Skype for Business

Skype for Business (formerly Microsoft Office Communicator and Microsoft Lync) and Microsoft Lync for Mac are instant messaging clients used with Skype for Business Server or Lync Online available with Microsoft Office 365. They are replacements for Windows Messenger, which was used with Microsoft Exchange Server.

Both Microsoft Lync and Microsoft Lync for Mac are enterprise software; compared to Windows Live Messenger and later Skype, they have different features that are targeted toward businesses.

On 11 November 2014, Microsoft announced that in 2015 Lync would be replaced by Skype for Business. The latest version of the communication software combines features of Lync and the consumer Skype software. There are two user interfaces – organizations can switch their users from the default Skype for Business interface to the Skype for Business (Lync) interface.

History

Microsoft made Lync 2010 generally available on 25 January 2011. The company had released the previous version, Office Communicator 2007 R2, on 19 March 2009. An even earlier version, "Office Communicator 2007" was released to production on 28 July 2007 and launched on 27 October 2007. The full-featured desktop version of the client requires Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or newer.

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation /ˈmaɪkrəˌsɒft, -roʊ-, -ˌsɔːft/ (commonly referred to as Microsoft) is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington, that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers and services. Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, Microsoft Office office suite, and Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox game consoles and the Microsoft Surface tablet lineup. It is the world's largest software maker by revenue, and one of the world's most valuable companies.

Microsoft was founded by Paul Allen and Bill Gates on April 4, 1975, to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by Microsoft Windows. The company's 1986 initial public offering, and subsequent rise in its share price, created three billionaires and an estimated 12,000 millionaires among Microsoft employees. Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in its largest acquisition to date.

Lync

Lync was a 1990s post-hardcore band from Olympia, Washington.

Formed in 1992, Lync was composed of vocalist/guitarist Sam Jayne, bassist/vocalist James Bertram and drummer Dave Schneider. Lync's distinctive sound of distortion, cryptic lyrics, and irregular tuning created a chaotic, visceral sound which drew comparisons to Fugazi, Unwound, Hush Harbor, The Fall, and Drive Like Jehu.

The band went on to release singles on Magic Pail, Candy Ass, Landspeed, and K Records. Jayne and Bertram played on Beck's album One Foot In The Grave in 1994, right before releasing Lync's one full-length album on K, These Are Not Fall Colors. Lync then disbanded in late 1994.

In 1997, Troubleman Unlimited and K collected the band's singles and unreleased tracks and released them on one compact disc, Remembering The Fireballs (Part 8).

After disbanding, Jayne began recording under the Love as Laughter moniker with some contributions from Schneider. Love as Laughter released several singles and one album on K Records titled "The Greks Bring Gifts." After multiple incarnations, Love as Laughter eventually became a full band based out of New York City and released albums on Sub Pop and Isaac Brock's new imprint Glacial Pace.