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EBay Sells Skype To Marc Andreessen
Julefrokost writes "Computerworld has a story about eBay selling Skype. Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape, along with a group of investors, are reported to have paid $2 billion for Skype. According to the New York Times, Google was also a potential buyer. Also, the original founders of Skype are said to have placed a bid, but Marc Andreessen & Co was the highest bidder."
I hope the new owners make it better and re-incorporate the functionality it had before.
I really miss Skypecasts, it was a really useful tool for practicing languages and having informal meetings (moderation, talk turns, etc)...
Just today I spent about an hour looking for a skypecast alternative where I could practice my German with others (maybe first only hearing and talking a bit later).
Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
Is Skype really worth half the value of Marvel? Disney got an amazing deal...
Considering the continuing legal troubles, I'm surprised they found a buyer. That's why Google purportedly backed out of negotiations to buy them some time back.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
This would be an interesting insight if weren't for the fact it's already been sold before.
I think Google (and myself) are better off with Google Voice. I never liked skype and if you look at prices for making calls to landlines and cellphones in Europe they're more expensive than the alternative. With Google voice I can call Europe for 2 cents a minute from any U.S. phone, without having to log onto my computer.
Yet another free service gets snapped up for billions, in the hopes that it will somehow generate more than the expended value in ad revenue. Either that or some other magical source of cash influx that will not be spent by its users who are used to getting it free and will jump ship if subscription models become mandatory.
It seems a lot of people still believe that when the internet is involved, tried and true business rules and plain old common sense do not apply. Is the black magic of the interwebs not dead yet?
Last i checked, Skype was ad-free and financed itself through charging for connections to "real" phones and for national phone numbers.
You have no clue what you are writing about.
Poor google, I guess they didn't notice that there was a buy it now option.
The interesting thing about this deal is that eBay actually bought Skype from the founders for 3.1 billion US dollars. They are now selling for 2 billion which makes you think about the huge loss and the extremely bad deal they made in buying in the first place. When eBay bought Skype it was seen by many as the worst IT business deal, ever!
I pay for SkypeIN and SkypeOut. It's a great deal. Unlimited Skype to Skype and 10,000 minutes per month to and from land lines. I have a real local phone number which displays on peoples caller ID if I so desire. Prices vary by locality, so check. It's about the same yearly as many people pay monthly for their cellular plan.
I have incoming calls redirect to my cellphone and office phone after so many seconds. You can load Skype up on your Windows Mobile, iPhone, and iPod touch with the Apple microphone headphones. While this is in no way a cell phone replacement, it's free minutes if you are near a good WIFI and need to place an outgoing call. There are physical wireless Skype Phones, but the quality is not near the level of a cell phone yet.
You can run Skype on many PC's at the same time and answer on which ever one you are sitting at. I have an ASUS EEE BOX PC at home wall mounted as an IPCCTV server, also running Skype. It's also running on my Laptop at work at the moment. My wife and I often video chat through Skype instead of using our phones. The audio is better quality than what my cellular provider offers.
Hopefully more people will see the benefits of the paid services and Skype will continue.
With Google voice I can call Europe for 2 cents a minute from any U.S. phone, without having to log onto my computer.
With Google Voice, you need a land line, or to burn up cell minutes. That's a major liability. I use GV every day, but it's no substitute for internet telephony. (There are numerous SIP providers out there, though.)
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I realize they provide only related (but similar) service, but Vonage is now like $30/mo (after taxes) and you can call anywhere in the world for free. I have friends in India who are dropping their local land lines in exchange for an American Vonage account so they can make cheap calls within their own neighborhood. That's pretty wild :)
The telecomm revolution is underway kids. Next up, cable.
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We already have an open VoIP protocol. Just switch to a provider like Gizmo and use whatever VoIP client you like--Ekiga, Twinkle, Gizmo's own client, whatever.
What Skype needs to do is die. The world doesn't need a closed proprietary phone network.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
I did the same thing, purchasing a Linksys SPA-2200 and connecting it to a Canadian SIP provider (Acanac). That's after purchasing a crappy Skype USB phone. The difference is astounding and it's a dirt cheap, full replacement for a landline. I even use ekiga on a netbook when I wan't a "portable" phone line. And if Acanac ever raised their price, I can easily switch to a different provider and use the same box.
"Knowledge is the only instrument of production that is not subject to diminishing returns" -Journal of Political Econom
Comment removed based on user account deletion
They aren't the same thing at all. With Google Voice, you still need some kind of phone service to make calls. In fact, one cost effective way to use Google Voice is to combine it with Skype.
It would be nice if Google provided an internet phone service as part of Google Voice. I'm currently looking into using Google Voice in combination with Gizmo5, which looks very promising. Whether Skype or Gizmo5 is a less expensive pairing for Google Voice depends on your usage patterns - Gizmo5 is cheaper up front, but Skype offers unlimited domestic calling for a set price.
If anyone has experience with this, please share your advice. I have been annoyed by Skype's billing policies and customer service lately, which is what is making me want to switch.
For those who had all but given up on Skype in Linux, they just released a new Linux client beta version in the last few days or so. Finally there are changes afoot...