Skype's security was more for self-interest in preventing third party clients to connect. It hasn't had any proper audits, except for a rather dubious review Skype published. The rest of interop is achieved through reverse engineering or other hacking up the Skype client. To think Skype had user's best interests in mind is ludicrous.
By not just encrypting, but deliberately obfuscating the protocol and client, they ensured no one could make a better client or hardware without paying them.
VoIP was around before Skype. Microsoft's NetMeeting (1996) included multiparty video and audio conversations. Skype wasn't inventive in that way. P2P was a cute way to bootstrap (less relay servers needed for NAT traversal).
Pissing off carriers is a funny line. All your SkypeOut calls go out to "carriers", so they get paid. Sure, AT&T would prefer to charge you 50 cents directly, instead of getting a few cents on wholesale, but Skype's got a huge amount of markup in their prices, too.
By not just encrypting, but deliberately obfuscating the protocol and client, they ensured no one could make a better client or hardware without paying them.
VoIP was around before Skype. Microsoft's NetMeeting (1996) included multiparty video and audio conversations. Skype wasn't inventive in that way. P2P was a cute way to bootstrap (less relay servers needed for NAT traversal).
Pissing off carriers is a funny line. All your SkypeOut calls go out to "carriers", so they get paid. Sure, AT&T would prefer to charge you 50 cents directly, instead of getting a few cents on wholesale, but Skype's got a huge amount of markup in their prices, too.