Microsoft-Skype Deal Poised To Win EU Approval 63
Pigskin-Referee wrote in with a story about the EU's approval of Microsoft acquiring Skype. The article reads: "Microsoft's proposed $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype has earned the approval of the European Union, the Financial Times reported Thursday. The European Commissioner for Competition, Joaquin Almunia, is expected to rule that the acquisition won't harm competition or turn Skype into a Microsoft-exclusive platform. The decision ignores accusations that Microsoft is simply bundling services on Windows to drown out smaller competitors, as argued by Italian Skype rival Messagenet last week. Messagenet also urged the Commission to require Microsoft to unbundle Skype from its Windows Office Suite. The FT reports that Microsoft 'promised' the Commission it would keep Skype interoperable and supported on rival operating systems."
Unbundle "Skype" (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:Unbundle "Skype" (Score:4, Informative)
So.... no different than before Microsoft bought it then.
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Well, all companies care most about their biggest market shares and Windows is a lot bigger than Mac and Linux. But at least they haven't had a corporate interest in making it work better on Windows, it's not like it could possibly get any better. IM and voice is still one of the big social pressures they can use to keep control, I remember having trouble getting and sending files with Kopete and Pidgin on MSN, things were dead slow, disconnected, wouldn't resume and all sorts of crap. Short summary of disc
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And further, no great loss. If Skype disappeared tomorrow I suspect a portion of that traffic would be replaced with actual SIP, and good riddance.
Re:Unbundle "Skype" (Score:4, Interesting)
Do you have a SIP client that actually works. I mean, other than in a perfectly groomed office environment with fast LAN and correctly allocated IP addresses all the way through to the SIP gateway? I mean, works as in "provides fully encrypted end to end voice with no more configuration than giving a username and password". Works as in "installs for free and almost instantly on Most Linux distros and has an interconnecting client which also works on Windows and Mac". Works as in "you can seamlessly switch on video and/or conference calling during the middle of a call". Works as in "it's very difficult for some stupid ignorant IT guy to turn off the encryption".
I have never actually seen such a thing. If someone could just provide it they would be able to take over from Skype almost instantly.
If you could make this do automated phone number verification and bypass then it would be a great success. Let people register phone number / name pairs; call them back and have them confirm a code (as Google apps does) and then when someone calls their phone number from that client route it directly to them over SIP.
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As long as skype exists, there is little incentive to create the thing you're talking about. But it's like kissing your sister, because what you really want is to be free of any particular corporations for your communications.
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But it's like kissing your sister
What? Not existing and never existent? I can assure you that Skype most certainly does exist and has done for an infinite-percent longer than my sister ever has.
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other voip systems away from skype
Could you please be specific here, with some idea of how happy they are. We are all open to try any one which doesn't suck.
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SIP's great. I have a SIP phone right next to me and I use it every day.
But it's also a nightmare. Between interop issues, ALGs that try to help SIP get past NAT (and fail) - and for that matter NAT itself (I don't like it, you don't like it. Nobody likes it. But it's a fact of life. Get used to it, we're going to be stuck with NAT for some time yet; burying your head in the sand and pretending it doesn't exist doesn't help anyone), it is simply not suitable for deployment in any situation that doesn't invo
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...just fixes for the most egregious bugs in their current version.
Hmm. Maybe you didn't see that quote at the end of the submission:
"Microsoft 'promised' the Commission it would keep Skype inoperable and supported on rival operating systems." [Note the correction.]
I have used and supported Skype for many years (and still do), but let's be honest: Microsoft's support for the product can hardly be in any way worse than the earlier vendors'. Skype's history is littered with design and implementation mistakes, backed by high-handed, capricious or just plain non-existent
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Indeed, it is much more likely to be bundled with Xbox Live, Windows Live and Windows Phone than with Office.
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And the robotic arms - don't forget the robotic arms.
Teledildonics will reach mainstream yet!
(But only when it's possible to explain to mumsy what THAT thing is for.)
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> the magic word is "integration" which lets be honest, MSFT hasn't been the greatest on that front in awhile
> the only question is do they have the ability to make the whole more than the sum of its parts.
I would argue Microsoft has NEVER grasped integration the way Apple does, aside from Word/Excel/Powerpoint, and maybe the XBox360.
i.e.
Microsoft is a software company who doesn't understand hardware, nor user experience.
Sony is a hardware company who doesn't understand software, nor user experience.
A
It their promise in writing? (Score:2)
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They might just want the technology to improve XBox voice communication. Or perhaps they want such a popular application as Skype to be exclusive to Windows phones, and only the buggy-and-incomplete
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Actually 9 month delay would be a big improvement for a Linux version.
Agreed. But the upside is that they haven't seen the need to fuck up the UI like they did with that fugly new Mac version.
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Not on my tablet, anyway. Maybe it does on others.
Just like eBay (Score:3)
"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so." -dna
Not worried about exclusivity (Score:3)
More worried about MS screwing it up somehow, just like the cliche that every new manager needs to put his "mark" on his new team? I'm worried about paperclips asking me questions, pop up windows asking if I'm "sure you want to really write that IM?", do you "really trust your wife" calling you, and the blue phone of death.
(Did I miss any?)
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MS Ribbon... (Score:1)
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Promises... (Score:2)
Bundled or Integrated? (Score:3)
Do the authorities know the difference? When Microsoft decides to discontinue skype, after it has completely been integrated into office of course, will this guy recognize it still exists?
I want my OS with as much stuff bundled in it (Score:2, Troll)
It must suck to buy a car in Europe.
You have to buy the radio separately. The tires come separate too. They don't even come with seats ... you get to choose the seats from a catalog of producers.
Pretty soon you will have to buy all the car parts, engine, transmission, little nuts & bolts, from various suppliers and build it yourself.
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With software, due to laws, that choice can be taken from you, and Microsoft and likes used that option extensively.
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The issue is not the bundling, it is TINA (there is no alternative) syndrome, this was the problem with IE in Europe,
People generally said that they had an icon for "The Internet" on their desktop, this was IE ...This is more like having a radio come with your car, but it is welded in place, and all mass-market cars have the same radio
Whereas now you get a popup when you first use a Windows PC in Europe that asks which browser you want to use, so at least people know they have a choice...
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it is TINA (there is no alternative) syndrome, this was the problem with IE in Europe
No, the problem the EU had with IE was much different. First, at this point in time IE was already uninstallable from Windows. Second, browsers like Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera were readily available and kicking IE in the ass in terms of growth. So how was it the case that there was no alternative and you were forced to use IE?
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People (as in general users) were still not aware that there *was* any alternative
People still today refer to the IE icon on the desktop as "The Internet" .. and get confused when it is replaced by Firefox ...
The alternatives were doing well in terms of growth , but not in overall terms .. Growing from almost nothing to slightly significant is large growth, but slightly significant is not exactly dominating ...
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People (as in general users) were still not aware that there *was* any alternative
Why is that Microsoft's problem? Maybe Mozilla or Google or Opera should run some more ads. It's not Microsoft's job to educate the public about the competing browsers, especially if they're not doing anything to inhibit their performance or ability to be installed. If you want, you can remove practically all traces of IE from Windows.
The alternatives were doing well in terms of growth , but not in overall terms
I don't know how you can say that when both Chrome and Firefox are sitting around 25% global market share [statcounter.com], and IE has steadily been losing market share for at least 4 years. H
Baloney ! (Score:1)
How the hell is it anything like that? Did Windows not allow you to connect to mozilla/opera/google's website and download what you want? Why should microsoft be forced to advertise their competition? Or should a government now decide what features a software should have? Maye the entire world should become a socialist hellhole. EU as usual just *LOVES* punishing successful American corporations. Microsoft is not alone in this .. even Google was attacked by the EU for pointless crap.
Considering the crappy a
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A car where I could choose exactly what I want, from every possible competing producers, with no economic overhead? Like getting integrated navigation systems written by the best of several competitors for a few hundred $ instead of the current 4k $ for a special Audi one?
Sign me up!
Exclusive Platform. (Score:1)
Skype relaunched as Windows Bing Voice (Score:5, Funny)
BOLGIAS 8 AND 9, Seattle, Tuesday (NTN) — Microsoft remains on the bleeding edge of innovation with its completely new-from-the-ground-up Windows Bing Voice [newstechnica.com] Internet phone platform, formerly known as Skype.
Windows Bing Voice was developed entirely in-house at an acquisition cost of only $8.5 billion. “Our developer teams know the meaning of confidentiality,” said Steve Ballmer. “Heck, even they didn’t know it was Skype until today. That’s how, uh, stealth we are.”
The new Windows Bing Voice client will be included with Windows Phone 7, Office 365, Kin and Zune. “Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms! On a case by case time and availability basis, of course. We’ll give our Mac Business Unit developer details for Windows Bing Voice 2011 Ultimate Edition by 2013, for sure.”
Service is expected to remain “at 100%” as the server infrastructure is moved from Linux to Windows, though Microsoft has not specified what that will be 100% of. The peer-to-peer functionality of Skype will also be harnessed to distribute Windows updates and Windows Genuine Advantage serial number blacklists.
Google said that the Google Voice servers were “holding up well” under the influx of new users.
I'm still really worried (Score:1)
Playstation (Score:2)
... and there goes any faint lingering hope of getting it onto the PS3 as well.
I wonder what they plan to do about Skype on the PSP (& successors)...
rivals (Score:2)
Microsoft 'promised' the Commission it would keep Skype interoperable and supported on rival operating systems.
"we did too keep our promise! there just isn't anything that rivals windows."
i await the Linux port that will never come.
promise ? (Score:2)
The FT reports that Microsoft 'promised' the Commission it would keep Skype interoperable and supported on rival operating systems."
Is that promised as in "they mentioned it during the talks" or promised as in "they made a binding commitment in writing" ?
Because the former, with corporations in general and with MS in particular, is worth exactly 0.00 â.