eBay To Buy Skype For $2.6 Billion 298
rfunches writes "It's not a rumour anymore. BBC News online reports that eBay will pay 'half the amount in cash and the other half in stocks to create an unparalleled e-commerce and communications engine'." The $2.6 billion purchase would give eBay access to the VoIP market, of which Skype claims it has 2 million users online at any given time. BBC speculates that eBay will use Skype to allow sellers and bidders to communicate via voice; I have also heard that live auctions a la Sothebys might also be a possibility. Also reported at Wall Street Journal (registration), New York Times."
Link to the announcement (Score:4, Informative)
Re:over $1000/user (Score:5, Informative)
Re:over $1000/user (Score:5, Informative)
It's about 2 cents a minute for outbound calls in the US. This is called SkypeOut.
And in order to get an real phone number, you have to pay for SkypeIn, which looks like it is going to cost about $60 a year, though its still in beta.
So, if you make 500 minutes of calls, its slightly more expensive than the Vonage SoftPhone.
If they made it a flat rate for unlimited calls, I'd buy it in a second.
Re:Skype is a dead-end. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Skype is a dead-end. (Score:3, Informative)
BTW, Gizmo uses open standards, but is not open itself (see ahref=http://www.gizmoproject.com/gizmo-end-user.
SIP will (probably) be incorporated into the next gnomeMeeting release.
Re:This is bad, because: (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.gizmoproject.com/ [gizmoproject.com])
Large Techs Making VOIP Plays (Score:5, Informative)
Just recently, Microsoft purchased Teleo, which will allow MSN messenger users to make PC-to-Phone calls. Yahoo purchased Dialpad, which has similar capabilities to Skype (PC-to-PC and PC-to-Phone). And of course Google introduced Google talk, which is the first step in the process. eBay just doesn't want to be left out.
This is not really my insight. See for example:
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/d1218d8c-2097-11da-81ef-
Re:over $1000/user (Score:2, Informative)
By charging for extras.
I have a number in the US, one in Finland, and one in Sweden. Plus I use it to call out to people with cell phones and land lines all over the US, Asia, and Europe.
I pay for these extras, but it is so worth it.
Maybe next time you should educate youself on a company's business model before you trash it.
Alternatives to PayPal (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Skype is a dead-end. (Score:5, Informative)
No, it is an open standard, regulated by the FCC, 47 CFR 68.3.
See the FAQ [fcc.gov]
regarding firewall traversal (Score:3, Informative)
1) If the number of machines without firewalls starts to fall dramatically skype users are SOL. This could happen if most PC's have an automatic firewall enabled or broadband providers start shipping modems with built in firewalls.
2) I don't know about you but it's a bit odd routing my voice traffic through non authenticated computers - encryption be damned.
3) Routing around firewalls provides a *good* calling experience but not reliable. Skype calls can drop on you randomly. You also can have trouble connecting when you want to call. While skype is great for people who want high quality calls that work most of the time, it isn't really great when you try on rely on it.
I use skype and think it is a great product... but I don't quite understand how it people think it is worth so much money as a company.
Re:Will SKype executables remain multi-plaform? (Score:3, Informative)
OTOH there's no need for an open skype when SIP is the standard VOIP protocol that works anywhere.
Re:The Key is not Ebay but Paypal. (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Skype is a dead-end. (Score:2, Informative)
But really, the whole point of a proprietary protocol is vendor lock-in. It's a gamble. If the "proprietary" protocol becomes the standard, is it proprietary anymore (e.g. Atom vs RSS - not a great example but you get the idea)