Microsoft and Skype - Microskype

There was a lot of buzz going on about the latest acquisition from Microsoft.
I predicted in January that Apple will buy Skype after FB deal with Skype went down. It was totally off with the companies but not with the type of the companies. Apple is like Microsoft a software company and FB is like Google trying to get every Internet user to their platform.

So why did Microsoft buy Skype for $8.5 billion and did not develop their own video conferencing software?

Let us first look at Apple. Apple decided to build their own Skype called FaceTime. I still think it was a mistake and Apple should have extended their iChat. However it was pretty easy for Apple to distribute their FaceTime because of the big user base they have on smart phones, music players and tablets. FaceTime is now running on 60 million devices. When Apple introduced FaceTime, instantly 10 million devices could use FaceTime. Of course a big part is missing in FaceTime. We can't make video calls to users which have no Apple device. Therefore I thought it would have been perfect for Apple to buy Skype to get all Androids and Windows users to their video call system.

But why did Microsoft not the same approach? Microsoft has over 80% market share in OS, should this not be enough to get millions of users to their video call software. The answer is no. Sure Microsoft would have a high market share in desktop, but the trend goes to mobile and Microsoft is not yet a mobile player. RIM, Android and IOS is sharing over 90% of the mobile market place for devices which could do video calls.

By buying Skype, Microsoft gets instantly access to 124 million users and to Qik which is an Android based video call software.



Qik is even partly available for Apple devices. There used to be an iPad version but it is not available anymore.




Microsoft strengths is not anymore consumer, they missed the train for mobile and maybe Skype can help them to get a food faster into consumer. And I believe the first step could be the xbox with kinect. Skype fits very well into this for online gaming.

And actually I rather prefer that Microsoft owns Skype than Google. Google is all about ads, and the last thing I want for video calls is ads. Imagine Google would have bought Skype? Before each call is connected you would be required to watch a 20 seconds ad.

$8.5 billion sounds a lot of Monet, however if Skype has 124 million active users than the costs per user is less than $70. This is actually less than Microsoft would need to invest to gain new customers through marketing channels. Usually a new customer costs $90 or more depending on the approach.

After all, even that Microsoft is a software house, it was maybe not a wrong decision. We need to see what MS going to do with Skype. Maybe they are integrating it with office 365 or use it to extend lync. Lync is right now only good for business and Skype could bring Lync to consumers.

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Location:Spinning Wheel Ln,Brooksville,United States

Skype 5.0 on Mac

I installed today the latest Skype update and it got a total overhaul. Completely new look and feel. Three instead of two windows (dial pad, online list and complete address list)




The Facebook function is unfortunately not available with Apple at the moment.
This 5.0 update is mostly a look and feel update and it takes time to get used to it. I did not see better voice or video quality. The look is really weird. The dial pad and online contacts are in same color as FaceTime, but then the main Skype contacts window is in colors like iTunes. Why using two different color schemes?



I like how well now address book contacts are integrated. The user can choose to see the contacts as a list or as images to flip through. I am disappointed that Facebook is not yet in the Apple version.

Right now Skype is still my most used video calling app, but only because most of my oversea friends and family don't have yet Apple computers or iPhones with cameras.

Otherwise FaceTime would be an alternative because of the better image ad voice quality, however Skype has much better functions than FaceTime.

What I don't understand is, that Apple did a very good job with iChat and all these cool functions in iChat for sharing etc. Why did they do such a bad job with FaceTime UI on iMac and with so limited functions? And then the user has to pay $1 for it.

FaceTime can only be a competition to Skype if Apple steps up.


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Skype video call on iPhone good but not great

Since last week we are able to make video calls with Skype on the iPhone over 3G or wifi.
I first tested it with 3G only, but my ATT reception was not great. As a result the call did work but the image did update only every 2 seconds.







Skype was so nice to inform that the quality might be bad. Then i made a call over wifi and it worked.



Similar like FaceTime, you are able to switch the cameras from front to back. The image will as well rotate when you rotate your phone. However the quality of sound and image is only half as good as doing video calls with FaceTime. The good part is you can easily call friends which have no iPhone but a Skype account.
The only really impressive part was that Skype automatically switched to 3G when i was on wifi and left my house to show my sister our street and the wifi signal went bad.

After all it could be a great tool, if Skype could make the quality on the iPhone as good as on computers. I am not sure why the quality is not as good, maybe Skype needs better computing power. For some reason Skype went a couple of time black, almost like screen saver. I had to touch the screen to get the image back.

I would like to see that Apple is buying Skype and implement their FaceTime technology. So far i did not find any video application as good as FaceTime. Apple could have instantly 120 million users.

If your friends don't have iPhone and you like to do video calls, then Skype is the best alternative. I use Skype all the time to talk with my family and friends overseas. Finally i can walk around and show them my house and son. Prior i had to carry my notebook, which was a pain. I love the ability to switch between the cameras. Interesting is that front camera resolution with Skype is lower than with FaceTime.
Skype is using the full screen like FaceTime. I tried a couple of times Fring but was disappointed about the quality and that Fring does not give the full screen option.

Skype is better than Fring but not as good as FaceTime. However it opens the ability to make with your iPhone video calls others than iPhone, ipod touch or Apple computers. I would give Skype 3.2 out of 5 points.

On the iPad you can receive video calls but of course not yet sending video. This will change with the iPad 2 in April.

Skype video call is not yet available for Androids. Skype is saying it is too complicated to get Skype video running on all different android OS and phone versions.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad.
Please visit my blog http://www.new-kid-on-the-blog.com

Facebook and Skype a potential partnership

Facebook and Skype are in talks to establish a partnership that would combine the communication services, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a person familiar with the situation.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Facebook users would be able to sign in to Skype through their Facebook Connect accounts. They would then be able to text message, voice chat, and video chat with Facebook friends through Skype.

Enabling Skype's chat on Facebook would be a "logical progression" to the partnership, the source said.

This talk is coming at an interesting time. Skype is preparing an IPO and a partnership with Facebook can bring the skype network to one billion users assuming no Facebook user has a skype account. Skype has right now 600 million users world wide, most likely many Facebook users have already a skype account, but even if all have a skype account the partnership can be a win for both.

Apple is pushing their face time which supposedly is open standard that other devices can use but skype and Facebook can bring over night 500 million people together which Apple could only dream about. Almost all smart phones have a Facebook application. Imagine the application would allow to make video calls. Not only mobile Facebook users can make video calls to each other but as well mobile to notebook and desktop, or calls from Facebook to landlines, just from one day to the other.
As a result skype could pump up their pay calls using Facebook credits.
Maybe Facebook users buy credits for zynga, earn more credits playing farmville and use the credits to make paid calls through Facebook to overseas.

Skype build into Facebook would be the killer, and skype could still have a stand alone application with facebook functionality. As an example my sister in Germany uses skype all the time to call me but is not a Facebook user. She might suddenly see in her skype account friends of mine through the facebook connect because I have an Facebook account. She would see a friend of mine who could be her friend too. She now would be able to call him even he has no Skype account.

Suddenly Skype and Facebook users are one big community.

Facebook on the other hand can get much more integrated into commercial sites.
A brand page might have a hotline number which now is connected to facebook.

Skype is as well partnering with Avaya to get a better entry into company Voice over IP. Avaya will work close with skype together to build a business version of skype to allow IT operations easier to distribute and service skype.

If then Facebook will start to offer their website for business (as close groups), then there would be a big chance for both to enter the business world with the most comprehensive social intranet, extranet, company instant messaging, ip telephony etc etc.

Maybe Facebook is buying Asana to build for this venture an enterprise-level collaboration software (which was founded by Dustin Moskovitz, a co-founder of Facebook, and Justin Rosenstein, an alum of both Facebook and Google),

Bringing Facebook and skype together could eliminate as well Vonage and other VoIP companies for home use, using a wifi phone where the computer does not be switched on to get Facebook messages or calls.

This is a total connect.

- Posted using My iPad

Location:Spinning Wheel Ln,Spring Hill,United States

Apple ipad, Google goes without Windows and Skype has 3G enabled calls.

8 weeks of Ipad

It is now 2 months since I am using my ipad and I have to say I liked it so far.

The best part of the iPad is that I read more, not books, but newspapers like US Today, NYT editor choice, Financial Times and Popular Science. It is so much more convenient to read them online in a dedicated app then on the web or to buy the actual paper. However the big problem is that there is no such rule how the apps should work. All of them have different ways to get to the next page. Either swipe from left to right or vice versa, swipe from top to button or vice versa, tap once on column right or do whatever you want.

It would be nice that all publisher agreeing on one way. Some apps don’t allow to email an article (like FT), which is pretty annoying, because we want sometimes to inform other people about news we read.

Two things are the worst part in the ipad. Printing is not be default working tasks, there are some apps which can help you to print, but don’t include things like pages or keynote. Speaking of keynote, it is totally not cross platform compatible. It can read PowerPoint but can’t export or send PowerPoint, only pdf or keynote, this is a big drawback. I am using Windows in the office and develop sometimes on the road with the ipad keynote presentations; I can’t send them in a readable and changeable format to Windows.

The second not yet solved problem is that almost nobody (including Apple) is using the new input control as they could. Working with pages and keynote is slow and hard. Why not allowing multiple touch function to do certain things like drawing a new box, modifying pictures, and text? I have to go through some unnecessary menus. Here most of the developer can do much more with the ipad. Please think out of the box and allow certain functions through multiple finger use. Maybe tapping at the same time - top left and low right will create a box.

But otherwise the iPad is a cool product, so cool that a lot of vendors now building their own similar device, which hopefully we get down with netbooks, which I could never understand that they exist. If I want to have a notebook, then I would buy a real notebook, not a tiny screen with keyboard.

Google goes Windows less

This is one of the most interesting news I heard. An American company with over 10.000 employees will not have Windows anymore because Windows is not secure enough. If they want to use Windows the CEO has to approve.But more interesting is that user can choose between Linux and Mac OSX. Mac OSX? Are you serious, google is fighting with Apple on every front, but at the HQ they want to use Apple. I can’t understand, or I can? I think their new Chrome OS will either run on Apple computers or other Intel/AMD computers. So finally Google is trying to get their foot into Apple computers. I don’t think it has to do that designers like more Apple, because google is not really creative in usability or design. It always looks geeky. My guess is, that Chrome is coming soon and all google employees have to switch to Chrome or use Linux.

Latest iphone update from Skype does allow 3G calls

This is great, but what will this tell us? I strongly believe that ATT opened 3G internet calls and skype opened their app for 3G to get to the next step, which might be released on June 7th. Apple will announce their new iphone and we heard enough about the found prototype and its ability. With skype allowing 3G call it might be obvious that the new iPhone will have a front camera for video calling, why else should I use skype? Yeah for international calls, but then I would use other software, because most of the time I would call landlines and not other skype users. But with the hopefully upcoming front camera I can finally call again other skype users and don’t need to use my computer. Plus I don’t use my computer anymore on the road; I use my ipad which has no camera at all. I can’t wait till next iphone is coming out. I am pretty sure it will include I chat with a nice feature, but again, most of my friends don’t use AIM or ichat but skype. However with over 35 million iphone users, the  build in ichat app could bring us to a new level of communication (assumption that iphone will have ichat) and will have a front camera), which brings me to the point I made 18 months ago. I strongly believe the cell phone today will not exist in 3 years anymore or at least will be not number one calling device. Carrier will change. Companies or Verizon will not be a big player anymore as cell phone sellers and phone contracts. With Wifi, WiMax and and 3G, phones are not phone anymore they are small computer devices we use for making VOiP calls. Google will be provider number one, and ATT and Verizon will only exist if they change their model. But for sure most of our cell call will not use the classic calling structure anymore. All will go at the end over the internet.