven’t gone through the above two avenues will be taken out of the Extras Gallery. We have sent two emails about this to extras that are currently featured in the online gallery.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact gallery.editor@skype.net.

We look forward to working with you for a successful and profitable third quarter of 2007!

‘To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.’ -John Henry Newman