First, the product is in beta testing. I like it, but it will be a different product when it comes out-of-beta and adds online payments to the user experience. How promptly will the alterred product be retested? How extensive is Skype's still new software testing? Who signs off on it? Was this waived for WebDialogs to be in time for CES?

WebDialogs aside, Skype's certification results remain a black hole; transparency is called for. To start: create a web page for every product certified, listing the tests passed and describing the specific release/version of the product tested, and provide a facility for voting/rating and other customer feedback on products. Then list all those certificates on a master page. This will help consumers verify product certification, promote recertification, clarify what specific certs stand for, and deter pirates.

Second, Skype made a big stink in the recent past about third party software changing Skype's GUI. They threatened small developers who'd added "V for video" or other buttons, bringing in lawyers before even Skyping these registered Skype partners. (EULA section 3.3.2: "You will not remove, overtake, hide or otherwise make the UI inaccessible for end users".) Skype Journal repeatedly called for UI APIs, but Skype hasn't published any. Unyte adds a "Share" button to Skype's main navigation bar. And Skype certified the product. Either:

1. Skype bizdev gave Unyte a pass on the terms of service,
2. Skype testing failed to notice a whopping big change to the UI,
3. Skype has a secret, for-very-special-friends GUI API that they shared with Unyte but keep hidden from the rest of the Skype developer ecosystem.

I suspect (1) and (3), both of which are piss poor business practices.

Skype's future depends less on blockbuster software alliances and more on creating a trusted environment where tens of thousands of firms and programmers know they are treated well, fairly, and consistently. I'm not picking on WebDialogs here; they did no wrong. Skype, on the other hand, should decide whether bizdev deadlines and public validation are worth breaking faith with an entire community of developers.