[ClearCase_guy]

Maybe it's a pure coincidence, but NPR interviewed a correspondent located in Pakistan today and introduced it as "We are talking to so-and-so in Pakistan, via Skype" and I thought that was odd.

Then, they repeated the Skype plug halfway through the discussion. The discussion was error-free, no delay, nothing remarkable about it -- there was no need to "explain" the nature of the connection.

It seemed very odd. I also note that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation seems to donate to NPR quite a lot. The media is just bought and paid for and they say what their backers want them to say. The only Truth I recognize now comes from the Bible.

[InterceptPoint]

I’ll be surprised if this isn’t the beginning of the end of the Skype we know and (mostly) love. Microsoft isn’t going to spend this much money on something that people mostly use for free.

[bigbob]

Microsoft may as well spend it’s money on a longshot like this. But my guess is while they will acquire the customer base, other VoIP service providers will ultimately take many of them away, since there’s not a lot of differentiation. Many people use Skype because it was the first such service they tried, but if something that does the same job comes bundled on their new Android device, I can’t see many of them peeling it off just to use the Microsoft version.

And how, exactly, is Microsoft thinking they’ll make money from this???

[Kakaze]

I’m not surprised I know the man that financed Skype............he is one ruthless s.o.b. but he always turns a profit.

[Psycho_Bunny]

MS and Skype have a lot of overlap in their products and in that overlap, MS had crushed Skype - having around 2/3 more customers.

What MS really doesn’t have is the true “phone” service that Skype’s developed.

Which MS will likely ruin.

[rbg81]

The Windows & Office francishe is slowly dying. So, its important that Microsoft transform itself into something else. Unfortunately, it has a lot of diverse technologies with no central theme.

[KarlInOhio]

Microsoft has hired a team of synesthesia patients to describe exactly what a blue screen of death sounds like so it can be used on Skype.

[Johnny B.]

One huge advantage of Skype is that it works well on Mac and Linux as well as Windows. It's hard to believe that Microsoft will continue to support that level of interoperability.

Time to start looking for a replacement. I imagine that in a year or two, Skype will be a Windows-only app.

[discostu]

Does that mean Skype is going to become even less stable and more of a resource hog? It’s amazing to me that software is so popular, it’s so bad.

[ShadowAce]

[Captain Peter Blood]

I wonder if they overpaid for this?

[US_MilitaryRules]

Look at your Skype now. No ads. Look at your Skype in a few months after MS owns it. Probably have ads all over it like a google/youtube model.

[backwoods-engineer]

“Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world,”

... that Micro$oft will soon destroy. I hope there is another communications startup ready to challenge Micro$oft/Skype.