Last week it was
rumored to be Google and Facebook, but it seems that Microsoft has outbid the
competition. Marking the largest acquisition in Microsoft's history, the
company announced that it has agreed to acquire Skype for $8.5 billion. Skype
runs the giant global videoconferencing and voice communication network that
has 170 million subscribers and logged 207 billion minutes of conversations
last year, according to the company. The service is free, although the company
offers premium services such as establishing multipoint conferences and
communications with non-Skype users for a fee.
Microsoft plans to run
Skype out of a totally new division headed up by current Skype CEO, Tony Bates.
Bates said he anticipates Skype's user base growing from millions to billions
of subscribers saying, "We believe that this is a platform and a set of
services that can reach everyone on the planet."
What does this mean
for education? Will Skype remain free? Why did Microsoft want
Skype? Didn’t Skype just open a fantastic educator network? Like Scott Mesch, I worry that Microsoft will
lose the understanding and impact of Skype as a free resource for the
classroom. Check out TechBuzz's discussion.
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