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Microsoft to buy Skype for $7 billion

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Re: Microsoft to buy Skype for $7 billion

#161

Post by wladimir »

gabbo wrote: post #86
LarryA wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's what will happen: After acquisition, MS will put out a lot of PR saying that cross-platform is "very important" in this new acquisition, they will even release an updated version on cross-platform. ...of course that update will be screwed up as it has been "fixed" to make all versions more "windows friendly" at the expense of features that may be better on other platforms (i.e. scrap the Mac interface, kill op…

Open protocols? Does Skype use any? I'm genuinely curious, I thought it was completely proprietary.

Their protocol is indeed entirely proprietary. The grandparent was talking about how Microsoft works in general.

So the protocol is already OK, the client however they'll convert it to using as many Windows specific technologies as possible.

Re: Microsoft to buy Skype for $7 billion

#162

Post by brianpan »

blub wrote: post #158
lookingchris wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MS and FB are practically the same ethics-wise to me. I'd be interested to hear more of your thoughts on this.

Companies don't have ethics, but a company that sells eyeballs for money is much more likely to take decisions that negatively impact customers compared to a company that sells producs. Google and Facebook would have been worse for Skype, they both suck at privacy.

This is getting way off topic, but of course companies have ethics. Just like they have core values, goals, and ambitions... A company is made up of people and those people can choose to make ethical decisions and can have a history of acting ethically or not.

Re: Microsoft to buy Skype for $7 billion

#163

Post by crocowhile »

blub wrote: post #158
lookingchris wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MS and FB are practically the same ethics-wise to me. I'd be interested to hear more of your thoughts on this.

Companies don't have ethics, but a company that sells eyeballs for money is much more likely to take decisions that negatively impact customers compared to a company that sells producs. Google and Facebook would have been worse for Skype, they both suck at privacy.

How can you put Google and Facebook next to each other talking about privacy? They are on different planets.

Re: Microsoft to buy Skype for $7 billion

#164

Post by brettnak »

guywithabike wrote: post #117
aneth wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Microsoft somehow owned both of those services, would it affect Microsoft's prospects? Certainly not. FaceTime is a gimmick that few people actually use use. Google Voice is bridge between soon-to-be legacy voicemail and cellphones and the future, which is unlikely to be owned by either Google or Microsoft. Neither business would help Microsoft grow again, and neither will Skype.

FaceTime is a gimmick that few people actually use use. Do you have any data to support this assertion?

My friend who lives far away has an iPhone. I have a mac, we use it all the time. I actually hate using Skype because some clown has my username. We use Skype at work, but I never get entrenched in a service if I don't get my username. Just a singular of data for you.

Re: Microsoft to buy Skype for $7 billion

#165

Post by netcan »

jsz0 wrote: post #87

This is Microsoft's ICQ moment. Overpaying for a company at the moment when its core competency is becoming a commodity. Does anyone have the slightest bit of loyalty to Skype? Of course not. They're going to use whichever video chat comes built into their SmartPhone, tablet, computer, etc. They're going to use FaceBook's eventual video chat service or something Google offers. No one is going to actively seek out Sky…

My mother, father, brothers and friends in 3 countries all have skype running most days. Skype have my credit card so I always have skype-to-phone available (I use it mostly to find my cell). It's been that way for me for about 7 years. That means I have skype running and I use it every day (but I only spend about $20 per year). It's not loyalty, but network effects and momentum count for something too.

Not sure that adds up to $7b (I dunno how to evaluate anything that big), but it is something. I'm sure this has a big chance of being useless, but it also has a chance of being helpful.

If in 2 years (assuming skype can keep it's usebase) every windows pc tablet & phone is connected to skype by default, it could be strenthened. If skype integrates in some significantly useful way with outlook/exchange (scheduling calls, confirming meetings, emailing chat sessions, synching contacts) it could help strengthen the corporate MS position (the real cash cow).

Like many decisions, it's not the decision itself that is most important, it's the subsequent actions, the execution. That said, a 1m phone giveaway would be epic. MS have money to burn and big fish to catch. Burn. Catch.

Re: Microsoft to buy Skype for $7 billion

#166

Post by brettnak »

teyc wrote: post #138
raganwald wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will bet a bottle of single malt that Apple will bring FaceTime to the PC. I agree that FaceTime sells Apple hardware, but I think the hardware they want to sell is the iOS product line. Weigh how many Mac sales the will lose if people can get FaceTime on a PC against how many iPhone and iPad sales they will make to people who can now chat with Grandma on her PC? Ubiquity on the desktop and exclusivity on the mobil…

Exactly, especially if the PC Facetime is crippled so that it can only chat to iOS devices.

I don't think they've ever done that before... why would the do that now?

Re: Microsoft to buy Skype for $7 billion

#168

Post by netcan »

mmaunder wrote: post #141
jsz0 wrote: post #87

This is Microsoft's ICQ moment. Overpaying for a company at the moment when its core competency is becoming a commodity. Does anyone have the slightest bit of loyalty to Skype? Of course not. They're going to use whichever video chat comes built into their SmartPhone, tablet, computer, etc. They're going to use FaceBook's eventual video chat service or something Google offers. No one is going to actively seek out Sky…

There is a very strong network effect with Skype for PC to PC calls. But I doubt MS is going to get full value. They have had little success with freemium business models and I don't see why this would be different.

My estimation is that skype makes enough money to be a fairly profitable company with it's business model (MS will need to get more value out of skype than current skype out call revenues. They're probably planning something else.

Re: Microsoft to buy Skype for $7 billion

#169

Post by hessenwolf »

pyre wrote: post #52
prostoalex wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a group of technology investors including Silver Lake Partners, venture capital firms Index Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Sept 1: 1 USD = 1.05 CAD Now: 1 USD = 0.96 CAD Not to mention that the valuation was done in US dollars, and the sale is being done in US dollars.

Valuation currency does not make much difference. As an example, Ebay stock tends to fluctuate with the eur2usd rate.
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