skype

Webware 100 winner: Skype

Skype is a text, voice, and video-chatting platform that works using your Internet connection. Skype has branched off from a desktop software solution to work in mobile phones and household phones that just need a Wi-Fi or Internet connection to run. Like instant-messaging clients, Skype gives users a buddy list instead of a set of phone numbers.

Over the years, Skype has also introduced a number of new features. One of the more interesting ones is SkypeOut, a service that lets Skype users call outside numbers, both long distance and international. There's also SkypePrime, a service that lets users … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 707: Space is cancelled

The Russians have canceled their space tourism program, because space is too serious to monetize. Also, Skype offers unlimited long-distance on...phones. VoIP is so dead. You heard it here first. In other news, Microsoft bonanza: Windows predictions, welcoming ethical hackers, and burning down your house. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 707

Skype offers unlimited long-distance plan http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN2141013920080421

Google tops Microsoft, Apple in brand power http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9924273-7.html

Britannica makes content free with widgets, publisher registration http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9923867-7.html

Hackers cancel attack on CNN http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/144850/hackers_cancel_attack_on_cnn.html… Read more

Skype to offer unlimited overseas calls

Updated April 21, 5:36 AM PDT to reflect the actual announcement by Skype.

Skype on Monday said it is now offering unlimited calls from the U.S. to phones in a wide range of international locations.

For $9.95 per month, callers will be able to ring folks abroad in 34 countries, including many in Europe, along with Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Malaysia. (The details of the new flat-rate subscriptions were first published in an Associated Press story Sunday evening.) There is one limit--in most of those countries, the calls must be … Read more

eBay will consider selling Skype

Has eBay about had it with Skype?

New eBay CEO John Donahoe told the Financial Times the online auctioneer will consider selling Skype if it can't find a way to make the service better help eBay's e-commerce business.

"What we're testing this year are the synergies," Donahoe told the Financial Times. "If the synergies are strong, we'll keep it in our portfolio. If not, we'll reassess it."

Donahoe did say Skype is doing well. It generated $126 million in the first quarter, up 61 percent from a year ago. This year, … Read more

eBay earnings up significantly in Q1

eBay announced Wednesday its second straight $2 billion quarter and said its first-quarter revenue was up 24 percent from a year ago.

The auction giant said that it brought in Q1 revenue of $2.19 billion, up 24 percent from the $1.77 billion it brought in during the same period a year earlier. In addition, the company's Q1 profit of $460 million, or 34 cents a share, was up 22 percent from its Q1 2007 earnings of $377 million, or 27 cents.

In a release, eBay attributed its strong quarter to several factors, including global business classifieds, growth … Read more

Silicon Vikings sail against harder winds

The Vikings sailed in small open wooden ships to discover America long before Columbus. Their 21th century counterparts, the Silicon Vikings, prefer business class when they travel the Atlantic.

The $2.6 billion acquisition of the Swedish IP phone company Skype by eBay in 2005 and Sun Microsystems' recent purchase of Swedish-Finnish open-source database company MySQL for $1 billion has raised hopes among Nordic investors that more big deals for VC-backed Nordic companies could be in the pipeline in the U.S.

And the Vikings have a lot of cash. Venture capital firms from Sweden and Finland-- the Norwegians prefer … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 695: Pass the caffeinated rabbit

It turns out that if you give a rabbit enough coffee, it won't get dementia. And neither will you! (Long story--we'll explain.) In other news, Apple is now the No. 1 retailer in the United States, and Comcast launches 50Mbps broadband in Minneapolis/St. Paul, which actually launches us into a big Comcast rant. Sorry, Comcast. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 695

Apple passes Wal-Mart, now No. 1 music retailer in U.S. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080402-apple-passes-wal-mart-now-1-music-retailer-in-us.html

As expected, MySpace unveils new music service http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9910344-7.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/ technology/03cnd-myspace.html … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 694: Know your zombies

It's zombie-preparedness day, and may we suggest you also prepare yourself for a barrage of rumors of the eBay and Blu-ray variety. Also, today, Amazon reaches right inside Molly's brain and launches shopping via text-message (hello, impulse purchase heaven!), and one listener defends the sacred honor of the Chevy Nova. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 694

Voicemail - Dark Zombie Preparedness Day!

Judge to RIAA: You can’t sue over songs ‘made available’ via P2P http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9908353-38.html

eBay’s power sell: Skype to Google? http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9908959-36.html

Amazon launches … Read more

eBay's power sell: Skype to Google?

This post was updated at 9:45am EDT with comment from Google.

Will eBay sell Skype to Google?

It's no secret that many in Silicon Valley regard eBay's 2005 acquisition of the telephony service as a $2.6 billion misstep. But new rumors, reported late Tuesday night on TechCrunch, suggest that eBay may be negotiating Skype-related partnerships with Google or even selling it outright.

"We do not comment on market rumor or speculation regarding acquisitions," a Google representative told CNET News.com in an e-mail. "Generally speaking we are constantly in discussions about potential partnerships … Read more