Good news for users of Skype's desktop version, Microsoft is working towards making the service better.

However, those who are still on the older version of Skype for desktop will need to update the application soon because come March, it will cease to function.

That's right, after March 1 older versions of Skype will not work as Microsoft is updating the application to a newer version.

Microsoft made the announcement through a blog post on Feb. 3. In the post, the company revealed that getting rid of the older versions is a part of its strategy to make the transition to the new Skype version smoother and easier.

"Beginning March 1, users running older versions of Skype for Windows desktop (7.16 and below) or Skype for Mac (7.0 to 7.18) will no longer be able to sign in," stated Microsoft.

Skype users will get almost a month's time to move over to the new version as the older versions will stop working after the above-mentioned date.

Users of Windows and Mac will be affected by the transition of the messaging application to its updated version.

Skype Latest Features

The updated version promises users a more consistent Skype experience with a redesigned infrastructure that is built to work faster. Microsoft also claims that the new interface is much lighter than Skype's older versions and also more responsive at the same time.

The updated Skype application for desktop also will allow one to use enhanced features such as group video calling, mobile group video calling and sharing files of a maximum 300 MB through the cloud. Post the update, users will also have the ability to save video messages.

Skype For Windows

One can get hold of the updated version of Skype from its website. The user's account information will be automatically synced once the latest version of Skype has been downloaded on the desktop. The updated version will also incorporate the user's password, contacts, and past conversations automatically.

The updated Skype will be available for the Windows versions stated below:

Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 (both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions)
Windows Vista
Windows XP SP3 (both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions)

Users using Skype version 7.16 or lower in any of the above mentioned Windows version will need to upgrade their Skype applications by the March deadline. All Windows users must have at least a 1GHz processor along with minimum 512 MB of RAM for the update to download and install smoothly.

In addition, Windows 7 users will need to upgrade their Internet Explorer to v11 and Windows XP SP3 users will need to ensure that they are using Internet Explorer 8 or higher versions of the browser.

Skype For Mac

Skype users on Mac must have the following Mac versions to support the latest update.

Mac OS X 10.10 or higher versions of the same
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

The processor must be minimum 1 GHz Intel with Core 2 Duo and should have RAM of at least 1 GB. Mac users operating Skype version 7.18 or lower will have to upgrade to the latest version of the app.

For more information on Skype for Windows and Mac, please visit the support site.

Photo: Mark Doliner | Flickr