Microsoft buys Skype

[Omni]

Biggest purchase ever by M$. Wonder why? So do these people:



Microsoft Buys Skype for $8.5 Billion. Why, Exactly?

Just days after reports that Google and Facebook were interested in partnering with, and possibly buying VoIP company Skype, Microsoft announced that it was buying the company for $8.56 billion in cash.

Last year, Skype had revenue of $860 million on which it posted an operating profit of $264 million. However, it overall made a small loss, of $7 million, and had long-term debt of $686 million. It was the second time Skype has been bought out; after being started in 2003, it was purchasd by eBay in 2005 for $3.1 billion. eBay then sold the majority of its stake in 2009 to a private investment group for $1.2 billion less than it paid.


Even the access to paying customers is hard to justify. The terms of the deal mean that for each Skype customer, Microsoft is paying about $1,000. And on average, those customers are worth a profit of about $30, presuming most of Skype’s income comes from subscriptions and call charges. That’s a huge disparity.




http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/05/microsoft-buys-skype-2/


Wonder what changes this means.... Any theories? I hope it doesn't go down the tubes. Maybe they can merge it with my MSN contacts though. That would be cool :)

8.5 billion? Seems like an awful lot for a messenger client.

[Juannalive]

Competition for Ventrilo? Can't see MS buying something without making a profit ;)

[Omni]

Competition for Ventrilo? Can't see MS buying something without making a profit ;)

Well the numbers just don't make sense. Unless they are stopping google and facebook from buying it, it may be a surveillance buy. I think having about 500 million conversationalists to keep track of, by an AI, would grow that AI's ability to do projections of the future and better predict people. I think this buy may have more to do with agenda than profit. But I could be wrong.

[Fred259]

Military Industrial Complex cleaning up…

[The One]

MicroSkype

[Zepheriah]

Maybe Microsoft don't like the way Google and Facebook try to force everybody into doing things the way they want it done. Name the last time you watched a movie trailer without being shown a facebook link? Was it not facebook that was used/is being used to facilitate the not-so-democratic muslim uprisings? Is Google a decent parent company?

Facebook is a huge hole of despair that routinely wastes peoples time, retards the youth and sells/gives away personal information to any agency that offers enough cash or screams patriot act, adding Google into the mix, the biggest "free" contributor of browsing and search habits and so on, do you really want them logging/listening/selling your Skype transcripts?

I won't purport to be on any particular side in this, Microsoft has had its hairy moments, and Bill Gates has said some truly inexplicable things in his time, but at least you know he's only in it for the profit, or in this case, the lack thereof and to screw the competition. They probably did only buy Skype to scupper Google/Facebook.

[jackovesk]

Google + Facebook + Microsoft = 'Same Team'

[Positive Vibe Merchant]

Google + Facebook + Microsoft = 'Same Team'

Exactly Jack!

And we all know that there is no way that "they" would have paid that amount of money (imagine that money available could do!) without already having plans for what it is going to be used for.

PVM

[Gaia]

Google + Facebook + Microsoft = 'Same Team'

So true Jackovesk, the biggest winner of this deal could actually be Facebook. Facebook stands to win because it had no chance of buying Skype. With Microsoft it gets the best of both worlds and getting access to Skype assets and it gets to keep Skype far away from Google.

[HURRITT ENYETO]

Competition for Ventrilo? Can't see MS buying something without making a profit ;)

Well the numbers just don't make sense. Unless they are stopping google and facebook from buying it, it may be a surveillance buy. I think having about 500 million conversationalists to keep track of, by an AI, would grow that AI's ability to do projections of the future and better predict people. I think this buy may have more to do with agenda than profit. But I could be wrong.

Exactly my friend,
And the surveillance grip tightens.

[Zepheriah]

Microsoft + Google is not the same team, just for clarity.

Google tries to screw MS at every opportunity, rival search engine, rival browser, rival operating system, and vice versa. They are no more friends than Apple and MS.

Say what you will, either Google or Microsoft would be prefereable to Apple getting their greasy palms on it.

[Omni]

Microsoft + Google is not the same team, just for clarity.

Google tries to screw MS at every opportunity, rival search engine, rival browser, rival operating system, and vice versa. They are no more friends than Apple and MS.

Say what you will, either Google or Microsoft would be prefereable to Apple getting their greasy palms on it.

They all compete on the playing field of business and profit. But I have little doubt the same dark hands play google, Microsoft, and facebook as bishops or knights in the surveillance and control game.

They may not have the same full agenda. But the apex of the pyramids of various companies aren't necessarily privy to the real agenda. They are just complicit or subservient in it to a force above them(that masquerades as government). A quote comes to mind, something along the lines of 'Every major player in society is afraid of something, afraid of some force'. Maybe a bad paraphrase but it was something like that. Anyone know exactly the quote?

I wonder if anyone has any information on the private investment group that bought skype from ebay. They certainly got a whole lot richer in all this.

Anyone else find it a little bit of a red flag, this was done in cash? That is 8.56 billion dollars in cash that has the potential to have no digital paper trail now. If only intelligence agencies were actually having of integrity. We could get rid of all this conspiracy with their capabilities. That would be so great.. Too bad it's the opposite. Intelligence agencies are a plague upon humanity. I'm not sure any are uncorrupted. And likely all are infiltrated by those with power. The potential for power obviously attracts those who wish it...

regarding my earlier thought, Microsoft I bet does have thoughts about AI, as google publicly does as well. Facebook I'm not as worried about having independent agendas. I think Zuckerberg is a clueless tool. I did like how Jewish group(s) are sueing facebook, while the CEO of facebook is Jewish himself. That spoke to me more he is not in Israel's pocket. But I could be wrong there. Nice to see a Jewish person not in Israel's pocket...

Anyway, AI in the public sector may be something TPTB suppress. But if Microsoft has anywhere near competent players running the helm, AI is in their sights. Google is already trying to build a "God" AI that 'knows everything'.

[Lord Sidious]

Maybe Microsoft don't like the way Google and Facebook try to force everybody into doing things the way they want it done. Name the last time you watched a movie trailer without being shown a facebook link? Was it not facebook that was used/is being used to facilitate the not-so-democratic muslim uprisings? Is Google a decent parent company?

Facebook is a huge hole of despair that routinely wastes peoples time, retards the youth and sells/gives away personal information to any agency that offers enough cash or screams patriot act, adding Google into the mix, the biggest "free" contributor of browsing and search habits and so on, do you really want them logging/listening/selling your Skype transcripts?

I won't purport to be on any particular side in this, Microsoft has had its hairy moments, and Bill Gates has said some truly inexplicable things in his time, but at least you know he's only in it for the profit, or in this case, the lack thereof and to screw the competition. They probably did only buy Skype to scupper Google/Facebook.

Micro$cam are one of THE controllers when it comes to use of their products.
Because there is virtually no competition, they exploit that to treat people like peons.
For now.

[Zepheriah]

apple, microsoft, google, facebook, twitter, et all.

Name me a clean company in that sector.

I'm not defending microsoft, i'm just trying to point out that whilsst it may appear so, they aren't all working together as such, not conciously at any rate. Its the way they try to screw each other that brings them closer together as they try to beat each other at their own games, the only real losers are us.

I work in IT so have to deal with them all 5 days a week, you get to see it all from a more objective point of view.

The basis of that is, "they all suck".

[jookyle]

From what I've read it has to do with using Skype on mobile phones. It seems like they're doing it so they can stop people from using Skype to make phone calls on their phone and not use their minutes/bypass the rates on their plan.

[Carmody]

Competition for Ventrilo? Can't see MS buying something without making a profit ;)

Well the numbers just don't make sense. Unless they are stopping google and facebook from buying it, it may be a surveillance buy. I think having about 500 million conversationalists to keep track of, by an AI, would grow that AI's ability to do projections of the future and better predict people. I think this buy may have more to do with agenda than profit. But I could be wrong.

It is my opinion that you are not in error in your conjecture.

[Positive Vibe Merchant]

From what I've read it has to do with using Skype on mobile phones. It seems like they're doing it so they can stop people from using Skype to make phone calls on their phone and not use their minutes/bypass the rates on their plan.

Nice one jookyle. Sounds very feasible.

PVM