Microsoft Buys Skype

[PrntRhd]

Microsoft confirms
http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2011/may11/05-10CorpNewsPR.mspx
$8.5 billion

My take is free Internet phone calls go away first, then Linux and iPhone/Android support as the service is optimized for Windows.

[123456]

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/05/11x05101356.jpg

I think they're doing this to lure more buyers for their Windows Phone 7 devices.

[LochLomonder]

Well, it wouldn't be the first time Microsoft has bought over a company marketing a good product and narrowed the focus towards their parochial viewpoint :rolleyes:

[risk_reversal]

The value of Skype seems to be going up and down like a yoyo.

If I recall correctly, Skype was originally sold to ebay for $4.5B. The ebay then sold it on at a huge loss, if memory serves me correctly for $1.5B.

Now MS buy it for $8.5B according to reports.

Fast market on that one.

I would agree with 123456, that this will link up with their mobile phone strategy ie buy x phone with MS o/s and can use Skype also.

Good Luck

[awaj]

if Microsoft keeps it free and enables 3 way calling for free I'll be happy

[SandraWhite45]

I'm against this deal it seems to me that I would hardly benefit from this decision. The only thing I'm left to say is bye-bye free online calls! And I have so many friends abroad...

[Paul Komski]

Skype to Skype is free just as any other similar service such as Google Chat so there will be on-going competition in that area. If two parties both have access to the internet then there will always be ways of communicating "for free".

If one subscribes to Skype then one can make cheap international and competetive local and national telephone calls to real telephones. Etc, etc. This is what I mostly use Skype for and there is also the benefit that my contacts are available wherever I can get on line. I don't see why MS would have any need to reduce this - particularly since there are other VOIP providers.

I'm not a fan of Microsoft and not just because they are big but because of their long history of arrogance and abysmal customer support.

[risk_reversal]

Paul Komski said:
I'm not a fan of Microsoft and not just because they are big but because of their long history of arrogance and abysmal customer support.

Quote from Bill Gates:
Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.

They don't seem to learn very fast then do they :)

[awaj]

just wondering, has anyone else been able to get skype to work in windows 7 after updating it?

[PrntRhd]

Actually Skype has had a major outage today.
Problems on their end.

[awaj]

well, since the creation of this thread, I have been un-able to use a version of skype newer then 4.2.something... I think it has something to do with Microsoft, but they should be doing major testing on their end. I could understand if Linux, or Mac had problems, but not their own OS...

[Paul Komski]

Version 4.2.0.169 is working perfectly for me on a Win7 Netbook.

You could always uninstall and go back to an earlier version (http://www.oldapps.com/skype.php?old_skype=86) to help troubleshoot. It could also be worth trying to turn off both parts of the Windows firewall temporarily.

[PrntRhd]

well, since the creation of this thread, I have been un-able to use a version of skype newer then 4.2.something... I think it has something to do with Microsoft, but they should be doing major testing on their end. I could understand if Linux, or Mac had problems, but not their own OS...
Two choices that may get you back running:
manual removal of a corrupted file in Windows or a new Windows version of Skype

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/05/27/skype_outage_update/
http://heartbeat.skype.com/2011/05/an_update_on_todays_downtime.html

Says mobile users should not be having the issues.

[awaj]

4.2.what ever isn't the problem... it's 5.0 I'm just going to wait till microsoft releases 6.something...

[Paul Komski]

It would seem that here are a lot of reports of Skype 5 having problems especially with Win7 64-bit - and the advice is often to go back to Skype 3.5 or for Win7 32-bit to Skype 4.2. I wonder how long you will have to wait for a future fix.

[awaj]

hopefully not as long as it took google to do something with Gizmo or Bumptop